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<p>Pope Francis on Wednesday approved an unprecedented Vatican department to judge bishops accused of covering up or not preventing sexual abuse of minors, an attempt to meet a key demand by victims' groups.</p>
<p>A statement said the department would come under the auspices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal arm, "to judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors."</p>
<p>Victims groups have for years been urging the Vatican to establish clear procedures to make bishops more accountable for abuse in their dioceses, even if they were not directly responsible for it.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Pope Hires Auditor to Clean Up Vatican Finances</a></p>
<p>Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters that the bishops could also be judged if they had failed to take measures to prevent sexual abuse of minors.</p>
<p>The complaints against the bishops would be initially investigated by one of three Vatican departments, depending on under whose jurisdiction the bishops fall, before being judged by the doctrinal department.</p>
<p>Last February, Francis ordered bishops the world over to cooperate as a matter of priority with the commission to root out "the scourge" of the sexual abuse even if it unearths new scandals.</p>
<p /> | Pope Francis Approves Tribunal to Judge Sex-Abuse Cover Ups | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/religion/pope-francis-approves-tribunal-judge-sex-abuse-cover-ups-n372921 | 2015-06-10 | 3 |
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<p><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/ITALY-GREENPEACE/b8c011f559da4d0dae61053dd308e4b3/42/0" type="external">AP / Alessandra Tarantino</a></p>
<p>… quaking with angst—I felt the great scream in nature</p>
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<p>In the Cuban missile crisis, it was luck…that prevented the total destruction of our societies.</p>
<p>Three years ago, on May 2, 2012, Edvard Munch’s “Scream” was auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for $119,922,500. According to Sotheby’s, the sale “marked a new world record” for the price of a work of art sold at auction.</p>
<p>It was predictable. This work of art, meant by the artist to convey cosmic angst and horror, had long since passed into the zone of sugar-coated pop culture, cohabiting space with Disney characters, the Muppets, Marvel Comics and “The Simpsons.” One can purchase “Scream” underwear, compression pants, socks, stuffed toys and much more. A quick cruise on the Web yields all manner of fanciful adaptations of people with “Scream”-ish faces — from Barack Obama to Santa Claus.</p>
<p>The scale of this regrettable bastardization of Munch’s intent comes more clearly into view when the origins of the painting are examined. On Jan. 22, 1892, Munch recorded in his journal a horrifying experience. In 1895, he turned his journal entry into a poem, which he hand-lettered onto the frame beneath one of the four basic versions of “The Scream”:</p>
<p>I was walking along the road with two friends The Sun was setting – the Sky turned blood-red. And I felt a wave of Sadness – I paused tired to Death – Above the blue-black Fjord and City Blood and Flaming tongues hovered My friends walked on – I stayed behind – quaking with Angst – I felt the great Scream in Nature</p>
<p>When combined with the painting, we find this apocalyptic ode to be the terrifying equal of representations of Armageddon in our own time, such as Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” (1963) and his “Farewell Angelina” (1965), the TV film “The Day After” (1983), Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” (2006) and virtually any song deriving from the heavy-metal tradition of the past 30 or so years. Munch’s painting/poem represents his attempt to render visually and verbally the end of everything — Armageddon, as it is called in the biblical book of Revelation 16:16. But “Scream” has been monumentally defanged from an allegory of the apocalypse to a preferred pattern on spandex pants. It has morphed from a virtual Armageddon into cuddly playthings and wearable art.</p>
<p>Armageddon Forgotten: the Cuban Missile Crisis as Nostalgia and Fantasy</p>
<p>The October 1962 Cuban missile crisis, our scholarly specialty over the past 30 years, has suffered a different fate. It has been largely forgotten, even though it was easily the closest brush in recorded history with Armageddon — an all-out nuclear war that would likely have ultimately left behind, in the telling phrase of writer Jonathan Schell, “a republic of insects and grass.”</p>
<p>In our own work, these two unfortunate developments — the bastardization of Munch’s art and amnesia regarding what almost happened in October 1962 — are connected. We long ago established “Scream” as the shrieking “mascot” of the Cuban missile crisis — a breathtaking shorthand for the appropriate emotional subtext of Armageddon. For the Cuban missile crisis came within a hairsbreadth of blowing up the world. It was scary as hell to the leaders who (barely) engineered the great escape of October 1962. It should be scary to us as well. But it’s not, because most of us never think about it, except during anniversaries of the event divisible by five or 10 and in such pop-culture icons as “Mad Men” and “X-Men: First Class.” And there are many video games with “Cuban missile crisis” elements, such as commandos swooping around Cuba, offing bad guys and defusing nukes. Just as Munch’s “Scream” is now gauzy and campy, the missile crisis is now a game.</p>
<p>Reclaiming October 1962: Why We’re Still Screaming at You, After All These Years</p>
<p>In our 2012 book and <a href="http://www.armageddonletters.com" type="external">transmedia website</a>, “The Armageddon Letters,” we provide the text and context for the letters exchanged by President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban leader Fidel Castro during the missile crisis. The world by late October 1962 was on the brink of destroying human civilization, possibly forever. Our book and website represent an attempt to address the vast chasm between what actually happened in October 1962 and what came a hairsbreadth from happening.</p>
<p>On Oct. 26 and 27, 1962, Fidel sends Khrushchev the mother of all Armageddon letters, urging the Soviet leader, in the event of an American attack and invasion of Cuba, to nuke the United States of America — to destroy it, as Fidel says, “once and forever.” In this way, Cuba will be martyred for the socialist cause. This letter reaches Khrushchev just as he is also told that the Cubans, contrary to his orders (but consistent with Fidel’s), have begun shooting at the U.S.’ low-flying reconnaissance planes. When the letter reaches Khrushchev, he shouts, “This is insane, this is insane.” He also says, “Fidel wants to drag us into the grave with him.”</p>
<p>At that moment, all three leaders, Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro, believe for varying reasons that the odds have just gone sky-high that they will not be able to manage their way out of this crisis, that the doomsday machine has been primed and that all-out nuclear war has just moved from an abstract possibility to a likely outcome of the surging events unless something drastic happens to provide an escape.</p>
<p>This was the only time in recorded history when leaders went to bed for the night wondering not just whether they would personally survive, or whether their countries would survive, but whether 24 hours hence human civilization would survive. It was the most dangerous moment in history.</p>
<p>That danger still exists at this very moment, a fact that is insufficiently understood and appreciated around the world.</p>
<p>Back to Munch: the Power of Combining Munch’s Painting and Poetry</p>
<p>Several recent short films suggest ways in which Munch’s “Scream” image actually can still profoundly disturb us, disorient us, leading us perhaps to experience some of the terror Munch says he felt that night in 1892 when he was first visited by the terror he would render as “The Scream,” along with its accompanying poem. A roughly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5tkz1QOzas" type="external">one-minute film</a> produced in 2012 has a voice-over from Munch’s account of the night when “The Scream” first appeared to him. (It was used as an ad by Sotheby’s before its sale of the painting.) It is slick and highly commercial, but it works its dark magic in spite of the fact that it is an invitation to bid on the painting, or (for those lacking $100 million or so in spare change) at least watch the May 2 Sotheby’s auction live online.</p>
<p>The Romanian animator and filmmaker Sebastian Cosor has recently led a kind of “Back to Munch” movement with a <a href="https://vimeo.com/34830801" type="external">spooky, disturbing two-minute film</a> based on “The Scream.” Instead of using Munch’s original poem as the voice-over, he has written a script for two animated figures walking, talking about fear of death as they cross a bridge over a frozen fjord. They pass, without noticing (or barely noticing), a disturbing, writhing “Scream”-like creature. There is also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWlNVyFn4qA" type="external">a shortened version</a> of Cosor’s original animated feature, without the dialogue but with additional music. We think of this as the silent movie version of Cosor’s “talkie.” Both are effective.</p>
<p>I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream …</p>
<p>Let’s combine the missile crisis and Munch’s “Scream.” In metaphorical terms: Were Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro’s mouths wide open in unutterable terror, like Munch’s screamer? Were their eyes bulging out at the very real prospect of Armageddon? Did they feel themselves to be on a bridge to (literally) nowhere? Did they feel the “great scream” felt by Munch? The answer, respecting the different circumstances and eras, is absolutely yes! Munch felt his world exploding and ending on Jan. 22, 1892. Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro felt that the world as they knew it might be about to disappear in a convulsion of nuclear war by the last weekend of October 1962.</p>
<p>Having just read this, do you feel a deep, metaphorical Munchian scream coming on? No, probably not. Ask yourself: Why not? What is missing? What would it take to shock you into a more vivid awareness of the fragility of a world with thousands of nuclear weapons and toward an effort to do what you can to help eliminate them? How about the escalation of nuclear threats from Russia over the Ukraine crisis? How about an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites? How about a North Korean attack on South Korea? How about the next India-Pakistan conflict over the disputed area of Kashmir at the moment when the conflict goes nuclear?</p>
<p>In order to come to grips with these grisly possibilities, arm yourself with the imagery of Munch and the reality of the Cuban missile crisis. They should lead you to this: “I wish, oh, how I wish, we had gotten rid of nuclear weapons before this happened.” Why not start now? “I scream, you scream, we all scream about the Cuban missile crisis and all it implies for the world of the 21st century.”</p>
<p>Thanks. This time, can you make it a little louder, please?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.balsillieschool.ca/people/james-blight-janet-lang" type="external">James G. Blight and janet M. Lang</a> are on the faculties of the department of history and the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Follow them on Twitter @armageddontweet.</p> | 'The Scream' and the Cuban Missile Crisis Still Echo | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-scream-and-the-cuban-missile-crisis-still-echo/ | 2015-05-01 | 4 |
<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sen. Toni Atkins will take over as California Senate’s leader on March 21, Democrats announced Tuesday, becoming the first woman and the first lesbian to lead the chamber.</p>
<p>The San Diego Democrat will take over as president pro tem from fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles. De Leon is barred by term limits from seeking re-election and is running for U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>Atkins still must be formally elected by the Senate — a perfunctory decision because she has the unanimous support of the majority party.</p>
<p>Atkins is a former Assembly speaker and health care executive who was first elected to the Legislature in 2010.</p>
<p>She takes over as legislative leaders face scrutiny over their handling of sexual misconduct allegations.</p>
<p>In a statement, Atkins said leading the Senate is “an extraordinary opportunity and a great responsibility.”</p>
<p>“I have devoted my life to public service and the promise of equity, justice, and respect for everyone,” she said.</p>
<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sen. Toni Atkins will take over as California Senate’s leader on March 21, Democrats announced Tuesday, becoming the first woman and the first lesbian to lead the chamber.</p>
<p>The San Diego Democrat will take over as president pro tem from fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles. De Leon is barred by term limits from seeking re-election and is running for U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>Atkins still must be formally elected by the Senate — a perfunctory decision because she has the unanimous support of the majority party.</p>
<p>Atkins is a former Assembly speaker and health care executive who was first elected to the Legislature in 2010.</p>
<p>She takes over as legislative leaders face scrutiny over their handling of sexual misconduct allegations.</p>
<p>In a statement, Atkins said leading the Senate is “an extraordinary opportunity and a great responsibility.”</p>
<p>“I have devoted my life to public service and the promise of equity, justice, and respect for everyone,” she said.</p> | New California Senate leader will take over March 21 | false | https://apnews.com/abbf4d5e6d3c48db944befd73728aaeb | 2018-01-10 | 2 |
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<p>U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday urged countries with a trade surplus to introduce policies to help domestic consumption, in what appeared to be a prod at Germany.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Lew was in Berlin for talks with his German counterpart. Germany has the euro zone's biggest trade surplus and has in the past rebuffed pressure to shift policy to bring about a rebalancing of commercial flows in Europe.</p>
<p>"The driver for economic growth has got to be consumer demand ... policies to help to encourage consumer demand in countries that have the capacity would be helpful," he said at a news conference with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.</p>
<p>Lew has pressed European officials to moderate austerity measures in order to boost growth, and called on surplus countries like Germany to boost their consumption to help pull the continent out of the doldrums.</p>
<p>A U.S. Treasury official told reporters travelling with Lew from Berlin to his next stop in Paris that the United States and Germany disagreed on the extent to which budget austerity can slow economic growth.</p>
<p>But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Europe was aware of the need to boost demand and combat persistent unemployment, adding that Germany was thinking about how best to spur growth and that talks between the two officials had focused on areas of agreement.</p>
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<p>For their part, Schaeuble and Lew played down any differences in their views, with the German arguing that growth and budget consolidation were not mutually exclusive.</p>
<p>"Nobody, including in Europe, sees this contrast between fiscal consolidation and growth. Our common position is of growth-friendly consolidation or of sustainable growth, however you want to call it," Schaeuble told reporters.</p>
<p>Germany, Europe's biggest economy, argues that budgetary rigor is not incompatible with growth, and is necessary to convince markets that governments are sticking to their spending diets in order to avoid another sovereign debt crisis</p>
<p>Lew emphasised that the United States wanted a strong Europe.</p>
<p>"As we continue to address many of our long-term challenges, our economy's strength remains sensitive to events beyond our shores. We have an immense stake in a prosperous Europe," he said.</p>
<p>Later, aboard Lew's plane, the U.S. Treasury official told reporters there was a pragmatic shift underway in Europe that put less emphasis on budget austerity and more on structural economic reforms.</p>
<p>"We have made the case that, much as we have in the United States responded to the economic cycle and what it takes to keep growth going, Europeans need to look as well what they can do to generate more demand in their economy," Lew said in an interview with National Public Radio.</p>
<p>At his news conference with Schaeuble, the U.S. Treasury chief said there was a common interest in ensuring that tax havens did not skew a level playing field.</p>
<p>On his first official visit to Europe, Lew met European Union officials in Brussels and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in Frankfurt on Monday. In Paris, he was due to meet French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici.</p>
<p>Lew is a budget expert, and close confidant to U.S. President Barack Obama, which may help in his dealings with European officials about deficits and debt.</p> | U.S.'s Lew Talks up Policies to Spur Demand in Europe | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2013/04/09/us-lew-talks-up-policies-to-spur-demand-in-europe.html | 2016-03-09 | 0 |
<p>ROANOKE, Va. — The Glebe, one of four retirement centers owned by Virginia Baptist Homes, voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia, Roanoke Division on June 28.</p>
<p>Randall Robinson, president of Virginia Baptist Homes, stressed, “Neither VBH nor the three other communities are part of the Chapter 11 filing.”</p>
<p>Robinson also made clear that the restructuring “will allow us to continue to pay all critical vendors and give us the breathing room to operate on a ‘business-as-usual’ basis while we restructure our debt.”</p>
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<p>In connection with the filing, the not-for-profit company also announced that it had received a commitment for debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing. At the time of the filing, The Glebe had assets of $57 million and liabilities in excess of $80 million.</p>
<p>“We want to assure our residents and their families of our intention to maintain full staffing and provide all customary services, at the same high level of quality that they have come to expect, during our reorganization,” said Robinson. “Our goal is for The Glebe to emerge from Chapter 11 as a financially viable community that will continue its mission of effectively serving the diverse needs of our residents.”</p>
<p>Opened in 2005, The Glebe consists of 338,000 square feet of space located on 65 acres just north of Daleville in&#160; Botetourt&#160; County. The community currently has 196 residents in its independent living cottages and apartments, assisted living center and health care center offering 24-hour supervision from licensed nursing and health care personnel.</p>
<p>With a current occupancy rate of approximately 72 percent, the community employs approximately 190 individuals, including administrative, marketing, housekeeping, dining, maintenance, and resident services personnel. Since October 2008, operations, finance and marketing at The Glebe and three other VBH communities have been directed by CRSA/LCS Management, LLC, which oversees 21 retirement communities in 12 states.</p>
<p>In its court filing, The Glebe noted that “the confluence of several events” led it to seek Chapter 11 protection. The document cited construction delays, the recessive economy and the declining housing market&#160; which combined to cause less than anticipated occupancy rates from 2005 to 2007.</p>
<p>Among the events affecting The Glebe’s ability to pay its loans was a decision by the State Corporation Commission last year to bar it from charging a one-time entrance fee to residents. Fees had ranged from $123,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to $324,000 for a two-bedroom cottage, according to court documents. In addition to the fees, monthly rents range from $2,400 to $3,865.</p>
<p>The entrance fees have for years been a part of Virginia Baptist Homes’ economic strategy after it had experienced a financial crisis during the early 1980s due to a preponderance of benevolence admissions that left VBH with a negative cash flow for a period of years. At that time, Virginia Baptist churches gave significantly to rescue the Homes from economic disaster.</p>
<p>According to a report in the Roanoke Times, The Glebe unsuccessfully petitioned the SCC to lift the ban last year.</p>
<p>The Association of Glebe Residents Inc., is now petitioning the regulatory agency to remove the ban, arguing that the best way to protect the elderly tenants’ investment in The Glebe is to allow it to collect the fees and pay down its debt, according to&#160; Carter “Chip” Magee, an attorney who represents the residents’ association.</p>
<p>The SCC could rule on the residents’ petition later this year. Meanwhile, 20 new residents have moved into The Glebe and signed agreements promising to pay the entrance fees if the SCC lifts the ban. Lifting the ban would immediately make $5.3 million in fees available to The Glebe, according to its bankruptcy filing.</p>
<p><a href="mailto:jwhite@religiousherald.org" type="external">Jim White</a> is editor of the Religious Herald.</p> | Virginia Baptist Homes’ Glebe files for bankruptcy protection in court | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/virginiabaptisthomesglebefilesforbankruptcyprotectionincourt/ | 3 |
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<p>Confirmed: Ben Carson has simply spent too much time snorting anesthesia. That is the only explanation for the nonsense he spews into right-wing media at every turn.</p>
<p>Today's snort of the day comes to you via Neil Cavuto, who asked Carson what he thought about the Treasury's decision to <a href="" type="internal">toss Andrew Jackson off the $20 bill</a> and replace his image with Harriet Tubman.</p>
<p>After erroneously referring to Jackson as a "great Secretary," Carson sang his praises as the only President to balance the Federal budget. Actually, he didn't balance the budget. He paid off the Federal debt, just before the economy spiraled into a depression. But hey, don't let facts get in the way there, Ben.</p>
<p>Turning to Harriet Tubman, Carson said, "I love Harriet Tubman, but we can find another way to honor her. Maybe a two-dollar bill."</p>
<p>Just like a Republican man. Always has to devalue the woman whenever possible.</p> | Ben Carson Thinks Harriet Tubman Belongs On A $2 Bill | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2016/04/ben-carson-thinks-harriet-tubman-belongs-2 | 2016-04-20 | 4 |
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<p>Target will stop selling clown masks amid a rash of reported clown attacks – real and fake – that have terrorized the United States in recent months, a company spokesman said.</p>
<p>“Given the current environment, we have made the decision to remove a variety of clown masks from our assortment, both in stores and online,” Joshua Thomas, the spokesman, said in an email.</p>
<p>The Minneapolis-based retailer has 1,799 stores in the United States. The company did not clarify Monday whether the decision would affect all of its stores.</p>
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<p>But Target seemed to have quietly stopped selling clown masks on its website entirely. On Monday morning, searches for “clown masks” on Target.com turned up nothing. Links from search engines to clown masks that Target previously stocked simply led to a message that said, “Product not available.”</p>
<p>Clown costumes for children, oversize clown suits and “sexy clown” outfits are, however, apparently still available for sale.</p>
<p>The retail giant’s decision, just two weeks before Halloween, comes as the frenzy over “creepy clown” sightings and threats has reached a fever pitch.</p>
<p>Across the country, scary-clown rumors have led to school lockdowns and arrests.</p>
<p>As The Washington Post’s Ben Guarino reported in early October:</p>
<p>“South Carolina was creepy clown Ground Zero in August, when emergency calls from residents of Greenville County prompted deputies to search an apartment complex and the nearby forest for criminal clowns. A clown, or someone dressed like one, was “trying to lure children in the woods,” warned the property manager of Fleetwood Manor Apartments in Greenville. . . .</p>
<p>“What began as reports from concerned parents to police mutated into memes, pranks and, in some cases, felonious hoaxes. Although there is little evidence that clowns are stealing children or planning attacks, clowns (or at least clown images and paraphernalia) have been associated with a recent rash of mischief and violent threats.”</p>
<p>The madness reached such a height that renowned horror author Stephen King had to step in on Twitter and, of all things, try to soothe people’s fears. He tweeted, “Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria–most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.”</p>
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<p>The corporate retailer is not the first to hit the brakes on clown-mask sales this year because of the creepy-clown scare.</p>
<p>In Michigan, Crypt Keepers Halloween Emporium boxed up all of its less expensive clown costumes, lest customers get hurt – or try to hurt someone else – while wearing them, the Detroit News reported.</p>
<p>“It’s not worth the sale,” owner Dave Douglas told the newspaper. “These people are causing an epidemic.”</p>
<p>That has not stopped people from buying clown masks wherever they can. Sales of clown masks, especially “evil” or “scary” ones, have spiked 300 percent this year, Halloween Express operations manager Brad Butler told the Wrap.</p>
<p>“As to why we’re selling more clown masks this year than last, I could speculate, but frankly my opinion doesn’t matter,” Butler told the site. “Truth is, I don’t know.”</p>
<p>The creepy-clown craze has unnerved professional clowns, who say the pranks and threats have harmed their image. World Clown Association President Randy Christensen recently addressed the reports, saying that “whoever is doing this crazy stuff is not a clown.”</p>
<p>“We try not to focus on the negatives but try to provide a positive image of clowning,” Christensen said. “If somebody dresses like a doctor . . . and comes at you with a chainsaw, he is not really a doctor.”</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, a woman in Tucson scheduled a “Clown Lives Matter” march in response to the social media frenzy, the Arizona Republic reported.</p>
<p>Organizer Nikki Sinn told the paper that she wasn’t a professional clown but was worried about the recent clown scares.</p>
<p>“We want to make it be a fun, safe, upbeat night,” Sinn told the paper. “I’m just trying to make it a little bit light so it isn’t scary for anyone.”</p>
<p>But the march, scheduled for Saturday, had to be canceled after the event’s Facebook page was bombarded with “numerous death threats and harassment,” Sinn said.</p>
<p>clowns</p> | Target halts clown-mask sales amid creepy-clown hysteria | false | https://abqjournal.com/868964/target-halts-clown-mask-sales-amid-creepy-clown-hysteria.html | 2 |
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<p>The moment will also mark the culmination of two years of American efforts to build a reliable local fighting force, and present a key test of President Barack Obama’s administration’s strategy for defeating the Islamic State.</p>
<p>The operation in the northern city, where at least a million civilians remain, is expected to be a complicated and potentially lengthy fight, as Iraqi troops contend with thick militant defenses that include improved explosives, mines, tunnels and trenches.</p>
<p>“ISIS is going to fight harder for Mosul than it has for other places, because it’s a crown jewel,” said Jessica Lewis McFate, a scholar at the Institute for the Study of War. ISIS is an acronym for the Islamic State.</p>
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<p>The stakes are high not just for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, looking for a win that would shore up his political standing, but also for President Obama, who is seeking to deliver a battlefield win in the waning days of his presidency.</p>
<p>For the U.S. military, victory in Mosul would be an affirmation of its incrementally expanding role in Iraq, where commanders have overseen a gradual troop buildup and added new elements to the U.S. mission, including lower-level advising and use of attack helicopters that may expose U.S. troops to greater risk.</p>
<p>It would also validate the administration’s decision to allow militants to dominate Mosul for two years, rather than sending in American forces, while foreign advisers scrambled to train local units.</p>
<p>Ahead of the final assault, American and allied planes are pounding the city in a bid to weaken militants. In the past two weeks alone, at least 66 strikes have hit sites around Mosul, said Col. John Dorrian, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. “The enemy is not going to be allowed to dig in at their leisure,” he said.</p>
<p>Ahead of the operation, Iraqi and coalition forces have positioned themselves at key staging points around Mosul, including Makhmour, to the southeast, and Qayyarah, joined by American and allied advisers who in some cases will accompany them as they push toward Islamic State lines.</p>
<p>Military leaders have sought to stress that the U.S. advisory role in the Mosul offensive will be far different than it was prior to the 2011 withdrawal, when American troops nominally operated in support of local forces but in practice led much of the combat operations themselves.</p>
<p>In the latest deployment, the Pentagon last month again increased the number of U.S. troops, bringing it to well above 5,000. One key task for those troops will be helping Iraqi leaders orchestrate the movements of a large, fractious force that will include up to 12 Iraqi army brigades and tribal fighters aided in the broader Mosul operation by Kurdish peshmerga and powerful Shiite militia factions.</p>
<p>“The U.S. strategy of by, with and through [local forces] will culminate in Mosul, and hopefully in Raqqa not too long thereafter,” a defense official said, like other officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak freely.</p>
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<p>Other American troops will advise Iraqi units in the field. Under current battle rules, U.S. advisers can accompany local forces at the battalion level, which would place them closer to direct combat, with authorization.</p>
<p>“It’s risky advising at that level, we know that,” an administration official said. “But again, it’s one decision that we think will help provide more effective coordination.”</p>
<p>U.S. advisers will also accompany troops from Iraq’s elite Counterterrorism Service, who as in previous battles are expected to spearhead the assault into the city.</p>
<p>Other measures the White House approved in the lead-up to Mosul, including Apache attack helicopters and HIMARS long-range artillery systems, are expected to play a key role in the final dash toward Mosul.</p>
<p>At the same time, American commanders will be anxious to minimize U.S. casualties in a conflict that has received only reluctant support in Washington. Since U.S. forces returned in 2014, three American service members have died in combat operations.</p>
<p>For U.S. military officials, another key element of the strategy has been the quest to reform a beleaguered Iraqi army. Officials say Iraqi morale is far better than it was in May 2015, when local troops beat a hasty retreat out of the city of Ramadi in another important setback.</p>
<p>Many leaders have been replaced, needed equipment has been provided, and operations alongside U.S. advisers have provided new confidence, officials say. “We’ve prepared them for a tough fight,” another defense official said.</p>
<p>But many of the Iraqi victories against the Islamic State were made possible by the fighting power of Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen whose prominence has created another dilemma for the Obama administration. This time, U.S. and Iraqi officials suggest, those forces will remain outside the urban area.</p>
<p>Ramzy Mardini, a fellow with the Atlantic Council, said that the absence of militia might within Mosul may make Iraqi troops more reliant on U.S. and allied air power, as they were in the battle to recapture Ramadi.</p>
<p>There, Iraqi forces “didn’t have the capacity in size to recapture Ramadi without the overwhelming air power provided by the coalition,” he said. “The result is that the city was destroyed.”</p>
<p>American officials said they have laid extensive plans to protect the city during its air campaign and especially its inhabitants in the operation. U.S. and U.N. officials are also racing to make preparations for potentially hundreds of thousands of displaced people.</p>
<p>Perhaps the biggest test for the U.S. strategy will follow the battle. While U.S. officials say a force of 45,000 police and tribal factions will secure the city, no clear plans for governing the historically diverse city have emerged. Whoever they are, Mosul’s new leaders will have to contend with the likelihood of residual militant attacks and the potential for renewed local conflict.</p>
<p>McFate cautioned that a win in Mosul would be an important but partial victory against the militants, who may try to fall back to other areas of Nineveh, where they have enjoyed support, or across the border to Syria.</p>
<p>Military officials are planning for a possible attempt by militants to flee westward, toward their de facto capital of Raqqa, possibly using civilians as a human shield, setting the stage for a final battle in Syria.</p>
<p>“Reclaiming Mosul would be a significant gain,” she said. “But it will not sufficiently eliminate ISIS from Iraq, nor will it eliminate it from Raqqa.”</p>
<p>iraq-policy</p> | Mosul offensive poses key test for U.S. strategy against Islamic State | false | https://abqjournal.com/867769/mosul-offensive-poses-key-test-for-u-s-strategy-against-islamic-state.html | 2 |
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<p>SolarCity, SunRun and Sungevity have received subpoenas from the Treasury Department’s office of inspector general for financial records to justify more than $500 million in federal grants and tax credits the firms tapped for performing work. The probe seeks to determine whether the companies accurately reported the market value of their costs when applying for federal reimbursement, which was calculated at one-third of the costs.</p>
<p>The solar companies received money through the Treasury’s $13 billion program, known as the 1603 program, which used funds from President Barack Obama’s stimulus initiative to offer cash grants to clean-energy developers. The goal was to spur the spread of wind farms, solar panels and other clean-power sources nationwide.</p>
<p>SolarCity, SunRun and Sungevity have been by far the largest recipients among companies installing solar panels on homes. Working heavily in the sunny states of California and Arizona, the three firms collected hundreds of millions of dollars in federal cash grants to pick up a share of their costs on thousands of home installations during the past three years.</p>
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<p>But the prices some of these industry leaders charged for their work were sometimes far higher than the broader industry’s market rate, according to solar experts and details of the Treasury investigation released in company reports. While firms can install solar panels for roughly $5 per watt of energy and make a comfortable profit, some firms were charging as much as $7 and $8 per watt.</p>
<p>SolarCity spokesman Jonathan Bass said Thursday the company believes its estimates were fair. Sungevity and SunRun declined to comment.</p>
<p>The companies could be forced to repay the government millions of dollars if problems are found, as well as face penalties.</p> | Feds Probe Three Large Panel Installers Over Inflated Costs | false | https://abqjournal.com/153409/feds-probe-three-large-panel-installers-over-inflated-costs.html | 2012-12-14 | 2 |
<p>By Hannah ElliottABPnews.comPublished: 2/06/06Excerpt:</p>
<p>Scott Libin, a news leadership faculty member at the Poynter Institute, said he believes the cartoons reflect some emerging racial awareness in Denmark."My sense is that Danes are doing their best to understand racial issues in their own way," Libin told Associated Baptist Press. "The question is how do we as American journalists balance covering ... this issue?"</p>
<p>Several news organizations worldwide have issued statements expressing support for the Danish newspaper, saying the press must uphold its right for free speech. Libin, however, said the journalists and readers should carefully study the context in which a potentially inflammatory issue is released.</p>
<p>"Free speech and sensitivity to cultural concerns are not mutually exclusive," Libin said. "The important thing is to understand the context. My interpretation is that almost anything can trigger trouble between these groups." <a href="http://www.abpnews.com/816.article" type="external">More of this article...</a> <a href="http://news.google.com/nwshp?hl=en&amp;tab=wn&amp;q=%22Scott%20Libin%22%20Poynter" type="external">Search Google News for more quotes by Scott Libin...</a></p>
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<p /> | Editorial cartoon sparks violence against Lebanese Christians | false | https://poynter.org/news/editorial-cartoon-sparks-violence-against-lebanese-christians | 2006-02-14 | 2 |
<p>A look at the 10 biggest volume gainers on New York Stock Exchange at the close of trading:</p>
<p>AZZ Inc. : Approximately 677,700 shares changed hands, a 496.4 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.19 or .5 percent to $41.96.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Briggs &amp; Stratton Corp. : Approximately 1,730,900 shares changed hands, a 390.0 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.75 or 4.2 percent to $17.27.</p>
<p>China Green Agriculture Inc. : Approximately 4,159,000 shares changed hands, a 642.1 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.27 or 13.6 percent to $2.25.</p>
<p>Civeo Corp. : Approximately 7,779,000 shares changed hands, a 435.4 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.91 or 7.8 percent to $12.52.</p>
<p>Clean Harbors Inc. : Approximately 2,747,700 shares changed hands, a 547.0 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $1.66 or 3.1 percent to $52.26.</p>
<p>National Presto Industries Inc. : Approximately 214,300 shares changed hands, a 944.8 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $4.02 or 6.6 percent to $56.69.</p>
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<p>Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC : Approximately 430,800 shares changed hands, a 390.5 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.44 or 3.5 percent to $12.04.</p>
<p>Opower Inc. : Approximately 1,172,700 shares changed hands, a 1,138.8 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.98 or 5.2 percent to $17.88.</p>
<p>Phillips 66 LP : Approximately 1,127,400 shares changed hands, a 881.1 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $.65 or 1.0 percent to $66.10.</p>
<p>SPX Corp. : Approximately 1,835,900 shares changed hands, a 469.2 percent increase over its 65-day average volume. The shares fell $3.98 or 4.2 percent to $89.95.</p> | Top 10 New York Stock Exchange-traded stocks posting largest volume increases | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/25/top-10-new-york-stock-exchange-traded-stocks-posting-largest-volume-increases.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
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<p>OPEC experts discussing how to implement a plan to cut oil output are likely to reach agreement later on Tuesday, a Nigerian delegate said, a possible sign of progress in finalizing the group's first supply-limiting deal since 2008.</p>
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<p>The High-Level Committee - a technical body comprised mainly of OPEC governors and national representatives who report to their respective ministers - started a second day of talks at OPEC headquarters in Vienna at about 0930 GMT (4:30 a.m. ET).</p>
<p>The committee does not decide policy. It will issue recommendations to OPEC's next ministerial meeting, on Nov. 30.</p>
<p>The key issue before the committee is how to implement a September agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce production to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day - an effort to prop up prices.</p>
<p>OPEC's deal faces potential setbacks from Iraq's call for it to be exempt and from countries including Iran, Libya and Nigeria whose output has been hit by sanctions or conflict and want to increase supply.</p>
<p>But arriving for the meeting, a Nigerian OPEC delegate said all countries should be in agreement by the end of the day and that the committee was discussing a six-month duration for the output-limiting plan, starting in January.</p>
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<p>"The likelihood is that everybody will be on board by the end of today," Nigerian delegate Ibrahim Waya said. Asked whether that included Iran and Iraq, he replied: "Everybody."</p>
<p>Delegates attending the first day of talks on Monday were upbeat, in contrast to a meeting in October. Sources said one of the issues then was the level at which Iran should limit output. Algeria said last week Iran was not a problem.</p>
<p>But in a reminder of remaining challenges, Iraq's foreign minister said on Tuesday in Budapest that OPEC should allow Iraq to continue raising output with no restrictions.</p>
<p>OPEC's talks are now focusing on limiting supply to 32.5 million bpd, one delegate said on Tuesday. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih urged OPEC last week to cut supply to the low end of the agreed range.</p>
<p>"We're going to continue until November 30 if necessary to make everything smooth for the ministers," the OPEC delegate said.</p>
<p>(Editing by Dale Hudson)</p> | OPEC experts resume talks on oil output cut, delegates upbeat | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/11/22/opec-experts-resume-talks-on-oil-output-cut-delegates-upbeat.html | 2016-11-22 | 0 |
<p>FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here</p>
<p>U.S. stock-index futures pointed to mild losses for Wall Street as traders parsed through a hodgepodge of deal news.</p>
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<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>As of 7:55 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 11 points, or 0.06%, to 16922, S&amp;P 500 futures dipped 1.8 points, or 0.09%, to 1948 and Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 3 points, or 0.08%, to 3795.</p>
<p>Wall Street closed out last week with record highs, buoyed by a move by the European Central Bank to cut interest rates, and launch a fresh liquidity program in a bid to fight low inflation. The S&amp;P 500 is up 5.5% for the year as the broad-market barometer shook off a quick bout of worries earlier in the year.</p>
<p>A smattering of M&amp;A activity took the focus on Wall Street Monday. Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) said it made a binding offer to buy Hillshire Brands (NYSE:HSH) in a deal valued at $8.6 billion, including debt, after winning a bidding contest that concluded over the weekend. Merck (NYSE:MRK) said it would by&#160;Idenix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IDIX) for about $3.85 billion -- sending shares of the stock surging. Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) said it would purchase Hittite Microwave (NASDAQ:HITT) in a deal worth roughly $2 billion.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) seven-for-one stock split goes into effect on the day, raising the chances the world's biggest tech company will be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.</p>
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<p>There are no major reports on the economic calendar. However, data released on Sunday showed Chinese exports rebounded last month.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 88 cents, or 0.87%, to $103.54. Wholesale gasoline climbed 0.78% to $2.962 a gallon. Gold advance $4.30, or 0.34%, to $1,257 a troy ounce.</p> | Stocks Poised to Slip from Record Highs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/06/09/stocks-poised-to-slip-from-record-highs.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>Well, we had our <a href="http://www.chinaherald.net/2006/01/internet-google-joins-chinese-censor.html" type="external">five-minute moment of indignation</a> after Google decided to join the Chinese censors. Now, with the <a href="http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2006/01/google_in_china.html" type="external">help of Rebecca MacKinnon</a>, we look for some light in these dark days. Indeed, unlike its competition, Google tells its users that they are being censored. So you know you have to look for other ways. As long as authorities do not push you into localized servers (as they do in other parts of the world), many Chinese users would end up in Google's global search engine anyway. It looks like Google is not putting up any content at its China servers that is potentially forcing them into teaming up with China's judicial authorities, like Gmail or Blogger.com for e-mail and blogging services. That would be an important lesson learned from Yahoo! In the end, a typical Chinese compromise may have been found. The censors can turn to their bosses and claim another victory over a U.S. company. And the Chinese users have enough possibilities to go around this highly symbolic barrier. But we do have to watch what is really happening. Update: Bingfeng Teahouse introduces the " <a href="http://bingfengteahouse.blogbus.com/logs/2006/01/1861336.html" type="external">Axis of 'minor' evil</a>."</p> | Brownie Points for Google | false | https://poynter.org/news/brownie-points-google | 2006-01-26 | 2 |
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<p>Chris Hemsworth will film his latest movie, “Horse Soldiers,” in Albuquerque, Socorro and Alamogordo. (Victoria Will/Invision/AP</p>
<p>Chris Hemsworth is coming back to New Mexico.</p>
<p>The actor — who filmed the first “Thor” movie in NM — will begin to film “Horse Soldiers” beginning in December.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Film Office announced the project, which is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Black Label Media.</p>
<p>Actor Michael Shannon will film “Horse Soldiers” in New Mexico. (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)</p>
<p>Production will take place from December through February in Albuquerque, Socorro and Alamogordo.</p>
<p>“Horse Soldiers” is based on the book by Doug Stanton, with a screenplay by Ted Tally and Peter Craig, and tells a powerful true story of events which occurred in the aftermath of 9/11.</p>
<p>When a U.S. Special Forces team and their untested captain are sent to a rugged, mountainous region of Afghanistan, they must join forces with a Northern Alliance warlord to fight against overwhelming odds to drive out the Taliban.</p>
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<p>“We are very happy to welcome “Horse Soldiers” to Alamogordo. This movie represents the true story of what elite American Special Forces teams are called to do for Freedom here and abroad. Alamogordoans are excited that our city was one of the location areas selected to film this epic story,” said Alamogordo Mayor Richard Boss in a release. “We look forward to being part of this creative endeavor.”</p>
<p>Michael Peña will star in “Horse Soldiers.” (Chris Pizzello/AP)</p>
<p>“We greatly appreciate the efforts of all those who worked to bring ‘Horse Soldiers’ to Socorro. Local businesses and residents have already been contacted for services and support and Socorro will be happy to fill the needs of the production before, during and after their shoot,” said Socorro Mayor Ravi Bhasker.</p>
<p>Starring alongside Hemsworth is Michael Shannon, Michael Peña and Trevante Rhodes.</p>
<p>The film office said the production will employ over 250 New Mexico crew members, 50 New Mexico principal actors and approximately 2,000 New Mexico background talent.</p>
<p>It will be directed by Nicolai Fuglsig, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill. Chad Oman will executive produce.</p>
<p>Trevante Rhodes, who is currently starring on “Moonlight,” will film “Horse Soldiers.” (Brian Ach/Invision/AP)</p> | ICYMI: Hemsworth to film ‘Horse Soldiers’ in NM | false | https://abqjournal.com/894407/icymi-hemsworth-to-film-horse-soldiers-in-nm.html | 2 |
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<p>An anti-transgender bathroom bill is dead in Tennessee. (Image public domain)</p>
<p>Amid concerns the legislation would cost Tennessee federal funding, the lawmaker behind an anti-trans “papers to pee” bill in the state has withdrawn the measure, effectively killing it for the year.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2016/04/18/transgender-bathroom-bill-sponsor-pulls-proposal-until-next-year/83192670/" type="external">The Tennessean</a>, State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet), the sponsor of the bill, said Monday&#160;prior to&#160;a planned committee markup she plans to hold off&#160;on action&#160;to further&#160;study&#160;the issue.</p>
<p>“I have learned that our school districts are largely following what the bill says,” Lynn is quoted as saying. “I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I’m going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues.”</p>
<p>Similar&#160;to the&#160;controversial anti-LGBT law in North Carolina, House Bill 2414 — and its companion in the Senate,&#160;Senate Bill 2387 — would have prohibited transgender students&#160;from using public restrooms in schools in Tennessee consistent with their gender identity.</p>
<p>For a time, the bill was thought dead, but a Tennessee committee resurrected the legislation and advanced it earlier this month. Additional votes in finance committees were&#160;scheduled this week in both chambers of the legislature, but now that House version is pulled, LGBT advocates have declared the measure dead for the year in both chambers. It remains to be seen if action on the bill will be taken next year.</p>
<p>Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, praised the legislature for giving up on legislation she said would harm transgender students.</p>
<p>“We are gratified that Rep.&#160;Susan Lynn heeded the extensive opposition to this bill from all corners of the state and decided to take this discriminatory and harmful legislation off notice,” Weinberg said. “This measure would have had a devastating financial impact on the state, let alone the damage that it would have caused vulnerable students in Tennessee.&#160; Today’s move helps ensure that every child in Tennessee will be treated with respect and dignity. We will remain vigilant to ensure that all Tennessee children are treated equally under the law.”</p>
<p>Last week, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slattery, a Republican, warned the Tennessee legislation passage of the bill <a href="" type="internal">could result in loss a federal Title IX funding for the state</a>. According to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, the funding is estimated at $1.2 billion a year.</p>
<p>Additionally, the fiscal note from the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee estimated the bill would result in a loss of $800,000 in state and local tax revenue and an increase of $324,000 in state expenditures.</p>
<p>The Human Rights Campaign,&#160;along with&#160;the Tennessee Equality Project, the ACLU of Tennessee&#160;and the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, hand-delivered to legislative leaders&#160;an open letter signed by 60 major CEOs and business leaders calling on lawmakers to scrap the legislation.</p>
<p>“Tennessee lawmakers were wise to learn from the mistakes of North Carolina and Mississippi and halt this cruel legislation that would have only worsened the marginalization and harassment transgender students already face on a daily basis,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Over the last weeks and months, a growing chorus of civil rights leaders, child welfare advocates, businesses, and fair-minded people spoke out and declared that transgender youth deserve our support, care and respect. We urge Tennessee lawmakers to reject any similar future proposals that would subject these youth to discrimination and fear.”</p>
<p>On the same day Lynn announced she would pull the measure, the ACLU of Tennessee and other advocacy organizations delivered a petition to the governor’s office against the legislation. The more than&#160;67,000 people who signed the petition&#160;include nearly 6,000 people who self-identified as clergy or people of faith.</p>
<p>Also speaking out against the legislation was the <a href="" type="internal">White House</a>, which said the anti-trans measure in Tennessee was just as “mean-spirited” as recently enacted anti-LGBT laws in North Carolina and Mississippi.</p>
<p>Jeff Tiller, a White House spokesperson, joined in the commendation of Tennessee lawmakers for abandoning plans to pass the anti-trans measure.</p>
<p>“Legislation that undermines the equal dignity of all students has no place in Tennessee, or anywhere else,” Tiller said. “Like so many other business leaders, local officials and engaged citizens across the state, we had serious concerns about the legislation and are pleased to see the bill is not moving forward. We remain firmly committed to promoting and defending the equal rights of all Americans, including the rights of LGBT students across the country.”</p>
<p>h/t <a href="http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/breaking_tennessee_bill_targeting_transgender_students_is_dead_for_now" type="external">The New Civil Rights Movement&#160;</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Hedy Weinberg</a> <a href="" type="internal">Susan Lynn</a> <a href="" type="internal">Tennessee</a></p> | Tennessee anti-trans bathroom bill declared dead | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2016/04/18/tennessee-anti-trans-bathroom-declared-dead-for-now/ | 3 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal">Download MP3</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />This week on CounterSpin: When the White House announced in late April that it suspected the Syrian government of using sarin nerve gas, those suspicions quickly became “facts” for much of corporate media. When on-the-ground reporting emerged casting doubt that chemical weapons had been used in Syria at all, the stories were largely ignored. We’ll discuss rumors of weapons of mass destruction and unlearned media lessons, with CounterSpin‘s own Peter Hart.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Also on the show: U.S. media were outraged at the news that Afghan president Hamid Karzai receives cash payments from the CIA. Much of the outrage was directed at Karzai, strangely, though the CIA came in for criticism too. But our guest suggests that brouhaha serves mainly to divert the public from the far bigger and still untold story of the corrupting influence the U.S. “mission” is having in Afghanistan. We’ll talk about that with playwright, journalist and author Dilip Hiro.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>LINKS:</p>
<p>-“Syria Skepticism” (FAIR Media Advisory, <a href="" type="internal">5/6/13</a>)</p>
<p>-“How the Pentagon Corrupted Afghanistan,” by Dilip Hiro (TomDispatch.com, <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175677/" type="external">4/2/13</a>)</p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p> | Peter Hart on Syria and Sarin, Dilip Hiro on Afghan Corruption | true | http://fair.org/counterspin-radio/peter-hart-on-syria-and-sarin-dilip-hiro-on-afghan-corruption/ | 2013-05-10 | 4 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Kawhi Leonard is headed back to the sidelines, and he’ll stay there until his leg is ready.</p>
<p>The San Antonio Spurs decided to shut their All-Star forward down Wednesday, saying Leonard would be out indefinitely as he continues his recovery from injury.</p>
<p>“We didn’t feel he was ready. His confidence level wasn’t there, so we decided to give it some more time,” coach Gregg Popovich said before the Spurs played the Brooklyn Nets.</p>
<p>Leonard has played in just nine games after missing the beginning of the season because of right quadriceps tendinopathy. He also was sidelined briefly because of a shoulder injury.</p>
<p>Popovich said Leonard hadn’t sustained another injury, but also didn’t seem confident in his ability to play at the level that had him finishing third in the voting for NBA MVP last season.</p>
<p>“He didn’t reinjure it or anything but he was having pain, but not right after games, but maybe the next day at noon or that kind of thing and so the pain wasn’t dissipating,” Popovich said. “It wasn’t going in the right direction, it was going the other way and you’ve got to be confident in your body to go out there and play at the level that he’s expected to play.</p>
<p>“So if we’re going to err, I’m going to do it on the conservative side and just decided we’re going to go back to the rehab and the strength and all that, try to get him more whole before we get him back out on the court.”</p>
<p>Popovich said Leonard would be back this season.</p>
<p>Leonard, who twice was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 16.2 points this season.</p>
<p>Starting guards Tony Parker and Danny Green have also battled injuries this season and were playing Wednesday under minutes restrictions. The injuries have hindered the Spurs, who went to the Western Conference finals last year but were only a half-game ahead of Minnesota for third place going into Wednesday’s play.</p>
<p>“It’s a horrible situation. It’s bad,” Popovich said. “The players look right and left, they don’t know who’s going to be there from night to night, and it’s tough to get a rhythm and get a flow to the game for sure. But every team’s got problems they’ve got to take care of, so ours are no worse than anybody else’s.</p>
<p>“But to play with the big boys you’ve got to have all your guys, and so we’ve got to have them ready if we think we’re going to have anything to do with the end of the season.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP basketball: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball</a></p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Kawhi Leonard is headed back to the sidelines, and he’ll stay there until his leg is ready.</p>
<p>The San Antonio Spurs decided to shut their All-Star forward down Wednesday, saying Leonard would be out indefinitely as he continues his recovery from injury.</p>
<p>“We didn’t feel he was ready. His confidence level wasn’t there, so we decided to give it some more time,” coach Gregg Popovich said before the Spurs played the Brooklyn Nets.</p>
<p>Leonard has played in just nine games after missing the beginning of the season because of right quadriceps tendinopathy. He also was sidelined briefly because of a shoulder injury.</p>
<p>Popovich said Leonard hadn’t sustained another injury, but also didn’t seem confident in his ability to play at the level that had him finishing third in the voting for NBA MVP last season.</p>
<p>“He didn’t reinjure it or anything but he was having pain, but not right after games, but maybe the next day at noon or that kind of thing and so the pain wasn’t dissipating,” Popovich said. “It wasn’t going in the right direction, it was going the other way and you’ve got to be confident in your body to go out there and play at the level that he’s expected to play.</p>
<p>“So if we’re going to err, I’m going to do it on the conservative side and just decided we’re going to go back to the rehab and the strength and all that, try to get him more whole before we get him back out on the court.”</p>
<p>Popovich said Leonard would be back this season.</p>
<p>Leonard, who twice was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 16.2 points this season.</p>
<p>Starting guards Tony Parker and Danny Green have also battled injuries this season and were playing Wednesday under minutes restrictions. The injuries have hindered the Spurs, who went to the Western Conference finals last year but were only a half-game ahead of Minnesota for third place going into Wednesday’s play.</p>
<p>“It’s a horrible situation. It’s bad,” Popovich said. “The players look right and left, they don’t know who’s going to be there from night to night, and it’s tough to get a rhythm and get a flow to the game for sure. But every team’s got problems they’ve got to take care of, so ours are no worse than anybody else’s.</p>
<p>“But to play with the big boys you’ve got to have all your guys, and so we’ve got to have them ready if we think we’re going to have anything to do with the end of the season.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP basketball: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball</a></p> | Spurs’ Leonard out indefinitely to continue injury rehab | false | https://apnews.com/1decc2e22a8b4f9790e6d4a073e759a1 | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip has killed one Palestinian militant and wounded another, hours after two rockets were fired from the coastal enclave into southern Israel as an Egyptian-brokered truce entered its second day.</p>
<p>An Israeli military spokeswoman <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E8HM80920120622?sp=true" type="external">confirmed to Reuters</a> that the strike had taken place, while a Hamas medical official told the news agency that the attack had targeted the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-06-22/israel-airstrike-kills-gaza-militant" type="external">According to the Associated Press</a>, the Israeli military said the militant killed was preparing to launch rockets at the Jewish state.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/120619/hamas-fires-rockets-israel-after-airstrikes" type="external">Hamas fires rockets into Israel after airstrikes kill six</a></p>
<p>The Palestinian killed Friday is the ninth Gazan to die in an Israeli airstrike since Monday, when two militants crossed into Israel from the lawless Sinai peninsula and opened fire on civilians working on the construction of a border security fence, killing one. The Israeli military says more than 130 rockets and mortars have rained down on southern Israeli towns from Gaza since Monday, <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E8HM80920120622?sp=true" type="external">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hfeDEXdSJs7PMSCNYZNhnt9em8Vw?docId=CNG.179913c44dd9501c1000b7589c1a0fa1.211" type="external">According to the Agence France Presse</a>, two rockets struck the south on Friday but did not result in casualties or damage to property. Israeli military officials say the increase in air strikes on Gaza are "in no way related" to Monday's cross-border attack.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/120618/israel-outdoor-opera-carmen" type="external">Bombing in the Israeli desert?</a></p> | Israeli air strike on Gaza kills militant after rockets fired | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-06-22/israeli-air-strike-gaza-kills-militant-after-rockets-fired | 2012-06-22 | 3 |
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<p>When former University of New Mexico track letterman Steve Ross heard that the Corporate Cup Track and Field Meet had been reincarnated after a successful run in the 1980s and early 1990s, the 61-year-old shot-putter was eager to sign up.</p>
<p>It was much the same for Albuquerque’s Aldie Alfaro, 48, who in the early 1980s was a member of the Adams State women’s cross-country team that finished third in the NAIA championships. She plans to run the mile in Saturday’s event at the Albuquerque Convention Center.</p>
<p>Competition is open to employees of New Mexico businesses, firms and corporations who are older than 21 (no current college athletes) and will consist of 11 different events in men’s, women’s and coed divisions.</p>
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<p>In the case of Ross, who is director of advancement at St. Pius High, it’s not like his track duds have been gathering dust since his Lobo days in 1972-73.</p>
<p>This summer, for instance, he will travel to Cleveland for the National Senior Games. In 2005, he was in Edmonton, Alberta, to take part in the World Senior Games and earned a silver medal in the shot with a throw of 47 feet, 2 inches and also was fourth in the discus.</p>
<p>Two years ago in Albuquerque he won his 55-59 age bracket in the USA Masters Indoor Championships at the Convention Center, easily beating out approximately seven competitors with a heave of 44-9½.</p>
<p>“I’ve always worked out. I still lift weights,” he said in a phone interview Monday. “I’ve kept up training and as a result it’s allowed me to compete in track and field in the Senior Games. … It’s a great outlet. It’s fun, and the other thing it’s been interesting because I’ve run into people I competed against in college.</p>
<p>“Typically, I throw three times a week and try to get in 20 to 25 tosses. But I kind of have to watch it because I’m more prone to muscle pulls. In my mind I’m still in my 20s and think I can do anything.”</p>
<p>He said when he threw in the 50s age groups the competition was a bit keener than he experiences in the 60s.</p>
<p>“In the 60s it’s who’s been able to keep their bodies up,” he said. “Some have had knee surgeries or heart attacks. Sometimes it’s just about genetics or being lucky.</p>
<p>“When I first started competing in the Seniors, I had messed up my elbow, so I was feeling sorry for myself. When I got to the meet, one guy’s got knee braces; another guy’s like a mummy, he’s so wrapped up. That was an eye-opener.”</p>
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<p>One benefit of advancing age for shot-putters is that the shot gets lighter. Whereas Ross was throwing the 16-pound ball at UNM, where he said his best was 55 feet, on Saturday the weight will be slightly more than 11 pounds.</p>
<p>Alfaro, conversely, hasn’t exactly been keeping up with her specialty.</p>
<p>“I retired from competitive running in 1999,” said Alfaro, a St. Pius High alumna and a Spanish teacher at the Public Academy for Performing Arts. “Many years ago I did four or five Corporate Cups. I was mainly a 5K runner in college. I also ran track in high school.”</p>
<p>In fact, she’s a past winner of a 5K road race in Cup competition. And now, after a 14-year break, she’s back at it.</p>
<p>“I started up again six weeks ago — a 6:30 is what I think I can do,” she said. “I’m still in fairly decent shape.”</p>
<p>She’ll be placed in a classification with other 40-year-olds.</p>
<p>“I hope so, because I don’t want to run against the 20-year-olds,” she said.</p>
<p>Alfaro said she was motivated by the chance to run in the Convention Center.</p>
<p>“I have never competed indoors, and when the opportunity came up it lit the fire,” said Alfaro, who said she has equal doses of anxiety and excitement as the Cup approaches. “I’m looking forward to see what I can do at age 49 or almost. I’m actually resting a little bit (this week). My body is starting to let me know.”</p> | Corporate Cup all business | false | https://abqjournal.com/238876/corporate-cup-all-business.html | 2 |
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<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>SomeNovavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) shareholders were probably feeling pretty good in the early days of September. While the stock had lost nearly half of its value year to date in May, most of that loss had been recovered in the subsequent months. But on Sept. 15, Novavax announced the stunning news that its RSV F vaccine, against a virus that causes acute respiratory disease, didn't prove to be effective for older adults in the phase 3 Resolve trial. Shares plunged more than 80% overnight.</p>
<p>What Novavax went through is something of a biotech stock equivalent of a plane crash. When a plane crashes, the Federal Aviation Administration investigates what happened to learn how to better prevent future disasters. That approach is a good idea for investors also: Learn from failures. With that in mind, here are three lessons for biotech investors from Novavax's huge vaccine flop.</p>
<p>If you'd read only the headline of Novavax's press release about the results of its earlier phase 2 RSV F vaccine clinical trial in older adults, you'd probably have come away thinking all was well. After all, the company announced "positive top-line data."</p>
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<p>Likewise, Novavax's management team expressed enthusiasm about the phase 2 results. Gregory Glenn, senior vice president of research and development, said that the efficacy data represented "a historic advance for the field." CEO Stanley Erck chimed in that the company was "thrilled by the groundbreaking efficacy" of the vaccine.</p>
<p>Buried in the phase 2 results, though, was a statistical detail that ultimately proved to be critical. Those results came with a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/06/27/making-big-bucks-with-biotech-why-the-p-test-is-ke.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">p-value Opens a New Window.</a> of only 0.041. P-values are used to determine the statistical significance of a test. A p-value of 0.041 means that, statistically speaking, there was a 4.1% probability that those good results for Novavax's vaccine were due to chance. That might not seem like a big deal since 0.05 is the generally-accepted threshold for a successful trial, but a p-value that close to the cutoff generated <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/29/investors-are-betting-big-against-novavax-inc-are.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considerable skepticism Opens a New Window.</a> over the phase 2 results.As it turned out at the conclusion of the phase 3 trial, the skepticism was warranted.</p>
<p>Biotech investors should read through clinical results carefully. Pay attention to the number of patients participating in the study. Look at the p-value. Also note whether the clinical trial follows an intent-to-treat approach or a per-protocol analysis. The former includes all results from all patients, while the latter excludes resultsfor any patient who started treatment but later violated protocol of the study. Intent-to-treat is preferred by most researchers.</p>
<p>It's easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm of a clinical-stage biotech. That's especially true when you see investment analysts who spend lots of time studying the biotech throw out attractive price targets and peak annual sales projections. However, analysts don't always get it right.</p>
<p>What were analysts saying about Novavax prior to the disastrous phase 3 results? Two big-name investment firms maintained buy ratings for the biotech. Another two firms maintained overweight ratings for Novavax. A fifth company gave an outperform rating to the stock.Going back to July, seven out of eight analysts recommended Novavax as a buy or strong buy. Only one analyst maintained a hold rating on the stock.</p>
<p>How could so many be so wrong? Analysts can get caught up in the enthusiasm themselves at times. They can also place less importance on details that actually are very important, like the p-value mentioned earlier. Don't depend too heavily on analysts' projections.</p>
<p>Yes, the poor results from the Resolve phase 3 study dealt a crippling blow to Novavax. That doesn't mean that the biotech or its RSV F vaccine is finished, though.</p>
<p>Novavax is investigating potential reasons behind the negative outcome of the phase 3 study. One detail mentioned was that the attack rates (i.e., the measure of how quickly a virus spreads) for RSV F acute respiratory disease in older adults is historically between 3% and 7%. In the phase 2 clinical trial for the company's vaccine, the attack rate was 4.9%. However, in the phase 3 study the attack rate was 2%.</p>
<p>It's possible that Novavax will uncover something in its research that might be cause for some optimism. The company plans to provide more information in its investorand analyst meeting onOct. 11. In the meantime, other clinical trials for the RSV F vaccine continue.</p>
<p>Biotech investors will occasionally experience the agony of late-stage clinical failures. Losing a battle doesn't necessarily mean losing the war, though. Companies sometimes can determine what went wrong and fix it. We'll find out over the coming months if Novavax can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2518&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFishBiz/info.aspx" type="external">Keith Speights Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Biotech Investing Lessons From Novavax's Huge Vaccine Flop | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/06/3-biotech-investing-lessons-from-novavax-huge-vaccine-flop.html | 2016-10-06 | 0 |
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<p>The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday the country may start to see a small number of drug shortages within two or three weeks due to delays in restoring manufacturing operations in Puerto Rico, where 10 percent of drugs prescribed in the United States are made.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Hurricane Maria slammed into the Caribbean island on Sept. 20, knocking out electricity and causing widespread damage to homes and infrastructure. Almost three weeks later, just 16 percent of electricity service has been restored to the U.S. territory.</p>
<p>Drugmakers are working to get facilities fully online, but face an uncertain power supply and difficulty obtaining materials used in the manufacturing process.</p>
<p>"A lot of companies say they're online, but they basically have one of five lines running at 20 percent or 80 percent or 50 percent," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told Reuters in an interview in New York. "They are not manufacturing at full capacity. They are manufacturing well short of that."</p>
<p>"It's unclear when they are going to be able to bring that up to full capacity," he said.</p>
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<p>Asked when U.S. hospitals and pharmacies might see shortages as a result, he said: "You might see some in the next two or three weeks if there's going to be additional shortages coming out of this situation."</p>
<p>The FDA has warned of 40 drugs made in Puerto Rico that could face shortages, including treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV, but has not named specific medicines.</p>
<p>Most major drug companies have manufacturing facilities on the island, including Merck &amp; Co, Johnson and Johnson , Amgen Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Eli Lilly and Co, Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca and GSK</p>
<p>The FDA leader said he wants drugmakers to provide the public with more information about the extent of the problems they are facing. He said the plants were all relying on backup generators for electricity, some of which were not designed to operate for sustained periods of time.</p>
<p>"I'm going to ask some of these companies to be a little more transparent around some of these issues," he said, adding that improvements would likely come slowly, with potential setbacks along the way. "As time goes on, we're going to see secondary impacts like the generators could start going down."</p>
<p>Of the list of drugs being closely monitored by FDA, 14 medicines are sourced solely out of Puerto Rico, Gottlieb said.</p>
<p>He said the agency was working with drugmakers to consider approving manufacturing sites in other countries, such as Mexico, Canada or Ireland, to alleviate possible shortages if companies have plants there.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Caroline Humer and Michael Erman in New York and Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Bill Rigby)</p> | Pharma's Puerto Rico problems could mean drug shortages in US | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/10/pharmas-puerto-rico-problems-could-mean-drug-shortages-in-us.html | 2017-10-10 | 0 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>By&#160; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dont-Forget-How-America-Got-Screwed-Up/102702636451536" type="external">“Don’t Forget How America Got Screwed Up…”</a></p>
<p>History truly does repeat itself. &#160;Sometimes in frighteningly similar ways.</p>
<p>We all know how the Republican Party started out as the Party of Lincoln, the Great Emancipator who took a political ‘states-rights’ issue and raised the ante to set America on the moral high ground with a bloody civil war that ended legalized slavery of African-Americans. &#160;Blacks were forever indebted to Mr. Lincoln and his Republican Party for its commitment to their freedom.</p>
<p>But, that all changed with another Republican, Herbert Hoover. &#160;In the 1920s, Hoover was the Secretary of Commerce under Republican Calvin Coolidge. &#160;Hoover was to Coolidge as “Brownie” was to George W. Bush. &#160;And just like the Bush Administration, Coolidge’s Admin had to handle a natural catastrophe similar in scope to Katrina. &#160;Fortunately, Hoover was a smarter administrator than Brownie and managed the relief work admirably. &#160;Unfortunately he was a lying, manipulative, power-hungry Republican that would have made Dick Cheney proud.</p>
<p>Here’s the story:</p>
<p>The&#160;Great Mississippi Flood of 1927&#160;broke the banks and&#160;levees&#160;of the lower Mississippi River in early 1927, resulting in flooding of millions of acres and leaving one and a half million people displaced from their homes. Although such a disaster did not fall under the duties of the Commerce Department, the governors of six states along the Mississippi specifically asked for Herbert Hoover in the emergency. President Calvin Coolidge sent Hoover to mobilize state and local authorities, militia, army engineers, the Coast Guard, and the&#160;American Red Cross.</p>
<p>With a grant from the&#160;Rockefeller Foundation, Hoover set up health units to work in the flooded regions for a year. These workers stamped out&#160;malaria,&#160;pellagra, and&#160;typhoid fever&#160;from many areas. His work during the flood brought Herbert Hoover to the front page of newspapers almost everywhere, and he gained new accolades as a humanitarian. The great victory of his relief work, he stressed, was not that the government rushed in and provided all assistance; it was that much of the assistance available was provided by private citizens and organizations in response to his appeals. “I suppose I could have called in the Army to help,” he said, “but why should I, when I only had to call upon Main Street.”</p>
<p />
<p>The horrible treatment of African Americans during the disaster, however, endangered Hoover’s reputation as a humanitarian. Local officials brutalized blacks and prevented them from leaving relief camps, aid meant for African-American&#160;sharecroppers&#160;was often given to the landowners instead, and many times black males were conscripted by locals into forced labor, sometimes at gun point. &#160;Knowing the potential ramifications on his presidential aspirations if such knowledge became public, Hoover struck a deal with&#160;Robert Moton, the prominent&#160;African-American&#160;successor to&#160;Booker T. Washington&#160;as president of the&#160;Tuskegee Institute. In exchange for keeping the suffering of African Americans out of the public eye, Hoover promised unprecedented influence for African Americans if he was elected president. Moton agreed, and consistent with the accommodationist philosophy of Washington, worked actively to suppress information about mistreatment of blacks from being revealed to the media. Following election, Hoover broke his promises. This led to an African-American backlash in the 1932 election that shifted allegiance from the Republican party to the Democrats. &#160;That was the year, of course, that American first elected Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt.</p>
<p>Original Southern strategy;</p>
<p>To gain Republican votes in&#160;Southern&#160;states, Hoover pioneered an electoral tactic later known as the “Southern Strategy”. Hoover ousted many&#160;African American&#160;leaders in the Republican party, and replaced them with&#160;whites. Hoover’s appeal to white voters yielded substantial results, including Republican victories in&#160;Tennessee,&#160;North Carolina, Florida,&#160;Virginia, and&#160;Texas. It marked the first time a Republican candidate for president carried Texas.</p>
<p>This outraged the black leadership, which largely broke from the Republican Party, and began seeking candidates who supported&#160;civil rights&#160;within the&#160;Democratic Party.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover" type="external">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover</a></p>
<p>This “Southern Strategy” would be used again by Republicans in the 1950s &amp; 1960s to drive a racial wedge between black and white Democrats during the struggle for civil rights and desegregation. &#160; Republicans never unite….they ALWAYS divide to conquer.</p> | How Lincoln’s Republicans became Franklin Roosevelt’s Democrats | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2011/07/05/how-lincolns-republicans-became-fdrs-democrats/ | 2011-07-05 | 4 |
<p>There has been a significant increase in the number of indigenous people and environmental activists killed over land disputes in Brazil, as human rights experts warn of a dangerous political mood in the nation.</p>
<p>New research shared with Greenpeace’s&#160;Energydesk&#160;by Brazilian human rights NGO&#160; <a href="https://cptnacional.org.br/" type="external">Comissão Pastoral da Terra (CPT)</a>, shows that 37 people have been killed in the first six months of the year in rural land conflicts, eight more than at the same time in 2016.</p>
<p>The data comes as President Temer’s right-wing government has cut funding dramatically for the country’s indigenous rights agency, Funai.</p>
<p>CPT, which has been collecting data on rural violence since 1985, has found that so far the number of people killed in these disputes is set to exceed last year’s&#160;figures, when 61 people died.</p>
<p>At the end of April, violence against indigenous people in Brazil made&#160; <a href="" type="internal">international headlines</a>, as 13 members of the Gamela community in Maranhão state were attacked by farmers wielding machetes in brutal land dispute.</p>
<p>A couple of week’s earlier, nine people were stabbed and shot over a territorial dispute in Mato Grosso state, in the Amazon.</p>
<p>Jeane Bellini, national coordinator of CPT told&#160;Energydesk&#160;that recent years have a significant increase in the number of people being killed in rural land conflicts.</p>
<p>Bellini believes the current political turmoil in Brazil, the former President Dilma Rousseff was ousted last year while sitting President Michel Temer is embroiled in a corruption scandal, has helped fuel the violence:</p>
<p>“Rural violence has accelerated under President Temer.&#160;Actually, it isn’t only the government. I would say that the political instability created by all of those irresponsible people in congress, as well as Temer and his government have added. I mean, they’re doing things that are completely against the needs and the rights of the people.”</p>
<p>Indigenous rights agency cut</p>
<p>Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, told&#160;Energydesk&#160;that there is a close correlation between the government’s moves to cut the agency and the increase in violence. She explained:</p>
<p>“There is increased violence because the offices of Funai at the state levels are not functioning anymore. Funai is the only government agency trusted by Indigenous people. People look up to Funai to protect them. Now there is nobody trying to protect them.”</p>
<p>Tauli-Corpuz visited Brazil at the end of last year and found government agencies unable to function. She told&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Energydesk</a>&#160;in December that she visited Funai regional offices which had no staff:</p>
<p>“We went to the office in Bahia and there was no one there. There have been huge cutbacks, and they have continued since I came back from my trip … I have a sense that the situation in the country is deteriorating.”</p>
<p>Months later, the UNSR said that the recommendations she made to Brazilian officials have not been addressed.</p>
<p>In May, a congressional committee led by a powerful farming lobby moved to&#160; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-39944744" type="external">replace the indigenous rights agency</a>&#160;with a body controlled by the justice ministry – a move which campaigners believe could have terrible consequences.</p>
<p>Impunity</p>
<p>According to Bellini, a culture of impunity around rural killings in Brazil is also to blame for the worsening situation. CPT states that of the 1,800 killings the organisation has recorded since 1985, only 112 ended up in court with very few ending with conviction.</p>
<p>She said:&#160;“Given all the political instability in Brazil since last year, those who are looking to accumulate land, in whatever way they can, have found an opportunity to accelerate the process and apparently they feel quite convinced of impunity.”</p>
<p>In response to this story, Amnesty International Brazil – which uses CPT’s data in its own work – sent us the following statement.</p>
<p>“Amnesty International believes, that in the light of the recent attack on the Gamela community in Maranhão state, it is absolutely essential that the Brazilian government makes a strong statement committing to upholding the Constitutional obligations to demarcate and deliver Indigenous Peoples’ ancestral lands.</p>
<p>“Funai must be strengthened, by making available necessary financial resources, and recent appointments to the agency should be reviewed, in order to ensure that those in leadership positions in the agency have the necessary political independence to do their job.</p>
<p>“The Brazilian government must ensure security to human rights defenders and withdraw any initiatives to criminalize or limit their work.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Deaths in the Amazon: Increase in Indigenous Killings as Brazil’s Political Crisis Deepens | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/06/30/deaths-in-the-amazon-increase-in-indigenous-killings-as-brazils-political-crisis-deepens/ | 2017-06-30 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Santa Fe has the most expensive water (among 30 cities surveyed) for a typical family using 100 gallons per person per day, according to the latest annual survey by the water news site <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2013/world/the-price-of-water-2013-up-nearly-7-percent-in-last-year-in-30-major-u-s-cities-25-percent-rise-since-2010/?utm_source=feedly" type="external">Circle of Blue</a>.</p>
<p>In what has become a useful annual effort, Brett Walton at Circle of Blue surveyed the 20 largest U.S. cities along with 10 selected regionally (with Santa Fe in that list). In his writeup, Walton notes that water rates around the country are rising faster than inflation, in part a response to the success of water conservation efforts:</p>
<p>Many utilities are selling less of their product.</p>
<p>In some ways, this is a success. Conservation messages and water-saving incentives have struck a chord, delaying the need to develop new sources of drinking water, which tend to be more expensive than earlier projects. The spread of water-efficient appliances has also dampened demand.</p>
<p>All this change has shaken a rather conservative industry. As utilities sell less water, the tried-and-true business model is faltering. That model was based on water sales, which account for roughly four out of every five dollars in utility revenue, on average. Most costs, however, have to be paid regardless of how much water is sold.</p>
<p>Santa Fe’s average monthly bill of $153.78 for a family of four using a typical amount of water was the highest in Walton’s survey.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Santa Fe’s water rates highest in 30-city U.S. survey | false | https://abqjournal.com/209394/santa-fes-water-rates-highest-in-30-city-u-s-survey.html | 2013-06-11 | 2 |
<p>EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Mark Dantonio and Michigan State clearly have their swagger back.</p>
<p>Long before the 18th-ranked Spartans routed 21st-ranked Washington State 42-17 in <a href="" type="internal">the Holiday Bowl</a> on Thursday night, they had already proven their dismal 2016 was an aberration. That 3-9 season was a blemish, no doubt, but Michigan State rebounded in a big way in 2017, going 10-3 with a young team that now seems poised to make a run at a Big Ten title next year.</p>
<p>“I think the biggest thing you learn as a young person or as a coach or anybody, is to get up after you’ve been knocked down,” Dantonio said after Thursday’s game, his 100th win as Michigan State’s coach. “Whether you’re in a corporation or whether you’re in a sport, or whether you’re a coach, the ability to stand up and continue to persevere when things don’t look so well for you. Our football team did that. We came in with a mindset this year and came in with the goals.”</p>
<p>Not much was expected of this year’s Spartans. If they could return to the postseason and avoid the type of <a href="" type="internal">off-field problems</a> that damaged the program’s reputation the previous offseason, that would be a step in the right direction. Anything more than that seemed like a stretch.</p>
<p>But by midseason, the Spartans were back in the Big Ten title race, and although those hopes fell apart in a blowout loss at Ohio State in November, Michigan State still has a lot to be pleased with. The Spartans won at Michigan in October, beating their biggest rival for the eighth time in 10 years. They also beat Penn State in early November, and the bowl victory was the most lopsided in program history.</p>
<p>“We can build off momentum that this game brings us, and with a lot of young guys, a lot of work to be done and a lot of potential to be reached,” quarterback Brian Lewerke said.</p>
<p>The Spartans are only two years removed from their appearance in the College Football Playoff. Their terrible 2016 record raised concerns that the program might be sliding back, leaving Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan as the main title threats within the division — but now, Michigan State clearly belongs in that category again heading into 2018.</p>
<p>Lewerke still has two years of eligibility left, and junior running back LJ Scott indicated in a Fox Sports 1 postgame interview that he’d be returning to East Lansing next season. In the bowl, only one offensive starter — lineman Brian Allen — and two on defense — lineman Demetrius Cooper and linebacker Chris Frey — were seniors.</p>
<p>Now it’s reasonable for the Spartans to dream big again — the way they’ve done for so much of Dantonio’s tenure.</p>
<p>“We take ours one at a time. So first one is winning the East, and then the Big Ten championship,” receiver Felton Davis said. “And then put ourselves into a position to win the national championship.”</p>
<p>Michigan State’s nonconference schedule next year includes a trip to Arizona State, but the Spartans will be at home for crucial Big Ten matchups with Michigan and Ohio State, and that should only boost expectations even more. After a year of doubt and discontent, Michigan State has reasserted itself.</p>
<p>“I would like to say we’re back, but 2018 is around the corner. So you can’t say that because you’ve got to start proving yourself all over again,” Dantonio said. “But this was as great of a football season that I have had as a coach because of where we came from and what we were able to accomplish.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a> .</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Noah Trister at <a href="http://www.Twitter.com/noahtrister" type="external">www.Twitter.com/noahtrister</a></p>
<p>EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Mark Dantonio and Michigan State clearly have their swagger back.</p>
<p>Long before the 18th-ranked Spartans routed 21st-ranked Washington State 42-17 in <a href="" type="internal">the Holiday Bowl</a> on Thursday night, they had already proven their dismal 2016 was an aberration. That 3-9 season was a blemish, no doubt, but Michigan State rebounded in a big way in 2017, going 10-3 with a young team that now seems poised to make a run at a Big Ten title next year.</p>
<p>“I think the biggest thing you learn as a young person or as a coach or anybody, is to get up after you’ve been knocked down,” Dantonio said after Thursday’s game, his 100th win as Michigan State’s coach. “Whether you’re in a corporation or whether you’re in a sport, or whether you’re a coach, the ability to stand up and continue to persevere when things don’t look so well for you. Our football team did that. We came in with a mindset this year and came in with the goals.”</p>
<p>Not much was expected of this year’s Spartans. If they could return to the postseason and avoid the type of <a href="" type="internal">off-field problems</a> that damaged the program’s reputation the previous offseason, that would be a step in the right direction. Anything more than that seemed like a stretch.</p>
<p>But by midseason, the Spartans were back in the Big Ten title race, and although those hopes fell apart in a blowout loss at Ohio State in November, Michigan State still has a lot to be pleased with. The Spartans won at Michigan in October, beating their biggest rival for the eighth time in 10 years. They also beat Penn State in early November, and the bowl victory was the most lopsided in program history.</p>
<p>“We can build off momentum that this game brings us, and with a lot of young guys, a lot of work to be done and a lot of potential to be reached,” quarterback Brian Lewerke said.</p>
<p>The Spartans are only two years removed from their appearance in the College Football Playoff. Their terrible 2016 record raised concerns that the program might be sliding back, leaving Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan as the main title threats within the division — but now, Michigan State clearly belongs in that category again heading into 2018.</p>
<p>Lewerke still has two years of eligibility left, and junior running back LJ Scott indicated in a Fox Sports 1 postgame interview that he’d be returning to East Lansing next season. In the bowl, only one offensive starter — lineman Brian Allen — and two on defense — lineman Demetrius Cooper and linebacker Chris Frey — were seniors.</p>
<p>Now it’s reasonable for the Spartans to dream big again — the way they’ve done for so much of Dantonio’s tenure.</p>
<p>“We take ours one at a time. So first one is winning the East, and then the Big Ten championship,” receiver Felton Davis said. “And then put ourselves into a position to win the national championship.”</p>
<p>Michigan State’s nonconference schedule next year includes a trip to Arizona State, but the Spartans will be at home for crucial Big Ten matchups with Michigan and Ohio State, and that should only boost expectations even more. After a year of doubt and discontent, Michigan State has reasserted itself.</p>
<p>“I would like to say we’re back, but 2018 is around the corner. So you can’t say that because you’ve got to start proving yourself all over again,” Dantonio said. “But this was as great of a football season that I have had as a coach because of where we came from and what we were able to accomplish.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a> .</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Noah Trister at <a href="http://www.Twitter.com/noahtrister" type="external">www.Twitter.com/noahtrister</a></p> | Future looks bright again for Dantonio and Michigan State | false | https://apnews.com/b0b33c4d7e9a405f82463c15744044b1 | 2017-12-29 | 2 |
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<p>Q. I declared bankruptcy two years ago and I’m trying to turn my life around. I have a full-time job that just covers the bills. There’s not enough for savings, but I don’t have any new debt. I want to go back to college but I’m afraid my bankruptcy will be a problem for student loans, which I will need. What are my chances?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A. Your chances are pretty good, at least as far as the bankruptcy goes.</p>
<p>One of your best college funding opportunities is <a href="http://www.credit.com/loans/student-loans/student-articles/types-of-student-loan-programs-and-differences/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_1&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student" type="external">federal student loans Opens a New Window.</a>, which offer relatively low interest rates and attractive payment terms.</p>
<p>If you go that route,&#160; <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/525" type="external">you’re protected by law. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>“The fact that you filed for bankruptcy shouldn’t in and of itself stop you from qualifying,” siad Gerri Detweiler, director&#160;of consumer education for Credit.com. “Discriminating against someone who filed for bankruptcy is prohibited.”</p>
<p>Assuming that you&#160; <a href="http://njmoneyhelp.com/2014/12/23000-in-credit-card-debt-is-bankruptcy-the-best-option/" type="external">filed a Chapter 7 Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;and received a discharge, the bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for seven to 10 years.</p>
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<p>“There is no rule — and certainly no provision of the bankruptcy code —&#160;that says that if you have a bankruptcy on your credit report that you cannot obtain a loan — a student loan or otherwise,” said Ilissa Churgin Hook, an attorney with Hook &amp; Fatovich in Wayne, N.J..</p>
<p>Hook said lenders look at many factors, including overall credit score, current income, other financial obligations and overall ability to repay the loan. She said some of her clients have obtained credit cards, auto loans and even mortgages not long after receiving a Chapter 7 discharge. Those loans typically have a higher interest rate than someone with perfect credit would find, though, she said.</p>
<p>After a Chapter 7 discharge, as you make timely monthly payments on secured debts, such as a mortgage or car loan, or monthly payments due on other debts, your&#160;credit score will slowly rise,&#160;she said.</p>
<p>“The bottom line here is that while the bankruptcy may be a blemish on your <a href="http://www.credit.com/credit-reports/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_4&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student#what-is-a-credit-report" type="external">credit report Opens a New Window.</a>, it is not an absolute bar to you borrowing in the future,” she said. “The lender from which you seek a loan will most likely weigh many factors in deciding whether, and/or how much, to loan you.”</p>
<p>The fact that you don’t have all that old debt on your ledger — assuming it was discharged in the bankruptcy — helps your income to debt ratio, and arguably, your chances of getting a loan.</p>
<p>“Keep in mind that a <a href="http://www.credit.com/loans/student-loans/student-articles/private-student-loans-what-to-watch-out-for/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_5&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student" type="external">private lender Opens a New Window.</a> may have different lending criteria than a lender issuing a government insured student loan,” Hook said.</p>
<p>It would make sense for you to meet with someone in the school’s financial office to&#160; <a href="http://njmoneyhelp.com/2014/11/college_where_to_find_money/" type="external">learn more about&#160; Opens a New Window.</a>the criteria for financial aid or loans offered by the school and government insured student loans.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>More From Credit.com</p>
<p><a href="http://www.credit.com/debt/how-to-rebuild-your-credit-after-bankruptcy/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_1&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student" type="external">How to Rebuild Your Credit After Bankruptcy Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.credit.com/debt/how-to-rebuild-your-credit-after-bankruptcy/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_1&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.credit.com/debt/get-out-of-debt/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_2&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student" type="external">A Simple Checklist to Get Out of Debt Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.credit.com/debt/get-out-of-debt/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_2&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.credit.com/credit-scores/how-student-loans-can-impact-your-credit-score/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_3&amp;utm_campaign=bankruptcy_stop_student" type="external">How Student Loans Can Impact Your Credit Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>This article originally appeared on <a href="http://blog.credit.com/2015/01/consolidate-your-retirement-accounts-105963/" type="external">Credit.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Karin Price Mueller is an award-winning writer and money expert. She's the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com, a new website that offers smart and objective advice on everything money. She also writes the Bamboozled consumer affairs column for The Star-Ledger. Mueller has won several national and local journalism awards, including nods from the Society of Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), the New Jersey Press Association (NJPA) and the Financial Planning Association.</p> | Will a Bankruptcy Stop Me From Getting Student Loans? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/01/21/will-bankruptcy-stop-me-from-getting-student-loans.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>Following Donald Trump’s presidential election win, exchange traded fund investors have been selling off their emerging market exposure as the U.S. dollar strengthened and protectionist rhetoric scared off traders. Net redemptions from emerging market equity funds hit a five-week high in the latest week, with investors yanking $3.7 billion from emerging stock funds in the… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/12/investors-are-avoiding-emerging-market-etfs/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Investors Are Avoiding Emerging Market ETFs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/23/investors-are-avoiding-emerging-market-etfs.html | 2016-12-23 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE: EBS) releasedfourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. The company announced preliminary numbers in January so it could talk about the results at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference, but the actual numbers were slightly better.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Data source: Emergent BioSolutions.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
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<p>"On the M&amp;A front, we continue to target opportunities that maximize our core competencies and are accretive within 12 months of acquisition," Emergent's president and CEO Dan Abdun-Nabi said. "I remain confident that we will execute at least one meaningful acquisition in 2017."</p>
<p>Abdun-Nabi highlighted the EU directive that mandates that member states stockpile medical countermeasures to potential chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, which could boost Emergent's sales. "I see that evolving over the next 18 to 24 to 30 months, somewhere in that time horizon," he noted.</p>
<p>This year, management is looking for revenue of$500 million to $530 million, including BioThrax sales of$265 million to $280 million. The range brackets 2016's $510 million in revenue, but that includes revenue from products that were spun off into Aptevo Therapeutics (NASDAQ: APVO).</p>
<p>On a continuing operations basis, Emergent BioSolutions recorded $489 million in revenue in 2016, so there's potential for substantial growth on an apples-to-apples comparison.Adjusted net income is expected to land in the $70 million to $80 million range, bracketing the $77.5 million on a continuing operations basis that Emergent BioSolutions recorded in 2016.</p>
<p>Management also gave 2020 goals of having $1 billion in revenue with more than 10% of that coming from outside the U.S. The company is also looking to increase its net income margin to at least 13%. In 2020, Emergent is looking to have six products in clinical or advanced development.</p>
<p>The company is well on its way to meeting the last part of the goal, with NuThrax scheduled to enter phase 3 development in 2018, and three other products entering the clinic this year. Earlier this month, Emergent started a phase 1B trial for UV-4B, its Dengue antiviral therapeutic. And later this year, the company plans to start a phase 2 trial for its seasonal influenza hyperimmune therapeutic and a phase 1 trial for a Zika therapeutic.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Emergent BioSolutionsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=b428fd00-012b-41e5-b5fe-900118ae3625&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Emergent BioSolutions wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBiologyFool/info.aspx" type="external">Brian Orelli Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Emergent BioSolutions. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Emergent BioSolutions Inc Sets its Goal | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/24/emergent-biosolutions-inc-sets-its-goal.html | 2017-03-16 | 0 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — It must get confusing in the IT department at The Associated Press: Are you talking about the hackers who hacked our Twitter account or the Justice Department hackers who hacked our phones? Monday, The Associated Press reported that the Justice Department had secretly obtained two months of records of phone conversations by its reporters.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, The Washington Post revealed that the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups was more widespread than first reported. Someone at the IRS also leaked information about conservative groups to ProPublica.</p>
<p>The Environmental Protection Agency may also have made it easier for environmental groups to file Freedom of Information Act requests than conservative organizations.</p>
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<p>The Obama administration is doing a far better job making the case for conservatism than Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell, or John Boehner ever did. Showing is always better than telling, and when the government overreaches in so many ways it gives support to the conservative argument about the inherently rapacious nature of government.</p>
<p>Though some of these scandals will allow Republicans to score points in the daily tally of who is ahead and who is behind, there is a larger benefit to conservatives that goes beyond the fall in the president’s approval ratings or the boost Republican Senate candidates may get in 2014. Those outcomes rely on further adjudication of these issues.</p>
<p>It may turn out that President Barack Obama had nothing to do with any of them. It could simply be rogues in various agencies. Or, maybe President Obama orchestrated the whole kaleidoscope of wrongdoing on the White House whiteboard. You don’t have to embrace either of those theories to see that it’s much easier to agree with the conservative notion that government is a mess. We have enough evidence of that already.</p>
<p>Conservatives argue that the more government you have, the more opportunities you will have for it to grow out of control.</p>
<p>A conservative correspondent points to economist James Buchanan, who won the Nobel Prize in 1986 for his work studying economic incentives in government. His argument was that politicians are not benevolent agents of the common good but humans acting in their own self-interest or for a special interest. “If there is value to be gained through politics,” Buchanan wrote, “persons will invest resources in efforts to capture this value.” Since Democrats and Republicans alike are sinful, each side will find ways to work that are self-interested, rapacious and boundary-breaking. Keep the government small to limit the damage.</p>
<p>Whether these scandals are the result of base motives or a desire to act for the greater good, the eventual result is the destruction of individual liberties. Your IRS comes down on you because you have the wrong ideology or, in the name of protecting the citizenry, the Justice Department starts listening to your phone calls.</p>
<p>The confluence of these moments of government overreach may not swell the ranks of conservative clubs, but it could have an effect on policy.</p>
<p>As Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has long argued, conservatives believe not only in limited government, but limitations to sweeping acts by government. Large comprehensive bills like the proposed immigration reform and the Obama health care plan lead to too many unintended consequences. Alexander quotes Irving Kristol, who called himself a “policy skeptic.” His skepticism is rooted in what appears to have happened at the Justice Department, IRS and EPA: Big sprawling government inevitably gets out of hand.</p>
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<p>Seventy-three percent of the public already says they distrust the government, according to a Pew Research Center poll.</p>
<p>This moment may allow some insight into the views of those who opposed gun control legislation. During the debate over background checks, three Republicans senators who ultimately voted against the Manchin-Toomney compromise talked about “paranoia” among some gun owners about a national gun registry. The government would never go that far, these GOP senators believed, but their constituents did.</p>
<p>Not every conservative saw nightmares of a national gun registry, but if you are already skeptical of government solutions and Manchin-Toomey would have done nothing to prevent the massacre that gave birth to it — as its authors admitted — your inherent distrust of government would make you unlikely to support it.</p>
<p>If these scandals are affecting the ideological landscape, this is bad news for liberals.</p>
<p>Liberals believe that there is a role for government to play in mediating market failures, and there are plenty of stories of areas where the safety net is thinning as a result of sequestration — from cancer treatments to Meals-on-Wheels — where government should step in. But those stories get lost in the scandal coverage of an administration, making it look like conservatives fundamentally understand something that liberals do not.</p>
<p>Dickerson is Slate’s chief political correspondent.</p> | Obama proves conservatives’ point | false | https://abqjournal.com/199600/obama-proves-conservatives-point.html | 2013-05-16 | 2 |
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<p>Apple Inc said Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is demanding from the iPhone maker a far higher patent royalty than Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) pays to other companies, at a rate the South Korean company has never sought from any other licensee.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The information was contained in portions of an Apple legal brief freshly unsealed in U.S. court on Wednesday, and provides more detail about each side's negotiating position in the run-up to a high stakes trial set to begin next week.</p>
<p>In a separate filing, Samsung contended that its royalty demands are consistent with industry norms.</p>
<p>Also on Wednesday, a U.S. magistrate in San Jose, California, ruled that Samsung wrongly let employees delete emails that could have helped Apple pursue its $2.53 billion lawsuit over disputed patents. The magistrate, Judge Paul Grewal, also said that a jury may hold this matter against the South Korean company.</p>
<p>"We intend to appeal Judge Grewal's decision to the trial judge, and if necessary, to the Court of Appeals," Samsung said in a statement. "Samsung remains committed to complying with all information requests from the court."</p>
<p>A trial is scheduled to start in the San Jose federal court July 30.</p>
<p>LEGAL WAR</p>
<p>Apple and Samsung, the world's largest consumer electronics corporations, are waging legal war around the world, accusing each other of patent violations as they vie for supremacy in a fast-growing market for mobile devices.</p>
<p>One of the key issues in dispute between the companies is how to value Samsung's standard essential patents. These are patents which Samsung has agreed to license to competitors on fair and reasonable terms, in exchange for having the technology be adopted as an industry standard.</p>
<p>Some judges are reluctant to issue injunctions on such patents.</p>
<p>Samsung is demanding a 2.4 percent rate on the "entire selling price" of Apple's mobile products, Apple said in the court filing.</p>
<p>"Samsung's royalty demands are multiple times more than Apple has paid any other patentees for licenses to their declared-essential patent portfolios," Apple said.</p>
<p>The legal filings do not disclose the rate Apple pays to other companies for standard essential patents. In a court filing on Tuesday, Apple had said it should pay one-half of 1 cent per unit for each infringed standard essential patent.</p>
<p>However, Samsung said in a separate filing on Wednesday that its offer "is consistent with the royalty rates other companies charge" and that Apple never made a counter offer.</p>
<p>"Instead, it simply rejected Samsung's opening offer, refused to negotiate further and to this day has not paid Samsung a dime for Apple's use of Samsung's standards-essential technology," Samsung said.</p>
<p>In his ruling, Judge Grewal said Samsung "acted with conscious disregard of its obligations, or willfully", in failing to disable the auto-delete feature of its in-house "mySingle" email system by the time it should have known that Apple would sue over patents for technology used in smartphones and tablets.</p>
<p>"In effect, Samsung kept the shredder on," Grewal wrote. "This plan fell woefully short of the mark."</p>
<p>Grewal ordered that a jury be instructed that it may presume that it is more likely than not that Samsung destroyed evidence favorable to Apple after its duty to preserve that evidence had started.</p>
<p>The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang and Edmund Klamann)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Apple Says Samsung Patent Royalty Demands Unfair | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/07/25/apple-says-samsung-patent-royalty-demands-unfair.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News | RogerEbert.comRoger Ebert says he received more <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050301/ESSAYS/50303001" type="external">e-mails</a> about his one-star <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050224/REVIEWS/50214001/1001" type="external">review</a> of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" than he's received for any other review. Li Wang notes that across the nation, most critics panned the film, including black reviewers Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe and Lisa Kennedy of the Denver Post. &gt; <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050302/ESSAYS/50301001" type="external">Ebert: I don't buy theory that I'm a racist for panning "Black Woman" (RE)</a></p> | Ebert, other critics hear from angry "Black Woman" fans | false | https://poynter.org/news/ebert-other-critics-hear-angry-black-woman-fans | 2005-03-08 | 2 |
<p>BEIRUT, Lebanon — If you don’t “get” Lebanese politics, you are not alone. With a government divided between 18 sectarian groups, some of which have their own militias, there is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.</p>
<p>Last Saturday, after 10 months of negotiations, these divided parties finally managed to agree on a cabinet. This means for the past 10 months — while suicide bombers have struck on what has now become an almost weekly basis — Lebanon has been functioning essentially without a government. And this kind of thing happens every 4 years. So what kind of crazy system is this?</p>
<p>18 sectarian groups ... what the?</p>
<p>Sectarianism has been a key element of Lebanon's political makeup since the French set up this system on their departure in 1936. It ensures influence in government for all 18 recognized religious groups based on their percentage of the population. It also requires all public service positions to be divided equally along the same religious lines. Religious leaders control all aspects of civil life with their own individual civil laws and court systems that reflect their religious beliefs. Great idea in theory, right?</p>
<p>But in reality this quasi-federal religious state has kept Lebanese society deeply divided and has fueled sectarianism rather than nationalism.</p>
<p>The 18 religious groups <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/lebanon/religious-sects.htm" type="external">recognized</a> by Lebanon’s constitution include a Christian “majority” divided into 12 sects, four Muslim sects, the Druze religious community, and Judaism. The problem today is that this notion of a Christian majority, as well as the rest of this entire percentage system, is based on a census that was conducted 82 years ago. Christians stopped being the majority sometime in the 1960s, but there’s been no official national census to prove it. And the current ruling majority has no interest in conducting a new one.</p>
<p>Every 4 years when a new cabinet must be agreed on, each group make exorbitant population claims as they vie for an increased power share and squabble over key ministerial positions. If you add up the percentage of these various claims you'll pass 150 percent before you even start on the minorities – the Jews, Druze, Alawaites, Armenian Catholics, and so forth. But the most independent estimates place today's number of Christians between 35 and 40 percent of the population and Muslims at 54 percent, split equally between Sunni and Shia, leaving around 10 percent for the remaining minorities.</p>
<p>As a relatively small amendment, the parliamentary distribution between Christians and Muslims was changed from a 6:5 ratio to an equal share in 1989, but only after a bloody 15-year civil war.</p>
<p>When winning an election is only half the battle</p>
<p>"The US democratic system is very clear. Someone is president, someone is governor, there is a distinct opposition — their roles and jurisdiction are clearly defined so the decision making process is very fast," explained Lebanese political writer and lecturer Gaby Jammal in an interview with GlobalPost in Beirut.</p>
<p>Jammal explained that while in the US, the president is strong and influential, in Lebanon, he is no more than a "showroom." The prime minister is a product of the parliament, and is just as weak as the president. The parliament holds the real power. While it represents all the political parties, it is also a "victim of the tension between all these parties," Jamal said.</p>
<p>Regardless of who wins the parliamentary elections, no major decisions by the Lebanese government can be made without the consent of all major religious communities, even the election losers. So, unlike the parliamentary setup in the UK, for example, the country is not simply governed by an election-winning party or a coalition group and kept in check by an opposition. Nor yet is it a question, as in the US, of balancing majorities in Congress with a possible opposing party holding the presidency. Instead, the country must essentially be ruled by a coalition of all 18 religious groups.</p>
<p>And while in the US politicians tend to represent some combination of their own interests, their constituents’ interests, and their party’s interests (depending on your point of view), it’s clear that Lebanon’s system of distributing seats on the basis of religious affiliation means that politicians function more as representatives of the religious communities than as representatives of the whole nation or even of the districts that elected them.</p>
<p>Getting 18 groups and countless meddling foreigners to agree</p>
<p>Every four years, a new parliament is elected in a national election. The parliament elects a president every six years, and the parliament and president choose a prime minister. Sounds simple right?</p>
<p>But when any decision must be agreed on by representatives from 18 diverse religious groups, it leads to frequent deadlocks. Is it really so surprising it took 10 months for them to reach an agreement on the formation of a new government?</p>
<p>To throw an extra spanner into the equation, there are also the numerous outside influences.</p>
<p>“Everything related to Lebanese politics is historically influenced by international powers,” said Carnegie expert Mario Abou Zeid of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “Every party in Lebanon has international support from here and there so everything that is happening in the region will affect Lebanon. These regional powers can control and even change Lebanese domestic politics.</p>
<p>So essentially, not only do these 18 sectarian groups need to reach a compromise before a political decision can be made in Lebanon, but these international powers also need to agree.</p>
<p>The Lebanese identity crisis</p>
<p>Jammal describes these 18 sectarian groups as separate nations living under the umbrella of the Lebanese republic.</p>
<p>"The Lebanese do not have a national identification. They identify more with outside forces; like Shia with Iran, Sunni with Saudi Arabia, Christians with the Vatican and France," he said.</p>
<p>"They feel a closer connection to these outside nations than they do to their partners in the Lebanese republic; For example Christians are adamant 'we are not Arabs' and Sunni and Shia are like enemies these days. They do not behave with Lebanon like it is their eternal country, their homeland. It's a bus station that you wait in until you migrate. This is why there are 12 million Lebanese people living abroad."</p>
<p>Around 4.2 million remain in Lebanon.</p>
<p>The Syria backlash</p>
<p>When national unity is lacking, and international ties are strong, a nation becomes vulnerable to other people's problems.</p>
<p>Lebanon's biggest Shia political group Hezbollah have directly entered the Syrian conflict by sending in ground troops to support the interests of their international allies at the cost of further dividing their own nation.</p>
<p>Many Sunnis affiliate more with the Syrian rebel opposition than they do to their own Shia neighbors, which has led some to join extremist groups that carry out terrorist attacks like Wednesday's bombing in Beirut that killed 4 and injured 19 innocent Lebanese citizens.</p>
<p>In Tripoli, violent clashes erupt frequently between Sunni militants who support Syrian opposition groups and Alawite neighborhoods that hail Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as their own leader.</p>
<p>Now that the country actually has a government, will the situation improve? According to both Jammal and Abou Zeid, no.</p>
<p>“Yesterday we saw we had an explosion in the Hezbollah stronghold once again,” said Abou Zeid during a phone interview Thursday. “The key thing that would effect the security situation in Lebanon is the withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria. In the general public opinion, they feel Hezbollah is fighting in Syria for their own interests, not national interests and in spite of the negative affect it is having on the general security of the nation.”</p>
<p>If Hezbollah did withdraw their troops from Lebanon, Abou Zeid believes not only would it reduce these attacks but it would also lead to a new unity among the parties and increase domestic public support for Hezbollah. But as long they remain a part of the Syrian conflict, the explosions and attacks within Lebanon will increase. &#160;</p> | Why Lebanese politics are so messed up | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-02-22/why-lebanese-politics-are-so-messed | 2014-02-22 | 3 |
<p>When veteran U.K. music executive Max Lousada officially took over as Warner Music Group’s CEO of recorded music in October, it meant that the direction of all three major U.S. music groups was now in the hands of Brits. While Lousada reports to WMG CEO Stephen Cooper, an American, the British exec is more involved with the creative guidance of the company, as are fellow Englishmen <a href="http://variety.com/t/lucian-grainge/" type="external">Lucian Grainge</a> and <a href="http://variety.com/t/rob-stringer/" type="external">Rob Stringer</a>, chairman and CEO at <a href="http://variety.com/t/universal-music-group/" type="external">Universal Music Group</a> and CEO of <a href="http://variety.com/t/sony-music/" type="external">Sony Music</a>, respectively. &#160;The milestone marked a culmination of sorts for the British Invasion of 1964, which saw the Beatles jump-start the U.S. record business, helping it become a $14 billion-a-year behemoth by the turn of the century. And while this year British musical exports have been overshadowed on the pop charts by those of Sweden, Latin America and Canada, the global success of acts like Ed Sheeran and perennial platinum-plus songstress Adele are reminders of how potent the U.K. talent pool can be.</p>
<p>Arguably, the country’s executives have fared even better: Grainge and Capitol Music Group chief <a href="http://variety.com/t/steve-barnett/" type="external">Steve Barnett</a> named fellow Brit Ashley Newton as group president early last year; RCA chairman and CEO <a href="http://variety.com/t/peter-edge/" type="external">Peter Edge</a> and Island Records president David Massey rose through the ranks, both in the States and in Britain, within the past decade. They join other U.K. music execs who succeeded in the States, such as Chris Blackwell (founder of Island Records), Richard Branson (Virgin), Chris Wright and Terry Ellis (Chrysalis), Martin Mills (Beggars Group) and <a href="http://variety.com/t/simon-cowell/" type="external">Simon Cowell</a> (Syco Records).</p>
<p>So what’s the secret? Edge points to Britain’s global gaze. “Pop music has always been part of the national discussion in the U.K., and England has always been a country that looked out on what was going on in the rest of the world,” he says.</p>
<p>Edge, pictured below with A$AP Ferg, relocated to the States in 1993 after running his own Chrysalis-affiliated Cooltempo label (which released such hiphop originals as Doug E. Fresh, EPMD and Eric B. &amp; Rakim in Britain). Stints at Warner Bros., Arista and Clive Davis’ J Records — where he signed the likes of Alicia Keys, Dido and Angie Stone — led to his current post at RCA, home to rising stars Khalid and SZA, who earned a combined nine nominations for the 2018 Grammys.</p>
<p>Edge’s experience working with U.S. hip-hop artists in the mid-’80s, a genre the major labels left wide-open for indies like his Cooltempo imprint, was one reason he was able to transition so seamlessly.&#160;“That was the music I championed,” he says. “Coming to America was a natural progression for me. …&#160;England has always been a country that looked out on what was going on in the rest of the world. The U.K. looked to American R&amp;B and soul music and made a version of it that metamorphosed into British rock.”</p>
<p />
<p>CREDIT: DeC/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock</p>
<p>Of course, it’s not only the U.K. which has taken advantage of the music business’ digital-inspired globalization.&#160; As one industry wag put it, “Isn’t the business being run by a Ukrainian, a Frenchman, a Japanese and a Swede?” referring to WMG’s Len Blavatnik, Vivendi’s CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Sony’s Kaz Hirai and Spotify’s Daniel Ek.</p>
<p>Could it be the Brits’ ability to control budgets in an age of diminishing returns that has landed them in crucial executive roles? History is littered with instances of the Japanese tiring of the spendthrift ways of Walter Yetnikoff and Tommy Mottola, or BMG attempting to ease Clive Davis into an early retirement.</p>
<p>RCA’s Edge insists that’s no more than a stereotype, while Big Deal’s Kenny MacPherson points to the disaster of Guy Hands’ failed, go-for-broke Terra Firma takeover at EMI for exceptions to the rule. “There’s a sense that the American record executive is more willing to gamble, to ‘go for it,’” agrees Edge. “But it’s hard to generalize. I’ve known some British executives that spend like crazy – no names — and some American executives who have been frugal.&#160; Anyway, this is more than ever, a talent discovery business.”</p>
<p>So what is the throughline to the U.K. takeover of the American E-suite? With Grainge, Stringer and Edge all between the ages of 54 and 57, was there a band or a concert or a TV show they all saw that inspired them to go for a career in the music business? Ask this question, and you get different answers. Stringer credits his exposure to music to his hometown,&#160;Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, an hour west of London. The town housed a rock club where many of the top British acts played regularly in the 1970s and 1980s, including The Clash, David Bowie, Genesis and The Police. The 1,200-capacity room, which was named Friars, Vale Hall, Maxwell Hall and the Civic at different stages of its existence, was a regular haunt for the future executive and where he experienced life-changing shows in his formative years.</p>
<p>Starting at the age of 16, Stringer (pictured below with Mark Ronson) worked at the venue, run by local Dave Stopps, during holiday. “Aylesbury was a market town of 30,000 people but we had a rock club that everyone played, Stringer has said. “Dave Stopps inspired a whole generation from the town.”</p>
<p />
<p>CREDIT: Richard Young/REX/Shutterstock</p>
<p>Others point to the Sex Pistols’ first TV appearance in 1976 on Granada Television’s “So It Goes” program,&#160;hosted by&#160; Tony Wilson, who would go on to found Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub in Manchester. But most would agree that the biggest influence country-wide was radio — specifically the BBC, where programs weren’t restricted to specific formats and offered free-form playlists opening listeners to a wide swath of genres.</p>
<p>With the British today occupying the top creative slots at the three major U.S. music groups, it’s reminiscent of the original settlers landing at Plymouth Rock and holding forth.&#160;“The shock waves from Great Britain in the ‘60s are still being felt today in the record industry,” insists The Zombies’ Argent, but for Kenny MacPherson, that’s all in the rear-view mirror.</p>
<p>“I’ve now lived in America longer than I did in Britain, so my allegiances are split down the middle” he says, though he still speaks with that distinctive sing-song Scottish burr. “I’m always happy to see people do well from the country I came from, but I’ve been an American-phile for a while now. This country has been great to me and for me.&#160; I became an American citizen with pride. I love the U.S.A., warts and all.”</p>
<p>San Francisco-born Piero Giramonti, who spent time working for EMI Records in both London and Italy and is now co-GM for Harvest Records and Caroline Records Distribution, says the U.K. has always “punched above its weight” when it comes to the global music marketplace, and that technology may be leveling the playing field for execs making the trip across the Pond.</p>
<p>“Perhaps the problem was, coming to America in the past, you had to work for a while to develop relationships because this country is so vast,” he says. “In the digital era, the business has become much more seamlessly global. To a certain degree, those parochial, geographical barriers have been lifted.”</p>
<p>Back when the Zombies’ Rod Argent first heard Elvis Presley singing “Hound Dog” in the mid-’50s, the idea of Brits succeeding as musicians in America was a pipe dream. By the late 1960s, though, the Zombies could point to a string of hits in the U.S., particularly “She’s Not There.” “I always thought of American music — everything from Duke Ellington and Miles Davis to Ray Charles and Chuck Berry — as the real thing, while we were the imitators,” Argent says, noting that it wasn’t until the Beatles that British rock carved out its own niche. “By taking the music through that English filter, the Beatles proved to have an honest, intuitive, homespun take on American music.”</p>
<p>Taking that kind of success to another level, Zombies guitarist Paul Atkinson, who died in 2004, became a successful U.S. A&amp;R executive, signings acts like Mr. Mister and Bruce Hornsby (after he’d signed Abba to a music publishing deal when he worked for Dick James Music in London). “He was incredibly thorough,” says Argent of Atkinson. “He’d listen to every single demo he received.”</p>
<p>That may be another key to U.K. record executives’ success in the U.S. Opines British talent manager and veteran publicist Versa Manos, “It’s the work ethic.”</p>
<p>That’s certainly true of Martin Mills, whose Beggars Group empire includes the labels XL (Adele, Radiohead, Sampha), 4AD (The National, Bon Iver), Matador (Queens of the Stone Age, Spoon) and Rough Trade.</p>
<p>Yet Mills has chosen to keep his base in Britain even as his stateside operation has grown. “It matters less what country a CEO is employed in, or what nationality they are, than that they have a grasp of multi-territory overview and detail, and that they pay attention to and at least spend time in key markets,” he says. “The U.K. has always lived on its exports — it’s too small a market to exist on its own — hence the need to be outward looking. The U.S., on the other hand, has been large enough to exist on its own, hence a lesser historical imperative for global knowledge and experience, which has now become essential.”</p> | Rule Brittania: U.K. Executives Find Success Running Major U.S. Music Labels | false | https://newsline.com/rule-brittania-u-k-executives-find-success-running-major-u-s-music-labels/ | 2017-12-13 | 1 |
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<p>Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday:</p>
<p>1. IRMA DEALT HARSH BLOW TO FLORIDA KEYS</p>
<p>Search-and-rescue teams make their way to the Keys’ farthest reaches as federal officials estimate one-quarter of all homes on the islands were destroyed.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>2. ‘ONE MORE THING’</p>
<p>With a phrase paying homage to Steve Jobs, CEO Tim Cook unveils Apple’s latest — and, at $999, its most expensive — new version of the device, the iPhone X.</p>
<p>3. WHO’S SIGNING ON TO ‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’</p>
<p>Sen. Bernie Sanders’ push for government-run health coverage for all is winning support from Democrats who may seek the party’s 2020 presidential nomination.</p>
<p>4. TRUMP ISSUES WARNING TO PYONGYANG</p>
<p>The president says new U.N. sanctions “are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen” to stop North Korea’s nuclear march.</p>
<p>5. BIG TURNAROUND FOR ASSAD’S FORCES</p>
<p>Russia’s military says Syrian troops have retaken about 85 percent of the territory once controlled by militants.</p>
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<p>6. FEDS DECLINE TO PURSUE FREDDIE GRAY CASE</p>
<p>The Justice Department won’t bring federal charges against the six Baltimore police officers involved in the young black man’s arrest and in-custody death.</p>
<p>7. WHAT’S SIGN OF GREAT RECESSION’S LONG GRIP</p>
<p>The median American household only last year finally earned more than it did in 1999, the Census Bureau says.</p>
<p>8. RESEARCHERS OFFER ASSURANCE ON HORMONE PILLS</p>
<p>The longest follow-up study yet on menopausal hormone pills suggests they don’t shorten older women’s lives.</p>
<p>9. KEY FIGURE IN GAY MARRIAGE FIGHT DIES AT 88</p>
<p>Edith Windsor filed a lawsuit that eventually led to a 2015 Supreme Court ruling giving same-sex couples the right to marry.</p>
<p>10. HOW DISNEY HOPES TO RIGHT ‘STAR WARS’ SHIP</p>
<p>J.J. Abrams is returning to the movie franchise, and will replace Colin Trevorrow as writer and director of “Episode IX.”</p> | 10 Things to Know for Wednesday | false | https://abqjournal.com/1062255/10-things-to-know-for-today-109.html | 2017-09-12 | 2 |
<p>From Hillary for America ad "Captain Khan"</p>
<p />
<p>The Clinton campaign released a powerful ad on Friday featuring Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father whose speech at the Democratic National Convention in July became the defining moment of the convention—and prompted Donald Trump <a href="" type="internal">to smear him and his wife</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ghazala-khan-donald-trump-criticized-my-silence-he-knows-nothing-about-true-sacrifice/2016/07/31/c46e52ec-571c-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html?utm_term=.efad267cae1e" type="external">Ghazala Khan</a>.</p>
<p>The new ad features Khan in his home, recounting how his son lost his life as a soldier in Iraq by sacrificing himself to save the rest of his unit from a suicide bomber. “My son was Captain Humayun Khan, he was 27 years old, and he was a Muslim American,” Khan says at the end of the ad. Then, fighting back tears, he continues, “I want to ask Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The one-minute ad will run in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.</p>
<p /> | Powerful New Clinton Campaign Ad Features Khizr Khan | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/powerful-new-hillary-clinton-campaign-ad-features-khizr-khan/ | 2016-10-21 | 4 |
<p>The U.S. Supreme Court may be ready to change the scope of the Second Amendment, as five of the top court’s justices (guess which ones?) have signaled their opinions about American citizens’ rights to bear arms and appear ready to take steps that could override some local and state gun rules, with Chicago as a potential starting point. –KA</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p>Since 1982, Chicago has outlawed handguns in the city, even for law-abiding residents who sought to keep one at home. That ordinance was challenged by several city residents who said it violated their right “to keep and bear arms” under the 2nd Amendment.</p>
<p>The case forced the high court to confront a simple question it had never answered: Did the 2nd Amendment limit only the federal government’s ability to regulate guns and state militias, or did it also give citizens a right to challenge state and local restrictions on guns?</p>
<p />
<p>All signs Tuesday were that five justices saw the right to “bear arms” as national in scope and not limited to laws passed in Washington.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-court-guns3-2010mar03,0,3193015.story" type="external">Read more</a></p> | SCOTUS Considering Change in National Gun Ownership Laws | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/scotus-considering-change-in-national-gun-ownership-laws/ | 2010-03-03 | 4 |
<p>Published time: 11 Nov, 2017 09:12Edited time: 11 Nov, 2017 09:27</p>
<p>With tensions between Russia and the US not letting up, the nations’ presidents did not give each other the cold shoulder as they crossed paths at the APEC summit in Vietnam on Saturday. The two leaders chatted amiably with each other.</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump had a cordial chat on their way to a group photograph of summit leaders. The pair later stood next to each other in the second row for the photo.</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>Both the Kremlin and the White House gave conflicting reports on the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders, before eventually stating that there will not be an official meeting this time around. Nonetheless, Putin and Trump met and shook hands at a dinner on Friday night, and again at the start of the main meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders on Saturday.</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>Eyebrows were raised when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson questioned the necessity of the Russian and US presidents sitting down for a meeting. “The view has been if the two leaders are going to meet, is there something sufficiently substantive to talk about that would warrant a formal meeting?” he <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/409452-tillerson-putin-trump-meeting/" type="external">told</a> a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday. Tillerson’s statement comes at a time when US-Russian relations have reached one of the lowest points in decades.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/409539-putin-trump-syria-apec/" type="external">READ MORE: ‘No military solution to Syrian crisis’: Putin &amp; Trump in joint statement</a></p>
<p>On Saturday, the two leaders agreed on a joint statement confirming their commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. “Moscow and Washington agree there is no military solution to the conflict,” the text of the joint statement, published on the Kremlin’s website, <a href="http://kremlin.ru/supplement/5252" type="external">said</a>.</p>
<p>Putin and Trump have called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to “take an active part in the Geneva political process and support efforts aimed at ensuring its success.”</p> | On the same page? Putin & Trump cross paths at APEC and chat cordially (VIDEO) | false | https://newsline.com/on-the-same-page-putin-trump-cross-paths-at-apec-and-chat-cordially-video/ | 2017-11-11 | 1 |
<p>It is not just John McCain. The entire leadership in the Senate has decided that the Trump and Conservative legislative agenda is dead and will not move on any major legislation this year.</p>
<p>We will get the token effort, which will dramatically fail at the last moment from several senators deciding to knife America in the back once again. We have seen the song and dance before several times, they’ll make a very good effort in the House to pass a bill… and it will die in the Senate.</p>
<p>The only issues the Senate is even thinking about taking up as a whole are going to be gun laws and amnesty apparently.</p>
<p>We can only hope that maybe the donors will finally get through to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/13/sen-ted-cruz-tax-reform-may-not-happen-until-early-next-year.html" type="external">them where the voters have not.</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">The Smug Lies Our Ruling Class Adores</a></p>
<p>Sen. Ted Cruz expects tax reform to get done “late this year or early next year” — not sticking to the hard 2017 deadline set out by top Republicans.</p>
<p>The Texas Republican told CNBC on Friday it will take “at least a couple months” to iron out differences within the GOP, which has a narrow majority in the Senate.</p>
<p>“I do think virtually every Republican wants to get to yes” on overhauling the tax system, Cruz said on “Squawk Box.”</p>
<p>The fact that they are looking at Manchin means they aren’t getting the votes for it, even with reconciliation. Likely it is going to be Corker, McCain, Collins, Murkowski, Paul, and some random other nevertrump or grandstanding Senator.</p>
<p>Manchin has told McConnell that he can support tax reform as long as it doesn’t “ <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/355238-gop-eyes-big-prize-for-tax-bill-manchins-vote" type="external">add too much to the deficit</a>.”</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader&#160;Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is making a bid for the support of Sen.Joe Manchin (W.Va.), a prominent centrist Democrat, on tax reform.</p>
<p>McConnell invited Manchin to his office shortly before the Columbus Day recess to talk about tax legislation, among other issues.</p>
<p>Manchin, who is running for reelection next year in a state that President Trump won in a landslide, is one of GOP’s top targets as they seek bipartisan support for their No. 1 legislative priority.</p>
<p>Last month, Trump invited Manchin and two other centrist Democrats, Sens.&#160;Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and&#160;Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), to the White House for a bipartisan working dinner to talk about taxes. Donnelly and Heitkamp are also up for reelection next year in states won by Trump.</p>
<p>Manchin says he told McConnell he could support a tax-reform bill as long as it doesn’t add too much to the deficit, aligning himself with Sen.&#160;Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).</p> | Tax Reform Dead As John McCain and Others Decide That No Bills Will Make It Out of the Senate | true | https://spartareport.com/2017/10/tax-reform-dead-as-john-mccain-and-others-decide-that-no-bills-will-make-it-out-of-the-senate/ | 2017-10-13 | 0 |
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday evening's drawing of the New Jersey Lottery's "5 Card Cash" game were:</p>
<p>QC-QH-2H-5H-6S</p>
<p>(QC, QH, 2H, 5H, 6S)</p>
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday evening's drawing of the New Jersey Lottery's "5 Card Cash" game were:</p>
<p>QC-QH-2H-5H-6S</p>
<p>(QC, QH, 2H, 5H, 6S)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in '5 Card Cash' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/d8e8864dd31e41b4994db9dd212bef8d | 2018-01-25 | 2 |
<p>A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments over a plan to open a tribal gambling hall on Martha's Vineyard.</p>
<p>Massachusetts, the town of Aquinnah and a local community association are suing to block the plan by the Aquinnah Wampanoags.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The sides will make their case Wednesday in Boston.</p>
<p>The Aquinnah Wampanoags say federal law allows them to operate certain types of gambling because they are a federally recognized tribe.</p>
<p>Opponents counter that the tribe effectively forfeited its gambling rights when it reached a settlement for its ancestral lands on Martha's Vineyard in 1983.</p>
<p>The tribe wants to offer electronic, high-stakes bingo-style games but not familiar casino table games like blackjack or poker. It began building the facility last month, but a judge ordered the work to stop.</p> | Federal judge to hear arguments over plan to open tribal gambling hall on Martha's Vineyard | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/08/12/federal-judge-to-hear-arguments-over-plan-to-open-tribal-gambling-hall-on.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>There is no immigration crisis — other than the one created by a small but vocal stripe of opportunist politicians, media demagogues and freelance xenophobes. So it has always been throughout the history of this country when anti-immigrant hysteria periodically reigns during ebbs in our national sense of security and vision.</p>
<p>The script is as old as the Mayflower: A false alarm is sounded that the values, wages and safety of the current roster of credentialed Americans are jeopardized by the “flood” or “tidal wave” or “river” sneaking across our porous borders — be they Irish, Chinese, Jewish, Russian, Mexican or even the freed slaves seeking to earn an honest living in Northern cities after the Civil War. Any and all manner of societal problems are laid on these scapegoats, and the same simplistic solution is offered: Find and deport them, and don’t let any more in.</p>
<p>Luckily, although it sometimes takes years or even decades, saner voices eventually prevail, acknowledging that the continued influx of immigrants has fueled America’s astonishing economic and cultural rise ever since the original natives were bum-rushed off their turf. Immigration laws are liberalized, compromises are reached, amnesties are offered, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service bureaucracy grinds on.</p>
<p>Having intermittently covered this issue for the Los Angeles Times over 30 years, I can well recall the peaks of panic in which we reporters were dispatched to the border and out into the fields to witness the arrest of people desperate to find work — only to be embarrassed by the hunted eyes and clutched crosses of the enemy discovered.</p>
<p />
<p>Such frenzied attention was inevitably followed by a lull in which most Americans were quite happy to eat the food harvested by those same harassed and abused workers as well as to entrust the “illegals” with the care of American homes and children. On no other issue is there such an extreme disconnect between attitudes and actions.</p>
<p>When Wal-Mart was busted for hiring undocumented workers, did anybody boycott the company? Of course not; consumers value price and aren’t concerned, for the most part, about how a company accomplishes cheapness. If, however, people do really care about keeping all jobs open to American citizens, then there is only one effective strategy: Level the playing field by enforcing labor laws.</p>
<p>Some 2 million immigrant workers now earn less than the minimum wage, and millions more work without the occupational safety, workers’ compensation, overtime pay and other protections that legal status offers. Consequently, when the president says that immigrants perform work that legal residents are unwilling to do, he may be right — but we don’t know. The only way to test that hypothesis is to bring this black market labor pool above ground.</p>
<p>That approach has been tried in California with some success. Jos Millan, who until this year ran such an enforcement program as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s labor commissioner and before that for Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, told me that legalization of undocumented workers is essential to improving the situation for everybody.</p>
<p>“I am in favor of anything that brings these workers out of the shadows and into the sunlight; it’s very easy to exploit a population when they’re afraid,” Millan told me Monday. “We would be a better country if we recognized the fact that there are 10 million undocumented workers in our midst, and we would be better off if they were granted the benefits and responsibilities of a legal existence.”</p>
<p>Xenophobia today is no more warranted than it has been in the past. The number of claimed “illegal aliens” as a percentage of the population is clearly absorbable by the job market, as our low unemployment rate demonstrates. Yet, the Republican Party and the Congress it dominates are currently teetering between driving undocumented workers further underground and taking a saner compromise approach.</p>
<p>The former, a draconian bill already passed by the House of Representatives, would legalize witch hunts of undocumented workers, by reclassifying them as felons; their employers would be subject to a year or more in prison and punitive fines, as would even church and nonprofit organization members that offer succor to them.</p>
<p>Because employers are not trained to play cop, they will simply be driven to discriminate against job applicants based on “foreignness” determined by ethnicity or accent. The more reasonable alternative, co-authored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and embraced as the heart of the proposal adopted by the Judiciary Committee on Monday, shuns the criminalization of the undocumented, instead offering paths — albeit long, arduous and uncertain ones — to legal status for undocumented workers already here.</p>
<p>This is a moment of truth for America. It is time to acknowledge that we need the immigrant workers as much as they need us, and to begin to treat them with the respect they deserve.</p> | Legalize the 'Illegals' | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/legalize-the-illegals/ | 2006-03-29 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque police said two traffic crashes have left southbound traffic on Interstate 25 moving slowly.</p>
<p>Police said at around 8:30 p.m. a motorcycle crashed on the interstate near Comanche. The driver was transported to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.</p>
<p>As police were investigating that crash, there was another crash without injuries on I25 at Comanche.</p>
<p>The interstate is open but moving slowly, police said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Two crashes have southbound I25 moving slow | false | https://abqjournal.com/551570/two-crashes-have-southbound-i25-moving-slow.html | 2 |
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<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Oregon Lottery's "Lucky Lines" game were:</p>
<p>04-08-10-13-FREE-17-23-25-32</p>
<p>(four, eight, ten, thirteen, FREE, seventeen, twenty-three, twenty-five, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $11,000</p>
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Oregon Lottery's "Lucky Lines" game were:</p>
<p>04-08-10-13-FREE-17-23-25-32</p>
<p>(four, eight, ten, thirteen, FREE, seventeen, twenty-three, twenty-five, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $11,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Lucky Lines' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/cb4787324fdd448181b17ad4033e3e8a | 2018-01-05 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan expects the bank's trading revenue to climb in the second quarter. Image source: Bank of America.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Given that the Federal Reserve most likely won't raise interest rates this month as a result of last Friday's <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/03/this-report-sent-bank-of-america-shares-tumbling.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">dismal jobs report Opens a New Window.</a>, it's tempting to think that Bank of America's second-quarter earnings will be just as disappointing as its first-quarter performance. In my opinion, however, there's at least one reason to believe that things will turn out better than expected.</p>
<p>I'm referring to Bank of America's trading revenue. If you think <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/14/an-overview-of-bank-of-americas-first-quarter-earn.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">back to the first quarter Opens a New Window.</a>, this was one of the reasons why the bank's earnings fell by 14% compared to the year-ago period.</p>
<p>Due to concerns about low energy prices, waning economic growth in China, and the United Kingdom's announcement that it will allow voters to decide whether the country stays in the European Union, market volatility rose in the first three months of the year. This led institutional investors to stay on the sidelines, which reduced trading commissions for banks with Wall Street operations, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase , and Citigroup .</p>
<p>For its part, Bank of America saw trading revenues fall 16% on a year-over-year basis. In the first quarter of 2015, it earned $3.9 billion in sales and trading revenue. But fast forward to the first quarter of this year, and the figure came in at only $3.3 billion.</p>
<p>Data source: First-quarter earnings releases.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Bank of America was hit particularly hard in its fixed-income, currency, and commodities trading division, where revenues fell by 17%. The results, <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MzMyNjA0fENoaWxkSUQ9LTF8VHlwZT0z&amp;t=1&amp;cb=635962047136318410" type="external">according to the bank's earnings release Opens a New Window.</a>, reflected "a weak trading environment for credit-related products and lower revenues in currencies compared with a strong year-ago quarter, partially offset by an improved performance in rates and client financing."</p>
<p>Its smaller equities trading unit saw sales and trading revenue fall by 11%. Bank of America attributed this to "a weaker trading performance in a challenging market environment."</p>
<p>The results were in line with those at JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. Earlier in the first quarter, JPMorgan Chase had predicted that trading revenue could be down by as much as 20%. When all was said and done, however, the nation's biggest bank by assets saw the figure drop by a more palatable 11%. Citigroup turned in a similar performance, reporting that its trading unit experienced a 13% drop in income from trading.</p>
<p>The good news is that all three of these banks have already hinted that these trends are on the mend.At a recent industry conference, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/3979535-bank-americas-bac-ceo-brian-moynihan-presents-bernstein-strategic-decisions-conference" type="external">said Opens a New Window.</a> that he feels good about trading revenue. He predicted a mid-single-digit, year-over-year revenue gain.</p>
<p>The head of JPMorgan Chase's investment bank, Daniel Pinto, echoed this sentiment, saying that its trading revenue should climb by the mid-teens. And Citigroup's CEO Michael Corbat followed suit, forecasting a slight uptick.</p>
<p>Thus, while it seems clear that banks and bank investors will have to wait for at least another month (and probably longer) for the Fed to make a move on interest rates, which would boost banks' profits and share prices, there are also reasons to think that the second quarter may nevertheless turn out just fine.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/08/bank-of-americas-2q-earnings-will-benefit-from-hig.aspx" type="external">Bank of Americas 2Q Earnings Will Benefit From Higher Trading Revenue, Says CEO Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/JohnMaxfield37/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">John Maxfield Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Bank of America. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Bank of Americas 2Q Earnings Will Benefit From Higher Trading Revenue, Says CEO | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/08/bank-americas-2q-earnings-will-benefit-from-higher-trading-revenue-says-ceo.html | 2016-06-08 | 0 |
<p>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas biker group is helping victims of child abuse as they face their alleged attackers in court in Kansas and Missouri.</p>
<p>The Kaw River Chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse formed in 2016, The Kansas City Star <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article193921434.html" type="external">reported</a> . The worldwide Bikers Against Child Abuse movement began two decades ago. The group provides free emotional support and acts as a safety buffer for children alleging abuse.</p>
<p>“We’re here to empower children to speak up and not be afraid of the world in which they live,” said Rich Black, president of the Kaw River Chapter.</p>
<p>The approximately 15-member chapter works with hospitals, law enforcement and social service centers to find families in need of support. Members go through criminal background checks to reassure the families they help. They typically use road names to protect their identities so accused abusers can’t find them.</p>
<p>The bikers provide camaraderie and confidence to frightened children facing hard questions and stares, said Judy Jones, who is with the Missouri-based advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.</p>
<p>“When children go to trial they’re really put to the grind,” Jones said. “It helps them a lot to know they’re not alone.”</p>
<p>The bikers are available to help a child whenever they feel threatened, anxious or lonely.</p>
<p>“Some of them need us longer than others,” said one member with the road name Krewzer, the chapter’s child liaison and who is typically the first person to meet with a victim.</p>
<p>The children often attend outdoor cookouts with the group and many join the organization as adults.</p>
<p>“We have a saying: Once a BACA child, always a BACA child,” said “Lucy,” a biker who serves as secretary for BACA International. “They’ll always be part of the family.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Kansas City Star, <a href="http://www.kcstar.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.kcstar.com" type="external">http://www.kcstar.com</a></p>
<p>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas biker group is helping victims of child abuse as they face their alleged attackers in court in Kansas and Missouri.</p>
<p>The Kaw River Chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse formed in 2016, The Kansas City Star <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article193921434.html" type="external">reported</a> . The worldwide Bikers Against Child Abuse movement began two decades ago. The group provides free emotional support and acts as a safety buffer for children alleging abuse.</p>
<p>“We’re here to empower children to speak up and not be afraid of the world in which they live,” said Rich Black, president of the Kaw River Chapter.</p>
<p>The approximately 15-member chapter works with hospitals, law enforcement and social service centers to find families in need of support. Members go through criminal background checks to reassure the families they help. They typically use road names to protect their identities so accused abusers can’t find them.</p>
<p>The bikers provide camaraderie and confidence to frightened children facing hard questions and stares, said Judy Jones, who is with the Missouri-based advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.</p>
<p>“When children go to trial they’re really put to the grind,” Jones said. “It helps them a lot to know they’re not alone.”</p>
<p>The bikers are available to help a child whenever they feel threatened, anxious or lonely.</p>
<p>“Some of them need us longer than others,” said one member with the road name Krewzer, the chapter’s child liaison and who is typically the first person to meet with a victim.</p>
<p>The children often attend outdoor cookouts with the group and many join the organization as adults.</p>
<p>“We have a saying: Once a BACA child, always a BACA child,” said “Lucy,” a biker who serves as secretary for BACA International. “They’ll always be part of the family.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Kansas City Star, <a href="http://www.kcstar.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.kcstar.com" type="external">http://www.kcstar.com</a></p> | Kansas biker group helps victims of child abuse | false | https://apnews.com/7e327d095e4742cbb995a7dffe408969 | 2018-01-15 | 2 |
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<p>Cameras click as Chicago police arrest Myron Byrd for blocking the street outside of the Lakeview Wal-Mart where he works. &#160; (Amien Essif)</p>
<p>Around 7:30 a.m. on November 29, the day of the annual “Black Friday” shopping frenzy, demonstrators massed in front of the large Wal-Mart Supercenter on Chicago’s North Avenue, where steel crowd-control fences stood as remnants of one of the busiest shopping nights of the year. This year, however, they served a second purpose: Security guards were advised over their radios to “close the gates” and “don’t let them in” as protesters arrived by bus in the parking lot.</p>
<p>Several hours later, at a protest in front of the smaller Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, two Wal-Mart employees and eight other demonstrators were arrested for blocking the street.</p>
<p>As he stood in the middle of Broadway preparing for arrest, Myron Byrd, an employee at the Lakeview Wal-Mart, told Working In These Times, “I want the Walton family [which owns Wal-Mart] to sit down with us and talk. We want respect. I’m willing to get arrested today to fight for respect.” After giving a three-minute warning, Chicago police officers began zip-tying blockaders’ wrists and walking them to waiting police vehicles.</p>
<p>The actions were just two of 11 Wal-Mart protests in Illinois, according to <a href="http://forrespect.org/" type="external">Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart)</a>, the non-union worker group that led the protests. Some 1,500 demonstrations nationwide were planned, and at least 111 people were arrested in nine cities during civil disobedience actions like the one in Lakeview. Wal-Mart claims that <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/30/tens_of_thousands_protest_over_100_arrested_in_black_friday_challenge_to_wal_mart/" type="external">only 20 employees engaged in Friday’s protests</a>, but Evan Yeats, a spokesperson for the <a href="http://www.ufcw.org/‎" type="external">United Food and Commercial Workers</a> union, which backs OUR Walmart, told Working In These Times, “There’s no way that’s accurate. ... I’m not willing to make up a number, but that sounds made up. There were over a dozen [Wal-Mart workers involved] in Chicago alone.”</p>
<p>Retaliation rears its head</p>
<p>This is the second year running that Wal-Mart has faced Black Friday demonstrations across the country as workers and their supporters demand better wages and working conditions. This year, in addition to calling for a living wage of $25,000 a year for full-time employees and the availability of full-time work for those who want it, OUR Walmart <a href="" type="internal">pushed for an end to retaliation</a> against organizing workers and the reinstatement of illegally fired workers. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/business/labor-panel-finds-illegal-punishments-at-walmart.html?_r=0" type="external">announced</a> that it had found evidence that Wal-Mart illegally retaliated against employees in 12 states who went on strike, protested or attempted to unionize.</p>
<p>Erica Jones, senior manager of communications at Wal-Mart, told Working In These Times via email, “Our company does not retaliate. In fact, no associate has been retaliated against for raising concerns—nor will they be.”</p>
<p>Larry Born, who works the night shift with his wife at a Wal-Mart in Crestwood, Ill., says he has never been disciplined for organizing with OUR Walmart, but that workers at his Chicago-area store face “intimidation” from management if they complain about working conditions. Managers, in his experience, “look for the weak links—if they feel that you’re weak, they’ll pick on you.”</p>
<p>What low wages mean on Thanksgiving</p>
<p>One bystander to Friday’s protest in Lakeview, Dave Judelson, said that while the demonstration took him by surprise as he was shopping at a nearby store, he wasn’t surprised workers were protesting. He said he had seen the circulating <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/11/is_walmarts_request_of_associa.html" type="external">photo</a> of food-drive bins for needy employees at Wal-Mart in a Canton, Ohio, and he noted that Wal-Mart also relies on taxpayers to support their low-wage workers. (Indeed, a government <a href="http://democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/press-release/low-wages-single-wal-mart-store-cost-taxpayers-about-1-million-every-year-says-new" type="external">study</a> from this year showed that at a single Wal-Mart supercenter, employees’ reliance on social services could cost taxpayers over $1 million a year.)</p>
<p>Asked about the workers’ demand for a living wage, Wal-Mart’s Erica Jones said, “Wal-Mart provides wages on the higher end of the retail average with full-time and part-time associates making, on average, close to $12 an hour.” She added that employees who work on Thanksgiving receive holiday pay “equal to an additional day’s work,” as well as a 25 percent discount on a “basket of goods.”</p>
<p>It's true that Wal-Mart pays employees extra on Thanksgiving, but unlike most of its big-box competitors, such as Kmart, Target, and Sears, the company does not pay time and a half for holidays. Instead, hourly workers receive their normal wages plus a bonus equal to their average daily earnings for the last two weeks. According to <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-thanksgiving-pay-sounds-good-091540164.html" type="external">Brandon Ballenger of MoneyTalks News</a>, given that Wal-Mart cuts workers’ hours during the holiday season—sometimes in half—by hiring an estimated 55,000 seasonal workers, an employee’s holiday pay can be less than time and a half.</p>
<p>And Born says that even that Thanksgiving bonus isn’t the gift that it sounds like, because workers are forced to choose between the free time and the extra pay. “They can’t afford to take the day off. ... You wind up not only losing the day’s pay, but you wind up losing your holiday pay, which is like losing two days’ pay.” In other words, if employees made a living wage, they wouldn’t have to choose between providing a Thanksgiving dinner for their family and enjoying it with them.</p>
<p>Not idle bystanders</p>
<p>Many of the 100 or so supporters who turned out for the Chicago Black Friday protests were themselves service workers allied with the <a href="" type="internal">SEIU-backed Fight for 15 movement</a>, which has rallied retail and fast-food workers since early 2012 to push for a higher minimum wage and the right to unionize without interference.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Trish Kahle</a>, a Chicago Whole Foods employee active in Fight for 15 who attended both Chicago Black Friday protests, said she came because of a “basic link” between workers at Whole Foods and Wal-Mart: “Wages aren’t high enough, and we’re not making enough to support ourselves and our families.”</p> | Ten Arrested at Chicago Wal-Mart in Black Friday Civil Disobedience | true | http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/15940/ten_arrested_at_chicago_wal_mart_in_black_friday_civil_disobedience/ | 2013-12-01 | 4 |
<p><a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-bam" type="external">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>Previously, 21WIRE reported how <a href="" type="internal">drones have been used to discover lost civilizations</a> in remote corners of the Sahara and the Amazon. This week, we learn about something even more spectacular.</p>
<p>The archeological team in charge of this project believe that this virgin rainforest region known as La Mosquitia contains many such cities.</p>
<p>“This is clearly the most undisturbed rain forest in Central America,” said the expedition’s ethnobotanist, Mark Plotkin.</p>
<p>Archaeologists have already begun to survey and map public plazas, burial mounds and an earth-works pyramid. The statues found are in near mint condition, and were documented – but left unexcavated for now. Officially, this archaeological discovery will not be confirmed until it has been “ground-truthed” or fully documented by a team of scientists, engineers and documentary filmmakers.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lost_City_of_the_Monkey_God.png#mediaviewer/File:Lost_City_of_the_Monkey_God.png" type="external" />“ <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lost_City_of_the_Monkey_God.png#mediaviewer/File:Lost_City_of_the_Monkey_God.png" type="external">Lost City of the Monkey God</a>” by <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Finlay" type="external">Virgil Finlay</a> – The American Weekly. Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/" type="external">Wikimedia Commons</a>.</p>
<p>It is also believed that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Morde" type="external">Theodore Morde</a>, a 20th century American adventurer and explorer, may have found this same site during a 1940 expedition, but sadly had died before he was able to reveal its location. Morde described a mysterious city where local tribes worshiped a giant “Monkey God” figure, and spoke of ancient tales depicting myths of part-human, part-simian children.</p>
<p>&#160;We’re told that in order to protect the site from looters, its exact location has not being revealed to the public yet...</p>
<p>Former British Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers prepare a helicopter pilot for liftoff from a landing zone cleared for a team of scientists surveying a secret location in the Mosquitia jungle. The helicopter ferried people and supplies from its base. (Photograph by Dave Yoder, <a href="http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150302-honduras-lost-city-monkey-god-maya-ancient-archaeology/" type="external">National Geographic</a>)</p>
<p />
<p>Douglas Preston <a href="http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150302-honduras-lost-city-monkey-god-maya-ancient-archaeology/" type="external">National Geographic</a></p>
<p>An expedition to Honduras has emerged from the jungle with dramatic news of the discovery of a mysterious culture’s lost city, never before explored. The team was led to the remote, uninhabited region by long-standing rumors that it was the site of a storied “White City,” also referred to in legend as the “City of the Monkey God.” &#160;</p>
<p>Archaeologists surveyed and mapped extensive plazas, earthworks, mounds, and an earthen pyramid belonging to a culture that thrived a thousand years ago, and then vanished. The team, which returned from the site last Wednesday, also discovered a remarkable cache of stone sculptures that had lain untouched since the city was abandoned.</p>
<p>In contrast to the nearby <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/08/maya-rise-fall/gugliotta-text" type="external">Maya</a>, this vanished culture has been scarcely studied and it remains virtually unknown. Archaeologists don’t even have a name for it.</p>
<p><a href="http://anthropology.colostate.edu/fisher/" type="external">Christopher Fisher</a>, a Mesoamerican archaeologist on the team from Colorado State University, said the pristine, unlooted condition of the site was “incredibly rare.” He speculated that the cache, found at the base of the pyramid, may have been an offering.</p>
<p>“The undisturbed context is unique,” Fisher said. “This is a powerful ritual display, to take wealth objects like this out of circulation.”</p>
<p>The tops of 52 artifacts were peeking from the earth. Many more evidently lie below ground, with possible burials. They include stone ceremonial seats (called metates) and finely carved vessels decorated with snakes, zoomorphic figures, and vultures.</p>
<p>The most striking object emerging from the ground is the head of what Fisher speculated might be “a were-jaguar,” possibly depicting a shaman in a transformed, spirit state. Alternatively, the artifact might be related to ritualized ball games that were a feature of pre-Columbian life in Mesoamerica.</p>
<p>“The figure seems to be wearing a helmet,” said Fisher. Team member Oscar Neil Cruz, head archaeologist at the <a href="http://www.ihah.hn/" type="external">Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History (IHAH)</a>, believes the artifacts date to A.D. 1000 to 1400.</p>
<p>The objects were documented but left unexcavated. To protect the site from looters, its location is not being revealed.</p>
<p>Stories of “Casa Blanca” and a Monkey God</p>
<p>The ruins were first identified in May 2012, during <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/06/the-el-dorado-machine" type="external">an aerial survey of a remote valley in La Mosquitia,</a> a vast region of swamps, rivers, and mountains containing some of the last scientifically unexplored places on earth.</p>
<p>For a hundred years, explorers and prospectors told tales of the white ramparts of a lost city glimpsed above the jungle foliage. Indigenous stories speak of a “white house” or a “place of cacao” where Indians took refuge from Spanish conquistadores—a mystical, Eden-like paradise from which no one ever returned.</p>
<p>Since the 1920s, several expeditions had searched for the White City, or Ciudad Blanca. The eccentric explorer Theodore Morde mounted the most famous of these in 1940, under the aegis of the Museum of the American Indian (now part of <a href="http://www.nmai.si.edu/" type="external">the Smithsonian Institution</a>).</p>
<p>Morde returned from Mosquitia with thousands of artifacts, claiming to have entered the City. According to Morde, the indigenous people there said it contained a giant, buried statue of a monkey god. He refused to divulge the location out of fear, he said, that the site would be looted. He later committed suicide and his site—if it existed at all—was never identified…</p>
<p><a href="http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150302-honduras-lost-city-monkey-god-maya-ancient-archaeology/" type="external">Continue this story at National Geographic</a></p>
<p>READ MORE ANCIENT HISTORY NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Ancient History Files</a>–</p> | Ancient ‘White City of the Monkey God’ Discovered in the Jungles of Honduras | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/03/04/ancient-white-city-of-the-monkey-god-discovered-in-the-jungles-of-honduras/ | 2015-03-04 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque-based CPA firm REDW recently presented a check for its first installment of $12,500 to support the Lionel Haight Endowed Chair in Accounting in the College of Business at New Mexico State University.</p>
<p>A professorship in honor of Haight, a former NMSU professor and head of the accounting department who died in 1998, was established in 2010 with a $250,000 contribution from one of Haight’s former students, Judy Gray Johnson, and her husband, Michael.</p>
<p>The REDW contribution rounds out the $100,000 the college needed to receive Johnson’s matching gift – and it prompted a second $100,000 pledge from Johnson, who said she’s sure there’s support for reaching the $1 million goal.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | REDW supports NMSU endowment | false | https://abqjournal.com/266618/redw-supports-nmsu-endowment.html | 2013-09-20 | 2 |
<p>CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said games at Oregon State have gone down to the wire, with both teams fighting tooth and nail.</p>
<p>It was no different on Sunday with a late turnover preserving a 66-64 win for Utah State. The Utes’ defense caused a lengthy second-half scoring drought for the Beavers and came up with the late stops that eluded the squad in the last two seasons.</p>
<p>“We just locked in, and there was a nice blend of zone and man,” Krystkowiak said.</p>
<p>Justin Bibbins scored 18 points with four 3-pointers and six assists as Utah held on late to beat Oregon State.</p>
<p>“We’re going to play every game with a chip on our shoulder,” said Bibbins, a point guard and graduate transfer who played for Long Beach State last season.</p>
<p>David Collette added 12 points for the Utes (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12), who were helped out by a game-saving Oregon State turnover with 1.4 seconds on the clock.</p>
<p>Tres Tinkle had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists and Stephen Thompson Jr. added 13 points for the Beavers (9-5, 1-1).</p>
<p>The Beavers led by six in the second half when Utah went on a 16-2 run, capped by a Sedrick Barefield free throw with 3:37 left, to go ahead 63-55. The swarming Utes defense held the Beavers without a field goal for eight minutes.</p>
<p>Oregon State promptly responded with a 7-0 surge, capped by an Alfred Hollins dunk, to trail 63-62 with a minute remaining.</p>
<p>Bibbins was fouled in the lane on Utah’s next possession and sank both free throws. With 27.5 seconds left, Tinkle was fouled and made two free throws to make the score 65-64. Barefield was fouled, but made only one.</p>
<p>The Beavers had the ball with 20 seconds left, but Hollins and Tinkle missed 3-pointers and a put-back by Thompson bounced off the rim, resulting in a jump ball, with the possession arrow going to Oregon State with 1.4 seconds remaining.</p>
<p>The baseline official ruled that Ethan Thompson moved along the baseline and awarded possession to Utah. Hollins intercepted the Utah pass but his half court heave was off the mark.</p>
<p>“The guys scrapped. We got the ball out of bounds, and it just didn’t go in our favor,” said Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle.</p>
<p>Utah shot 48 percent for the game — and also on 3-pointers, going 11-for-23. Oregon State shot 42 percent.</p>
<p>The Utes led 38-32 at the half.</p>
<p>Oregon State went on a 11-3 surge to open the second half, propelled by two Thompson 3-pointers, to take a 43-41 lead.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Utah: The Utes first six shots of the game were 3-pointers, and they made four of them. The first two-point field goal attempt for Utah came near the 14:30 mark. The Utes came into the game averaging 8.9 3-pointers made per game. At halftime on Sunday, the team had made 10.</p>
<p>Oregon State: Thompson’s last-second heroics helped the Beavers to wins against the Utes in 2015 and 2016. The 2016 win was Oregon State’s lone Pac-12 victory. . Starting center Drew Eubanks fouled out after scoring 10 points in 20 minutes.</p>
<p>BOX AND ONE</p>
<p>Thompson had three points at halftime, but when he started draining 3-pointers in the second half, Krystkowiak said it felt reminiscent of last year’s thriller, which ended on a scoop by the Oregon State guard. “Then we did a nice job of almost running a little box and one mentality where we weren’t allowing him some of those easy catches,” Krystkowiak said</p>
<p>NO MORE THREES</p>
<p>Bibbins said Oregon State was trying to run Utah off the 3-point arc in the second half. “We just tried to play inside-out more and still shoot open shots,” he said.</p>
<p>SWEEP</p>
<p>Utah swept the Oregon schools this week. “They’re hard to come by. Winning a game on the road is hard to accomplish. But, again, we aren’t breaking out the scrapbook and we can’t afford to celebrate,” Krystkowiak said. That’s because the Arizona schools visit Utah next week.</p>
<p>NEXT UP</p>
<p>Utah hosts Arizona on Thursday.</p>
<p>Oregon State hosts Oregon on Friday.</p>
<p>CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said games at Oregon State have gone down to the wire, with both teams fighting tooth and nail.</p>
<p>It was no different on Sunday with a late turnover preserving a 66-64 win for Utah State. The Utes’ defense caused a lengthy second-half scoring drought for the Beavers and came up with the late stops that eluded the squad in the last two seasons.</p>
<p>“We just locked in, and there was a nice blend of zone and man,” Krystkowiak said.</p>
<p>Justin Bibbins scored 18 points with four 3-pointers and six assists as Utah held on late to beat Oregon State.</p>
<p>“We’re going to play every game with a chip on our shoulder,” said Bibbins, a point guard and graduate transfer who played for Long Beach State last season.</p>
<p>David Collette added 12 points for the Utes (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12), who were helped out by a game-saving Oregon State turnover with 1.4 seconds on the clock.</p>
<p>Tres Tinkle had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists and Stephen Thompson Jr. added 13 points for the Beavers (9-5, 1-1).</p>
<p>The Beavers led by six in the second half when Utah went on a 16-2 run, capped by a Sedrick Barefield free throw with 3:37 left, to go ahead 63-55. The swarming Utes defense held the Beavers without a field goal for eight minutes.</p>
<p>Oregon State promptly responded with a 7-0 surge, capped by an Alfred Hollins dunk, to trail 63-62 with a minute remaining.</p>
<p>Bibbins was fouled in the lane on Utah’s next possession and sank both free throws. With 27.5 seconds left, Tinkle was fouled and made two free throws to make the score 65-64. Barefield was fouled, but made only one.</p>
<p>The Beavers had the ball with 20 seconds left, but Hollins and Tinkle missed 3-pointers and a put-back by Thompson bounced off the rim, resulting in a jump ball, with the possession arrow going to Oregon State with 1.4 seconds remaining.</p>
<p>The baseline official ruled that Ethan Thompson moved along the baseline and awarded possession to Utah. Hollins intercepted the Utah pass but his half court heave was off the mark.</p>
<p>“The guys scrapped. We got the ball out of bounds, and it just didn’t go in our favor,” said Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle.</p>
<p>Utah shot 48 percent for the game — and also on 3-pointers, going 11-for-23. Oregon State shot 42 percent.</p>
<p>The Utes led 38-32 at the half.</p>
<p>Oregon State went on a 11-3 surge to open the second half, propelled by two Thompson 3-pointers, to take a 43-41 lead.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Utah: The Utes first six shots of the game were 3-pointers, and they made four of them. The first two-point field goal attempt for Utah came near the 14:30 mark. The Utes came into the game averaging 8.9 3-pointers made per game. At halftime on Sunday, the team had made 10.</p>
<p>Oregon State: Thompson’s last-second heroics helped the Beavers to wins against the Utes in 2015 and 2016. The 2016 win was Oregon State’s lone Pac-12 victory. . Starting center Drew Eubanks fouled out after scoring 10 points in 20 minutes.</p>
<p>BOX AND ONE</p>
<p>Thompson had three points at halftime, but when he started draining 3-pointers in the second half, Krystkowiak said it felt reminiscent of last year’s thriller, which ended on a scoop by the Oregon State guard. “Then we did a nice job of almost running a little box and one mentality where we weren’t allowing him some of those easy catches,” Krystkowiak said</p>
<p>NO MORE THREES</p>
<p>Bibbins said Oregon State was trying to run Utah off the 3-point arc in the second half. “We just tried to play inside-out more and still shoot open shots,” he said.</p>
<p>SWEEP</p>
<p>Utah swept the Oregon schools this week. “They’re hard to come by. Winning a game on the road is hard to accomplish. But, again, we aren’t breaking out the scrapbook and we can’t afford to celebrate,” Krystkowiak said. That’s because the Arizona schools visit Utah next week.</p>
<p>NEXT UP</p>
<p>Utah hosts Arizona on Thursday.</p>
<p>Oregon State hosts Oregon on Friday.</p> | Bibbins scores 18, Utah hangs on 66-64 against Oregon State | false | https://apnews.com/8de6990b3e3a4ae1a09c969ed30c5aaa | 2018-01-01 | 2 |
<p>Following Glenn Beck's discussion about the "danger" posed by Donald Trump with bestselling author Brad Thor, satellite radio group SiriusXM has <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/05/siriusxm-suspends-glenn-beck-over-trump-conversation-223725#ixzz4AFaxksiC" type="external">suspended</a> the Glenn Beck radio show for a week and announced they are currently "evaluating its place in our lineup going forward."</p>
<p>The suspension came in response to an interview Beck conducted last week with the conservative fiction author, who described Donald Trump as a potentially " <a href="http://www.glennbeck.com/2016/05/25/brad-thor-trump-is-a-potentially-extinction-level-event-for-our-republic/" type="external">extinction-level event</a>" for the United States and suggested that something other than "legal" means might be required to remove him from office.</p>
<p>"He is a danger to America," <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/05/25/brad-thor-glenn-beck-trump-tyrant/" type="external">said</a> Thor, "and I got to ask you a question, and this is serious and this could ring down incredible heat on me because I’m about to suggest something very bad. It is a hypothetical I am going to ask as a thriller writer. With the feckless, spineless Congress we have, who will stand in the way of Donald Trump overstepping his constitutional authority as President? If Congress won’t remove him from office, what patriot will step up and do that if he oversteps his mandate as president — his constitutional-granted authority, I should say, as president. If he oversteps that, how do we get him out of office? And I don’t think there is a legal means available. I think it will be a terrible, terrible position the American people will be in to get Trump out of office because you won’t be able to do it through Congress."</p>
<p>"I would agree with you on that, and I don’t think you actually have the voices we’ve been talking about and we’ve been talking about this off-air for a while," Beck responded. "I think the voices like ours go away. I don’t think we are allowed – especially if things, and I believe the economy is going to go to crap, even if Jesus was in office. It’s going to naturally reset. It has to."</p>
<p>In response, SiriusXM announced that it has suspended Beck's program this week and is currently determining what to do moving forward. Here's the statement the company released:</p>
<p>SiriusXM encourages a diversity of discourse and opinion on our talk programs. However, comments recently made by a guest on the independently produced Glenn Beck Program, in our judgement, may be reasonably construed by some to have been advocating harm against an individual currently running for office, which we cannot and will not condone. For that reason, we have suspended The Glenn Beck Program from our Patriot channel for the coming week and are evaluating its place in our lineup going forward. SiriusXM is committed to a spirited, robust, yet responsible political conversation and believes this action reflects those values.</p>
<p>David Webb is filling in for Beck this week, while his show on "The Blaze" is being covered by Doc Thompson and Skip LaCombe.</p>
<p>Here is a partial transcript of more of Thor's passionate criticism of Trump via <a href="http://www.glennbeck.com/2016/05/25/brad-thor-trump-is-a-potentially-extinction-level-event-for-our-republic/" type="external">GlennBeck.com</a>:</p>
<p>THOR: [T]he problem is, is that — damn it, damn it fellow Republicans — damn you, fellow conservatives, who cannot see the potential for tyranny in this man. Shame on you, shame on you all. And damn you all to hell who refuse to acknowledge the potential for tyranny.</p>
<p>I don’t care that things might be good under Trump. That’s not good enough to gamble America’s freedom away on. It is there for everyone with eyes to see, that this man is a potential tyrant. He is a caudillo; he is a South American strongman waiting to come into power here in the United States. He will demonize anybody that stands in his way. Congress will not stop this man. We had some of our best and brightest in my lifetime on the GOP side, lined up in this primary, and he steamrolled all of them. And he didn’t do it with great ideas. He did it by being an ass, by insulting them, by making things up.</p>
<p>How the hell do you debate with somebody who pulls facts out of his butt? This guy talked about stuff that wasn’t even true. These poor Republicans brought knives to a tactical nuke fight. They couldn’t win against him. And you’re telling me Congress will stand up to tyranny from Donald Trump? It will never happen. He will demagogue members of the press, members of Congress, judges. He will steamroll them, the same way dictators in South America do. It’s going to happen here. We cannot cede the battlefield to this man. There is still a fight to be had and still a fight to be won. Let’s get back in this fight.</p> | SiriusXM Suspends Glenn Beck Over Interview About Trump | true | https://dailywire.com/news/6155/siriusxm-suspends-glenn-beck-over-interview-about-james-barrett | 2016-05-31 | 0 |
<p>When it comes to social media, it's hard to compete with NASA's Terry Virts. The astronaut tweets regularly from the International Space Station (ISS) and, yes, his view is fantastic. On Friday morning, he posted this Vine footage of Europe at night, including lights illuminating parts of Germany, Poland and Russia.</p>
<p>In the past, he has posted similarly impressive <a href="https://twitter.com/AstroTerry/status/587707972542976000" type="external">tweets showing off Scandinavia</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AstroTerry/status/587242813986746369" type="external">Singapore</a> and himself throwing a baseball to <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/588376047944503296" type="external">honor Jackie Robinson</a>. Virts, who has been on the ISS since November 2014 <a href="" type="internal">,</a> should have ample energy to take more photos thanks to the SpaceX Dragon's most recent cargo: the <a href="" type="internal">first-ever space espresso machine</a>.</p> | Stunning View of Europe at Night Captured From Space | false | http://nbcnews.com/science/space/stunning-view-europe-night-captured-space-n343531 | 2015-04-17 | 3 |
<p>Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) said Friday that its second-quarter profit rose from a year earlier, as revenues increased slightly.</p>
<p>Credit Suisse posted net income of CHF303 million Swiss francs ($314 million) during the second quarter, compared with a year-earlier profit of 170 million francs. Analysts had forecast net income of 268 million francs. Revenue rose from CHF5.1 billion to CHF5.2 billion, in line with expectations.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"We are now midway through the execution of our three-year strategic plan and our strategy is working: we are making good progress against our key objectives," Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in a statement.</p>
<p>Write to Brian Blackstone at brian.blackstone@wsj.com</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 28, 2017 01:17 ET (05:17 GMT)</p> | Credit Suisse 2Q Profit Rises | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/28/credit-suisse-2q-profit-rises.html | 2017-07-28 | 0 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. will give more than 125,000 eligible employees a one-time $1,000 cash bonus and invest $50 million in an education funding program.</p>
<p>The media company said Tuesday the bonuses will go to all full and part-time non-executive employees, either hourly or salaried, who have been with the company since January 1, 2018, and are based in the U.S.</p>
<p>Nearly 88,000 hourly employees will be eligible for the education program which will cover tuition costs. Along with the initial $50 million investment, the Burbank, California company will provide up to $25 million annually for the program.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. will give more than 125,000 eligible employees a one-time $1,000 cash bonus and invest $50 million in an education funding program.</p>
<p>The media company said Tuesday the bonuses will go to all full and part-time non-executive employees, either hourly or salaried, who have been with the company since January 1, 2018, and are based in the U.S.</p>
<p>Nearly 88,000 hourly employees will be eligible for the education program which will cover tuition costs. Along with the initial $50 million investment, the Burbank, California company will provide up to $25 million annually for the program.</p> | Disney offering staff $1,000 bonuses, new education funding | false | https://apnews.com/772457dcc4884380be4a469ff7a43bc3 | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>Shares in Rolls-Royce leapt on Tuesday after the British maker of engines for planes and ships finalised a 671 million-pound ($831 million) deal to settle a lengthy bribery investigation and said 2016 profits beat previous expectations.</p>
<p>The agreement draws a line under investigations by British, U.S. and Brazilian authorities into alleged criminal conduct spanning three decades, at least seven jurisdictions and three of the company's business sectors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Coupled with an upbeat profit forecast, it removes a cloud over the business and comes as a boost to CEO Warren East who, since joining in mid-2015, has led a drive to slash costs and restructure the group following a series of profit warnings.</p>
<p>Rolls-Royce said it "apologizes unreservedly for the conduct that has been uncovered".</p>
<p>"We now conduct ourselves in a fundamentally different way. We have zero tolerance of business misconduct of any sort," East said in a statement.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Justice said on Tuesday Rolls-Royce Plc had agreed to pay the United States a $170 million criminal penalty as part of the global settlement.</p>
<p>News of the bigger-than-expected total settlement was "negative but benign" as Rolls could spread payments out over five years, said Jefferies analyst Sandy Morris.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"This is by no means a great moment in Rolls-Royce's history but in terms of a healing process, getting the SFO (Britain's Serious Fraud Office) settled and having trading, particularly on cash flow improving, well maybe, just maybe, Rolls is on the mend," Morris said.</p>
<p>An English court on Tuesday approved the country's third Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between the SFO and Rolls, first outlined late on Monday. Rolls said it would pay 497 million pounds to the SFO plus interest and a payment in respect of costs.</p>
<p>The court heard that the case against Rolls-Royce involved bribery of senior foreign officials and senior staff in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, India, Russia, Nigeria, China and Malaysia��� from 1989-2013, with over 100 key employees and 33 million documents examined.</p>
<p>The SFO said it was the biggest investigation in its history.</p>
<p>The conduct, lawyers said, was carefully planned and led to large contracts earning as much as 250 million pounds.</p>
<p>In his ruling, the judge said the chunky penalty, the highest ever enforcement action against a company in Britain for criminal conduct, reflected the gravity of the company's misconduct alongside its corporate reform and cooperation with authorities.</p>
<p>Systems, culture, training, governance and ethics strategies��� had all been overhauled, said Rolls, adding that it had also cut dramatically the number of intermediaries it uses.</p>
<p>SHARES CLIMB</p>
<p>Shares in Rolls closed 4.4 percent higher at 695 pence on Tuesday, having earlier surged seven percent to hit their highest level for two months.</p>
<p>Rolls said on Monday it had finished the year strongly, with profit and cash flow ahead of expectations.</p>
<p>The company is due to report 2016 results on Feb. 14 with the consensus forecast for annual pretax profit predicted to halve from the year before, to 686 million pounds.</p>
<p>East has targeted savings of up to 200 million pounds a year from this year - by cutting managerial jobs - while a positive market backdrop for aircraft engines and a helpful post-Brexit slump in the pound could all have boosted profits.</p>
<p>"I think East's doing a really good job. He's doing all the right things," said Agency Partners analyst Nick Cunningham.</p>
<p>East himself, however, acknowledges that the company still faces a huge challenge as it tries to execute its restructuring at the same time as it almost doubles output of wide-body plane engines by 2019 to meet orders, while avoiding cost overruns and technical problems.</p>
<p>Over the last 12 months, shares in Rolls have outperformed Britain's blue-chip index , rising 33 percent, but have declined 8 percent since November when it set out what new accounting procedures would mean for its profits.</p>
<p>VICTORY FOR SFO</p>
<p>Rolls, which also makes engines for military jets, ships and nuclear-powered submarines, said the settlements agreed with the three authorities would involve the group paying about 293 million pounds in the first year.</p>
<p>The SFO's deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Rolls is a notable victory for the agency, representing the largest penalty it has issued. Set up to deal with the most serious and complex fraud cases, the SFO has had a chequered record in securing convictions over its 28-year history.</p>
<p>"In scale, it (the DPA) rivals the sort of penalty we are used to seeing extracted by the U.S. authorities, so will be viewed as a success for the SFO in establishing itself as a global anti-corruption agency to be feared," Neil Swift, partner at law firm Peters and Peters, said.</p>
<p>The DPA covers the company but means individuals involved can still be prosecuted by the authorities. Hinting that such cases could follow, the SFO said that the terms of the settlement involved Rolls agreeing to cooperate with future prosecutions of individuals.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Susan Fenton and Adrian Croft)</p> | Rolls-Royce shares jump on profit upgrade, bribery settlement | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/17/rolls-royce-shares-jump-on-profit-upgrade-bribery-settlement.html | 2017-01-17 | 0 |
<p>Black Star/ZUMA</p>
<p>Republicans in the Senate have given up their dream of&#160;repealing Obamacare, saying that their efforts to pass a health care bill are dead—at least for now. “Until somebody shows us a way to get that elusive 50th vote, I think it’s over,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/31/obamacare-trump-republicans-repeal-241185" type="external">said</a> this week. “Maybe lightning will strike and something will come together, but I’m not holding my breath.”</p>
<p>President Trump isn’t ready to surrender quite so easily. If he can’t succeed legislatively, he now threatens to sabotage Obamacare’s markets&#160;through executive power.&#160;In a series of tweets over the weekend, Trump suggested that he would end payments for an Obamacare program known as “cost-sharing reductions.”&#160;This program was designed to help low- income families deal with higher copays and deductibles by forcing&#160;insurance companies to offer them lower out-of-pocket rates. Insurance companies,&#160;in turn, would be reimbursed for those costs by the government.</p>
<p />
<p>Trump has frequently claimed that the Obamacare markets are doomed without his intervention. “I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll let Obamacare fail,” Trump <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-lays-blame-health-care-bill-failure-n784006" type="external">said</a> in July. “We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it.”</p>
<p>But Obamacare would&#160;more likely&#160; <a href="" type="internal">fail</a> with his intervention, rather than without it. There are certainly lingering issues—primarily high premiums for middle class families who make too much money to qualify for government support—but the market is far from collapsing.&#160;The Kaiser Family Foundation currently <a href="https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.wordpress.com/interactive/counties-at-risk-of-having-no-insurer-on-the-marketplace-exchange-in-2018/?preview_id=222123&amp;preview_nonce=9cf205324c&amp;_thumbnail_id=-1&amp;preview=true" type="external">projects</a> that in 2018,&#160;only 19 counties in the country will&#160;lack an insurer offering plans on the market. Just&#160;12,076 people are enrolled in those counties, and they&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/cynthiaccox/status/892056172752142336" type="external">represent</a> 0.1 percent of people buying insurance through Obamacare’s marketplaces. Analysts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/health/insurers-stem-losses-and-may-soon-profit-from-obamacare-plans.html" type="external">expect</a> that the markets will be profitable for insurance companies in 2018.</p>
<p>But as Mother Jones has <a href="" type="internal">explained</a> previously, if Trump cuts&#160;off the&#160;reimbursements to&#160;insurance companies it would create chaos in the insurance markets, causing prices to soar and possibly leading some companies to stop offering coverage. If the president caused the payments to be stopped altogether, the insurers would still be required&#160;to offer the same lower deductibles and copays to low-income consumers. In that scenario, insurers would either be forced to raise premiums across the board, or stop offering plans for sale. Kaiser <a href="http://www.kff.org/health-costs/press-release/estimates-average-aca-marketplace-premiums-for-silver-plans-would-need-to-increase-by-19-to-compensate-for-lack-of-funding-for-cost-sharing-subsidies/" type="external">predicts</a> that this would result in a 19 percent spike in premiums for everyone.</p>
<p>Most of those who sign up for insurance receive&#160;government subsidies that cap their premiums as a set percentage of their income.&#160;Should there be this spike,&#160;the government&#160;would pay the difference.&#160;Not so for middle-class families who don’t receive subsidies; cutting CSR payments will just raise their premiums.</p>
<p>Trump’s mere threat of ending CSR payments has already caused problems for next year’s insurance market, with the head of&#160;Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina <a href="" type="internal">planning</a> to raise premiums by 22.9 percent for 2018 primarily thanks to the uncertainty created by Trump.</p>
<p>CSRs aren’t the only area in which the&#160;Trump administration could create&#160;havoc in order&#160;to fulfill the president’s promise of Obamacare’s downfall. Seemingly small administrative tweaks in how the rules are enforced could cause problems for millions of people as well.&#160;Over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price said&#160;during an interview on ABC&#160;that he might have his department stop enforcing the individual mandate, which could drive healthy people away from buying insurance and raise the costs for everyone else still buying individual coverage. “All things are on the table to try to help patients,” Price <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tom-price-waiving-individual-mandate_us_597df94de4b02a4ebb760112" type="external">said</a>.</p>
<p>The White House may generate&#160;uncertainty, but&#160;Congress is having none of it. Republicans in both chambers have <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-sabotage-trump-csrs" type="external">said</a> they want CSR payments to continue. The Senate committee in charge of health care <a href="https://twitter.com/MelMcIntire/status/892454433442975745" type="external">announced</a> on Tuesday that it will begin bipartisan hearings in early September to work on legislation to stabilize the remaining problems with Obamacare’s markets.</p> | Trump Doesn’t Need Congress to Ruin Insurance Coverage for Millions of People | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/trump-doesnt-need-congress-to-ruin-insurance-coverage-for-millions-of-people/ | 2017-08-01 | 4 |
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Mike Mularkey had heard the rumblings about his job status, and seen all those reports that claimed he would be fired by the Titans if they lost their playoff opener to Kansas City.</p>
<p>Perhaps he'll have a little support now.</p>
<p>Tennessee rallied from a 21-3 halftime hole on Saturday to beat the Chiefs 22-21 in their AFC wild-card matchup. It was the first postseason win for the franchise in 14 years, and it left Mularkey feeling a bit vindicated when he addressed a handful of reporters deep inside Arrowhead Stadium.</p>
<p>"I don't think you guys believe me, when they come in the locker room, there is a look - they're going to come back and win this game," he said.</p>
<p>"It's on the sideline. It always is. It always has been with this team. I wish you guys would give them a little credit for it. They stick together and they've got each other's backs, and they always have. And they came through today when we really needed it."</p>
<p>When their coach really needed it, too.</p>
<p>Mularkey was asked whether the speculation had an effect on him, and he replied: "If it has an effect on my family, it has an effect on me. So, yeah. I'd say it had a big effect on me."</p>
<p>Then, he was asked whether he felt sure no matter what happens in the playoffs.</p>
<p>"No," he said. "I haven't had any support to say that I was (secure). No. I just assumed the worst."</p>
<p>Good thing he got the best.</p>
<p>Marcus Mariota threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns, the first to himself - the ball was batted back to him and he dived into the end zone - and the second to Eric Decker, a 22-yard strike with about six minutes to go that gave Tennessee its first lead of the game.</p>
<p>Derrick Henry added a career-high 156 yards rushing and another score for the Titans.</p>
<p>"Throughout this entire season, through ups and downs, guys, the energy doesn't change," Mariota said. "You've got to give a lot of credit to the guys in that locker room for continuing to believe."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Chiefs squandered another chance for their first home playoff win since January 1994, a stretch of postseason futility that includes heartbreaks of just about every stripe.</p>
<p>"The sick part about this is it's final," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, "but the guys that are going back, you have to feel this. Coaches and players, we have to change it around.</p>
<p>"It's not good enough," he added, "and that's the bottom line."</p>
<p>As the Titans wait to learn whether a trip to New England or Pittsburgh is on deck, and the Chiefs begin thinking about next season, here are a few more takeaways from the game:</p>
<p>OFFICIATING FUROR: The Chiefs complained vigorously about several calls by the officials, including two in which whistles for forward progress took away fumbles. One led to a Tennessee field goal and the other took away a 2-point conversion that would have given Kansas City a late lead. "I can't go there," Reid said. "Everything I say, those guys are protected. You can go talk to them. Question them."</p>
<p>INJURY NOTES: The Titans emerged from the game healthy, while the Chiefs lost emotional leaders on both sides of the ball. All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce left with a concussion in the first half and big defensive tackle Chris Jones left with an ankle injury in the second half. "Kelce, that hurts," Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said. "A player of his caliber, not having him out there hurts."</p>
<p>RUNNING ANGRY: Henry had bemoaned his performance as the featured back last week, when he ran 28 times for 51 yards against Jacksonville. He was back in the role Saturday with Demarco Murray still out with an injury, and this time his pounding attack paid dividends. "''I just wanted to have a better performance than I had last week," he said. "I just wanted to be able to come out here and execute the plays that were called and help this team and this offense."</p>
<p>RECORD RALLY: Only two other road teams have rallied from at least 18 down to win a playoff game in NFL history. The Cowboys came back from 21-3 in the first half to beat the 49ers 30-28 in December 1972, and the Lions came back from 27-7 in the second half to beat the 49ers in December 1957.</p>
<p>CHIEFS FUTURE: Smith is still under contract next season, but the cash-strapped Chiefs are expected to trade or release him and turn the team over to first-round pick Patrick Mahomes II.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, veteran linebackers such as Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali could be contemplating retirement. "I know those guys are hurting," Reid said. "All those decisions are way down the line."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more NFL coverage: <a href="http://www.pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://www.pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p>
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Mike Mularkey had heard the rumblings about his job status, and seen all those reports that claimed he would be fired by the Titans if they lost their playoff opener to Kansas City.</p>
<p>Perhaps he'll have a little support now.</p>
<p>Tennessee rallied from a 21-3 halftime hole on Saturday to beat the Chiefs 22-21 in their AFC wild-card matchup. It was the first postseason win for the franchise in 14 years, and it left Mularkey feeling a bit vindicated when he addressed a handful of reporters deep inside Arrowhead Stadium.</p>
<p>"I don't think you guys believe me, when they come in the locker room, there is a look - they're going to come back and win this game," he said.</p>
<p>"It's on the sideline. It always is. It always has been with this team. I wish you guys would give them a little credit for it. They stick together and they've got each other's backs, and they always have. And they came through today when we really needed it."</p>
<p>When their coach really needed it, too.</p>
<p>Mularkey was asked whether the speculation had an effect on him, and he replied: "If it has an effect on my family, it has an effect on me. So, yeah. I'd say it had a big effect on me."</p>
<p>Then, he was asked whether he felt sure no matter what happens in the playoffs.</p>
<p>"No," he said. "I haven't had any support to say that I was (secure). No. I just assumed the worst."</p>
<p>Good thing he got the best.</p>
<p>Marcus Mariota threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns, the first to himself - the ball was batted back to him and he dived into the end zone - and the second to Eric Decker, a 22-yard strike with about six minutes to go that gave Tennessee its first lead of the game.</p>
<p>Derrick Henry added a career-high 156 yards rushing and another score for the Titans.</p>
<p>"Throughout this entire season, through ups and downs, guys, the energy doesn't change," Mariota said. "You've got to give a lot of credit to the guys in that locker room for continuing to believe."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Chiefs squandered another chance for their first home playoff win since January 1994, a stretch of postseason futility that includes heartbreaks of just about every stripe.</p>
<p>"The sick part about this is it's final," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, "but the guys that are going back, you have to feel this. Coaches and players, we have to change it around.</p>
<p>"It's not good enough," he added, "and that's the bottom line."</p>
<p>As the Titans wait to learn whether a trip to New England or Pittsburgh is on deck, and the Chiefs begin thinking about next season, here are a few more takeaways from the game:</p>
<p>OFFICIATING FUROR: The Chiefs complained vigorously about several calls by the officials, including two in which whistles for forward progress took away fumbles. One led to a Tennessee field goal and the other took away a 2-point conversion that would have given Kansas City a late lead. "I can't go there," Reid said. "Everything I say, those guys are protected. You can go talk to them. Question them."</p>
<p>INJURY NOTES: The Titans emerged from the game healthy, while the Chiefs lost emotional leaders on both sides of the ball. All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce left with a concussion in the first half and big defensive tackle Chris Jones left with an ankle injury in the second half. "Kelce, that hurts," Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said. "A player of his caliber, not having him out there hurts."</p>
<p>RUNNING ANGRY: Henry had bemoaned his performance as the featured back last week, when he ran 28 times for 51 yards against Jacksonville. He was back in the role Saturday with Demarco Murray still out with an injury, and this time his pounding attack paid dividends. "''I just wanted to have a better performance than I had last week," he said. "I just wanted to be able to come out here and execute the plays that were called and help this team and this offense."</p>
<p>RECORD RALLY: Only two other road teams have rallied from at least 18 down to win a playoff game in NFL history. The Cowboys came back from 21-3 in the first half to beat the 49ers 30-28 in December 1972, and the Lions came back from 27-7 in the second half to beat the 49ers in December 1957.</p>
<p>CHIEFS FUTURE: Smith is still under contract next season, but the cash-strapped Chiefs are expected to trade or release him and turn the team over to first-round pick Patrick Mahomes II.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, veteran linebackers such as Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali could be contemplating retirement. "I know those guys are hurting," Reid said. "All those decisions are way down the line."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more NFL coverage: <a href="http://www.pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://www.pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | Titans, Mularkey not feeling much support in playoff push | false | https://apnews.com/amp/9fd7ad34e0914646a6537c1f3346e9fa | 2018-01-07 | 2 |
<p>By Henry A. Giroux, TruthoutThis piece first appeared at <a href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/16738-in-the-dead-zone-of-capitalism-lessons-on-the-violence-of-inequality-from-chicago" type="external">Truthout</a>.</p>
<p>“I consider the survival of [fascism] within democracy to be potentially more menacing that the survival of fascist tendencies against democracy.” — Theodor W. Adorno</p>
<p>Americans are confronted daily with the violence of inequality. The rich have longer life spans, better health care, access to better educational opportunities and an abundance of food. Many live in palatial homes in gated communities and wield a disproportionate amount of control and power over the major social, cultural, and political apparatuses that shape everyday life. Unlike most Americans, the extravagantly rich are protected from the massive degree of violence produced by poverty, poor health, joblessness, inadequate social provisions, decrepit housing, unsafe neighborhoods, and even environmental disasters. While the superrich also live in an age of precarity due to the free-market economic models they support, they largely escape its consequences through the obscene amount of wealth at their disposal that enables them to buy private solutions to public problems. As Naomi Klein points out, such wealth offers more than economic advantages. It also creates a world in which the penthouse and mansion set</p>
<p>protect themselves from the less savory effects of the economic model that made them so wealthy. In the past six years, we have seen the emergence of private firefighters in the United States, hired by insurance companies to offer a ‘concierge’ service to their wealthier clients, as well as the short-lived ‘HelpJet’—a charter airline in Florida that offered five-star evacuation services from hurricane zones [whose ad shamelessly states]: ‘No standing in lines, no hassle with crowds, just a first class experience that turns a problem into a vacation.</p>
<p />
<p>The corrupt bankers, hedge fund managers, and financial services elite who caused the housing crisis and the economic recession of 2008 have little fear of finding themselves homeless or in debt, a fate suffered by millions of Americans, especially young people. The hedge fund managers who pour millions into charter schools as a first step towards privatizing them don’t worry about draining valuable resources from public schools because their kids only attend the most elite and expensive private schools, and they also get a hefty return from such investments as a generous tax credit. Transferring wealth from the public to the private sector has become a sport rather than a liability – a despicable act of looting the public treasury that is viewed strictly as a financial transaction divorced from any sense of civic duty or ethical consideration. The ultra-rich do not have to worry about being unemployed, even though their search for profits produces austerity policies that put millions out of work. In this instance what emerges is a savage form of casino capitalism along with an army of walking dead zombies who celebrate a narcissistic hyper-individualism that radiates a near sociopathic lack of interest in other people and civic life. For the new financial elite of the second Gilded Age, the challenges of a global world are private, not collective, and can only be addressed by pursuing one’s own desires, financial interests, and security.</p>
<p>The obligations of citizenship and social existence in this brave new world of egregious inequality in which the “top 8% of global earners are drawing 50% of this planet’s income” have been abandoned to the narrow dictates of the private realm, consumerism and an arrested notion of individualism and freedom. In the United States, “the 400 richest people . . . have as much wealth as 154 million Americans combined, that’s 50 percent of the entire country [while] the top economic 1 percent of the US population now has a record 40 percent of all wealth, and have more wealth than 90 percent of the population combined.” It gets worse. Half of the jobs in America “now pay $34,000 or less a year . . . 42% of single-mother families with children under 18 are poor [and] 20.5 million people have incomes that amount to less than $9,500 a year. That’s half the poverty line, which is currently pegged at $19,090 for a family of three.” Moreover, the myth of upward mobility has been replaced by the reality of downward mobility, given that wages for most Americans are stagnant; youth now face a future of low-wage jobs, if not long-term unemployment, and economic and educational opportunities are tied almost exclusively to income and wealth. What the cheerleaders for neoliberalism refuse to acknowledge is that the choices people make are tied to constraints, and “nearly all of the constraints are intimately tied to the material circumstances in which we find ourselves.”</p>
<p>As public visions fall into disrepair, the concept of the public good is eradicated in favor of the narrow, private orbits of self-interest and individual happiness, characterized by an endless search for instant gratification, consumer goods and quick profits. The value of everything from education to health care is measured by how profitable it might be for those who treat such institutions less as a public good than as a source for private gain. There are no ethical dilemmas here, only opportunities for increasing the bottom line and making greed the highest of human values and desires. Such behavior is legitimated by appeals to a competitive philosophy in which everyone is either an enemy to be punished or a resource to be exploited, used, and eventually discarded in the quest for personal and financial success. Citizens have been replaced by consumers, and the search for profits regardless of the social costs has created a society in which the accumulation of capital trumps any concerns about fairness and justice. Snapshots of growing inequality are symptomatic of a society that has divorced itself from any sense of moral and social responsibility. Surely, the recent deaths of hundreds of workers in unsafe factories in Bangladesh speak to how disposable human beings have become under a market-driven system in which the desire for cheap labor by companies such as Wal-Mart, Sears, Disney, and others takes precedence over the health, dignity, and lives of poor workers.</p>
<p>The growing levels of injustice in every facet of life barely provoke outrage because they are wrapped in a disimagination machine that ascribes inequality to the natural order of things, an act of nature in which hard work and merit prevail in great riches and comforts for the few and impoverishment for the many. Yet, even this timeworn myth is rarely evoked anymore. The current crop of super-rich financiers is much too arrogant and comfortable to provide a rationale for their extreme wealth and power. All forms of violence are now factored, if not ignored, into the call for economic growth, abetted by the cowardice of the mainstream media that act as paid servants for the rich and the growing prominence of a political apparatus that enriches itself on the benefits provided by an army of corporate lobbyists.The spectacle of the new Gilded Age reveals itself in the huge incomes and unimaginable amounts of wealth being amassed by the upper 1 percent. For instance, hedge fund manager Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors took home $1.4 billion in 2012, while Ray Balio, Bridgewater Associates founder, made $1.7 billion and David Tepper of Appaloosa Management made $2.2 billion the same year. Paul Buchheit reports that the Koch brothers make about $3 billion per hour on their investments, while the poorest 47 percent of Americans have no wealth. While many young people face a jobless future, billionaires such as Bill Gates, Leon Cooperman, and others do more than drain wealth and income from the larger society; they also destroy those institutions that serve the common good, undermine the public interest, and gut the most basic elements of a viable social contract. Buchheit has argued that “a single top income could buy housing for every homeless person in the United States.” Not only do the rich and powerful shape policies that lower corporate tax rates while bleeding states of much needed revenue, but they also attempt to compensate for the loss of public revenue by closing public schools in cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City. Austerity has become a ruthless ploy to “cut spending to the point where government [becomes] unrecognizable.”</p>
<p>The neoliberal policies funded by the new financial elite cut funding for programs such as Head Start, eliminate breakfast programs for poor children and portray people on food stamps as freeloaders. The latter baseless insult is particularly vicious since the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is crucial for low-income children living in extreme poverty because it “greatly reduce[s] food insecurity . . . which, in turn, greatly enhances their chances of doing well in school and growing up to be successful, productive adults.” The Republican Party’s engineering of the so-called sequester is not about balancing the budget. It is about waging war on poor minorities and low-income youth, public schools, the welfare state, unions and social programs for women and other disadvantaged populations. Such inequality of power and wealth produces massive amounts of human suffering for millions of Americans who are marginalized by age, race, gender, disability and socio-economic class.</p>
<p>In Texas, 1.5 million low-income people will lose health care because of the ethos of savage capitalism relentlessly enforced by Governor Rick Perry and his fellow lawmakers. These bible-thumping disciples of “free-market” capitalism have “voted against expanding Medicaid using $100 billion in federal funds offered under President Obama’s health care law,” insisting that government-sponsored health care demeans character and rewards people labeled by conservatives as lazy and contemptible. Of course, the populations considered disposable here are low income and poor minorities, of whom 35 and 32 percent, respectively, suffer from poor health and shortened life spans. As Goran Therborn points out, inequality is not simply about the gap between the rich and the poor: It is about the inequities in life expectancy between the privileged and disadvantaged. The dividing line in American society is no longer between those who have made it and those trying to emulate their success. On the contrary, the dividing line is between those who live a life of unimaginable privilege and comfort and those who are struggling to survive and stay alive.</p>
<p>There is more at stake here than a symbolic violence that objectifies the vulnerable and produces insensitivity to their problems. There is the real violence that aggravates poor health, shortens lives and produces a machinery of individual and social death. Martin Luther King, Jr. was right when he pointed to two Americas, stating insightfully that “the other America” is inhabited by people “perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” What he did not envision was that those considered part of the other America are now viewed not as disadvantaged, but as utterly disposable. In the new order of casino capitalism, people continue to live in rat-infested slums, but they are also increasingly warehoused in jails and prisons, which now rank as the most prominent institutions of the welfare state. And if they do not perish in prisons, they die from illness caused by the failure of government to regulate big business.</p>
<p>As Ralph Nader recently noted,</p>
<p>the effects of deregulation stretch to all walks of life. The profit-driven practices of big corporations have led to the deaths and preventable illnesses of thousands of Americans every year. Roughly 60,000 die from workplace-related diseases and injuries, 200,000 from medical malpractice and hospital-induced infections, 70,000 from air pollution and 1,000,000 from side effects from dangerous pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>The daily ugliness of the violence of inequality perpetrated on millions of Americans finds its counterpart in the culture of cruelty, produced by the dead zone of capitalism and sanctioned by big corporations and the ultra-rich who preserve a disordered autoimmune system for the nation that destroys the defenses protecting any viable notion of democracy and justice. The financial elite and their political stooges resemble not only the main character in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street, with its infamous “greed is good” credo, but increasingly the more disturbing character in Bret Easton Ellis’s novel made into the 2000 film American Psycho, who literally kills those considered disposable in a society in which only the strong survive. While Wall Street is a critique of the celebration of greed and the institutions that make it possible, it captured a particular moment in American history when the values of the Gilded Age were resurfacing under the presidency of Ronald Reagan with a vengeance. American Psycho is about the subjects, identities, and desires being produced for those who are leading America into an authoritarian dystopia in the 21st century in which safety nets are destroyed, civil liberties dismantled, gated communities proliferate, prison populations dramatically increase, and pervasive violence circulates at the level of everyday life. Both films crucially capture something about the downward ethical, economic and political spiral produced by casino capitalism. The hero of contemporary American capitalism is also modeled after John Galt on steroids, the character from the infamous Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged who transforms the morality of self-interest into a secular religion for the socially disabled. The fictional characters Gordon Gecko, Patrick Batemen and John Galt are now personified in the real life personas of the Koch brothers, Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon, among others. The ruthless ethos of predatory capitalism is now producing a more intense and wide-ranging spectacle of symbolic and real violence. State violence now finds its counterpart in the white male rage aimed at the poor, minorities, students, and protesters – a rage that appears rampant among the police, Republican Party politicians, gun advocates, right-wing Christian extremists and most Tea Party members. And this hyper-masculine propensity for violence is endlessly legitimated in television shows that celebrate serial killers, Hollywood films that drench audiences with extreme spectacles of violence and a surfeit of video games that turn first-shooters into heroes. Abroad, such violence assumes a real life dimension as drones kill innocent people, soldiers murder women and children for sport (the Kill Team in Afghanistan), and demented soldiers mimic the comic book and film superheroes whose mission appears to be to rid Gotham City of the poor (the murdering rampage of Sergeant Robert Bales in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The violence produced in a growing dystopian authoritarian state is now sanctioned in a class and racially skewed justice system in which people are given long prison sentences for smoking marijuana but not for defrauding the public out of billions of dollars. Major banks such as HSBC launder money for terrorists, defraud millions of their financial assets and destroy all vestiges of a social democracy. They are not only considered too big to be held accountable but extolled as the vanguard of educational reform, propped up as icons in a tawdry celebrity culture and allowed to determine policies at the highest levels of government. This is about more than the arrogance of power. It is about the death of justice and democracy. This is a culture in which inequality in wealth, income, and power breeds more than social and economic disparities; it also produces a kind of moral blindness and spiritual vacuum that overtakes politics, justice and any viable vision of the good society. In a society plagued and battered by a ruling financial and corporate elite that embraces and suffers from an ethical coma, it becomes more difficult for the American public to recognize the machinery of corporate domination, greed and abuse that increasingly revels in a culture of cruelty.</p>
<p>The weakening of public values has created a power elite marked by a self-righteous coldness that takes delight in and makes a sport out of the suffering of others. The lifestyles of the poor are portrayed in the media as a form of poverty porn in which “the worst and weakest moments of people’s lives are [portrayed] as funny and entertaining.” Is it any wonder that within the last decade there has been a proliferation on the Internet of “Bum Videos,” in which homeless people are videotaped as they are beaten by young people, who view such violence as a form of entertainment? The descent into barbarism is now matched by the elimination of the discourse of compassion and the proliferation of abuses hurled at the poor, immigrants and others viewed as outside the pale of economic Darwinism. In fact, the current neoliberal era unscrupulously embraces the take-no-prisoners attitude of a culture of cruelty and the widespread violence it produces. We have seen this before in the robber barons of the first Gilded Age, but what is new in the current historical juncture are the widespread social and moral sanctions given to the ethos of greed and cruelty, along with the intensification and visibility of spectacles of violence. The new elite is building what Robert Jay Lifton once called “a death-saturating age” in which the growing extremes of wealth are matched by an increasing number of cultural representations and public policies that relish the practice of throwing away and abandoning not just resources and goods but also people.</p>
<p>The signs of such a culture of cruelty can be witnessed in the pronouncements of wealthy politicians insisting that students who receive free meals should work for their food. They are evident in the discourse of conservative media pundits and anti-public intellectuals who argue that poverty is a personal failing and demand that the poor be punished by slashing their meager benefits. Of course, this would mean punishing almost half of the American public who are in or near poverty. We hear it in the words of prominent Republicans such as Newt Gingrich, who has denounced child labor laws as “truly stupid” while suggesting that poor youth should be put to work in schools as janitors. We hear it from hypocrites such as Tennessee congressman Stephen Fincher, a Republican who wants to cut $20 billion from food stamp legislation, justifying such cuts by quoting the Bible. As it turns out, Fincher personally collected nearly $3.5 million in farm subsidies between 1999 and 2012. We see the culture of cruelty displayed in the horrifying echoes of the crowds that cheered when Representative Ron Paul in a Republican debate argued that if a young man who did not purchase health insurance found himself with a deadly illness, then he should have to bear the burden alone, and the government had no responsibility to provide health care that would prevent him from dying. In other words, society should look the other way as he died. We catch a glimpse of such a culture in the despicable practices of a Bronx bus company that once offered tours billed as “a ride through a real New York City ‘GHETTO.’” But the culture of cruelty is perhaps most evident in the increasing criminalization of school children who more often than not inhabit schools in which the police harass and punish them for trivial behavior infractions.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, rarely is the culture of cruelty and the suffering it causes for young people connected to larger neoliberal forces produced by a militarized form of casino capitalism. We can catch a glimpse of how these forces impact each other in the recent decision by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to close down 50 public schools, mostly inhabited by poor minorities, impacting some 30,000 students. Emanuel’s decision to close down a record number of public schools is one more recent example of a savage, racist neoliberal system at work that uses the politics of austerity and consolidation to further disenfranchise the unskilled young of the inner city. Of the 50 schools targeted to be closed, 49 serve elementary school children, “90 percent of whom are African American (in a district that is only 40% African American).” This is a policy in which there is a high threshold of violence that reveals the operations of a machinery of power, death and destruction committed to destroying all communal relationships.That many of these Chicago children are poor black youth trapped in under-resourced schools appears irrelevant to a mayor who takes his lead from politicians such as Barack Obama and Arnie Duncan – two educators who, despite being Democrats, have intensified the George W. Bush educational reform playbook. The ill-fated consequence of this so-called educational reform movement is that equity is removed from excellence. The apt neoliberal moniker given to Obama’s Race to the Top educational policy supports more testing, demonizes teachers, weakens unions, advocates for choice and charter schools, and turns public schools over to the market-based ideology and values of corporate hedge fund managers, conservative billionaires and right-wing foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell foundation. In Chicago, Emanuel’s passionate zeal to close public schools in impoverished black neighborhoods is matched only by his misdirected enthusiasm to lay out $55 million on a hotel that will benefit the University of Chicago and $300 million on a basketball arena for DePaul University, both of which are private Chicago universities. Emanuel claims he is shutting down 50 schools because the city is broke, but as Ben Joravsky points out in The Chicago Reader,</p>
<p>Of course, as broke as we are, there’s still $55 million lying around to buy some land and hand it over to private entities that don’t need it. Because there’s the kind of broke that means we don’t have any money for schools, and there’s the kind that means we don’t have money to subsidize the rich and powerful. We haven’t come close to reaching that second kind of broke – and probably never will, so long as this mayor’s in charge. . . . Since the deal costs $55 million, we’ll have less money to spend on schools. Which means most of them will still go without music, art, drama, intramurals or reduced class sizes.</p>
<p>Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, who is helping lead the campaign against school closings, has argued that Emanuel’s claims that school closings are necessary to save money and will better serve students are a sham. According to Sharkey,</p>
<p>both rationales are outrageous. As far as saving money, the district is planning – or the city is going to spend – $300 million to renovate a new stadium for the DePaul basketball team and the tourist areas of the city; we don’t believe the school closings will save that much money. And we definitely don’t think that this will actually help the students who are being affected. In all the previous rounds, we found that the University of Chicago research shows that over 90 percent of the students actually wind up with worse educational outcomes as a result of their schools being closed. So, this will be very harmful to the students. It’ll be harmful to the public school system as a whole, and to the people who work in the schools, as well.</p>
<p>Carl Gibson, cofounder of the movement U.S. Uncut, is even more specific in challenging the argument that only by closing schools can the state and city reduce the budget deficit. He argues that while it is true that the Chicago schools face a $1 billion deficit, what is often overlooked in the corporate media is that Illinois “loses $4.8 billion annually in federal tax dollars to corporate tax loopholes that shift profits overseas. [Moreover], a small tax on Wall Street transactions would raise roughly $150 billion a year, more than enough to offset the cuts that are closing 50 schools.”</p>
<p>Other critics of Emanuel’s approach, such as Justin Panon, have pointed out that Emanuel solidly hangs his hat in the corporate boardroom and kneels at the altar of big corporations and the ultrarich and powerful, “so much so that Chicago residents presented his office with a golden toilet after he handed over $15 million in tax rebates to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This slush fund money had originally [been] earmarked for the renewal of public infrastructure.” What is also hard to miss in Emanuel’s educational policies is “that many of the targeted schools exist in areas deemed ripe for gentrification,” which may explain why Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has made clear that “since 2001, 88 percent of students impacted by the CPS School actions are African American, and this is by design. In many ways, Emanuel is just intensifying the neoliberal strategy started by Arne Duncan who initiated the neoliberal policy of closing schools in Chicago as part of his corporate-driven Renaissance 2010 plan. As Diane Ravitch points out, while Duncan’s plan for Chicago did “close lots of schools and open many more – it did not improve education.” Also hard to ignore, given Emanuel’s infamous penchant for revenge and the fact that there will be little cost savings, is that the closings largely serve as payback against the teachers’ union for having waged a strike that generated by negative publicity for the mayor in September 2012.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Emanuel’s actions in Chicago also mimic neoliberal policies that are playing out in other cities across the United States. The violence of inequality and the culture of cruelty produced by the advocates of neoliberalism represent the Wild West of finance capital and are creating vast zones of suffering, terminal exclusion, and disposability. Emanuel would rather protect the wealth of corporations than invest in public schools. No democracy can survive under such circumstances. Emanuel’s educational policies are just one more indication of the violence being waged on young people, teachers, the poor, racial minorities and others who believe in public values, the dignity of democratic institutions and an ideology in which sharing, trust, justice, and individual and social empowerment should not be regulated by the market. Resisting Emanuel’s policies in Chicago has to be connected to resisting other institutions that support casino capitalism and a broader politics of rampant and depoliticizing consumerism, a culture of cruelty, and the rise of the punishing state.</p>
<p>Politics and educational policy are not disconnected from wider market-driven relations of power, governance, and ideology. Democracy, when measured by the yardstick of profit, turns in on itself and eats away the formative cultures, spheres of dissent, and social relations that make it possible. What Emanuel is doing in Chicago is just another version of the ruthless ideological and economic forces at work in the United States that display a deep symmetry with an updated form of authoritarianism now dominating the American landscape. Catherine Clement has stated that “every culture has an imaginary zone for what it excludes.” She is right, and the class, racial, and power relations that create such zones have to be made visible through a new understanding and claim to democratic politics, pedagogy, and collective struggle so that the institutions, ideologies and power relations that currently dominate the United States can be properly reformed or identified as the rightful candidates for disposability. What is taking place in Chicago is a window into a savage form of capitalism that transfers public wealth into private hands, believes that individuals have the right to profit from the loss of public goods and dissolves public considerations into private troubles. Emanuel’s market-driven practices need to be understood as part of the broader contexts and circulation of power as well as the sinister heritage whose history runs through the advocacy of apostles of neoliberalism such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and the institutions that enforce neoliberal practices globally such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Emanuel is simply the latest incarnation of neoliberal austerity economics, which found its most acute expression in the dystopian authoritarian experiment conducted in Chile by the dictator General Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s and 80s, with the help of the Chicago boys, and continues to this day to shape policies all over the globe. In this case, the present as created by Emanuel does more than mimic the past: it makes it worse and portends a future of dark times. Emanuel’s embrace of the dead zone of capitalism is part of a 50-year campaign to impose the juggernaut of privatization, consumption, incarceration, disposability and class warfare to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few corporations and the ultrarich. At the same time, Emanuel’s policies are true to the neoliberal playbook of smashing labor unions, punishing dissent and claiming that the country is too broke to invest in “the education of our young, or rebuild our crumbling infrastructure or continue to provide Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, or expand health insurance.”</p>
<p>Fortunately, the struggle to build social movements and transform an unjust society into a just one is taking place not only in Chicago, but in Paris, Athens, Cairo and in many other cities throughout the world. Chicago and other movements, including the Occupy movement, are redefining liberty as a collective good that is incompatible with the hollow shell of freedom produced by economic and social inequality endemic to the structural violence of predatory capitalism. Marginalized youth, workers, artists and others are raising serious questions about the violence of inequality and the social order that legitimates it. They are calling for a redistribution of wealth and power – not within the old system, but in a new one in which democracy becomes more than a slogan or a legitimation for authoritarianism and state violence. As Stanley Aronowitz and Angela Davis, among others, have argued, the fight for education and justice is inseparable from the struggle for economic equality, human dignity and security, and the challenge of developing American institutions along genuinely democratic lines. Today, there is a new focus on public values, the need for broad-based movements for solidarity, and alternative conceptions of politics, democracy and justice.</p>
<p>The actions of Chicago teachers exemplify a wider call for moral outrage and more democratic schools, models of leadership,and education that are wedded to producing young people who are engaged and critical citizens, willing to fight for the ongoing democratization of American society. Chicago is no longer simply a city in turmoil, nor is it simply the site of a courageous protest movement. It is a zone of hope which offers a snapshot of the collective struggles to come and the role that education might play in such a struggle. And if those struggles are to matter, demonstrations and protests must give way to more sustainable organizations that develop alternative communities, autonomous forms of worker control, collective forms of health care, models of direct democracy and emancipatory modes of education. There is a need both to educate the American public about the violence being waged by the corporate and repressive state and to make clear that government under the dictatorship of market sovereignty and power is no longer responsive to the most basic needs of the American people. A future that can provide sustainable jobs, decent health care, quality education and communities of solidarity and caring depends on the efforts being made now to awaken the public to its current reality.</p>
<p>For this reason, any collective struggle that matters has to embrace education as the center of politics and the source of an embryonic vision of the good life outside of the imperatives of predatory capitalism. This is a difficult task, but what we are seeing in Chicago, Athens and other dead zones of capitalism throughout the world is the beginning of a long struggle for the institutions, values and infrastructures that make community the center of a robust, radical democracy. The American public has reached the endpoint of accommodation. Emanuel is just another example of why such a struggle is as necessary as it is just.</p>
<p /> | In the Dead Zone of Capitalism: Lessons From Chicago on the Violence of Inequality | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/in-the-dead-zone-of-capitalism-lessons-from-chicago-on-the-violence-of-inequality/ | 2013-06-06 | 4 |
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 463 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 196.3 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 377 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 147.1 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 274 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 134.0 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 535 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 123.5 Most prominent chain: Burger King</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 683 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 120.3 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 100.0 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 216 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 95.8 Most prominent chain: Burger King</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 313 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 94.0 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 158 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 77.7 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 168 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 73.0 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 225 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 72.2 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 149 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 71.9 Most prominent chain: Dunkin? Donuts</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 372 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 68.8 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 174 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 68.2 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 125 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 61.8 Most prominent chain: Wendy's</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 198 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 61.0 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 331 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 60.9 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 242 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 60.5 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 134 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 60.2 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 233 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 59.8 Most prominent chain: Sonic</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 276 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 59.1 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 475 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 58.8 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 237 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 58.4 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 120 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 58.3 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 133 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 58.0 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 57.9 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 324 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 57.2 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 169 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 57.0 Most prominent chain: Arby's</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 212 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 57.0 Most prominent chain: Pizza Hut</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 463 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 56.9 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 300 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 56.7 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 114 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 55.0 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 140 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 54.7 Most prominent chain: Dairy Queen</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 237 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 54.7 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 1,228 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 54.4 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 147 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 53.7 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 121 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 53.6 Most prominent chain: Sonic</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 117 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 53.3 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 324 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 53.1 Most prominent chain: Subway</p>
<p>Total fast food restaurants: 125 Fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents: 52.6 Most prominent chain: Subway</p> | Fast Food Capitals | true | https://thedailybeast.com/fast-food-capitals | 2018-10-02 | 4 |
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<p>"I have served our community for 20 years as a criminal prosecutor seeking justice for victims," said Sanchez-Gagne in a news release. "As your next district attorney, I will not shy away from prosecuting difficult cases in order to ensure community safety. I will serve you with honesty, integrity and experience."</p>
<p>Sanchez-Gagne was director of the Border Violence Division in the Attorney General's Office from 2005-15. Prior to that, she was an assistant attorney general. Sanchez-Gagne, born and raised in Santa Fe, began her career as an assistant district attorney in the First Judicial District DA's Office, where she prosecuted felony child abuse cases and domestic violence cases from 1996-2000.</p>
<p>Two others have said they will run for district attorney in the June Democratic primary.</p>
<p>Those include current DA Jennifer Padgett, who was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez effective Jan. 1 to serve out the year remaining in the term of Angela "Spence" Pacheco, who retired at the end of the last year. Padgett was the administrative services director for the state Children, Youth and Families Department and also has worked an assistant general counsel in the governor's office, and as a prosecutor in the Santa Fe and Las Cruces district attorney offices.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Marco Serna, an attorney whose experience includes serving as an assistant attorney general for the past year, is also running. He also has served as a litigator in the state Risk Management Division and as a prosecutor in 13th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Valencia and Sandoval counties</p>
<p>"I have dedicated my career to prosecuting serious violent crimes, including homicides, sexual assaults, human trafficking and crimes against children," said Sanchez-Gagne. "As District Attorney, I will apply my twenty years of prosecution experience and leadership to keep our communities safe."</p>
<p /> | Former assistant AG, SF native plans run for DA | false | https://abqjournal.com/718720/former-assistant-ag-sf-native-plans-run-for-da.html | 2 |
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<p>Specialty retailer Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) met Wall Street’s expectations on Thursday with a 58% leap in second-quarter sales thanks to a 6.7% jump in same-store sales.</p>
<p>The seller of home furnishings and gifts also hiked its full-year profit targets once again, allowing its shares to extend their impressive 2012 run.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Fort Worth, Texas-based Pier 1 Imports said it earned $26.2 million, or 24 cents a share, last quarter, compared with a profit of $16.6 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it earned 19 cents a share, matching estimates from analysts.</p>
<p>Revenue grew 8.3% to $368 million, also matching the Street’s view. Same-store sales increased 6.7%, down from 10.8% the year before, and gross margins ticked up to 41.2% from 39.6%.</p>
<p>“Our sound strategies and focus on flawless execution ideally position the Company to achieve continued growth and long-term success,” CEO Alex Smith said in a statement.</p>
<p>Pier 1 Imports also boosted its full-year non-GAAP EPS view to $1.10 to $1.16, up from $1.08 to $1.14 previously. Analysts had been calling for full-year EPS of $1.16.</p>
<p>Management said same-store sales are expected to rise in the mid-single digit range.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Shares of Pier 1 rose 1.59% to $19.86 in premarket trading, putting them on pace to build on their 2012 rally of about 40%.</p> | Pier 1 Imports Enjoys 58% Rise in 2Q Net, Hikes Full-Year View | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/09/13/pier-1-imports-enjoys-58-rise-in-2q-net-hikes-full-year-view.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
<p>The undisguised, ultra-rightist biases of Fox News are all too familiar to anyone who is paying attention. Particularly since the election of Donald Trump, who has built the Fox Team into a partisan media border wall that works ferociously to defend him no matter how dishonest or disgusting his behavior. Trump even treats Fox as <a href="" type="internal">his recruiting pool</a> White House personnel.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2076137832401001" type="external" /></p>
<p>However, there is one outpost of semi-sanity on the network that occasionally diverts from the Fox gospel. Afternoon anchor Shepard Smith has been known to propound actual facts in contrast to the deliberate lies and propaganda that infect the rest of Fox’s roster. Notably, he presented a <a href="https://youtu.be/8vCjyWlpmEY" type="external">reality-based summary</a> of the Uranium One issue that many Fox squawking heads twisted into a perverse anti-Hillary Clinton harangue. He has also offered a more <a href="https://youtu.be/rdcppVPa4CQ" type="external">compassionate view</a> of victims of gun violence than is generally exhibited by Fox’s NRA shills. These sort of segments have made Smith the most hated man on Fox News by Fox News viewers.</p>
<p>Predictably, the news that Smith <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-signsshepard-smith-new-multiyear-deal-1094727" type="external">just signed</a> a new, multiyear contract with Fox News has landed with a thud among the Fox faithful who have been clamoring for him to fired. And a recent <a href="http://time.com/longform/shepard-smith-fox-news/" type="external">profile</a> of Smith by Time Magazine wherein he expressed some candid opinions about his employer and colleagues isn’t going to make them any happier. Smith differentiated his role as a journalist with that of the “entertainers” who populate Fox’s primetime:</p>
<p>“We serve different masters. We work for different reporting chains, we have different rules. They don’t really have rules on the opinion side. They can say whatever they want. If it’s their opinion. I don’t really watch a lot of opinion programming. I’m busy.” […]</p>
<p>“I get it,” he says, “that some of our opinion programming is there strictly to be entertaining. I get that. I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there.”</p>
<p>Smith is right. And his characterization of much of Fox’s programming as entertainment is consistent with what Fox News executives have said. News Corpse reported in 2015 a variety of admissions by Fox that they are <a href="" type="internal">not really in the news business</a>. Among them the confession that Fox founder and CEO, the late Roger Ailes, gave to the Hollywood Reporter. He dismissed talk that Fox competed with other news networks, instead insisting that “We’re competing with TNT and USA and ESPN.”</p>
<p>But Smith’s remarks did not go unnoticed by his network-mate, Sean Hannity. As the Fox host most fiercely infatuated with Trump, Hannity took offense at being trivialized as an entertainer. He tweeted this response to Smith:</p>
<p />
<p>Smith never mentioned Hannity in his profile, but Hannity had no reservations making this feud personal. His indignation is hysterical considering that he broke none of the stories he itemized in his tweet. He merely regurgitated them from other sources that were even more fringe than he is (Breitbart, Infowars, Gateway Pundit, etc.). And then he has the gall to sign off with Fox’s brand new slogan, “Real News.” Fox <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsCorpse/status/973287749645082624" type="external">posted a promo</a> for the new tagline that warned “It’s about to get REAL.” Which kind of implies that it’s been bullshit up until now.</p>
<p>Another problem with Hannity trash-talking Smith is that Hannity himself has denied being a journalist. Or maybe this calmly phrased tweet was just misunderstood:</p>
<p />
<p>Inquiring minds want to know: If Hannity is not a “journalist jackass,” then what kind of jackass is he? It’s almost impossible to tell because he keeps contradicting himself. <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/08/07/contrary-past-protestation-sean-hannity-announces-im-journalist/217546" type="external">On his radio show</a> last August he insisted that “I’m a journalist but I’m an advocacy journalist.” Apparently Hannity is whatever he says he is at the time he’s saying it. Like most of what comes out of his mouth, it cannot be taken seriously or relied upon to be operative an hour later.</p>
<p>Poor Hannity must be terribly disturbed by how badly he is being <a href="" type="internal">crushed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow</a> lately. He was moved by Fox to directly compete with her a few months ago, but they may be regretting that now. All it did was affirm how weak he is as a TV personality. And while there are a lot of Fox viewers who would like to see Smith fired, there are many more American who would prefer that Hannity is sent packing. And you can help by signing on here: <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-signsshepard-smith-new-multiyear-deal-1094727" type="external">Stop Hannity</a>.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p> | Popcorn Time: War Breaks Out at Fox News Between Shepard Smith and Sean Hannity | true | http://newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p%3D34304 | 4 |
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<p />
<p>This post originally ran on <a href="http://www.juancole.com/2014/05/documented-undocumented-theatrical.html" type="external">Juan Cole’s Web page</a>.</p>
<p>I was privileged to see a special screening of Jose Antonio Vargas’s breathlessly awaited documentary, “Documented,” when I was in Los Angeles last week, and honored to meet Vargas himself along with executive producer <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946003/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr8%20" type="external">Janet Yang</a> (“The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs Larry Flynt”). The film was shown in a class at the University of Southern California by my friend <a href="" type="internal">Robert Scheer</a> (the founder of Truthdig).</p>
<p>The film will have a limited release in theaters in Los Angeles and New York this month before being shown on CNN in the middle of the summer. It is not to be missed. Vargas made the decision to make profound revelations about his family and personal life, putting them on camera in a poignant and sometimes almost brutal way. (He also came out as gay, initially a challenge for his traditional family). He was brought to the US as a child by his grandfather, who had legally immigrated, but who tired of the long queue preventing his grandson from coming. Thinking that the boy would just get a basic education and a job and that it would never matter, he bought him a phoney social security card and passport. The young Mr. Vargas turned out, however, to be a little genius, and he went into journalism and won a Pulitzer prize, appearing widely on television and ultimately gaining the best perch in the profession, a position at the New Yorker.</p>
<p />
<p>Vargas ultimately decided to force the issue of his undocumented status, which he had only found out about when he tried to get a driver’s license. He went public. It cost him his primo job at the New Yorker, since he has no visa allowing him to work there. Unfortunately for him, there is no way for a person brought illegally to the US as a child, who grew up here and thinks of himself as an American, to repair the situation. There is no form to fill out, no procedure to initiate. Either he or she stays illegally or goes back to the home country and gets in line with millions of others to return. Vargas is in special trouble because he has admitted to hiding his undocumented status from employers.</p>
<p>While some of the other 12 million undocumented Americans came knowingly as adults, many of the others were also brought in unwittingly as children, through no fault of their own. The film is eloquent about the way in which many undocumented Americans have had this status inflicted on them, so that they are victims, not law-breakers as the white nativists paint them. The web of kin, friends, colleagues and identity they have woven is inextricable from their inner selves, such that to deport them is to alienate them from their own essences and is more exile than deportation.</p>
<p>The Republican Party in Congress has again this year refused to help create a pathway to citizenship for these millions of Americans, who do work for this society that otherwise likely would not get done (anyone who likes strawberries is benefiting from undocumented farm workers– no mechanical combine exists for harvesting that fruit and no citizens are likely to do that backbreaking work.)</p>
<p>The film is very good at explaining the current lack of procedure for the undocumented. In some instances a senator might intervene, in others a marriage might solve the problem (though not if the person has ever lied on an employment form about being a citizen). Self-deportation, which is to say, self-exile, is the only option for a complete return to legality. Mysteriously, the INS has not yet come for him.</p>
<p>But above all the film is the biography of a Filipino family. Ironically, Jose is much more “American” than his grandparents, who had citizenship. Being brought to the US under these circumstances destroyed his relationship with his mother for some 18 years, and the film is tenderly revelatory about that relationship. Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson and the Washington Post and CNN all play a part in making us understand the hybrid character of Filipino-American identity.</p>
<p>In the end, you come to admire Jose for his courage and his amazing obstinacy in insisting that his country boldly face the paradox of his statelessness and find a way to repair it. We must. Jose is worth it, as are his 12 million counterparts.</p>
<p>Jose Antonio Vargas’s activist website, where you can join the struggle, is <a href="http://www.defineamerican.com/%20" type="external">DefineAmerican</a></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/immigration-doc-documented-will-get-688322%20" type="external">Hollywood Reporter</a> recently noted,</p>
<p>Jose Antonio Vargas’ Documented will be released in select New York and Los Angeles theaters prior to its television broadcast on CNN, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. The move will qualify the film for Oscar consideration.</p>
<p>The documentary — which was written, produced and directed by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist — centers on Vargas’ experience as an undocumented immigrant and a crusader for immigration reform. It will be released theatrically and digitally by his nonprofit Define American media and culture campaign, along with BOND/360, in New York at the Village East Cinema on May 2 and in Los Angeles at the Landmark Regent on May 9. It will then air on CNN in the summer.</p>
<p>Related video:</p>
<p><a href="http://youtu.be/TJH1IKqF8PA%20" type="external">Define American: Jose’s Story</a></p>
<p /> | Jose Antonio Vargas’ 'Documented' on Plight of Undocumented to Air on CNN After Theatrical Release | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/jose-antonio-vargas-documented-on-plight-of-undocumented-to-air-on-cnn-after-theatrical-release/ | 2014-05-05 | 4 |
<p>At the very end of his September 21, 2004 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Bush proposed a UN “Democracy Fund” to facilitate in emerging democracies the creation of “the rule of law and independent courts, a free press, political parties and trade unions [and] help set up voter precincts and polling places, and support the work of election monitors.”</p>
<p>On October 9 in Afghanistan, much of what the President envisions will be on the line in Afghanistan as ten million Afghan men and women (even omitting the suspected 200,000 double registrations) attempt to freely elect a president.</p>
<p>“Freely” is the key. The potential pitfalls are legion: attacks by al-Qaeda or Taliban, widespread illiteracy (as high as 60 percent among adults), cultural taboos that require separate arrangements for men and women voters at the 22,000 polling locations, pressures from tribal leaders and elders to conform and vote for the candidate “chosen” by those traditional authorities, the two or more weeks necessary to retrieve ballot boxes from the more remote locales and count the votes. Yet the one danger that is particularly acute has gone almost completely unreported in the U.S. media: the possibility that Afghans will not accept the process as credible because of perceived outside (U.S.) meddling.</p>
<p>This outcome is not generally discussed; security for the polls generally captures headlines because of the numbers. Extra battalions were deployed by Spain and Italy, boosting the non-U.S. international total to nearly 9,000, while additional army deployments brought U.S. troop strength to 16,000. In addition, some 60,000 Afghan police and soldiers will be on duty.</p>
<p>Probably no one in Afghanistan is unaware that the current interim president, Hamid Karzai, chosen by a traditional Afghan loya jirga to lead the country until regular elections, is Washington’s man. His stature as interim president is burnished by the ability to sprinkle U.S. and internationally-donated money and grant other favors to win support ­ and votes. The Bush Administration has fully supported this pork-barrel approach by infusing an additional $1.6 billion into reconstruction projects in 2004.</p>
<p>The success of this brand of “ward politics” is jeopardized by the very visible presence of Washington’s “other man” in Kabul, U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, a.k.a. “The Viceroy” (London Times, October 4, 2004). Karzai is ferried about Afghanistan in U.S. helicopters and protected by private foreign security guards. Khalilzad and others in the U.S. government reportedly have pressed some of the other 17 candidates to end their campaigns so that Karzai has a greater chance of garnering the 51 percent of the votes needed to avoid a run-off election in November. Among inducements proffered are promises of cabinet posts in a new Karzai administration.</p>
<p>Ironically, if true and if Karzai wins, this ploy itself could backfire. The original plan for elections called for simultaneous or nearly simultaneous elections for president and for a new parliament. However, the complexities of a ballot for a new legislature were deemed too overwhelming within the overall timelines agreed between the UN and the interim Afghan government, so the latter will not be held until April 2005. (As it is, the presidential election has been postponed twice.) Yet parliament is supposed to be a check on the president’s power, specifically through its power to veto cabinet appointments.</p>
<p>Something quite similar has been occurring in Iraq, and is just as damaging to international efforts to create a viable, democratic process. Favored first was the Pentagon’s man, Ahmed Chalabi, paid for “intelligence” that was mostly fabricated and even flown back into Iraq with his private militia by the U.S. Air Force. Now it is Ayad Allawi, the interim Iraqi prime minister, whose speech before a joint session of Congress in September reportedly was crafted in part by Bush Administration officials (Washington Post, September 30, 2004).</p>
<p>In short, Washington seems more intent on achieving a short-range, particular outcome on the ground than in establishing a credible process that could be replicated in future elections in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The perception that the U.S. is meddling for its own advantage feeds accusations that the U.S. is out to dominate the Islamic world and undercuts the willingness of the international community to help rebuild both countries ­ as evidenced by the significant shortfalls in donor pledges for reconstruction activities.</p>
<p>In this regard, Bush’s call for a “Democracy Fund” rings hollow, as a significant effort in any state rebuilding already is directed toward restoring the justice system and civil society. After the stridency of Bush’s 2002 and 2003 UN speeches, in which he attacked the UN’s credibility for not bringing Saddam Hussein to heel (another outcome) and then for failing to criminalize proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (at least to countries Washington deems “outlaws”), plus revelations about the lack of accountability for billions of dollars disbursed by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, this proposal seemed pro forma, expected from a U.S. leader but sure to be half-hearted and lacking credibility.</p>
<p>That’s the cost of employing any means to achieve an outcome.</p>
<p>Col. Daniel Smith, a West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran, is Senior Fellow on Military Affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobby in the public interest. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:dan@fcnl.org" type="external">dan@fcnl.org</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Bush’s Credibility Gap | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/10/09/bush-s-credibility-gap/ | 2004-10-09 | 4 |
<p>General Electric Co. (GE) on Friday reported a first-quarter loss of $13.57 billion, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>On a per-share basis, the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company said it had a loss of $1.35. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, came to 31 cents per share.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 30 cents per share.</p>
<p>The industrial conglomerate posted revenue of $29.36 billion in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $34.42 billion.</p>
<p>GE shares have risen 8 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index has risen 2 percent. The stock has risen slightly more than 4 percent in the last 12 months.</p>
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<p>This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GE at http://www.zacks.com/ap/GE</p>
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<p>Keywords: General Electric, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings</p> | General Electric reports 1st-quarter loss of $13.57 billion | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/04/17/general-electric-reports-1st-quarter-loss-1357-billion.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
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<p>WEST HARWICH, Mass. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts served a sixth-grader with no-trespass orders after neighbors grew wary of the girl cutting through their properties to get to and from her school bus stop.</p>
<p>The mother of 11-year-old Autumn Blanchard told the Cape Cod Times ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2nhUjyE" type="external">http://bit.ly/2nhUjyE</a> ) her daughter received three pink no-trespass notices from the Harwich Police Department on March 2. Krystal Blanchard said she was unaware neighbors had an issue until the police arrived at her door. She questioned why she wasn't informed by the neighbors or school officials, who also knew about the problem.</p>
<p>“I am beyond distressed by this situation,” she said. “I can't imagine why it had to go to this level. Someone should have spoken to me.”</p>
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<p>Blanchard said she wonders if the fact her family is new to the area and she and her daughter have brightly colored hair may be causing neighbors to discriminate against them. The mother has pink hair and piercings while her daughter's hair has multiple colors.</p>
<p>“That's the only thing I can think of, which I think is ridiculous,” said Blanchard, who contends Autumn is a “nice, polite kid.”</p>
<p>Harwich Police Chief David Guillemette blamed a “breakdown in communication” for the situation. He said police should have met first with the mother to discuss her daughter's trespassing.</p>
<p>“I would have preferred it would have been handled with more tact,” he said.</p>
<p>Autumn said the cut-through shortened her walk to and from the bus stop, adding how she “just wanted to get home and be warm inside my house.”</p>
<p>But one neighbor said she was previously sued because a girl fell in her yard and became concerned when she saw Autumn climbing over debris from a fallen tree.</p>
<p>A police report noted how neighbors asked Autumn to “walk around on the street and she ignores their wishes.” The report also referred to a school resource officer and principal talking with Autumn, conversations her mother said she wasn't told about.</p>
<p>According to the notices, Autumn could be arrested and fined up to $100, imprisoned up to 30 days or both, if she steps onto the properties listed in the no-trespass orders.</p>
<p><a href="#da5f192e-462e-4e5e-b33f-977ae93a6558" type="external">© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy" type="external">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms" type="external">Terms of Use</a>.</p> | Police cite Massachusetts sixth-grader for trespassing | false | https://abqjournal.com/976334/police-cite-massachusetts-sixth-grader-for-trespassing.html | 2017-03-25 | 2 |
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<p>The Senate today passed its version of a bill setting qualifications for the five elected members of the Public Regulation Commission.</p>
<p>The Legislature has to decide on qualifications during this 60-day session because of a constitutional amendment approved by voters last November.</p>
<p>The bill passed by the Senate on a vote of 32-8 says PRC candidates would be eligible for the position if they are licensed as an engineer or a certified public accountant or a lawyer; or if they have five years experience in managing a business or organization related to what the PRC regulates; or if they have three years experience heading a division of state or local government responsible for utilities, transportation or construction.</p>
<p>Opponents of the legislation complained it was too restrictive and would disqualify some competent New Mexicans from serving.</p>
<p>The House already has passed its own qualifications bill. It’s significantly different from the Senate’s. Lawmakers have until March 16 to come up with a bill that both houses can agree on.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Senate passes bill setting qualifications for Public Regulation Commission members | false | https://abqjournal.com/170960/senate-passes-bill-setting-qualifications-for-public-regulation-commission-members.html | 2 |
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<p>It's a '90s kid's dream: Arnold, Helga, Gerald and the rest of the gang are returning to TV this fall with "Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie," a two-hour feature film set to run on <a href="" type="internal">Nickelodeon</a> this November.</p>
<p>Circa caught up with Craig Bartlett, the show's creator, and the original cast of the hit series to find out what fans can expect and what each of the actors has been up to since the series ended in 2004.</p>
<p>There's no word yet on the movie's release date, but we'll be sure to leave our respective stoops when the time comes.</p>
<p>Watch the exclusive trailer for the new "Hey Arnold!" movie from Nickelodeon below:</p>
<p /> | The 'Hey Arnold!' cast gave us the scoop on their new TV movie and we literally can't deal | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/10/05/hollywood/hey-arnold-cast-talks-new-tv-movie | 2017-10-05 | 1 |
<p>A "Legal Intifada" Appears Likely for More than Just the Palestinians</p>
<p>La Maison&#160; d’Avocats, DAMASCUS — Even before the historic 139 to 8 vote of the UN General Assembly on&#160;November 29, which opened up a plethora of legal remedies for&#160;Palestinians, a “legal intifada” — to borrow a phrase from Francis Boyle,&#160; Professor of International Law and a longtime advocate of advancing&#160; resistance to the illegal occupation of Palestine through the rule of law — has&#160; been taking form in this region.</p>
<p>The reasons include nearly seven decades of countless Zionist crimes against&#160;Muslims and Christians in occupied Palestine and far beyond. As Professor&#160;Boyle has suggested, the opportunities presented to the PLO by the lopsided&#160;UN vote “can mean numerous available legal remedies ranging from&#160;the securing of a fair share of the gas deposits off the shores of Gaza, control&#160; of Palestinian airspace and telecommunications and, crucially, bringing the&#160; Zionist regime to account at the International Criminal Court and the&#160; International Court of Justice.”</p>
<p>Syria too, currently under enormous pressure from international interference&#160;into the internal affairs of the country and the subject of an intense regime&#160;change project led by the US and France, has international legal remedies&#160;immediately available to it stemming from the actions of the US, UK, France and others in imposing on Syria’s civilian population one of the most severe&#160;and clearly illegal layers of sanctions. Were Syria and others to file an&#160; Application for an Advisory Opinion with the ICJ few in the international&#160; legal community have much doubt that targeting civilians economically&#160; and attempting to destroy the Syrian economy — for no other purpose than&#160; to ignite rebellion — would be considered a violation of international law&#160; at the International Court of Justice.</p>
<p>Granted, there are some potential jurisdictional problems given that Syria&#160;has not yet accepted the Article 36 Compulsory Jurisdiction of the World&#160;Court, as provided in the Statute of the Court, and the strong campaign&#160;at the UN that would certainly be waged by the Obama Administration to challenge ICJ jurisdiction to hear a case on behalf of Syria and its civilian&#160; population, but they can be overcome. As a general rule, an Advisory&#160;Opinion requires a simple majority affirmative vote by the UN General&#160;Assembly or an Application by one of the designated UN Specialized&#160;Agencies. This might be a tough job to secure the former, but it is doable with&#160;the latter. Moreover, should Syria accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the&#160; ICJ it could likely quickly resolve the issue of sanctions by claiming a legal&#160; dispute with one or more states that also accept CJ and are supporters of&#160; sanctions; For example, the UK, France, and their NATO and Gulf allies.</p>
<p>Aspects of a possible filing at the International Court of Justice on the legality&#160;of US-led sanctions are currently being researched by seasoned international&#160;lawyers and academics, at various Western and international law centers.&#160; Supporting efforts being worked on include drafting&#160;amicus curie&#160;briefs on&#160; the issue of the legality of the US-led sanctions to be submitted to the Court,&#160;plans for securing the widest possible political support for challenging the&#160; US-led sanctions from among Non-Aligned Movement countries,&#160; international peace groups, NGO’s, pro-peace websites, bloggers, social&#160; media, and online activists, as well as organizing a skilled media center to&#160; disseminate information about the case including quickly publishing&#160; in paperback book form one of the key Annexes to be submitted to the ICJ&#160; upon filing the Application. This volume will present Syrian government and International NGO prepared data on the inhumane effects of the&#160;US led sanctions in all their aspects, including by not limited to children, the&#160;elderly and the infirm, plus the effects of the US-led sanctions on the Syrian economy generally, i.e., consumer goods, medical delivery systems, financial&#160;institutions, currency values and related aspects of the lives of the civilian&#160;population of Syria.</p>
<p>Were Syria and others to take the illegal and immoral US-led sanctions&#160;case to the World Court and other available venues, they would shift their&#160;diplomatic position from a defensive status to taking the offense. Such a&#160;bold initiative would advance accountability under international law and,&#160;because the ICJ would likely grant a Petition for Interim Measures of&#160; Protection,&#160;the US-led sanctions could be suspended during the course of the&#160; judicial proceedings. Obviously this lifting/freezing of the sanctions would&#160;immediately and directly inure to the benefit of the Syrian civilian&#160;population, including the half million Palestinian refugees in Syria as well as thousands from Iraq.</p>
<p>This would work in concert with the “THREE B’s”, to borrow a phrase from&#160;Russia’s top middle east envoy, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Boganov,&#160;referring to Mr. Brahimi, Mr. Bogdanov, and Undersecretary William Burns,&#160;a former ambassador to Moscow, who would be urged to intensify their&#160;focus on achieving a diplomatic resolution of the Syrian crisis based on&#160;modified June 2011 Geneva formulation of a transition period leading to the&#160;2014 elections.</p>
<p>According to several International lawyers surveyed between October and December, 2012, Syria clearly has the facts of the US sanctions case in its&#160;favor and there are ample solid legal theories to argue to and convince the World Court. Under the ICJ Statute, the Court must decide cases solely in&#160;accordance with international law. Hence the ICJ must apply: (1) any&#160;international conventions and treaties; (2) international custom; (3) general&#160;principles recognized as law by civilized nations; and (4) judicial decisions&#160;and the teachings of highly qualified publicists of the various nations. From&#160; this body of international law the International Court of Justice would find&#160; ample basis to support Syria’s claims not only for the benefit of its civilian&#160; population but also to advance the rule of law in the global community.</p>
<p>The ICJ is made up of 15 jurists from different countries. No two judges&#160;at any given time may be from the same country. The court’s composition is&#160;static but generally includes jurists from a variety of cultures. Among the&#160;Principles, Standards, and Rules of international law that Syria may well&#160;argue to the World Court, may include but not be limited to, the following:</p>
<p>The US led sanctions violate international humanitarian law due to the&#160;negative health effects of the sanctions on the civilian population of Syria.&#160; This renders the sanctions illegal under international customary law and the&#160;UN Charter for their disproportionate damage caused to Syria’s&#160;civilian&#160;population.</p>
<p>The US led severe sanctions regime constitutes an illegitimate form of collective punishment of the weakest and poorest members of society, the&#160;infants, the children, the chronically ill, and the elderly.</p>
<p>The US, France and the UK, as well as their allies, have violated the UN&#160;Charter by their imposition of severe economic sanctions and threats of&#160;military force. The United States, Israel, and some of their allies, regularly&#160;threaten Damascus with the “option” of a military strike. The ICJ has ruled&#160;previously that “A threat or use of force is contrary to Article 2, paragraph 4,&#160;of the UN Charter and fails to meet all the requirements of Article 51, is therefore unlawful”. It has further ruled that “A threat of use of force must&#160;be compatible with the requirements of the international law applicable in&#160;armed conflict, particularly those of the principles and rules of humanitarian&#160;law, as well as with specific obligations under treaties and other undertakings which expressly deal with threats to members of the United Nations.”</p>
<p>Moreover, unilateral US sanctions, without the imprimatur of the United Nations are blatantly illegal under International Law because they are in fact&#160;multilateral and impose penalties on any country which opposes the&#160;sanctions or does not choose to participate in them.</p>
<p>The US led sanctions amount to an Act of War given their effects including&#160;hardships on the general public and that Syria therefore has a legal right&#160;to Self-Defense.</p>
<p>The US led sanctions, given their design and intent, constitute acts of&#160;aggression against Syria in violation of Article 2 (4) of the UN charter.</p>
<p>The indisputable facts of the US led sanctions case warrant the imposition&#160; by the ICJ of Restraining Orders designed to prevent any type of blockade or&#160; no-fly zones in Syria and the immediate cessation of the imposition of&#160; further economic sanctions against Syria, and also their efforts of securing&#160; more sanctions against Syria at the United Nations Security Council. The&#160;Restraining Orders, under the umbrella of Interim Measures of Protection,&#160;would presumably also seek to prohibit the US and its allies from the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere, from advocating aggressive military actions&#160;against Syria, including supplying funding, weapons, and jihadists, as well as Western “Special Forces” currently pouring into Syria from its northern&#160;border with Turkey and to negotiate with the Syrian government in good faith to end the current crisis.</p>
<p>Syria can legitimately claim, and would presumably argue at the ICJ and&#160;other international forums that the bi-lateral or multilateral economic&#160;sanctions, led by the US and its Gulf allies, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are&#160;illegal, indeed criminal due to their assault on international humanitarian&#160;law and required state practice.</p>
<p>Syria could successfully argue, according to a recent survey of international&#160;lawyers conducted in Brussels and The Hague, as well as within Syria’s&#160;Maison d’Avocats, that the US led sanctions violate the international law principle of Non-intervention in the internal affairs of UN member states and&#160;that the stewards of these sanctions could themselves be subject to international sanctions plus compensatory and punitive damages for the benefit of their victims.</p>
<p>In summary, as Germany’s Green Party, and increasingly, legal scholars and human rights&#160; organizations generally are insisting, sanctions against Syria’s civilian&#160; population fundamentally violate international law.</p>
<p>Should NATO sets up a no-fly zone and launch airstrikes against Damascus, it can and should immediately be sued at The Hague, and if the situation&#160;deteriorates, NATO can and should be held to account for targeting Alawites and Christians on the basis of&#160;the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and&#160;Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. All participating countries, 142 to date, are obliged to prevent and punish actions of genocide in war and in&#160;peacetime.&#160;Article 2 of the Convention defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, elements of a&#160;national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, including killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group,&#160;or deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.</p>
<p>Despite Syria’s strong case on both the facts and the law, and the diversity&#160;in structure and composition of the International Court of Justice, the&#160;International Tribunal has a few times over the years been criticized for&#160;favoring established powers. Under articles 3 and 9 of the ICJ Statute, the&#160;judges on the ICJ should represent “the main forms of civilization and&#160;principal legal systems of the world.” This definition suggests that the ICJ&#160;does not represent the interests of developing countries. Nevertheless, the&#160;World Courts record has been by and large exemplary in applying principles,&#160;standards and rules&#160;of international law both in contested cases and advisory&#160;opinions and Syria has an excellent opportunity to protect its citizens,&#160;thwart US and Israeli designs on the region, and advance international&#160;accountability — all to the inestimable benefit of all people and nations.</p>
<p>Syria, which the US and Israel and their allies are today working to keep&#160; off balance and on the defensive diplomatically, should consider immediately&#160; filing an application with the International Court of Justice, and use all other&#160; available international legal, political and humanitarian tribunals, to directly&#160; challenge and boldly confront the US led sanctions campaign against its&#160; people. The Syrian Arab Republic, by taking the offensive at the World Court&#160;and elsewhere, will help relieve the enormous pressures on its civilians and advance the principles, standards and rules of international law—for the benefit of all mankind.</p> | Will Syria Go on the Offensive at The Hague? | false | http://foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/01/02/will-syria-go-on-the-offensive-at-the-hague/ | 2013-01-02 | 1 |
<p>Plans to create an independent agency to offer consumer financial protection have probably been scrapped. According to a leaked document, Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd is proposing that the protection office be within the Treasury Department instead of being independent, a clear capitulation to the Republicans. –JCL</p>
<p>Mother Jones:</p>
<p>Mother Jones has obtained a copy of Sen. Chris Dodd’s plan to house a consumer financial protection office within the Department of the Treasury rather than creating an independent agency. Several other news sources have received copies, but none have made the leaked document publicly available. We’re posting Chris Dodd’s consumer financial protection plan here ( <a href="http://motherjones.com/files/Dodd-Consumer-Protection-Plan-MoJo.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>). It seems certain to disappoint experts and progressives who had called for a powerful new agency. (Andy Kroll has more on this.) This is the document’s top-line summary:</p>
<p>Create a [Bureau of Financial Protection] inside of Treasury with a Presidentially-appointed director; a dedicated budget (through assessments on large banks, non-banks, and with the Fed making up the shortfall); autonomous rule-writing authority with the regulations to apply across-the-board to all entities offering financial services or products; and examination and enforcement authority for large banks and mortgage companies, small banks in a back-up capacity, and other non-banks on a risk basis, as described below.</p>
<p />
<p>The independent agency proposal would be dropped.</p>
<p>As Andy explained Saturday afternoon, Dodd’s decision to move financial protection inside an existing agency is an effort to gain Republican votes for financial reform. But it’s unclear whether either of the Republicans Dodd has negotiated with to date—Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Al.) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)—will support the new plan. There hasn’t been any hint of GOP backing for the proposal in newspaper articles on Dodd’s leaked plan.</p>
<p><a href="http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/02/dodd-consumer-financial-protection-plan" type="external">Read more</a></p> | No to Consumer Protection Agency | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/no-to-consumer-protection-agency/ | 2010-02-28 | 4 |
<p>Jared A. Ball is a father and husband. After that he is a multimedia host, producer, journalist and educator. Ball is also a founder of "mixtape radio" and "mixtape journalism" about which he wrote I MiX What I Like: A MiXtape Manifesto (AK Press, 2011) and is co-editor of A Lie of Reinvention: Correcting Manning Marable's Malcolm X (Black Classic Press, 2012). Ball is an associate professor of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland and can be found online at <a href="http://imixwhatilike.org/" type="external">IMIXWHATILIKE.ORG</a>.</p>
<p>Dr. Gerald Horne holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. His research has addressed issues of racism in a variety of relations involving labor, politics, civil rights, international relations and war. Dr. Horne has also written extensively about the film industry. His latest book is The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America. Dr. Horne received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. from Princeton University.</p>
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<p /> JARED BALL, PRODUCER, TRNN: Welcome, everyone back to the Real News Network. I'm Jared Ball here in Baltimore.
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<p />Fifty years ago today August 11, 1965 the Watts uprising began, resulting from massive inequality and police brutality. Today August 11, 2015 protests continue in Ferguson, Missouri and around the world in response to massive inequality and police brutality. To reflect on the impact of Watts and the continuity of problems as they are focused in Ferguson, we have two esteemed guests. Longtime activist, author of numerous studies on race, class, and media, and executive director of the Praxis Project in Washington, DC, Makani Themba, and Dr. Gerald Horne, the prolific John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African-American Studies at the University of Houston.
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<p />Thank you both for joining us, and welcome again to the Real News Network.
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<p />MAKANI THEMBA, EXEC. DIRECTOR, THE PRAXIS PROJECT: Thank you so much for having us.
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<p />BALL: So Dr. Horne if we can, let me start with you and just ask you to quickly summarize for us the history and significance of the Watts uprising, and what you see has been the lessons learned or not learned as we enter another year of uprisings and response to police brutality?
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<p />DR. GERALD HORNE, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: Well, approximately August 11 to August 18, 1965 there was a major conflagration in a 46 and one-half square mile area in Los Angeles County, larger than the island of Manhattan or San Francisco. Almost three dozen people were killed, there were tens of millions of dollars of property damage. But perhaps more significant was the ideological consequences rising out of the ashes. Watts was the community alert patrol, which in many ways was a precursor to the Black Panther party. Also arising were certain cultural nationalist trends as reflected in the US organization.
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<p />But also arising was a counterrevolution, a so-called white backlash. Recall that before the explosion in Watts, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crown jewel of what was referred to as the civil rights movement, was signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. In the aftermath of Watts, the budding GOP politician Ronald Wilson Reagan ran for governor of California in 1966 on the platform of preventing another kind of explosion like Watts 1965 on his watch. He was elected, which catapulted him to the presidency in 1980. And therein you begin to see a counterrevolution, a so-called white backlash, against the idea of equality. A counterrevolution that arguably we have yet to escape.
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<p />BALL: Makani Themba, let me ask you basically the same question. And I might add to your part of it, particularly given your emphasis and focus on media and media coverage of these kind of issues, what have we learned, or what has changed or not changed in the way the Watts rebellion has been discussed in popular media, and perhaps the way uprisings in Ferguson and elsewhere in the country and the world have been covered?
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<p />THEMBA: Well, I think that's a great question. I think one of the things that we've noticed about the way so-called--well, we call them uprisings and unrest and they're often called riots, right? In the so-called mainstream media. And part of that challenge is sort of the idea that whenever black people primarily, people of color to some extent, but black people really, come together, act, that the issues of violence are overplayed. The fear--and that fear and those frames actually date further back than Watts. They date back to the rising, the uprisings of enslaved Africans and how that was framed as unreasonable and crazy, and that this is who we are as a people. That we are just people who burn things down for no apparent reason. That the context gets pulled out. And sadly we're watching that same narrative, essentially a 200-year-old story, be told over and over again.
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<p />I think what's different today of course is the capacity for us to tell our own stories, to develop a counternarrative, and to really engage around this negative narrative around--and tell it differently. And even though we can't counter every single negative story that comes out, we're doing a much better job of telling our story not only to the so-called mainstream world, but to each other. Because there was a way in which we weren't even able to or had the capacity to, because of the technology, the limits in technology, to even talk to each other about what was going on. So I think that's important.
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<p />And I think the only other thing I would add, just really quickly, is that this also marked a real shift in liberal support for civil rights work, and the work of what essentially is black power. And so we can see some of that, those legacy struggles around representative politics and all of that, today.
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<p />BALL: To the point about how issues are framed and covered, we see a lot of the coverage of what's happening in Ferguson and elsewhere in the country, a lot of the media focus is I think intentionally shifted to a discussion of the potential for violence among the protesters as opposed to the reasons for the protesters being there in the first place. Is this something you, Makani Themba, have noticed in your assessment of the situation?
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<p />THEMBA: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that context is woefully missing from the work. And in fact most of the time when it comes up, it comes up in the context of activists challenging the coverage, either in interviews or otherwise, that say, well, well, why aren't you talking about why we're here?
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<p />To me it's very interesting even from a psychological perspective. My friend Dr. Cheryl Grills, who heads up the Association of Black Psychologists, talks about what black folks have to witness in terms of the murder of folks that look like them, of their family members, et cetera, as not just trauma but torture. And you think about what does that mean in terms of people, their wellbeing? I mean, aside from whatever you want to understand about policing, just if you care about the folks in the frame as human beings, to have some empathy. And that empathy is sorely lacking in the coverage in addition to the sort of nuts and bolts of the policy and politics, and the historic context.
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<p />BALL: Gerald Horne, I would like you to follow up on, respond to anything you've heard from Makani Themba there. But also this point that she raised of the impact of the Watts uprising on the relationship to the black struggle held by white liberals and so-called progressives. And is there anything we could maybe glean from that and the potential for their involvement and support of the current iteration of the black struggle here in this country?
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<p />HORNE: Well as already noted, there was a so-called white backlash, I would prefer to call it a counterrevolution, against the idea of equality and [inaud.]. What we need to realize is that the white right remains rather potent, and sadly and unfortunately it's oftentimes underestimated in terms of its strength.
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<p />I'm afraid to say that this underestimation is nothing new. It stretches back to the founding of America in 1776 and still exists to this very day. And until we get a bead upon the actual potency and strength of this powerful counterrevolutionary force which not only manifests itself in our neighborhoods but manifests itself around the globe, I daresay that we will always be in jeopardy.
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<p />BALL: I believe I heard, I think it was Congressman Meeks but I should be checked on that, who said earlier today he was making the comparison on a popular news channel of this time to the past, saying that what we see happening in the year since Michael Brown's killing in Ferguson, Missouri is that we've moved, as he put it, from what was the equivalent of 1955 a year ago in Ferguson to what is the equivalent today of 1965. He equated the so-called advance in the year since Michael Brown's killing to the ten-year period between '55 and '65, which I thought was a curious but potentially fortuitous comparison or analogy.
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<p />Makani, I'm wondering if in fact a year after Michael Brown's killing we are in the equivalent of 1965 here in 2015, what that might mean in terms of this also being the anniversary of the Watts rebellion and many other significant points of history, facts of history, from that year and that time.
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<p />THEMBA: Well you know, it's interesting because when people talk about this difference between '55 and '65, that's complicated, right. One, it's not linear in many ways. And some people talk about it in terms of the level of unity, the character of the work, and they're almost nostalgic for before 1965, because '65 for many folks is a turning point they may say in terms of the so-called unity and cohesiveness of the movement, per se. '65 is also a point of increased, I think in the black power movement, more resistance that was known. Because of course, black resistance per-dates 1965, per-dates 1955, so I think it's important to hold that marker.
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<p />And I think too that yes, there has been some progress in Ferguson because of the relentless struggle of the folks on the ground. The policing reforms that have been passed. The constitution of the commission. There has been hard-fought victories that are not everything, but they are important. And people have literally put their blood and sweat on the line. So that's important to acknowledge. So I want to say yes, of course there's been progress, because people have worked so hard.
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<p />There's a lot more work to be done. And I wonder about the comparisons, because they are so complicated. But there is definitely resistance, and there's definitely a pushback, and there's definitely generational challenges that people are working to overcome. And there's just so much to learn, not only from Ferguson but all the places where folks are taking a stand on the ground. And we're really in a rich period of organizing and folks challenging Afro-phobia directly, like that specific anti-black racism and hatred. And also we're watching, as Dr. Horne talks about, an even stronger--not even stronger, but a stronger push from the white right, which is not just a fringe group but really in many ways mainstream in terms of their occupation of power not only in places like Ferguson but even New York City. I shouldn't say even New York City. New York City and all over the country.
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<p />BALL: Prof. Horne, a similar question in terms of this comparison. If this is the 1965 moment, what then does that say about what we have or have not learned since the initial Watts uprising?
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<p />HORNE: Well, keep in mind that in 1955 you had the Bandung meeting of mostly colonized African and Asian nations. And to the extent that our fate historically has been connected to the fate of colonialism itself, that anti-colonial moment was very important in terms of watching what came to be referred to as a civil rights movement.
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<p />Keep in mind as well that in September 1965, a few scant weeks after the Watts revolt of August 1965, you have the overflow of a nationalist government in Indonesia, with the blood-soaked remains of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Indonesians lining the streets. And then a few months after that you have the overflow of the Kwame Nkrumah government in Accra, Ghana, which had been very close to the black movement in the United States. And interestingly enough the U.S. ambassador in Ghana at that particular moment of February 1966 was a former NAACP official, Franklin Williams. Which speaks of course, the splitting of our movement and the turning to the U.S. ruling elite by a certain section of our movement. And I dare say that we have yet to recover from those perilous moments of 1965 which I think leads to your very perceptive question.
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<p />BALL: Dr. Horne, Makani Themba, thank you very much for joining us here at the Real News and helping us deal with this history, and put some of these important points together in an important and helpful way. Thank you very much for joining us both here at the Real News.
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<p />THEMBA: Thank you. Thanks so much to the Real News for all you do. You guys are all that.
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<p />BALL: And thank you for joining us here at the Real News. And for all involved, again, I'm Jared Ball here in Baltimore. And as always, as Fred Hampton used to say, to you we say peace if you're willing to fight for it. Peace, and we'll catch you in the whirlwind.
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<p />End
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<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. | From Watts to Ferguson: 50 Years of Lessons (Not) Learned | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D14459 | 2015-08-12 | 4 |
<p>Flickr/&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/3009318533/"&gt;DVIDSHUB&lt;/a&gt;</p>
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<p>Anyone with an interest in gender equality or fair treatment of gays and lesbians, take note:&#160;The Navy <a href="http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2010/02/navy_women_subs_022310w/" type="external">announced this week</a> that it will start assigning women to its submarine crews next month. (That is, unless congressional opponents decide to intervene.)</p>
<p>To the uninitiated, that might not sound like a big deal. But it’s a true sea change. In fact, it could foretell a <a href="" type="internal">faster end</a> to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy—and even its <a href="" type="internal">arcane injunction</a> on women serving in combat roles.</p>
<p>The United States military has always been preoccupied with its hidebound traditions. In that respect, the Navy is like other military branches, only more so, with 21st-century sailors speaking of the Joneses— <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Jones%27_Locker#1900s" type="external">Davy</a> and <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/jones_jp.htm" type="external">John Paul</a>—like immediate family. Within that culture, there’s always been an even more heritage-obsessed fraternity:&#160;the submarine service. It was officially born in 1900 with its first undersea ship of war, the <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-h/ss1-s.htm" type="external">USS&#160;Holland</a>. It was also the first branch to truly <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/rickover.htm" type="external">go nuclear</a>, with the atomic-powered USS&#160;Nautilus in 1955. In all those years, the “silent service”&#160;has reveled in its exclusivity, operating as a <a href="http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navyassign/a/silentservice.htm" type="external">fraternity</a> for some of the Navy’s smartest and ablest sailors.</p>
<p>Except that it’s a fraternity no more.</p>
<p>If that were the whole story, what a happy story it would be. But opponents of the move have a possible trump card to play.</p>
<p>In accordance with federal law, Defense Secretary Robert Gates informed Congress of the change on Monday; members of the House and Senate now have a month to block the move by passing a bill, or demanding a study of the issue (an option that’s <a href="" type="internal">slowed progress</a> on DADT). Similar action has been taken before, as when the GOP-led House Armed Services Committee in 2005 <a href="" type="internal">approved</a> a resolution barring women from serving in any unit that might see combat action.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Duncan Hunter</a> (R-Calif.), the architect of that proposal, said at the time: “The American people have never wanted to have women in combat and this reaffirms that policy.” There’s no word yet on whether he feels the same way now, five years later, or whether ex-Navy <a href="" type="internal">tailhooker</a> John McCain—who thinks women <a href="" type="internal">can be effective vice presidents</a>, but <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/27/nation/na-militarywomen27" type="external">not fighter pilots</a>—has a dog in this fight. But if congressional conservatives allow this submarine rule to stand, it could signal a general unwillingness on their part to legislate social policy in the military. Perhaps their resistance to gays and women in combat, too, will collapse under <a href="" type="internal">“bill fatigue.”</a></p>
<p /> | Navy Lets Women on Subs: Gays Next? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/02/navy-let-women-submarine-dadt-gay-next/ | 2010-02-24 | 4 |
<p>Written by&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hinrichs.jason" type="external">Jason Hinrichs</a></p>
<p>Reformed Libertarian Commentator and Co-Founder of <a href="http://www.reformedcollective.com" type="external">The Reformed Collective</a></p>
<p>On December 26th, 2016, Pastors Jeff Durbin and Luke Pierson of <a href="http://www.apologiachurch.com/" type="external">Apologia Church</a> announced their fundraiser to equip local churches around the U.S. in ending abortion on three fronts: training resource material, media flooding, and legislative reform.</p>
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<p>So far, Apologia Church has raised over $100,000 ($200,000 matched by an anonymous donor) in just over a week in their # <a href="https://endabortionnow.com/" type="external">EndAbortionNow</a> campaign. Their media flooding has already begun, with daily Facebook livestreams being viewed by the thousands.</p>
<p>Jeff Durbin reports that three influential Arizona senators have already decided to join in Apologia's efforts, the names of which cannot be released at this time. Despite false reports over the past week, Pastor Durbin assures that "#EndAbortionNow is not a parachurch organization, but a rallying cry for local churches."</p>
<p>Being the hot-button topic that it is, Apologia's stance on abortion and their current work in trying to push for legislative reform in the state of Arizona has come under scrutiny. A few have compared the church's views and tactics to the organization Abolish Human Abortion (AHA), however Jeff in an official statement clarifies:</p>
<p>We are not associated with AHA. Our rallying cry has to do more with local churches than with an organization [as is the case] with AHA.</p>
<p>Considering the financial backing Apologia has received so far, coupled with their large social media presence, will the networked churches involved with this campaign succeed in part or full, either on the local, state, or national levels?</p> | Arizona Church Raises $200K in Campaign to End Abortion | false | http://libertyviral.com/arizona-church-campaign-end-abortion/ | 2017-01-03 | 1 |
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<p>Grant County Clerk Robert Zamarripa said his office will comply with a judge’s ruling issued Tuesday and will begin providing the licenses next week.</p>
<p>“We’ll let the Legislature and courts decide after this what needs to be done,” Zamarripa said in a telephone interview.</p>
<p>His comments came shortly after District Judge J.C. Robinson issued an order requiring the clerk to issue marriage licenses “on a nondiscriminatory basis” to same-sex couples.</p>
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<p>In a separate case, Los Alamos County Clerk Sharon Stover is fighting a similar court order and said she won’t immediately change her policy of denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples.</p>
<p>Stover is to appear in state district court Wednesday. She’s asking Judge Sheri Raphaelson to put a gay marriage lawsuit on hold until the issue is resolved by the state Supreme Court in another case.</p>
<p>A same-sex couple from Los Alamos County, Janet Newton and Maria Thibodeau, filed a lawsuit last week after being denied a marriage license. Raphaelson ordered the clerk to issue the couple a marriage license or appear in court to explain why that shouldn’t happen.</p>
<p>Stover said in a statement she denied the license based on “actual language” in state law.</p>
<p>State statutes contain references to “husband” and “wife,” and include a marriage license application that has sections for male and female applicants. County clerks historically have relied on those provisions in denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples. However, state law doesn’t explicitly authorize or prohibit same-sex couples to be married.</p>
<p>“I respect and value the rights of each person to be treated as equally and fairly as our Constitution states,” Stover said. “Clearly, the marriage license in state statute has not been updated since 1961. It does not work for same-sex couples, and that is a matter for the Legislature to fix, not a clerk and not a district judge.”</p>
<p>Stover said she hoped the state Supreme Court would soon clarify the law. She has joined with other county clerks in planning to appeal a ruling last week by a judge in Albuquerque, who declared that prohibiting gay marriage in New Mexico is unconstitutional. The judge’s ruling doesn’t apply to all of New Mexico’s 33 counties.</p>
<p>In a written response to Raphaelson’s order, Los Alamos County Attorney Rebecca Ehler told the judge that the Bernalillo County case was moving faster and should provide a “statewide definitive pronouncement” on the legality of gay marriage. Piecemeal litigation poses a risk of contradictory rulings on the same questions of law, she said.</p>
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<p>Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins led the way on the gay marriage issue Aug. 21 by deciding independently to allow marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples. Other counties have followed, some because of rulings in lawsuits brought by same-sex couples.</p>
<p>A group of Republican legislators filed a lawsuit last week seeking to stop Ellins.</p>
<p>A lawsuit over gay marriage also is pending in Sandoval County. A lesbian couple from Placitas last week asked a district court to force Sandoval County Clerk Eileen Garbagni to issue them a marriage license. There’s been no ruling by a judge or hearing scheduled in the case as of Tuesday.</p>
<p>Garbagni said she won’t issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples until a court orders it.</p>
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<p /> | 7th New Mexico county plans to allow gay marriage | false | https://abqjournal.com/257162/los-alamos-county-faces-gay-marriage-decision.html | 2013-09-03 | 2 |
<p>Facing a narrow path to 270 electoral votes, Donald Trump’s campaign is scheduling events and buying ad in new states that have swung Democratic in recent years.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the campaign announced it was purchasing $25 million in TV ads for the final week in blue states like New Mexico and Michigan -- both of which Trump has visited in the last few days -- along with more obvious swing states like Ohio and Florida. They also are staying on the air in battleground states like Virginia and Colorado where the campaign has struggled to stay competitive in public polls.</p>
<p>With one week to go, the question is whether this is a move borne out of strength or desperation.</p>
<p>The Trump campaign has argued that the moves reflect their confidence that recent news of further FBI inquiry into emails by Clinton aide Huma Abedin obtained from an investigation into estranged husband Anthony Weiner has set the stage for a breakthrough.</p>
<p>“While Mr. Trump continues to climb in the polls and accelerate outreach in states like Michigan and New Mexico that are rarely won by Republican Presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton is preoccupied fighting the sitting FBI Director and President Obama over yet another email scandal,” Trump’s digital director Brad Parscale said in a statement announcing the buy.</p>
<p>As Democrats and some Republicans were quick to note, though, there’s a long tradition of campaigns behind in the polls making a last-second move into unusual states.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a reflection of how weak his prospects are as opposed to any sign of strength,” Mitch Stewart, who served as Obama’s battleground director in the last presidential campaign. “It reminds me of Romney making late plays in Michigan and Pennsylvania in 2012.”</p>
<p>Regardless of the motive, the Clinton campaign and its allies made clear they wouldn’t let Trump push into states uncontested. On Tuesday, they announced six-figure buys in Michigan, New Mexico, Virginia, and Colorado. Priorities USA, a top Democratic super PAC, is also going on the air in Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin, where the Clinton campaign recently bought ad time.</p>
<p>“The Trump campaign claims their path to White House is through states like these but we’re going to make sure those doors remain shut,” Clinton campaign spokesman Jesse Ferguson said in a statement.</p>
<p>State and national polling has been relatively scarce since the news of the FBI investigation broke. While there have been no substantive revelations concerning Clinton’s use of a private account, the news of the new emails has fueled a partisan war over director James Comey’s decision to make the discovery public.</p>
<p>What we know so far about the political fallout is mixed: An NBC News| <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/home/" type="external">SurveyMonkey</a> poll <a href="" type="internal">showed the race unchanged</a> and Clinton holding a 6-point lead, but other polls show Trump gaining in recent days, even before the FBI story. And a Washington Post/ABC daily tracking poll even gave Trump a 1-point lead on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Clinton still maintains a lead in national polling averages as well as key states like Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Colorado that would put her past the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. But Democrats have expressed some concern that the news may hurt them <a href="" type="internal">in key Senate races</a>.</p>
<p>Trump spokesman Jason Miller told WABC last week that their campaign’s polling showed a “dead heat” in both Michigan and New Mexico. But a <a href="https://twitter.com/alivitali/status/793475178151997440" type="external">battleground map</a> sent to supporters in a fundraising email on Tuesday showed New Mexico still blue, while Michigan was a “toss up” state. And it said that Trump was “close” in states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Colorado rather than winning.</p>
<p>Trump campaign sources told NBC New that while the latest ad buy reflected improved polling in some states like New Mexico, the main purpose was to project confidence in the final days by going “on offense” rather than be portrayed as fighting to gain ground in existing battleground states.</p>
<p>Jon Cavanagh, a pollster with Michigan-based EPIC-MRA, sounded confused by Trump’s recent interest in the state given that surveys have consistently showed him down throughout the race by between 5 and 11 points. “I’m not real sure what to make of it,” he said. He noted an online poll by Fox 2 Detroit/Mitchell Poll conducted since the FBI news found Clinton up by 6, consistent with their findings the week before and polling averages of the state.</p>
<p>New Mexico, where polling has been infrequent, may be even more of a reach thanks to its substantial Latino population. Trump's longstanding calls for a border wall and mass deportations have largely derailed outreach efforts and early vote patterns in several states already show <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/clintons-coalition-hispanic-support-is-up-black-turnout-is-down/" type="external">a surge in Latino turnout</a>.</p>
<p>“Trump pressing into those states now is the political equivalent of throwing a Hail Mary from his own five yard line,” Republican pollster Chris Wilson said in an e-mail. “For a Hail Mary to work, you have to have at least moved the ball down the field prior to the desperate throw.”</p>
<p>Saul Anuzis, a former Michigan GOP chairman, argued that the move into Michigan and other reach states made sense even if Trump didn’t ultimately carry them. Holding events in an iconic industrial state provided a good symbolic backdrop for his populist message that could help fire up his base in neighboring Rust Belt states like Ohio.</p>
<p>“When Trump goes to Colorado, New Mexico, and Michigan and is talking to working class, blue collar Reagan Democrats, that crosses state lines,” he said.</p>
<p>So far Trump’s efforts to build a winning coalition have been stymied by his deep unpopularity with suburban voters in battleground states who have often voted Republican in the past. But by keeping his core constituencies fired up, he could at least keep himself in position for an upset if some of those reluctant conservative-leaning voters “come home” to the GOP at the least minute. With over 26 million votes already turned in, though, they’ll need to break soon for Trump to have any chance.</p>
<p>NBC News' Katy Tur contributed to this report.</p> | Trump Campaign Bets on Late Push in Democratic States | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-election-day/trump-campaign-bets-late-push-democratic-states-n676496 | 2016-11-01 | 3 |
<p>Howard Dean has been an embarrassment for years but he took the cake recently when he mentioned the Clinton Foundation and ‘HELPING’ anyone, let alone a country.</p>
<p>Of course, Democrats typically believe their followers are stupid and they know the main stream media won’t pick up on their outrageous statements and point them out, so they continue to make incredibly insane statements and are only held accountable by alternative media and those on social media. From <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/10/14/howard-dean-says-clinton-foundation-can-help-puerto-rico-better-than-trump-hilarity-ensues/" type="external">The Blaze</a>:</p>
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<p>Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean alleged on social media this week that the Clinton Foundation should take over relief efforts of Puerto Rico from President Donald Trump — and social media erupted with laughter.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Dean wrote on Twitter:</p>
<p>Dean was responding to a tweet from Trump, who <a href="" type="external">earlier said that</a> “we cannot keep FEMA, the Military &amp; the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!”</p>
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<p>Recall if you will, the disaster that the Clinton Foundation left in Haiti. All the fundraising they did to supposedly help the poor people who were devastated by an earthquake went into the pockets of their buddies and probably their own selves.&#160; Their behavior in Haiti was disturbing and deplorable. The people of Haiti haven’t forgotten but apparently that tool Howard Dean did. From <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/437883/hillarys-america-secret-history-democratic-party-dinesh-dsouza-clinton-foundation" type="external">National Review</a>:</p>
<p>In January 2015 a group of Haitians surrounded the New York offices of the Clinton Foundation. They chanted slogans, accusing Bill and Hillary Clinton of having robbed them of “billions of dollars.” Two months later, the Haitians were at it again, accusing the Clintons of duplicity, malfeasance, and theft. And in May 2015, they were back, this time outside New York’s Cipriani, where Bill Clinton received an award and collected a $500,000 check for his foundation. “Clinton, where’s the money?” the Haitian signs read. “In whose pockets?” Said Dhoud Andre of the Commission Against Dictatorship, “We are telling the world of the crimes that Bill and Hillary Clinton are responsible for in Haiti.”</p>
<p>The Haitian protesters noticed an interesting pattern involving the Clintons and the designation of how aid funds were used. They observed that a number of companies that received contracts in Haiti happened to be entities that made large donations to the Clinton Foundation. The Haitian contracts appeared less tailored to the needs of Haiti than to the needs of the companies that were performing the services. In sum, Haitian deals appeared to be a quid pro quo for filling the coffers of the Clintons.</p>
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<p>There are many examples in the article that show the despicable behavior of the Clintons and how poorly they treated the people of Haiti yet how much money their buddies seemed to receive. And of course, the media ignored it.</p>
<p>With all that in mind, in case you forgot, now you know why Dean’s comment was so incredibly IGNORANT.</p>
<p>The Twitterverse reminded him, as they usually do with left-wing idiots:</p>
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<p>No Linda, no he couldn’t.</p>
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<p>What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</p> | Howard Dean Embarrasses Himself When Talking About Hillary Clinton – Hilarity Instantly Ensues… | true | http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/howard-dean-embarrasses-talking-hillary-clinton-hilarity-instantly-ensues | 0 |
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<p>By Tina Bellon</p>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) – A California woman wounded in the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival has filed a lawsuit against the operators of the hotel where the gunman fired from, the festival organizers and the maker of a device that allowed weapons to be fired at a near-automatic rate.</p>
<p>Paige Gasper, 21, said in the lawsuit that the defendants’ negligence led to the life-threatening injuries she suffered when a bullet shattered her ribs and lacerated her liver. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Clark County, Nevada.</p>
<p>Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old gunman, fired into the festival crowd from a 32nd-floor hotel suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel on Oct. 1, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more. Paddock killed himself before the police stormed his suite.</p>
<p>Gasper’s lawsuit says MGM Resorts International and its subsidiary Mandalay Corp. [MGGMR.UL], which own the hotel, failed to properly monitor Paddock’s activities and responded too late to the shooting of a hotel security officer. Paddock fired at the security officer six minutes before opening fire on the crowd below.</p>
<p>Gasper said the festival organizer, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., was negligent for failing to provide adequate exits and properly train staff for an emergency.</p>
<p>The companies did not immediately reply to a request for comment.</p>
<p>Legal experts said claims such as Gasper’s would face an uphill battle.</p>
<p>Victor Schwartz, an attorney specializing in injury cases, said that in order to hold MGM liable, victims would have to show the company could have foreseen the shooting and taken steps to prevent it.</p>
<p>That would be difficult for such an extreme event, he said.</p>
<p>Gasper’s lawsuit also accused Slide Fire Solutions, the maker of bump stock devices that were used by the gunman, of negligence, design and manufacturing defects. The devices are legal and allow semiautomatic rifles to operate as if they were fully automatic machine guns, which are heavily restricted in the United States.</p>
<p>Such claims would have to survive a law passed by U.S. Congress in 2005 that shields manufacturers of firearms, component parts or ammunition from liability if their products are used to commit a crime. Legal experts said it was not clear whether the component parts definition applied to bump stock devices.</p>
<p>Slide Fire did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>In a separate lawsuit filed over the weekend, a group of plaintiffs accused the makers of bump stocks of negligence for inflicting emotional distress on thousands of people.</p>
<p>Gasper also alleged battery and the intentional infliction of emotional distress against the estate of Paddock, arguing the shooter acted with malice and evil intent, causing her injuries.</p>
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<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Las Vegas shooting victim sues hotel, festival organizer, 'bump stock' maker | false | https://newsline.com/las-vegas-shooting-victim-sues-hotel-festival-organizer-039bump-stock039-maker/ | 2017-10-11 | 1 |
<p>Looking at the calendar, I can’t believe it’s been over a year since Donald Trump announced he was running for president. What began <a href="" type="internal">as a joke to most people</a> has erupted into the most absurd presidential campaign we’ve ever witnessed. The possibility of Trump being our next president isn’t just something I oppose because he’s a Republican. Donald J. Trump being our next president is something I oppose because <a href="" type="internal">he’s a pathological lying bigot</a> who’s based most of his campaign on outright lies and would embarrass this country to such an extent the damage he would cause might never be undone.</p>
<p>But in all honesty, I don’t see Trump as a presidential candidate as much as I see him the head of <a href="" type="internal">his own hate group</a>.</p>
<p>I’ve never seen a group of supporters so hostile, angry and flat-out hateful. These folks hate everyone from:</p>
<p>Donald Trump has based his entire campaign on fear and lies to stoke the flames of hatred that exist among those who support him. These are people supporting a candidate who is quite literally saying that America is a “loser” that’s no longer great. That’s very similar to the sort of white nationalistic rhetoric hate groups use to rile people up into thinking that the United States is failing “them” because we’ve embraced equality and diversity.</p>
<p>These folks are rabid. I often avoid tagging Trump in anything I post about him <a href="https://www.twitter.com/allen_clifton" type="external">on Twitter</a> because my notifications will get bombarded with his&#160;supporters saying some of the most inane comments&#160;I’ve ever seen. And there’s absolutely no reasoning with them, either. It doesn’t matter what evidence you show them proving that <a href="" type="internal">almost everything Trump has told them is a lie</a>, because it simply won’t matter. Unless it comes from his mouth, to them, it’s all just part of an elaborate conspiracy against Trump&#160;by the media and the “establishment.”</p>
<p>The bottom line is, most of Trump’s supporters aren’t lining up behind him because they care about this country. They’re eagerly rushing to support him because he’s preyed on their fear, their anger and their hatred toward basically anyone who isn’t a white, straight Christian conservative. These are people who support a candidate who’s belittled a war veteran, mocked a man with disabilities and referred to women going to the bathroom as “disgusting.” These aren’t “ <a href="" type="internal">proud patriots</a>,” they’re vengeful, hateful bigots. These are people who are terrified that “their country” is being “taken over” by people who aren’t just like them.</p>
<p>These aren’t people looking for someone to lead this nation for all Americans. These are folks who have simply rushed to embrace the most well-known racist, bigot and pusher of intolerance we have in this country – someone who’s been propped up by the conservative media for years. It just so happens that he’s running for president.</p>
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<p><a href="" type="internal">Let Me Explain Why We Need to Stop Blaming Donald Trump for the Things He Says</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Mike Huckabee Just Admitted Why Donald Trump Would be a Terrifying, Fascist Nightmare (Video)</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Rush Limbaugh's Latest Donald Trump Conspiracy Theory is Absolutely Insane (Audio)</a></p>
<p>0 Facebook comments</p> | It’s Time We Start Calling Trump What He Is: The Leader of His Own Hate Group | true | http://forwardprogressives.com/its-time-we-start-calling-trump-leader-own-hate-group/ | 2016-01-14 | 4 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — A gambler using a slot machine at the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino north of Santa Fe early Saturday morning “became upset and struck the front of the machine with the side of his hand” causing “the glass screen to shatter,” a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office report said.</p>
<p>Nathan W. Encinias, 31, of was arrested and charged with criminal damage to property. Damage to the slot machine was set at $1,200.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Unhappy slot player breaks machine; Santa Fe man arrested | false | https://abqjournal.com/548649/unhappy-slot-player-breaks-machine-santa-fe-man-arrested.html | 2 |
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<p>1. Exploratorium, San Francisco</p>
<p>More than 600 exhibits collected on 3.3 acres will encourage every member of the family to see the world differently. The 40-year-old, 21st-century learning lab encourages creativity and tinkering as a means of expanding our perceptions.</p>
<p>Young children and toddlers are engaged by shadow, light, bubbles and color to aid exploration and discovery. Kids can create a marble machine, study plankton populations or check out an “upside down world” at a new location on Pier 15.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Contact: 415-528-4444; <a href="http://exploratorium.edu" type="external">exploratorium.edu</a>.</p>
<p>2. The Living Planet Aquarium, Draper, Utah</p>
<p>This home to underwater adventure was created by a marine biology major turned biochemist who was inspired to share the mysteries of the seas with children in his landlocked home state of Utah.</p>
<p>The popular Living Planet Aquarium will reboot in a new and expanded location in December. When the doors reopen, kids can learn all about sharks, sea horses, piranha and Gentoo penguins in an interactive environment.</p>
<p>Contact: 1-801-355-3474; <a href="http://thelivingplanet.com" type="external">thelivingplanet.com</a>.</p>
<p>3. Explora museum, Albuquerque</p>
<p>How do you make a green chile pepper appear black? Find out during a visit to this family-friendly museum that mixes art and science to spur creativity and discovery within the worlds of physics, math, biology and beyond. Kids can also use their own bodies to study the concepts of ratio and proportion in Explora’s Math Moves exhibit.</p>
<p>Contact: 224-8300; <a href="http://explora.us" type="external">explora.us</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>4. The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla</p>
<p>Plan a family visit to the 66,450-square-foot permanent home of the most comprehensive collection of Salvador Dalí’s works in the world. Enjoy the priceless collection of masterpieces, paintings, photographs, watercolors and books.</p>
<p>Younger children will enjoy the “Dillydally with Dalí” program offered daily, which includes puzzles, games, story hour and creative expression. Be there on the first Saturday of the month for “Breakfast With Dalí,” a morning that includes a junior-focused tour, followed by a buffet breakfast.</p>
<p>Beginning in January, the museum will host an expansive exhibit of the work of Andy Warhol. Children under 5 are admitted free.</p>
<p>Contact: 1-800-442-3254; <a href="http://thedali.org" type="external">thedali.org</a>; <a href="http://visitstpeteclearwater.com" type="external">visitstpeteclearwater.com</a>.</p>
<p>5. National Aquarium, Baltimore</p>
<p>Did you know that an octopus has a highly developed brain and is a master of camouflage? Collect the details before you check out Black Tip Reef, a coral-filled exhibit replicating Indo-Pacific underwater landscapes.</p>
<p>The kids will love their visit with bottlenose dolphins, where they’ll also observe training, feeding and playtime with trainers. Before day’s end, discover the importance of jellyfish, observe sharks in an open tank and see more than 500 exotic species in an Atlantic Coral Reef Exhibit.</p>
<p>Contact: 410-576-3800; <a href="http://aqua.org" type="external">aqua.org</a>.</p>
<p /> | Educational destinations will boost your brainpower | false | https://abqjournal.com/324812/educational-destinations-will-boost-your-brainpower.html | 2 |
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<p>By air or car, traveler numbers are expected to rise over last year thanks to a decent economy and stable gasoline prices.</p>
<p>U.S. airlines expect to carry 234 million passengers from June 1 through Aug. 31, up from the summer record of 225 million a year ago, according to the trade group Airlines for America.</p>
<p>While fares are edging up overall, they are still relatively affordable by historical standards. And travelers can find deals, especially on routes flown by discount airlines such as Spirit.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some of the lowest fares on popular routes are coming from United Airlines, which is trying to regain passengers lost to rivals in recent years and to overcome the image, replayed over and over on the news, of a passenger being brutally dragged off a United Express plane.</p>
<p>“I call them the mea culpa fares,” says George Hobica, founder of airfarewatchdog.com.</p>
<p>For example, he said, United recently offered $79 roundtrip tickets for Chicago-Los Angeles and $93 for Fort Lauderdale, Florida-Las Vegas.</p>
<p>It helps that Spirit Airlines and Southwest, the original low-fare airline, fly both those routes. Neither flies between San Francisco and Atlanta, which explains why Chris McGinnis, founder of the TravelSkills website, recently paid $520 for a ticket.</p>
<p>“That was an indication to me that the airlines are feeling pretty good about demand,” he says.</p>
<p>There is no evidence yet that a spate of viral videos like the United one have hurt ticket sales. Strong demand is helping airlines push up prices. Analysts predict that the amount passengers pay per mile, a rough approximation of average fares, will rise around 3 percent over last summer.</p>
<p>At a few airports, travelers will face increased security measures including placing each large electronic device — laptop, tablet, camera — in a separate bin to go through the X-ray machines, which could slow the screening process.</p>
<p>The Transportation Security Administration struggled to keep up last spring, and tens of thousands of travelers missed flights. The TSA fared much better by summer, and spokesman Michael England said the agency is ready for this year’s vacation-season onslaught. TSA has 2,000 more screeners than last summer and increased allowances for overtime and part-time help, he says.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Airlines for America expects that for a fifth straight summer, occupancy on the average plane will top 83 percent. Since the average includes less popular flights, like those late at night, it means that many flights will be full — or even overbooked.</p>
<p>Full planes make it harder to rebook passengers from flights that are canceled due to storms. Airlines often don’t recover quickly from storms, either. Last month it took Delta Air Lines five days to get over a one-day storm in Atlanta; it canceled 4,000 flights.</p>
<p>On the nation’s highways, the auto club AAA is forecasting that 39 million Americans will drive at least 50 miles away from home over the Memorial Day weekend, a 2.7 percent increase over the holiday weekend last year.</p>
<p>The average price for a gallon of regular on Friday was $2.37, according to AAA. That’s four cents lower than it was a month ago and the same price as in early January. In recent years, prices have usually risen by 35 to 70 cents per gallon ahead of Memorial Day, according to Patrick DeHaan, an analyst for the price-comparison site GasBuddy.</p>
<p>“A lot of motorists will be taking long road trips because gas prices have not hit them in the gut this year,” he says.</p>
<p>Tips if you’re going on a trip this summer:</p>
<p>— Shop around. Many travelers have become accustomed to finding the best prices on the airlines’ websites. Hobica says that’s no longer always true. He says online travel agencies like Orbitz sometimes charge less.</p>
<p>— If you need a hotel room, a car rental or both, there’s a good chance you’ll save money on package deals. A new site aimed at business travelers, Upside.com, throws in gift cards.</p>
<p>— If you don’t mind a middle seat, and you can cram all your stuff in a bag that fits under the seat, consider one of those “basic economy” fares. Paying a bag fee, however, could quickly offset the lower price.</p>
<p>— Avoid flying on Fridays and Sundays; not only are fares higher, but bigger crowds boost the hassle factor.</p>
<p>— GasBuddy has a trip-cost calculator to find the cheapest gas prices along your route.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>David Koenig can be reached at <a href="http://twitter.com/airlinewriter" type="external">http://twitter.com/airlinewriter</a></p> | Get ready for busy travel season; airlines could set record | false | https://abqjournal.com/1010177/get-ready-for-busy-travel-season-airlines-could-set-record.html | 2017-05-29 | 2 |
<p>Nike Inc. shares surged in the extended session Tuesday after the athletic apparel giant topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter. Nike shares rose 3.5% to $53.61 after hours. The company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of 50 cents a share on revenue of $8.18 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 43 cents a share on revenue of $8.09 billion.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Nike Shares Rise After Quarterly Results Top Street View | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/20/nike-shares-rise-after-quarterly-results-top-street-view.html | 2016-12-20 | 0 |
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<p>LOS ALAMOS. - Civil rights leader James Lawson will headline a peace conference in Los Alamos aimed at drawing attention to the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.</p>
<p>The confidant to the late Martin Luther King Jr. will speak Friday at the Campaign Nonviolence National Conference and Los Alamos Peace Vigils scheduled to last until Sunday.</p>
<p>Organizer John Dear says activists wanted to hold the conference in the town that gave birth to the atomic weapon during the anniversary of the bombings to highlight the continuing threat nuclear weapons pose to humanity.</p>
<p>Attendee also will see an English-language premiere of "Message from Hiroshima," a documentary by Hiroshima survivor Masaaki Tanabe.</p>
<p>During the World War II-era Manhattan Project, scientists at the then-secret city of Los Alamos developed the weapon dropped on the Japanese cities.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Civil rights leader to head Los Alamos peace conference | false | https://abqjournal.com/623931/civil-rights-leader-to-head-los-alamos-peace-conference.html | 2 |
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<p>TOKYO — The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has won a historic landslide victory while the Liberal Democratic Party — which had ruled for over half a century almost uninterrupted — suffered a crushing defeat, losing nearly two-thirds of its seats in the House of Representatives.</p>
<p>The DPJ now has more than 300 parliamentarians in the more powerful lower house while the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been reduced to 119 seats.</p>
<p>“The Japanese people are slow to change; but once they decide to do something, they can move very quickly, as you’ve seen tonight,” said Takashi Koyama, visiting professor of politics at Akita University.</p>
<p>The DPJ, formed in 1996, takes power for the first time as Japan struggles to emerge from the worst recession of the post-war era, against the background of a shrinking population, ballooning national debt and a welfare system creaking under the strain of record unemployment and rising poverty.</p>
<p>The new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, whose grandfather was a founder of the defeated LDP, becomes leader of the world’s second largest economy, on pledges to support families with a monthly allowance for all children of 26,000 yen ($277) and to reform Japan’s powerful bureaucracy.</p>
<p>The DPJ plans to pay for its manifesto, which also includes a pledge not to raise the consumption tax, by eliminating wasteful spending on huge public works projects and numerous quasi-governmental agencies and organizations.&#160; Having portrayed itself <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/japan/090814/does-japan-need-the-us" type="external">as the party that would stand up to America</a>, as the election drew near and victory looked certain, the DPJ backed off from some of its earlier pledges, such as ending the refueling mission that supports the U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Hatoyama had also criticized Japan’s shift to U.S.-style free-market capitalism, but this was more an attack on domestic government policies than any hostility to America. Indeed Hatoyama intends to pursue a free trade agreement with the U.S., as well as one with Europe.</p>
<p>Ousted Prime Minister Taro Aso, whose support had dipped as low as 18 percent this year, found his image as a wealthy bon vivant detached from the suffering of ordinary people during the recession and increasingly out of step with the mood of the country.</p>
<p>Aso’s regular verbal gaffes — he managed to insult both young and old voters during campaigning — and mistakes reading kanji (Chinese characters) further damaged his reputation.</p>
<p>“Aso showed the public how ignorant he was about Chinese characters, making people think he was unable to read books or newspapers, maybe only comics,” said Koyama, referring to Aso’s infamous <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/japan/081223/japans-manga-man" type="external">love of manga comics</a>.</p>
<p>Three LDP leaders in a row had taken office without an electoral mandate as they replaced resigning prime ministers. Aso’s two predecessors both failed to last a year.</p>
<p>Longtime Aso ally, former finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa, lost his constituency seat in Hokkaido. Nakagawa's drunken performance at this year’s G8 Rome summit when he slurred his words and then fell asleep during a press conference, embarrassed the government at home and abroad.&#160; He also has failed to get back into parliament through the proportional representation section which accounts for 180 of the 480 lower house seats.</p>
<p>Having finally brought the long reign of the LDP to an end, many of Japan’s citizens will be looking for signs that something will actually be different now.</p>
<p>“I think things will change. Even if they just cut all the wasted public works spending and use that to pay the new child support system — that will be something at least,” said Fumiko Ito, a homemaker in Tokyo who voted for the DPJ.</p>
<p>Those hoping for a clean break with the smoky backroom politics of the past may soon find themselves reminded of the fact that almost all of the current senior figures in the DPJ were originally LDP politicians.</p>
<p>Political analysts will be keeping an eye out for evidence of the power of Ichiro "The Destroyer" Ozawa, a veteran backroom bruiser and fixer who would have been assuming the role of new prime minister tonight had he not been brought down by a donations scandal this spring.&#160;During the campaign the LDP claimed that Hatoyama would be little more than a puppet while Ozawa called the shots behind the scenes. If, as expected, Ozawa doesn’t take a cabinet post, suspicions about his true role will only increase.</p>
<p>The DPJ is to hold discussions with the Social Democratic Party and the People’s New Party about forming a coalition, despite some major policy differences. The two parties have only 10 seats between them and the DPJ doesn’t require their cooperation to implement its legislative program, thanks to its huge majority.</p>
<p>The Japan Communist Party — the nation’s oldest party — which had been attracting media attention since last year because of its <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/japan/090223/land-rising-communism" type="external">growing youth membership</a>, failed to translate this growth into electoral gains, maintaining its previous figure of nine seats.</p> | Japan's opposition wins a historic victory | false | https://pri.org/stories/2009-08-30/japans-opposition-wins-historic-victory | 2009-08-30 | 3 |
<p>This post originally ran on <a href="http://www.juancole.com/2015/07/political-revolution-partiers.html" type="external">Juan Cole’s website</a>.</p>
<p>Bernie Sanders spoke from a house party in Washington, D.C., to supporters gathering in 3500 homes and other locations around the country in groups ranging from 7-8 to 80 or 90. He said it was a “historical night” and unprecedented to have these coordinated gatherings with an on-line streamed address so early in a campaign (in fact, it seems to me a little science-fictional—has this ever been done before?).</p>
<p>Sanders blasted the rich for getting richer while the US has more children living in poverty than any other OECD country, blasted corporations for evading taxes, insisted that it is “wrong that people are working 40 and 50 hours a week and still living in poverty.” He slammed 35% unemployment and underemployment rates among workers with a high school education or less. He criticized unaffordable tuition and unbearable student debt.</p>
<p>He blasted the treatment of African-Americans and “institutional racism,” instancing the Sandra Bland case.</p>
<p />
<p>He argued for a new campaign finance system and pledged to overturn Citizens United.</p>
<p>Having been inclusive of African-Americans, he reached out to Latinos by promising to fight for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.</p>
<p>He argued for an expansion of medicaid to everyone on a single payer basis.</p>
<p>He said that the only way to combat the dominance of American politics by a handful of billionaires was with a grassroots campaign of millions and millions of people, which he calls a “political revolution.”</p>
<p>Now for media: tweets (first) and then videos, below:</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/abc?src=hash" type="external">#abc</a>: Bernie Sanders Claims 100,000 Involved in Mega-Grassroots Event <a href="http://t.co/Gr0wiKb6CL" type="external">http://t.co/Gr0wiKb6CL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/usa?src=hash" type="external">#usa</a></p>
<p>— Actual News Online (@actualnewsinfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/actualnewsinfo/status/626573454301507584" type="external">July 30, 2015</a></p>
<p>Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders speaking to supporters via Internet from a house party in Washington DC. <a href="http://t.co/aLIqcAzPQ6" type="external">pic.twitter.com/aLIqcAzPQ6</a></p>
<p>— Stephen Crowley (@Stcrow) <a href="https://twitter.com/Stcrow/status/626551279079321600" type="external">July 30, 2015</a></p>
<p>Here’s a look at all the house party’s! Lot’s of love for <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders" type="external">@BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FeelTheBern?src=hash" type="external">#FeelTheBern</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bernie2016?src=hash" type="external">#Bernie2016</a> <a href="http://t.co/b5iNVtAE7j" type="external">pic.twitter.com/b5iNVtAE7j</a></p>
<p>— Iowa for Bernie (@Iowa4Bernie) <a href="https://twitter.com/Iowa4Bernie/status/626631938397372416" type="external">July 30, 2015</a></p>
<p>House Party in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VT?src=hash" type="external">#VT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders" type="external">@BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FeelTheBern?src=hash" type="external">#FeelTheBern</a> <a href="http://t.co/A5lt0OYcJ7" type="external">pic.twitter.com/A5lt0OYcJ7</a></p>
<p>— Shirley Katz (@srkVT) <a href="https://twitter.com/srkVT/status/626551266710319105" type="external">July 30, 2015</a></p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/29/1406832/-Why-this-Latino-supports-Bernie-Sanders-and-not-Hillary-Clinton" type="external">Latino diarist at Daily Kos</a> wrote:</p>
<p>Due to recent tone deaf statements that marginalize Sanders’ existing minority support, I felt compelled to post this article and say a few words about my support as a Latino for Bernie Sanders and why I do not support Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>I am proud to support a candidate who actually <a href="http://ciw-online.org/blog/2008/01/senator_sanders_visit_report/" type="external">took the time to visit the fields and see first hand</a> how migrant workers were being horribly mistreated and then <a href="https://youtu.be/qCEpftwbuKw" type="external">spoke up for them.</a> I am proud to support a candidate who <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=F3OIZHfRhfgC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=editions:5ajP1L6ccdIC&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0CCIQuwUwAGoVChMIgcDM2KjoxgIVy5QNCh3qUQOB#v=onepage&amp;q=nicaragua&amp;f=false" type="external">traveled to Nicaragua</a> to take a stand against U.S. imperialism under Reagan. Actions speak louder than words. I am proud to support a candidate who rightfully says the war on drugs has been a <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/drug-lord/the-staggering-death-toll-of-mexicos-drug-war/" type="external">failure</a>. I am proud to support a candidate who believes healthcare is a right, especially since this issue affects minorities in such a <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2015/03/05/healthcare-black-latino-poor/" type="external">disproportionate way</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;I am proud to support a candidate who doesn’t <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/hillary-clinton-wrong-on-familys-immigration-history-records#.mkmLPVrjMG" type="external">need to be dishonest about their immigrant heritage</a> to pander or <a href="https://youtu.be/_B0uHybfmmY" type="external">flip flop</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/07wVOiDlgSg" type="external">refuse to take a stand</a> until it’s politically expedient. . .</p>
<p>&#160;I stand with Bernie Sanders because he stands with us.</p>
<p>”</p>
<p>Video of Sen. Sanders speaking via live streaming to 100,000: (Note, video starts 2 minutes in.):</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/jLwJcruiEzc%20" type="external">Bernie2016 “Bernie 2016 Organizing Kickoff ”</a></p>
<p>USA Today report on sights and sounds of the 100,000 strong house party:</p>
<p /> | VIDEOS: Bernie Sanders Launches 'Political Revolution' With 100K Virtual House Partiers | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/videos-bernie-sanders-launches-political-revolution-with-100k-virtual-house-partiers/ | 2015-07-30 | 4 |
<p>Synchronized kicking…</p>
<p />
<p>There’s a lot of talk about bipartisan solutions, but perhaps not enough about bipartisan problems. Republicans and Democrats together have brought us this fiscal crisis Washington is in. You will probably never hear a politician on the campaign trail say that they support trillion dollar budget deficits, runaway spending by Congress, or a super complicated tax code, yet we have all these things. Why?</p> | Washington DC's Favorite Olympic Sport… | false | https://ivn.us/2012/08/04/washington-dcs-favorite-olympic-sport/ | 2012-08-04 | 2 |
<p>High level employees of Chicago Public Schools took an unprecedented scolding Monday on the subject of school closings and turnarounds in the city – and even more heat for CPS’ perceived “disrespect” for the Illinois Legislature by the absence of its leader, CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, at a hearing at the Capitol.</p>
<p>In the end, the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee decided to call for a joint hearing of four legislative committees – the education committees and appropriations committees of both the House and the Senate – and to force Brizard and Mayor Rahm Emanuel to attend even if they have to be subpoenaed to make that happen.</p>
<p>“We have been bamboozled again by CPS,” exclaimed Rep. Esther Golar (D-Chicago), complaining that constituents “got two minutes to talk and then they cut them off, they cut them off” when those citizens tried to object to a school closing at a CPS hearing late last year.</p>
<p>“With all due respect, it was not done properly for the community,” she lectured the CPS officials. The district had “people who were actually paid” to attend the hearing and support the school closing. “They were all plants. They were not from the community.”</p>
<p>Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) accused CPS of “destroying our future,” the children of Chicago. “You purposely close schools and send children in harm’s way.”</p>
<p>Rep. Cynthia Soto (D-Chicago) who has sponsored a bill calling for a moratorium on CPS school facilities actions, looked at the CPS officials and implored, “What does it take [for CPS] to understand? We’re just spinning our wheels. We’re stuck in a ditch and can’t get out.</p>
<p>“I’m just a little bit upset,” Rep. Kenneth Duncan told the CPS representatives at Monday’s hearing. “Today is not a good indication [that the CPS Board] is doing right by the kids,” he said. He called upon the CPS “chief executive officer and the chief educational officer and the chief financial officer … and all those other key chiefs [to meet with the committee] and show us some respect.”</p>
<p>He told committee chairperson Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) that the CPS representatives on hand Monday “should be removed from the panel up here and we should listen to the other guests who are serious,” referring to students and parents who had traveled to Springfield to protest CPS’ facilities actions.</p>
<p>Eventually, Chapa LaVia did dismiss Adam Anderson, whose title is Officer of Portfolio Planning &amp; Strategy, and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Michael Rendina from the hearing. Then she invited members of the audience to offer testimony. Two students took her up on that offer.</p>
<p>Pointedly, Chapa LaVia said the controversy surrounding CPS school closure decisions “is now out of Chicago,” indicating that legislators from all parts of Illinois are now interested in the outcome of Soto’s bill and a similar one pending in the Senate also requiring a moratorium on CPS facilities actions.</p>
<p>Rep. Robert Prichard (R-Sycamore) illustrated the point by asserting that the CPS is “not serving the people of Chicago” as it should. In the committee hearing and again at a brief news conference under the Capitol rotunda, Prichard stressed his belief that the CPS “is too large” to be managed effectively.</p>
<p>The failure of Brizard to attend the committee hearing infuriated legislators at least as much as reports from constituents about what one representative called the “chaos” resulting from precipitous school closings in Chicago’s minority neighborhoods.</p>
<p>At one point Chapa LaVia had to halt the hearing and remove the committee members briefly to a nearby room just to calm them down. Chapa LaVia later told Catalyst Chicago she had never before taken such action and had never even seen it done before at the Capitol.</p>
<p>Sandra Pihos (R-Glen Ellyn), the Republican spokesperson on the committee, made the motion to call for the joint hearing of the four committees, and she specifically listed Brizard, other top CPS officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel as witnesses whose appearance should be sought.</p>
<p>Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez (D-Chicago) is Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee for Elementary and Secondary Education funding. Expressing her frustration with CPS actions and lack of “transparency,” she said if it takes “holding the funding [from CPS to gain its cooperation], so be it.”</p>
<p>“Is [CEO] Brizard just a figurehead?” demanded Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago), sarcastically implying that Rendina and Anderson were not high enough on the CPS totem pole to address the committee. She also demanded to know who obtained contracts and how much they are paid for school turnarounds.</p>
<p>“Someone is making big dollars … to manage the turnarounds,” Davis said.</p>
<p>Anderson told her that a fee of “$435 per student goes to fund the operating model” of turnaround schools. He cited <a href="" type="external">AUSL</a>, a nonprofit organization created initially to prepare teachers for CPS. David Vitale , a former AUSL board chairman, is now president of the CPS Board.</p>
<p>As to why Brizard was a no-show, Rendina explained that the district expected the hearing to be on the “subject matter” of facility interventions and that Anderson “is the expert” on that subject. CEO Brizard did not believe presence would be needed at the Capitol.</p>
<p>Chapa LaVia said the committee was “operating on the assumption” that the CPS would take the hearing as seriously as state agencies and other organizations do when the subject matter is exclusively about them.&#160; “You have to understand the gravity of this,” she said.</p> | Anger with CPS over closings and turnarounds spreads in the Legislature | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/anger-cps-over-closings-and-turnarounds-spreads-in-legislature/ | 2012-03-26 | 3 |
<p>By LEE HILL KAVANAUGHThe Kansas City StarInside the cab of her city-owned snowplow last Tuesday night, driver Edna Slaughter-McDonald peered through the windshield.The radio was on. The heater fan whirred. Outside, snow and ice assaulted the streets of Kansas City. City maintenance crews would have to work all night.But the extra work was a relief for Slaughter-McDonald, as she slowly drove through the icy streets, scraping pavements and spraying salt. She actually had moments in which she did not think about her 24-year-old son.(...)Her son is in Kuwait. So far, he has been able to call home only one time. She is so afraid she'll miss his calls that she bought a cell phone, which she carries with her all the time.For military families, the looming war in Iraq brings fears and tears, soothed temporarily through an e-mail, a letter or the sound of a voice. For Slaughter-McDonald and two other area families, any shred of communication helps ease the pangs of separation.</p> | Military families wait and worry for their sons in the Middle East | false | https://poynter.org/news/military-families-wait-and-worry-their-sons-middle-east | 2003-03-09 | 2 |
<p>Adding to what is becoming a rapidly growing lineup of thematic exchange-traded funds, several of which adhere to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) principles, Global X introduced the Global X Conscious Companies ETF (NASDAQ: KRMA) on Wednesday.</p>
<p>KRMA tracks a proprietary index created by Concinnity Advisors, which draws on dozens of sources to identify companies that have demonstrated a long term focus on creating positive outcomes for a variety of stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, suppliers, and stock and debt holders, according to <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-x-funds-launches-conscious-companies-etf-300297284.html" type="external">a statement Opens a New Window.</a> issued by New York-based Global X.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>KRMA is the first ETF to utilize the Multi-stakeholder Operating System (MsOS), KRMA offers exposure to companies achieving positive outcomes for 5 key stakeholders: Customers, Employees, Suppliers, Stock &amp; Debt Holders, and Local Communities, <a href="http://www.globalxfunds.com/content/files/KRMA-factsheet-12jul16.pdf" type="external">according to Global X Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs/commodities/11/07/1754914/global-x-filing-details-massive-potential-expansion-plans" type="external">Global X Filing Details Massive Potential Expansion Plans Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>The new ETF's largest sector weight is 20.5 percent to consumer discretionary. KRMA also features weights of more than 17 percent to industrial and technology stocks. Consumer staples and healthcare names combine for over 22 percent of the new ETF's weight.</p>
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<p>KRMA holds 115 stocks, none of which command weights more than 1.16 percent. The new ETF's top 10 holdings include J M Smucker Co (NYSE:SJM), AT&amp;T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX).</p>
<p>KRMA is Global X's twelfth thematic ETF and the second in the issuer's values category.</p>
<p>More than $6 trillion have been invested into sustainable &amp; responsible investing themes, according to the US Sustainable Investment Forum, added Global X.</p>
<p>In May, <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/16/05/7963597/global-x-adds-to-thematic-lineup-with-longevity-health-wellne" type="external">Global X introduced Opens a New Window.</a> the Global X Longevity Thematic ETF (NASDAQ:LNGR) and the Global X Health &amp; Wellness Thematic ETF (NASDAQ:BFIT), launches that were preceded by the debut of the Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (NASDAQ:MILN).</p>
<p>KRMA charges 0.43 percent per year, or $43 per $10,000 invested.</p>
<p>2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.</p> | Good Karma: Global X Adds Another Thematic ESG ETF | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/13/good-karma-global-x-adds-another-thematic-esg-etf.html | 2016-07-13 | 0 |
<p>Since the year began, there's been no hotter investment than cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are the one-two punch in terms of largest market cap among digital currencies, have returned about 300% and 3,200%, respectively, just since the year began. By comparison, it's taken the S&amp;P 500 decades to return what Ethereum has for its investors in just under nine months.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Emotions have obviously played a critical role in pushing digital currency prices higher. Since financial institutions have either avoided cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum, or are barred by management from trading them, it's left the price movement to the hands of retail investors. John and Jane Q. Investor are substantially more prone to having emotions sway their investment decisions than large investment institutions. Lately, the "don't miss the boat" mentality could very well be driving prices higher.</p>
<p>On a more fundamental basis, there's a lot of excitement surrounding the blockchain that underlies many of the top cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and Ethereum. Blockchain is a digital decentralized network that records all transactions without the need for a financial intermediary, like a bank. Because these blockchains are often, to some degree, open-source networks, it makes altering data very difficult. Thus, blockchain could become the preferred peer-to-peer and business-to-business channel for transactions in the future for a variety of industries and sectors.</p>
<p>Even the U.S. dollar has given a boost to cryptocurrencies since the year began. The dollar recently hit a more than two-year low against the euro, and well over a one-year low against other major currencies. When the dollar weakens, it tends to lift U.S. exports, which is bound to make President Trump happy.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it reduces the value of dollars being held by investors. Usually a falling dollar will send investors to seek a safe-haven store of value, like gold. Lately, though, they've been opting for the safety of bitcoin, the largest digital currency. However, bitcoin's tenure as the cryptocurrency of choice may not last much longer.</p>
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<p>With the full understanding that the cryptocurrency model itself has no guaranteed future, it's my suspicion that Ethereum has a better chance of long-term success than bitcoin. In fact, the early evidence suggests that Ethereum could leave bitcoin eating its dust in short order.</p>
<p>The major difference between the two digital-currency powerhouses comes down to their blockchain technology. Ethereum's blockchain has one key advantage over bitcoin's blockchain: its support of smart contract applications. Smart contracts, which, in their simplest form, are computer protocols that help to facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation of a contract, help to automate complex physical and financial supply-chain procedures and compliance processes. In plain English, it's a protocol within Ethereum's network geared at big businesses that should allow business-to-business and client-to-business deals to be done securely and efficiently.</p>
<p>Ethereum already has a lot of interest in its blockchain, as evidenced by the more than 150 organizations that had joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance as of July 2017, including <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/27/9-brand-name-companies-that-have-joined-the-enterp.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=5e370320-9f23-11e7-a5ed-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">nine well-known brand-name companies Opens a New Window.</a>. These organizations are testing out a version of Ethereum's blockchain in various pilot and small-scale programs.</p>
<p>Comparatively, bitcoin is valued more as a payment platform than for its underlying blockchain technology. While there are some well-known businesses that have accepted bitcoin since 2014, its network has been at a distinct disadvantage to Ethereum's. Bitcoin has traditionally had higher transaction costs, long settlement times, and for a while, its capacity was challenged. A recent fork in bitcoin, which saw the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/03/oh-look-yet-another-reason-to-avoid-bitcoin.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=5e370320-9f23-11e7-a5ed-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">digital currency split in two Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;-- bitcoin and bitcoin cash -- may help close the gap a bit, but that remains to be seen.</p>
<p>This fork involved bitcoin's engineers utilizing the SegWit2x upgrade, which lowered transaction costs and settlement times, while boosting capacity by removing some information from its blockchain. A majority of the bitcoin community was in favor of SegWit2x, especially since it would make bitcoin more attractive to big businesses.</p>
<p>However, bitcoin still didn't receive the required 80% support needed to keep it from fracturing into two separate currencies. The remaining minority, which became bitcoin cash, chose to expand capacity within the original blockchain framework. This minority would prefer bitcoin remain a Libertarian's dream currency.</p>
<p>It's really as simple as this: Big business currently favors Ethereum's underlying blockchain more than bitcoin's, and that's likely where the long-term value of these cryptocurrencies lies.</p>
<p>However, this writer is still not very excited about the long-term prospects of cryptocurrencies, in general.</p>
<p>To begin with, there's absolutely <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/14/5-factors-that-could-cause-bitcoins-bubble-to-burs.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=5e370320-9f23-11e7-a5ed-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">no way of knowing Opens a New Window.</a> how much blockchain technology will be worth a year, three years, or 10 years from now. Though businesses are testing out the technology, there isn't a large-scale use of blockchain ongoing at the moment outside of digital currencies. Therefore, any valuation of cryptocurrencies based on their underlying blockchain is nothing more than a roll-the-dice guess at the moment.</p>
<p>We also can't overlook the terrifying role that retail investor emotions have played in bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Without the stabilizing force that is Wall Street, emotions have the potential to whipsaw these currencies in the short term, possibly leading to quick and hefty losses for those who aren't prepared, or don't understand how digital currencies work.</p>
<p>Building on that last point, the lack of a central trading exchange is another potential issue. While decentralization is critical to the success of cryptocurrencies so as to reduce the likelihood of a cyberattack being successful, it also makes it difficult to legitimize cryptocurrencies. And having around a dozen exchanges can increase price volatility.</p>
<p>Even regulating bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could be worrisome. While regulation would, in one sense, signify the acceptance of digital currencies as legal tender, some countries, like China, could choose to crack down on digital currencies altogether. China recently barred initial coin offerings and announced that it'll soon be shutting down domestic bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges.</p>
<p>Long story short, while Ethereum looks the best positioned to succeed over the long run, there's no guarantee that it, or bitcoin, will be around in a few years' time. My suggestion remains that investors steer clear of digital currencies until we have a better understanding of how they'll be regulated, and what their underlying technology is really worth.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than&#160;Wal-MartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom&#160;Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they&#160;have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom&#160;just revealed what they believe are the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=5e370320-9f23-11e7-a5ed-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they&#160;think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=5e370320-9f23-11e7-a5ed-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=5e370320-9f23-11e7-a5ed-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Ethereum May Very Well Leave Bitcoin Eating Its Dust Over the Long Run | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/23/ethereum-may-very-well-leave-bitcoin-eating-its-dust-over-long-run.html | 2017-09-23 | 0 |
<p />
<p>I have a confession: I'm a compulsive reader of financial statements and do this sort of thing for fun. My passion doesn't get me invited to many parties, but it does give me a chance to offer helpful advice to the uninitiated.</p>
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<p>I thought the treasure trove of curious disclosures in theSEC filings fromAnavex Life Sciencesprovided a perfect opportunity to shed light on some important lessons. While there are so many figures to choose from to highlight, the 100 million authorized shares of capital stock is one you absolutely must understand if you're considering investing in this pioneer of an alternative Alzheimer's hypothesis.</p>
<p>Slimming your slice of any potential pieWhen the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings, the number of shares outstanding at the end of 2015 was 34.65 million. In a nutshell, the 100 million authorized shares means Anavex can issue another 65.35 million shares at will, without consulting shareholders or the board of directors.</p>
<p>For the sake of argument, suppose Anavex earns a net profit of $100 million a few years from now. Earnings-per-share would come out to $2.88, but if it issues those shares -- and it probably will -- EPS would fall to just $1. That's a big difference in your potential share of any future earnings.</p>
<p>It's not at all uncommon for clinical-stage biotechs to authorize far more shares than the number issued. The ability to raise equity and keep operations running as quickly as possible is the entire point of becoming a publicly traded company. In fact, Anavex's authorized-to-issued ratio is relatively modest compared to the likes ofKite Pharma or bluebird bio .</p>
<p>Going (at a snail's pace) concernHowever, when it comes to Anavex, "running" isn't the word I would use to describe the pace of its operations. I'll bet my hat -- as a bald person in a cold place I really need a good hat -- the company will authorize a lot more after the current 100 million have been issued. This means that if there ever is a profit, shareholders buying in now will see very little of it.</p>
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<p>Since going public in 2007, its greatest clinical accomplishment has been the completion of "Part A" of a two-part phase 2a trial with its lead Alzheimer's candidate Anavex 2-73 that began in 2014.</p>
<p>Image source: National Institutes of Health.</p>
<p>To be fair, Anavex traded over the counter until uplisting to the Nasdaq exchange last October, but it's been burning through millions each year just the same.</p>
<p>The goal of Part A was to measure the difference between patients receiving different dosages of 2-73 in capsule form for 11 days, and then as an intravenous infusion for 11 days. Part B, which should complete this October, is a 52-week open-label comparison of patients taking two different dosages of the capsule.</p>
<p>In other words, after more than eight years as a publicly traded company, Anavex is halfway through a 32-patient dose determination trial. The study lacks a control arm, so it won't tell us anything useful, from a regulatory standpoint, about 2-73's efficacy.</p>
<p>The company ended 2012 with anaccumulated deficit of about $38 million,which by the end of last year had grown to a little over $67 million. That's an awful lot for a company that sponsored one clinical trial.</p>
<p>By comparison, bluebird bio ended 2015 with an accumulated deficit of$314.2 million.It is, however, sponsoring eight clinical trials with multiple candidates,and it received $75 million upfront from Celgene upon entering a collaboration with the oncology heavyweight months ahead of its IPO.</p>
<p>As a publicly traded company, Kite Pharma is a relative infant that ended 2015 with an accumulated deficit of $159.7 million.It has multiple clinical-stage candidates in trials sponsored by Amgen and the National Cancer Institute.It's also sponsoring four pivotal studies of its lead candidate with plans to submit an application to the FDA by the end of the year.</p>
<p>More dilution aheadLet's assume Anavex is serious about developing 2-73, or any Alzheimer's candidate, through phase 3 and into the commercial arena. The65.35 million authorized, but not yet issued, shares aren't going to get it there unless those 32 patients come out of "Part 2" of the 2-73 trial acting like Bradley Cooper in Limitless.</p>
<p>Image source: National Institutes of Health.</p>
<p>At the end of the 52-week follow-on study with capsules, Anavex will test the patients for cognitive impairment. Without a control group for comparison, they'll probably be positive, but the FDA won't be interested in any data from that trial except the drug's safety profile.</p>
<p>The subsequent press release might result in a temporary price spike. Even reports of encouraging <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/12/07/do-eli-lilly-and-biogen-have-alzheimers-all-wron-2.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">preclinical results Opens a New Window.</a>have sent Anavex shares soaring. The company might be able to raise a decent amount of equity in the process, but hardly enough to commercialize 2-73 without a big partner. So far, no drugmakers with enough resources seem interested.</p>
<p>An indication as widespread as Alzheimer's will require a randomized, placebo-controlled study with over 1,000 patients to support an application. Given the inefficiency Anavex has displayed throughout the past eight years, I'm afraid long-term minded shareholders will see their share of any potential profits continue to dwindle well past the 100 million shares authorized, to practically nothing.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/06/anavex-life-sciences-stock-1-key-number-you-must-k.aspx" type="external">Anavex Life Sciences Stock: 1 Key Number You Must Know Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/crenauer/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Cory Renauer Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Bluebird Bio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Anavex Life Sciences Stock: 1 Key Number You Must Know | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/06/anavex-life-sciences-stock-1-key-number-must-know.html | 2016-04-06 | 0 |
<p>Beaverton 68, Jesuit 49</p>
<p>Colton 57, Jefferson 41</p>
<p>Crescent Valley 58, North Eugene 44</p>
<p>Culver 60, Central Christian 45</p>
<p>Davis, Wash. 74, Hermiston 60</p>
<p>Dayton 61, Horizon Christian Tualatin 42</p>
<p>Glencoe 42, Century 38</p>
<p>Gold Beach 51, Harrisburg 43</p>
<p>Illinois Valley 52, Bandon 46</p>
<p>La Grande 74, The Dalles 68</p>
<p>Lake Oswego 58, Newberg 36</p>
<p>Life Christian 55, City Christian 41</p>
<p>McKay 84, Putnam 83</p>
<p>Philomath 54, Marshfield 46</p>
<p>Redmond 56, Sisters 38</p>
<p>Santiam Christian 60, Amity 45</p>
<p>Scappoose 69, Molalla 49</p>
<p>Scio 52, Gervais 30</p>
<p>Sherwood 50, Canby 42</p>
<p>Southridge 93, Liberty 48</p>
<p>St. Helens 50, Hood River 40</p>
<p>Trinity Lutheran 66, Rogue Valley Adventist 45</p>
<p>Tualatin 80, Lakeridge 54</p>
<p>Valley Catholic 60, Cascade 33</p>
<p>Vernonia 79, Faith Bible 43</p>
<p>West Linn 73, Tigard 58</p>
<p>Westview 65, Sunset 62</p>
<p>Beaverton 68, Jesuit 49</p>
<p>Colton 57, Jefferson 41</p>
<p>Crescent Valley 58, North Eugene 44</p>
<p>Culver 60, Central Christian 45</p>
<p>Davis, Wash. 74, Hermiston 60</p>
<p>Dayton 61, Horizon Christian Tualatin 42</p>
<p>Glencoe 42, Century 38</p>
<p>Gold Beach 51, Harrisburg 43</p>
<p>Illinois Valley 52, Bandon 46</p>
<p>La Grande 74, The Dalles 68</p>
<p>Lake Oswego 58, Newberg 36</p>
<p>Life Christian 55, City Christian 41</p>
<p>McKay 84, Putnam 83</p>
<p>Philomath 54, Marshfield 46</p>
<p>Redmond 56, Sisters 38</p>
<p>Santiam Christian 60, Amity 45</p>
<p>Scappoose 69, Molalla 49</p>
<p>Scio 52, Gervais 30</p>
<p>Sherwood 50, Canby 42</p>
<p>Southridge 93, Liberty 48</p>
<p>St. Helens 50, Hood River 40</p>
<p>Trinity Lutheran 66, Rogue Valley Adventist 45</p>
<p>Tualatin 80, Lakeridge 54</p>
<p>Valley Catholic 60, Cascade 33</p>
<p>Vernonia 79, Faith Bible 43</p>
<p>West Linn 73, Tigard 58</p>
<p>Westview 65, Sunset 62</p> | Wednesday's Scores | false | https://apnews.com/amp/a49d61b53de04a089d8d13663f375e53 | 2018-01-04 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
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<p>On Friday morning, the Vikings learned they would take the field that evening without head coach Rico Marcelli, who was hospitalized with a respiratory problem. They responded with yet another break-neck speed victory, pounding the Jaguars 49-27.</p>
<p>“It motivated us a lot playing for him,” senior running back Rob Armijo said. “He’s the anchor of the team; he’s the head man. With him out, everyone had to step up.”</p>
<p>Offensive coordinator Damian Elebario, who took the reigns Friday, said Marcelli phoned him Friday morning and left him in charge.</p>
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<p>“They took him to the hospital Wednesday night after our practice,” Elebario said. “We tried to stick to the game plan that coach Marcelli laid out. He was communicating with us through the game. It was like he was here with us, and these kids are just great kids. They respond well to everything. They are very mature and experienced and stepped up big time.”</p>
<p>The game was the District 5-5A opener for both teams – and likely closed the door on the district title.</p>
<p>The Vikings (6-0, 1-0) and Jags (3-3, 0-1) look to be the district’s elite twosome – and by quite a distance – over the rest of the league: Albuquerque High, Rio Grande, Highland and West Mesa. It’s hard to imagine any of those clubs giving Valley a test on the way to what looks like a sure playoff appearance.</p>
<p>But the Vikings aren’t taking anything for granted.</p>
<p>“You just can’t give up on any team in our district,” said Valley senior quarterback Bo Coleman, who threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 200 yards and two scores.</p>
<p>“They’re all varsity football teams for a reason. They put their best football players out there to represent their school. It feels good beating a team of (Atrisco’s) caliber and with that talent, but we won’t take anyone lightly.”</p>
<p>Valley trailed 7-0 and led just 14-13 before Coleman scored on a 26-yard run with just two minutes left in the half. CJ Torres added a 28-yard TD run early in the third quarter and Armijo had a 53-yard scoring run and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-13 in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Armijo had 164 yards rushing and 142 receiving with a combined three TDs.</p>
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<p>Atrisco got 145 yards rushing and a score from Alexander Grice. Running back Ricci Alvidrez had 61 yards on 23 carries but left the game in the third quarter with a high ankle sprain, according to coach Patrick Johnson. Johnson said Alvidrez will be fine.</p>
<p>The Jaguars completed 2-of-10 passes for just six yards but had 73 rushing attempts for 332 yards.</p>
<p>Both teams played a no-huddle offense the entire game, the Vikings doing so even after Atrisco trimmed the lead to 42-27 midway through the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Atrisco went for 10 fourth-down situations – once on a fake punt – converting six.</p>
<p>They punted just three times.</p>
<p /> | Minus coach, Vikings win handily | false | https://abqjournal.com/280306/minus-coach-vikings-win-handily.html | 2013-10-12 | 2 |
<p>Kansas is considering $1 billion or more in pension bonds because it has a chance to improve the state retirement system's financial health, not because officials want to back off short-term funding commitments, the Legislature's pension committee chairmen said Monday.</p>
<p>Republican Sen. Jeff King, of Independence, and GOP Rep. Steve Johnson, of Assaria, sought to lessen concerns that issuing bonds would be risky and delay efforts to erase a long-term funding gap facing the pension system for teachers and government workers. King and Johnson are lead negotiators for their chambers on the final version of a bonding bill.</p>
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<p>Negotiations began Monday, and legislative leaders hope lawmakers can pass a bill before beginning their annual spring break Saturday. The measure is important to finishing a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, because Republican Gov. Sam Brownback outlined proposals - including $1.5 billion in bonds - to decrease the state's payments to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.</p>
<p>"You always wonder if it's going to work," said Dennis Phillips, chairman of the Kansas Coalition of Public Retirees.</p>
<p>KPERS is on track to close a projected $9.8 billion gap between revenues and benefit costs from now until 2033, thanks to laws enacted in recent years. But those laws require increasing contributions to KPERS by the state, and Brownback has argued that the payments will strain the budget.</p>
<p>Supporters of issuing bonds face skepticism of the idea outside Kansas.</p>
<p>A report last year from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College said issuing bonds decreases financial flexibility, turning pension payments that can be modified into firm bond payments. The report also said pension bonds can benefit well-funded pension systems but under-funded plans and financially stressed governments typically issue them.</p>
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<p>Alicia Munnell, the center's director, said officials can seek to use bonds to avoid "the hard job" of adequately funding pension systems.</p>
<p>"It's sort of like a Hail Mary pass," she said.</p>
<p>Brownback's proposals would reduce the state's contribution to KPERS by $40 million during the next fiscal year, when the state is trying to close a budget shortfall.</p>
<p>The House passed a bill last week to authorize $1.5 billion in bonds, and the Senate last month approved $1 billion in bonds, but the legislative plans would reduce pension costs during the next fiscal year only between $7 million and $10 million, according to KPERS. That is only about a quarter of the reduction Brownback projects.</p>
<p>Issuing bonds would give the retirement system an infusion of cash, narrowing its long-term funding gap. KPERS expects to earn 8 percent long-term on its investments, and the legislative proposals limit the state to paying investors 5 percent interest or less on the bonds.</p>
<p>"This is a wonderful pension tool if you are ready to keep your commitments to properly fund a system," King said.</p>
<p>Johnson said lawmakers are pursuing bonds only to realize financial gains for KPERS.</p>
<p>But, he acknowledged, "Any time you look at numbers with that many commas, it's a cause for pause."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>House pensions plan: http://bit.ly/1BOHQAu</p>
<p>Senate pensions plan: http://bit.ly/1yeE0QI</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna .</p> | Key Kansas lawmakers defend plan to issue pension bonds that outside groups says have risks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/03/30/key-kansas-lawmakers-defend-plan-to-issue-pension-bonds-that-outside-groups.html | 2016-03-09 | 0 |
<p>Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said he’s recommending that none of 27 national monuments carved from wilderness and ocean and under review by the Trump administration be eliminated.</p>
<p>But there would be changes to a “handful,” he said.</p>
<p>Zinke told The Associated Press that unspecified boundary adjustments for some monuments designated over the past four decades will be included in the recommendations he planned to give President Donald Trump on Thursday. None of the sites would revert to new ownership, he said, while public access for uses such as hunting, fishing or grazing would be maintained or restored.</p>
<p>He also spoke of protecting tribal interests and historical land grants, pointing to monuments in New Mexico, where Hispanic ranchers have opposed two monuments proclaimed by President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Zinke declined to say whether portions of the monuments would be opened up to oil and gas drilling, mining, logging and other industries for which Trump has advocated.</p>
<p>There was no immediate comment from the White House.</p>
<p>If Trump adopts the recommendations, it would quiet some of the worst fears of his opponents, who warned that vast public lands and marine areas could be lost to states or private interests.</p>
<p>But significant reductions in the size of the monuments, especially those created by Obama, would mark the latest in a string of actions where Trump has sought to erode his Democratic predecessor’s legacy.</p>
<p>“There’s an expectation we need to look out 100 years from now to keep the public land experience alive in this country,” Zinke said. “You can protect the monument by keeping public access to traditional uses.”</p>
<p>The recommendations cap an unprecedented four-month review based on a belief that the century-old Antiquities Act had been misused by past presidents to create oversized monuments that hinder energy development, grazing and other uses.</p>
<p>The review raised alarm among conservationists who said protections could be lost for areas that are home to ancient cliff dwellings, towering sequoia trees, deep canyons and ocean habitats. They’ve vowed to file lawsuits if Trump attempts any changes that would reduce the size of monuments or rescind their designations.</p>
<p>Zinke had previously announced that no changes would be made at six national monuments — in Montana, Colorado, Idaho, California, Arizona and Washington. He’s also said that Bears Ears monument in Utah should be downsized.</p>
<p>The former Montana congressman declined to reveal specifics on individual sites in an interview with the AP. He offered no further details on his recommendations for the two New Mexico monuments — Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.</p>
<p>He also struck back against conservationists who had warned of impending mass selloffs of public lands by the Trump administration.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard this narrative that somehow the land is going to be sold or transferred,” Zinke said. “That narrative is patently false and shameful. The land was public before and it will be public after.”</p>
<p>National monument designations add protections for lands revered for their natural beauty and historical significance with the goal of preserving them for future generations. The restrictions aren’t as stringent as national parks, but some policies include limits on mining, timber cutting and recreational activities such as riding off-road vehicles.</p>
<p>The monuments under review were designated by four presidents over the last two decades. Several are about the size of the state of Delaware, including Mojave Trails in California, Grand-Staircase Escalante in Utah and Bears Ears, which is on sacred tribal land.</p>
<p>Many national monuments were later declared national parks. Among them were Zion National Park in Utah and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.</p>
<p>No other president has tried to eliminate a monument, but some have trimmed and redrawn boundaries 18 times, according to the National Park Service.</p>
<p>Many times, presidents reduced monuments only slightly, like when Franklin Roosevelt removed about 52 acres from Arizona’s Wupatki National Monument in 1941 to make way for a dam. But occasionally the changes were drastic, like President Woodrow Wilson’s move in 1915 to cut Mount Olympus National Monument roughly in half to open more land for logging.</p>
<p>Environmental groups said the 1906 Antiquities Act is intended to shield significant historical and archaeological sites, and that it allows presidents to create the monuments, but only gives Congress the power to modify them.</p>
<p>McCombs reported from Salt Lake City.</p>
<p>Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at —www.twitter.com/matthewbrownap .</p> | Zinke Won't Eliminate Any National Monuments | false | https://newsline.com/zinke-wont-eliminate-any-national-monuments/ | 2017-08-24 | 1 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a bill reopening the government late Monday, ending a 69-hour display of partisan dysfunction after Democrats reluctantly voted to temporarily pay for resumed operations. They relented in return for Republican assurances that the Senate will soon take up the plight of young immigrant "dreamers" and other contentious issues.</p>
<p>The vote set the stage for hundreds of thousands of federal workers to return on Tuesday, cutting short what could have become a messy and costly impasse. The House approved the measure shortly thereafter, and President Donald Trump later signed it behind closed doors at the White House.</p>
<p>But by relenting, the Democrats prompted a backlash from immigration activists and liberal base supporters who wanted them to fight longer and harder for legislation to protect from deportation the 700,000 or so younger immigrants who were brought to the country as children and now are here illegally.</p>
<p>Democrats climbed onboard after two days of negotiations that ended with new assurances from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that the Senate would consider immigration proposals in the coming weeks. But there were deep divides in the Democratic caucus over strategy, as red-state lawmakers fighting for their survival broke with progressives looking to satisfy liberals' and immigrants' demands.</p>
<p>Under the agreement, Democrats provided enough votes to pass the stopgap spending measure keeping the government open until Feb. 8. In return, McConnell agreed to resume negotiations over the future of the dreamers, border security, military spending and other budget debates. If those talks don't yield a deal in the next three weeks, the Republican promised to allow the Senate to debate an immigration proposal — even if it's one crafted by a bipartisan group and does not have the backing of the leadership and the White House, lawmakers said. McConnell had previously said he would bring a deal to a vote only if President Donald Trump supported it.</p>
<p>Sixty votes were needed to end the Democrats' filibuster, and the party's senators provided 33 of the 81 the measure got. Eighteen senators, including members of both parties, were opposed. Hours later the Senate passed the final bill by the same 81-18 vote, sending it to the House, which quickly voted its approval and sent the measure on to President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>White House press secretary Sarah Sanders predicted that operations would return to normal by Tuesday morning.</p>
<p>The plan is far from what many activists and Democrats hoped when they decided to use the budget deadline as leverage. It doesn't tie the immigration vote to another piece of legislation, a tactic often used to build momentum. It also doesn't address support for an immigration plan in the House, where opposition to extending the protections for the dreamers is far stronger.</p>
<p>The short-term spending measure means both sides may wind up in a shutdown stalemate again in three weeks.</p>
<p>Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer lent his backing to the agreement during a speech on the chamber's floor. "Now there is a real pathway to get a bill on the floor and through the Senate," he said of legislation to halt any deportation efforts aimed at the younger immigrants.</p>
<p>The White House downplayed McConnell's commitment, and said Democrats caved under pressure. "They blinked," principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah told CNN. In a statement, Trump said he's open to immigration deal only if it is "good for our country."</p>
<p>Immigration activists and other groups harshly criticized the deal reached by the Democratic leadership.</p>
<p>Cristina Jimenez, executive director of United We Dream, said the members of the group are "outraged." She added that senators who voted Monday in favor of the deal "are not resisting Trump, they are enablers."</p>
<p>Other groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union expressed disappointment and shared similar criticism.</p>
<p>A block of liberal Democrats — some of them 2020 presidential hopefuls — stuck to their opposition. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Dianne Feinstein of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey voted no, as did Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont.</p>
<p>Feinstein said she wasn't persuaded by McConnell's assurances and did not know how a proposal to protect the more than 700,000 younger immigrants would fare in the House.</p>
<p>Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana voted no on the procedural motion to re-open the government — the only no vote among 10 incumbent Democrats facing re-election this year in states won by Trump in 2016. Tester said in a statement that the 17-day budget did not include any funding for community health centers that are important to his rural state, nor did the deal include additional resources for border security.</p>
<p>The short-term funding measure includes a six-year reauthorization of the children's health insurance program, which provides coverage for millions of young people in families with modest incomes. It also includes $31 billion in tax cuts, including a delay in implementing a tax on medical devices.</p>
<p>The votes came as most government offices cut back drastically or even closed on Monday, as the major effects of the shutdown were first being felt with the beginning of the workweek.</p>
<p>Republicans have appeared increasingly confident that Democrats would bear the brunt of criticism for the shutdown. The White House and GOP leaders said they would not negotiate with Democrats on immigration until the government was reopened, and White House officials boasted that Trump didn't reach out to any Democratic lawmakers during the shutdown.</p>
<p>In fact, Trump, who regularly disrupted negotiations in recent weeks, had been a relatively subdued player in the weekend debate. On Monday, he accused Democrats of prioritizing services and security for noncitizens over U.S. citizens. "Not good," his first tweet said. In a second tweet, he said, "Democrats have shut down our government in the interests of their far left base. They don't want to do it but are powerless!"</p>
<p>Trump's first tweet appeared to undercut comments by his legislative affairs director, Marc Short, who told CNN that the immigrants in question are law-abiding and "productive to our society." Short said the administration wants to "find a pathway for them" to stay in the U.S.</p>
<p>Although the Democrats initially dug in on a demand for an immigration deal, they had shifted to blaming the shutdown on the incompetence of Republicans and Trump. The Democrats seemed sensitive to being seen by voters as willing to tie up government operations to protect immigrants in the U.S. illegally.</p>
<p>In an impassioned closed-door meeting, Schumer told his members that McConnell's pledge was the best deal they were going to get.</p>
<p>On the Senate floor, No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas said that for shutting down the government, the Democrats "got nothing." He added that even though McConnell promised to take up the immigration bill by February, "he was going to do that anyway."</p>
<p>While lawmakers feuded, signs of the shutdown were evident at national parks and in some federal agencies. Social Security and most other safety-net programs were unaffected by the lapse in federal spending authority. Critical government functions continued, with uniformed service members, health inspectors and law enforcement officers set to work without pay.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking, Luis Alonso Lugo, Catherine Lucey, Matthew Daly and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a bill reopening the government late Monday, ending a 69-hour display of partisan dysfunction after Democrats reluctantly voted to temporarily pay for resumed operations. They relented in return for Republican assurances that the Senate will soon take up the plight of young immigrant "dreamers" and other contentious issues.</p>
<p>The vote set the stage for hundreds of thousands of federal workers to return on Tuesday, cutting short what could have become a messy and costly impasse. The House approved the measure shortly thereafter, and President Donald Trump later signed it behind closed doors at the White House.</p>
<p>But by relenting, the Democrats prompted a backlash from immigration activists and liberal base supporters who wanted them to fight longer and harder for legislation to protect from deportation the 700,000 or so younger immigrants who were brought to the country as children and now are here illegally.</p>
<p>Democrats climbed onboard after two days of negotiations that ended with new assurances from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that the Senate would consider immigration proposals in the coming weeks. But there were deep divides in the Democratic caucus over strategy, as red-state lawmakers fighting for their survival broke with progressives looking to satisfy liberals' and immigrants' demands.</p>
<p>Under the agreement, Democrats provided enough votes to pass the stopgap spending measure keeping the government open until Feb. 8. In return, McConnell agreed to resume negotiations over the future of the dreamers, border security, military spending and other budget debates. If those talks don't yield a deal in the next three weeks, the Republican promised to allow the Senate to debate an immigration proposal — even if it's one crafted by a bipartisan group and does not have the backing of the leadership and the White House, lawmakers said. McConnell had previously said he would bring a deal to a vote only if President Donald Trump supported it.</p>
<p>Sixty votes were needed to end the Democrats' filibuster, and the party's senators provided 33 of the 81 the measure got. Eighteen senators, including members of both parties, were opposed. Hours later the Senate passed the final bill by the same 81-18 vote, sending it to the House, which quickly voted its approval and sent the measure on to President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>White House press secretary Sarah Sanders predicted that operations would return to normal by Tuesday morning.</p>
<p>The plan is far from what many activists and Democrats hoped when they decided to use the budget deadline as leverage. It doesn't tie the immigration vote to another piece of legislation, a tactic often used to build momentum. It also doesn't address support for an immigration plan in the House, where opposition to extending the protections for the dreamers is far stronger.</p>
<p>The short-term spending measure means both sides may wind up in a shutdown stalemate again in three weeks.</p>
<p>Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer lent his backing to the agreement during a speech on the chamber's floor. "Now there is a real pathway to get a bill on the floor and through the Senate," he said of legislation to halt any deportation efforts aimed at the younger immigrants.</p>
<p>The White House downplayed McConnell's commitment, and said Democrats caved under pressure. "They blinked," principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah told CNN. In a statement, Trump said he's open to immigration deal only if it is "good for our country."</p>
<p>Immigration activists and other groups harshly criticized the deal reached by the Democratic leadership.</p>
<p>Cristina Jimenez, executive director of United We Dream, said the members of the group are "outraged." She added that senators who voted Monday in favor of the deal "are not resisting Trump, they are enablers."</p>
<p>Other groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union expressed disappointment and shared similar criticism.</p>
<p>A block of liberal Democrats — some of them 2020 presidential hopefuls — stuck to their opposition. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Dianne Feinstein of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey voted no, as did Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont.</p>
<p>Feinstein said she wasn't persuaded by McConnell's assurances and did not know how a proposal to protect the more than 700,000 younger immigrants would fare in the House.</p>
<p>Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana voted no on the procedural motion to re-open the government — the only no vote among 10 incumbent Democrats facing re-election this year in states won by Trump in 2016. Tester said in a statement that the 17-day budget did not include any funding for community health centers that are important to his rural state, nor did the deal include additional resources for border security.</p>
<p>The short-term funding measure includes a six-year reauthorization of the children's health insurance program, which provides coverage for millions of young people in families with modest incomes. It also includes $31 billion in tax cuts, including a delay in implementing a tax on medical devices.</p>
<p>The votes came as most government offices cut back drastically or even closed on Monday, as the major effects of the shutdown were first being felt with the beginning of the workweek.</p>
<p>Republicans have appeared increasingly confident that Democrats would bear the brunt of criticism for the shutdown. The White House and GOP leaders said they would not negotiate with Democrats on immigration until the government was reopened, and White House officials boasted that Trump didn't reach out to any Democratic lawmakers during the shutdown.</p>
<p>In fact, Trump, who regularly disrupted negotiations in recent weeks, had been a relatively subdued player in the weekend debate. On Monday, he accused Democrats of prioritizing services and security for noncitizens over U.S. citizens. "Not good," his first tweet said. In a second tweet, he said, "Democrats have shut down our government in the interests of their far left base. They don't want to do it but are powerless!"</p>
<p>Trump's first tweet appeared to undercut comments by his legislative affairs director, Marc Short, who told CNN that the immigrants in question are law-abiding and "productive to our society." Short said the administration wants to "find a pathway for them" to stay in the U.S.</p>
<p>Although the Democrats initially dug in on a demand for an immigration deal, they had shifted to blaming the shutdown on the incompetence of Republicans and Trump. The Democrats seemed sensitive to being seen by voters as willing to tie up government operations to protect immigrants in the U.S. illegally.</p>
<p>In an impassioned closed-door meeting, Schumer told his members that McConnell's pledge was the best deal they were going to get.</p>
<p>On the Senate floor, No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas said that for shutting down the government, the Democrats "got nothing." He added that even though McConnell promised to take up the immigration bill by February, "he was going to do that anyway."</p>
<p>While lawmakers feuded, signs of the shutdown were evident at national parks and in some federal agencies. Social Security and most other safety-net programs were unaffected by the lapse in federal spending authority. Critical government functions continued, with uniformed service members, health inspectors and law enforcement officers set to work without pay.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking, Luis Alonso Lugo, Catherine Lucey, Matthew Daly and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.</p> | Back to work: Government shutdown ends after Dems relent | false | https://apnews.com/amp/f90c98301d0c425997b08ad238edf0f4 | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a two-time Xfinity Series champion who is coming off the best season of his NASCAR career. He won his first two Cup races last year and made the playoffs for the first time in five seasons of racing in NASCAR's big leagues.</p>
<p>Building on that momentum will be his goal this year, and likely what he focuses on when he faces reporters during NASCAR's annual preseason media tour. What Stenhouse probably won't talk about is his breakup with Danica Patrick, though he will certainly be asked.</p>
<p>Why should anyone ask Stenhouse about his ex-girlfriend? The circumstances are unique and unconventional. He and Patrick were professional athletes from the same sport who competed against each other weekly while living together as a couple both at home and at the race track.</p>
<p>They dated for five years, the entire time Stenhouse has raced in the Cup Series, and being her boyfriend became part of his identity. So, yes, there is interest in hearing from Stenhouse about the split.</p>
<p>However, Stenhouse owes no one any answers, and likely won't spill any tea about their late November breakup. Stenhouse very rarely talked about the relationship publicly, and it was Patrick and her "Danica Machine" marketing team that drove the bus for the couple. She was the one who announced they were dating, telling The Associated Press in early 2013, "I have a boyfriend, his name is Richard."</p>
<p>She tearfully thanked Stenhouse, who watched from the back of the room, as she announced she'll retire from racing after two events this year last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. About two weeks later, the couple had split. Patrick said she is now dating Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and has been the most relevant racer the entire offseason through a promotional blitz that has kept her in the headlines.</p>
<p>Stenhouse, meanwhile, has said nothing. It's the right course of action.</p>
<p>Stenhouse started to flourish on the race track last season and, if he chooses, can be an important part of NASCAR's future. His victories at Talladega and Daytona last year absolutely had a lot to do with the horsepower Doug Yates put in Stenhouse's Ford at those tracks, but he still showed he has the ability to win.</p>
<p>Stenhouse had done very little to shine on the race track prior to last season, but much of his Cup career has been spent with a rebuilding Roush Fenway Racing team. His numbers from last season are all career bests, and while they aren't spectacular statistics, he still showed that RFR and the No. 17 team are making progress.</p>
<p>The next steps will require Stenhouse to be a leader at Roush, with his race team and the organization. Stenhouse has an opportunity to become something much bigger than Patrick's plus one. He was 25 when they began dating, didn't go to college and most of his learning was done in race cars.</p>
<p>When he first started dating Patrick, she was already one of the most famous athletes in the world and had been married and divorced. Her life became his life — she got him to cut his mullet, dress a little better, explore big cities and take his fitness seriously, improvements that landed him two spots on "American Ninja Warrior."</p>
<p>Stenhouse is now 30 and has a chance to show the world who he is as a racer and a person. His passions are dirt racing, the golf league comprised of NASCAR personalities and Ole Miss football. When he's not racing, he probably wants to be racing.</p>
<p>This is now Stenhouse's time. He gets to not only reset, but also rebuild who he wants to be in the world of NASCAR and with his race team.</p>
<p>Those are the kind of things Stenhouse is likely going to focus on in the buildup to next month's season-opening Daytona 500. He won at Daytona at July, so there's no reason to think he won't be a contender in the 500, and a victory there would be the biggest moment of his career.</p>
<p>What Stenhouse has ahead of him is now what's important. He alone gets to dictate what happens next.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Auto Racing: https://racing.ap.org/</p>
<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a two-time Xfinity Series champion who is coming off the best season of his NASCAR career. He won his first two Cup races last year and made the playoffs for the first time in five seasons of racing in NASCAR's big leagues.</p>
<p>Building on that momentum will be his goal this year, and likely what he focuses on when he faces reporters during NASCAR's annual preseason media tour. What Stenhouse probably won't talk about is his breakup with Danica Patrick, though he will certainly be asked.</p>
<p>Why should anyone ask Stenhouse about his ex-girlfriend? The circumstances are unique and unconventional. He and Patrick were professional athletes from the same sport who competed against each other weekly while living together as a couple both at home and at the race track.</p>
<p>They dated for five years, the entire time Stenhouse has raced in the Cup Series, and being her boyfriend became part of his identity. So, yes, there is interest in hearing from Stenhouse about the split.</p>
<p>However, Stenhouse owes no one any answers, and likely won't spill any tea about their late November breakup. Stenhouse very rarely talked about the relationship publicly, and it was Patrick and her "Danica Machine" marketing team that drove the bus for the couple. She was the one who announced they were dating, telling The Associated Press in early 2013, "I have a boyfriend, his name is Richard."</p>
<p>She tearfully thanked Stenhouse, who watched from the back of the room, as she announced she'll retire from racing after two events this year last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. About two weeks later, the couple had split. Patrick said she is now dating Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and has been the most relevant racer the entire offseason through a promotional blitz that has kept her in the headlines.</p>
<p>Stenhouse, meanwhile, has said nothing. It's the right course of action.</p>
<p>Stenhouse started to flourish on the race track last season and, if he chooses, can be an important part of NASCAR's future. His victories at Talladega and Daytona last year absolutely had a lot to do with the horsepower Doug Yates put in Stenhouse's Ford at those tracks, but he still showed he has the ability to win.</p>
<p>Stenhouse had done very little to shine on the race track prior to last season, but much of his Cup career has been spent with a rebuilding Roush Fenway Racing team. His numbers from last season are all career bests, and while they aren't spectacular statistics, he still showed that RFR and the No. 17 team are making progress.</p>
<p>The next steps will require Stenhouse to be a leader at Roush, with his race team and the organization. Stenhouse has an opportunity to become something much bigger than Patrick's plus one. He was 25 when they began dating, didn't go to college and most of his learning was done in race cars.</p>
<p>When he first started dating Patrick, she was already one of the most famous athletes in the world and had been married and divorced. Her life became his life — she got him to cut his mullet, dress a little better, explore big cities and take his fitness seriously, improvements that landed him two spots on "American Ninja Warrior."</p>
<p>Stenhouse is now 30 and has a chance to show the world who he is as a racer and a person. His passions are dirt racing, the golf league comprised of NASCAR personalities and Ole Miss football. When he's not racing, he probably wants to be racing.</p>
<p>This is now Stenhouse's time. He gets to not only reset, but also rebuild who he wants to be in the world of NASCAR and with his race team.</p>
<p>Those are the kind of things Stenhouse is likely going to focus on in the buildup to next month's season-opening Daytona 500. He won at Daytona at July, so there's no reason to think he won't be a contender in the 500, and a victory there would be the biggest moment of his career.</p>
<p>What Stenhouse has ahead of him is now what's important. He alone gets to dictate what happens next.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Auto Racing: https://racing.ap.org/</p> | Column: Stenhouse can make a name for himself post-Patrick | false | https://apnews.com/amp/e38bd47c4b0548eca95720d971f290af | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Triple Chance" game were:</p>
<p>02-06-07-23-24-28-37-41-42-44</p>
<p>(two, six, seven, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty-seven, forty-one, forty-two, forty-four)</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Triple Chance" game were:</p>
<p>02-06-07-23-24-28-37-41-42-44</p>
<p>(two, six, seven, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty-seven, forty-one, forty-two, forty-four)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Triple Chance' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/b1e1c31c75804103b34b073496c553fa | 2018-01-20 | 2 |
<p>Feb. 26 marked the beginning of the <a href="http://www.cpac.org/" type="external">Conservative Political Action Committee</a> (or CPAC) annual convention. Conference <a href="http://www.cpac.org/agenda_20708.html" type="external">speakers</a> include leading figures from the Republican Party as well as conservative columnists, pundits and activists. Among yesterday’s speakers was <a href="http://www.aei.org/scholars/scholarID.121/scholar.asp" type="external">John Bolton</a>, U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush and now a senior fellow with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. During his speech, Bolton repeated a bit of old bunk from the 2008 campaign, falsely claiming that Obama called Iran “a tiny threat.”</p>
<p>&lt;iframe type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/ylI02kvViZA&amp;amp;eurl"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>As we <a href="" type="internal">said at the time</a>, that’s a serious distortion. Obama didn’t actually say that Iran is a “tiny” threat. He said it’s tiny in size when compared with the former Soviet Union. He went on to say that Iran doesn’t “pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us.”</p>
<p>&lt;iframe type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/ew5qP2oPdtQ"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>Obama is clearly correct to say that Iran does not pose the level of threat that the former Soviet Union posed. At the end of the Cold War, the USSR possessed more than 12,000 strategic nuclear warheads, nearly 8,000 of which were capable of reaching the United States. Iran possesses zero nuclear weapons, and, according to a <a href="http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf" type="external">National Intelligence Estimate</a>, stopped working on nuclear weapon development in 2003.</p>
<p>We take no position on the extent to which Iran is a threat to the U.S. But it’s false to say, as Bolton does, that Obama has dismissed the threat as “tiny.”</p> | Tiny Iran | false | https://factcheck.org/2009/02/tiny-iran/ | 2009-02-27 | 2 |
<p>Jerred Kiloh makes a tension-filled drive once a month to pay his city taxes in cash. Without access to banks, pot store owners in California and states where marijuana is legal are forced to carry around obscene amounts of cash. (Aug. 3)</p>
<p>Jerred Kiloh makes a tension-filled drive once a month to pay his city taxes in cash. Without access to banks, pot store owners in California and states where marijuana is legal are forced to carry around obscene amounts of cash. (Aug. 3)</p> | Cash Dash: Nerve-Rattling Trip to Pay Pot Taxes | false | https://apnews.com/amp/56a83eeab67747cb974639222018e95a | 2017-08-03 | 2 |