224 kilograms of meth, 22 suspects arrested in dismantling of Mexico-U.S. narco-trafficking ring
Rubio, a doctor, was a major contributor to the Valor por Tamaulipas website, which posts articles about drug cartel activities. Under the pseudonym “Catwoman,” she posted stories and photos of crime scenes and missing persons, as well as photos of alleged drug cartel operatives. She also posted information about drug cartel activities on Twitter under the handle Felina@Miut3. Consequently, officials in California are bolstering the state’s counter-narcotics efforts with a $1 million (USD) federal grant to create a new anti- methamphetamine team of specialized agents based in Los Angeles under the California Department of Justice. The unit will work with other existing 18 counter-narcotics state forces. By Dialogo October 27, 2014 Local and state police in California arrested 22 people, seized 224 kilograms of methamphetamine worth an estimated $18 million (USD), and confiscated US $735,635 when they broke up an alleged drug trafficking ring coordinated by the Sinaloa Cartel. Rubio, a doctor, was a major contributor to the Valor por Tamaulipas website, which posts articles about drug cartel activities. Under the pseudonym “Catwoman,” she posted stories and photos of crime scenes and missing persons, as well as photos of alleged drug cartel operatives. She also posted information about drug cartel activities on Twitter under the handle Felina@Miut3. On October 15, gunmen abducted Rubio as she left her workplace. The following day, a tweet from the Twitter account of Felina@Miut3 said, “Friends and family, my real name is Maria Del Rosario Fuentes Rubio, I’m a doctor and today my life has come to an end.” The recent drug bust builds on other law enforcement operations in the region which cracked down on drug trafficking from Mexico. Collectively, since 2008, those operations resulted in the seizure of more than 500 kilograms of methamphetamine, worth an estimated $40 million (USD). Law enforcement officers in California also seized, altogether, 48 firearms, 10 vehicles, and more than $1.8 million (USD) in cash. The Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas, and other Mexican transnational criminal organizations traffic large amounts of drugs into California. Valor de Tamaulipas has built a significant following, with more than 510,000 Facebook fans and 100,000 Twitter followers. The Sinaloa Cartel allegedly smuggled the synthetic drugs into California through the Mexico-U.S. border, and then north to the Costa County region. The drug trafficking ring is suspected of taking some of the drugs even further north into Canada. The recent drug bust builds on other law enforcement operations in the region which cracked down on drug trafficking from Mexico. Collectively, since 2008, those operations resulted in the seizure of more than 500 kilograms of methamphetamine, worth an estimated $40 million (USD). Law enforcement officers in California also seized, altogether, 48 firearms, 10 vehicles, and more than $1.8 million (USD) in cash. María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio paid the ultimate price for exposing the criminal actions of Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. Mexican law enforcement authorities suspect drug cartel operatives kidnapped and killed the social media journalist, who wrote about drug cartel killings, kidnappings, extortions, and other criminal acts in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Mexican social media journalist María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio killed The Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas, and other Mexican transnational criminal organizations traffic large amounts of drugs into California. “The criminal enterprise began in a faraway place, but make no mistake about it, they brought their drugs and their crime and their violence to our region, to our communities and to our neighborhoods,” said Sylvia Moir, the chief of the police department in El Cerrito, a town in Contra Costa County. The Sinaloa Cartel allegedly smuggled the synthetic drugs into California through the Mexico-U.S. border, and then north to the Costa County region. The drug trafficking ring is suspected of taking some of the drugs even further north into Canada. “This is going to make a significant impact not only here in Contra Costa County, but throughout the state of California and elsewhere,” Kenneth Shaw, the deputy director for the California Department of Justice, told reporters. “One thing we have to realize is that we have a massive methamphetamine problem in our state, and it’s getting worse.” The amount of drugs seized was “absolutely staggering,” according to Mark Peterson, the district attorney for Contra Costa County in the northern section of California. Rubio is the seventh journalist to be killed in Mexico since January 2013, according to Reporters Without Borders. María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio paid the ultimate price for exposing the criminal actions of Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. Mexican law enforcement authorities suspect drug cartel operatives kidnapped and killed the social media journalist, who wrote about drug cartel killings, kidnappings, extortions, and other criminal acts in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Rubio is the seventh journalist to be killed in Mexico since January 2013, according to Reporters Without Borders. A photo of Rubio facing the camera was posted, followed by a photo of her lifeless body, after she had apparently been shot in the face. One of the Sinaloa Cartel’s major drug trafficking pipelines from Mexico into Northern California has been shut down. Mexican social media journalist María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio killed The amount of drugs seized was “absolutely staggering,” according to Mark Peterson, the district attorney for Contra Costa County in the northern section of California. One of the Sinaloa Cartel’s major drug trafficking pipelines from Mexico into Northern California has been shut down. Valor de Tamaulipas has built a significant following, with more than 510,000 Facebook fans and 100,000 Twitter followers. The Tamaulipas State Prosecutor’s office is investigating the killing and kidnapping. A photo of Rubio facing the camera was posted, followed by a photo of her lifeless body, after she had apparently been shot in the face. Local and state police in California arrested 22 people, seized 224 kilograms of methamphetamine worth an estimated $18 million (USD), and confiscated US $735,635 when they broke up an alleged drug trafficking ring coordinated by the Sinaloa Cartel. “The criminal enterprise began in a faraway place, but make no mistake about it, they brought their drugs and their crime and their violence to our region, to our communities and to our neighborhoods,” said Sylvia Moir, the chief of the police department in El Cerrito, a town in Contra Costa County. On October 15, gunmen abducted Rubio as she left her workplace. The following day, a tweet from the Twitter account of Felina@Miut3 said, “Friends and family, my real name is Maria Del Rosario Fuentes Rubio, I’m a doctor and today my life has come to an end.” Consequently, officials in California are bolstering the state’s counter-narcotics efforts with a $1 million (USD) federal grant to create a new anti- methamphetamine team of specialized agents based in Los Angeles under the California Department of Justice. The unit will work with other existing 18 counter-narcotics state forces. The Tamaulipas State Prosecutor’s office is investigating the killing and kidnapping. “This is going to make a significant impact not only here in Contra Costa County, but throughout the state of California and elsewhere,” Kenneth Shaw, the deputy director for the California Department of Justice, told reporters. “One thing we have to realize is that we have a massive methamphetamine problem in our state, and it’s getting worse.” 
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York Christina Amato-Smith of Lindenhurst doesn’t back down when confronted with a challenge, and she’s been faced with a few.It took seven years of fertility treatments before she conceived her son, Anthony, who was born in 2003.“When we were trying to have a child, it would fail, and I would say to my husband, ‘Gerry, we’ll do it again,’” she says. “I’m not a quitter.”Her next challenge came five years later in 2008, when Christina had just turned 40 and found a lump in her breast.“I will never forget how I was given my diagnosis,” she recalls. “I got a call from the doctor with the news. I hung up, and I looked at my mother and said, ‘I have breast cancer.’Christina says she got her car keys and went to pick up her son from school. She didn’t allow the devastating news to change her routine.“I was not going to let it beat me,” she says. “I was going to win this one. My son is my miracle. There is no way I am going to lose this battle.”One month later, the Smith family received more bad news when Gerry Smith, Sr., her father-in-law, passed away. As a last request, he asked to be buried with a fork in his right hand and that a poem be read at the service called “A Woman and Her Fork.”Christina said that the poem’s message was about a woman who was told to always keep her fork when the table was being cleared because there was always something better coming along, saying, “Keep your fork, the best is yet to come.”While at the funeral, Christina’s cousin recommended that she see Dr. Dwight DeRisi, a surgeon from Glen Cove. Even though Christina had an appointment with another doctor, she agreed to see DeRisi. The next day as she waited in his office, she picked up a pamphlet on display about healthy eating entitled, “Beat Breast Cancer With A Fork.”When she met the doctor, she says she felt an immediate affinity with him and thought, “This is where I need to be. He is like an angel.”Dr. DeRisi recommended that she begin chemotherapy immediately.While in treatment, she received a book from her aunt as a gift. When Christina unwrapped it, on the cover was a picture of a cake with a fork. The book was called “The Best Is Yet to Come.”“That was my turning point,” she says. “It was a sign letting me know this is where I was supposed to be.”With the help of the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition’s Lend a Helping Hand program, Christina tried to make her life as normal as possible. Her house was cleaned and they provided transportation if needed.“That was so important to me,” she says. “I didn’t have the energy. I wanted to make sure my son’s life was the same as much as possible.”Besides her family, other people depended on Christina. She is a successful salon owner who employs 22 people at Top Cuts in Bethpage as well as being a beauty educator for Joico, an international beauty and hair product manufacturer.“My staff wanted to do a fundraiser for me,” she says. So in 2009 and 2010 they held a Cut-A-Thon and donated the proceeds to the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition.In 2011, Christina founded Beauty for a Cure and now funds four Long Island coalitions.For the Cut-A-Thon, all regular salon services are donated by her staff on the day of the event. The shop begins its transformation at the beginning of October when the hair and beauty products on display are put away to make room for dozens of raffle baskets that line the walls. Prizes include Jet Blue tickets, trips to Disney World and sporting event box seats plus hundreds of other premium items. Food is donated by local restaurants and a DJ provides entertainment.The Cut-A-Thon brings the entire community together. “We take over the parking lot,” she says, noting that last year more than 185 services were donated, and at least 300 people came to the event. “Strangers come in, people just stop by to say, ‘Thank you.’ The Plainedge Cheerleaders come every year to offer their support.“We made $10,000 just on that day,” she explains. “Everything we raise gets divided among four Long Island coalitions.”In total, more than $100,000 has been donated to Babylon, West Islip, Long Beach and Lean on Me in Great Neck.The Cut-A-Thons have become so successful that Joico asked Christina’s assistance to create a template that other salons can replicate nationwide. Locally, Safie Salon in Massapequa and Amore Salon in West Babylon host Cut-A-Thons. Joico was so moved by Christina’s commitment to help other women that they produced a flat iron in her name and donated a portion of the proceeds to City of Hope.Christina says that for her, the hardest thing was losing her hair. “It’s what I do for a living,” she says. When she knew it was the right time, she asked her son to shave her head.To help other women get through the trauma of losing their hair, Christina opens her salon any time before or after hours to accommodate them.“People can ask me or call me for anything, though I don’t have all the answers,” she says, but she knows that sometimes just talking to someone who has lived through it helps.In 2010, Christina opted to have a second mastectomy and had trans-flap reconstruction surgery that took more than 12 hours. She is now cancer free.“It was my only option,” she says of the surgery. “It was a long recovery.”Christina believes that she has been given a second chance at life and is not missing a minute of it.Top Cuts was recently featured on Bravo’s reality show Tabitha Takes Over and the salon was renovated as part of the show.To raise more money for Long Island women with breast cancer, Christina founded LAX for Hope, an all-girls lacrosse tournament which will be hosted by Farmingdale State College on Oct. 6th. Girls ranging in age from 9 years old to high school teens will be competing in the tournament, with 50 teams already signed up to play.“They will be all pinked out,” she says proudly. Her ultimate goal is to raise enough money to donate funds to all 10 Long Island breast cancer coalitions.“I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that I was diagnosed with breast cancer so I know what people go through so I can make a difference,” she says. “It makes it easier to do what I do.”This year’s Cut-A-Thon is Oct. 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Top Cuts Salon, 3956 Hempstead Tpke., Bethpage. 516-579-8866. Info for Lax For Hope info can be found at BeautyForACure.org or email Christina@BeautyForACure.org
The school says the ceremonies will be live-streamed on the Owego Apalachin Central School District’s YouTube channel. In a press release, the school cited weather as the reason for the postponement. OWEGO (WBNG) – Owego Free Academy graduation ceremonies will now take place Sunday, June 28 at 9 a.m and 10 a.m.
OFA held three ceremonies on Friday night. Video for those ceremonies can also be found on their YouTube channel.
The number of deaths among probable COVID-19 cases is higher than that of confirmed COVID-19 cases in most of Java, Indonesia’s most populated island, the World Health Organization has revealed.In its latest Indonesia Situation Report, the WHO showed that from June 22 to July 12, Jakarta reported 296 deaths of probable cases — formerly classified by the government as patients under surveillance (PDP) and people under observation (ODP) — or three times higher than the 87 deaths of confirmed cases.During the same period, East Java reported 699 PDP deaths and 64 ODP deaths, also higher than 491 deaths of COVID-19 patients in the province. Central Java and Banten, meanwhile, recorded 325 and 25 PDP deaths, respectively, while the number of deaths among COVID-19 patients in the respective regions was 276 and five. The Health Ministry only recently revised its guideline for COVID-19 handling and prevention and expanded the definition of COVID-19 deaths “for surveillance purposes” to include the deaths of probable cases.As of Friday, the official COVID-19 death toll made public by the Health Ministry stands at 3,957, the highest in Southeast Asia.East Java, currently the hardest-hit province, recorded the most COVID-19 fatalities with 1,338 deaths, followed by Jakarta with 719, Central Java with 285 and West Java with 188.Read also: WHO urges Indonesia to test more suspected patients amid high death rateHowever, data compiled by volunteer group Kawal COVID-19 shows over 8,000 PDPs and ODPs deaths nationwide as of Monday.Tempo magazine also reported that an internal COVID-19 task force database had shown 13,885 COVID-19-related deaths as of July 3.In its report, the WHO said it also expected an improvement in the diagnosis of suspected cases (PDPs and ODPs) as the ministry had adopted the updated WHO criteria on patient discharge in its revised national guidelines, which no longer require asymptomatic patients and patients with mild to moderate symptoms be tested negative twice.WHO noted that as of Wednesday, the daily number of swab samples tested for follow-up tests remained higher than the number of suspected cases tested.The UN health body added that on certain days, the number of samples tested was almost the same as the number of suspected cases tested, but it might not have been the situation due to timing issues related to a transition to the application of new data management.Indonesia has so far tested 2,532 people per million population, with the assumption of a national population of 270 million, according to the government’s data. Topics :
“Deaths among patients under surveillance [PDP] have been substantially higher than the deaths among confirmed COVID-19 cases in most provinces in Java,” the WHO said, citing data reported by the six provinces.A Flourish chartJava, an island of some 141 million people, currently has almost 60 percent of the total COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, the WHO noted.The official tally of COVID-19 infection in the country stands at 83,130 nationwide as of Friday, 47,532 cases of which were recorded across the aforementioned six provinces of Java.Over the past months, volunteer groups crowdsourcing COVID-19-related data have revealed that deaths among PDP and ODP have indeed been higher than the deaths of COVID-19 positive cases, though the exact numbers have never been announced publicly by the government.
Accor has been downgraded to junk status by ratings agency S&P Global, a decision set to cost the company tens of millions of euros in additional interest payments, as travel restrictions dim the outlook for the operator of Ibis and Sofitel hotels.S&P cut Accor’s credit rating to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-‘ and left it with a negative outlook.“We now anticipate weaker earnings and debt metrics in 2020 and 2021,” S&P wrote, citing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel and the economy in general. The decision strips Accor of its investment grade status, even though it has a BBB- rating with Fitch, and means it will have to pay additional interest on some of its debt.A company spokeswoman confirmed there would be a so-called “coupon step-up” of 125 basis points on a number of its bonds with maturities spanning the February 2022 to February 2027 period.This means Accor’s interest bill will rise by around 82 million euros over the period, according to Reuters calculations; a figure that the company confirmed was broadly accurate.It is not unusual for companies to include coupon step-ups to placate investors worried about a downgrade to junk, which can cause bonds to fall in value as they are booted out of widely-tracked investment-grade indices.The number of companies or countries at risk of having their credit ratings cut has been pushed to an all-time high by the pandemic, an S&P Global analysis showed in May.Accor posted a first-half loss of 227 million euros and said it planned to cut 1,000 jobs as it seeks 200 million euros in annual cost savings.Its shares were trading broadly flat at 1300 GMT, while some of its bonds jumped in anticipation of the extra coupon payments. The January 2024 bond rose 1.28 cents on the euro to a cash price of 97.99, its highest since mid-March.Topics :
Inside one of the homes featured at Brookfield’s Street of Dreams display.With space becoming a costly luxury in Brisbane, developers and homeowners are becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to converting every square inch into functional space. And they are not being lax about the luxe factor.Brookwater general manager Nick Kostellar said display homes within its Street of Dreams precinct gave developers the opportunity to showcase the latest trends and provide potential buyers with the chance to see their dreams as a reality.“We wanted to cater for that niche market … the million dollar buyers,” he said. “We found there was a gap in the market and wanted to give people a one-stop shop where they could see so many ideas and designs in one street.”PS Designer Homes, Metricon and Steve Parcell Building Services have completed homes within the display village, with Stylemaster to come on-board next year.More from newsParks and wildlife the new lust-haves post coronavirus23 hours agoNoosa’s best beachfront penthouse is about to hit the market23 hours agoMr Kostellar said the display homes showed the latest trends and innovations in luxury home construction, with buyers able to access Brookfield’s own architect.“Buyers may like a concept from one home and ideas from another or they may come to us with their scrapbook of ideas and our architect can work with them and the builders to make that happen,” he said. “By having some of those concepts on display, buyers can really see how they add to livability, and then we can work with them and their budget.”A rooftop terrace is one of the features of the PS Designer Homes display. Rooftop terraces feature in the display by PS Designer HomesWith a spa and entertainment zone overlooking the golf course, Mr Kostellar said the rooftop terrace benefited from the views and breeze, and made use of traditionally wasted roof space.“Not everyone can, or wants to, have a big backyard,” he said. Other trends include voids and glass panelling to draw in light, and water-feature or resort-style pools. The Scandi look was proving popular, as was the modern industrial and Hampton’s styles.
Credit: AdegePlastic waste could become an issue for financial reporting and risk analysts, according to MSCI“While all eyes remain on the trade war between the U.S. and China, another global trade war, in waste, is beginning to unfold.“How the world addresses the disruption it creates will have ripple effects across multiple industries and countries, ripping the issue from the pages of glossy sustainability reports and thrusting it into investor presentations and financial filings as a subject of business risks and opportunities.” ESG regulation targets investors“In 2019, the script flips, and it isn’t just companies that are fielding ESG-related disclosure requirements. Investors will see escalating demands as regulators ramp up scrutiny beyond primarily issuers to focus on the business of ESG investing.” Solving the data dilemmas“In 2019, as we look out onto the next decade for ESG ratings, having more data will be the easy part. The hard part – and the important part – will be knowing how to identify and apply the most relevant signal and achieve better-differentiated investment objectives.” ‘Leadership in the age of transparency’“Investors are starting to insist that, while the parade of CEOs behaving badly may be difficult to predict and avoid, replacing them and cleaning house in the wake of a scandal should not be.“As a result, 2019 may mark a turning point for investors tired of paying the cost for companies slow to adapt when the internal becomes external and the whole world can judge misconduct for itself.” “In 2018 a number of reports came out where the kind of [climate change] timelines we are looking at are much closer than people had thought,” said Linda-Eling Lee, global head of ESG research at MSCI.“Within the lock-up periods of some types of private investments, many could see their projects implicated in climate-related problems and facing enhanced regulations before their payout”MSCIIn its latest report on the impacts on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said it was vital to maintain the global temperature increase below 1.5°C versus higher target levels.Emphasising the relatively near-term timeframes, MSCI singled out the IPCC’s comment that “transition challenges as well as identified trade-offs can be reduced if global emissions peak before 2030 and marked emissions reductions compared to today are already achieved by 2030”.If not, added MSCI, by 2040, the atmosphere’s temperature will have risen by 1.5°C, inundating coastlines and intensifying drought, poverty and subsequent migration.“Many investments take shape in a time frame that flirts dangerously with the IPCC’s projected time span before emissions need to peak and before an acceleration toward climate calamity,” said the index provider.“Within the lock-up periods of some types of private investments, many could see their projects implicated in climate-related problems and facing enhanced regulations before their payout.”Real estate, according to MSCI, was “a prime example of an asset class that will inevitably be impacted by climate in the next decade”. Some investors have already been paying attention to the so-called physical risks associated with climate change. In 2016, for example, two major French asset owners sponsored a project to develop a methodology to measure how different assets in an investment portfolio are exposed to the physical impact of climate change.From plastic waste to scandal preventionMSCI highlighted four other “ESG trends to watch” in its paper: the fallout from regulatory action on plastic waste; increased regulation of ESG investments; greater focus on extracting meaningful signals from ESG data; and increased investor demand for board diversity and refreshment. The plastic waste trade war Investors are beginning to consider the possibility that the worst outcomes of climate change will not be avoided, according to index and analytics provider MSCI.MSCI said in an outlook paper that those investors already incorporating climate considerations into their portfolios were working on the underlying assumption that “some combination of technology and policy forces will limit emissions going forward, such that we can avoid the worst outcomes of climate change”.However, the possibility that this would not happen was “working its way into investor thinking in 2019”, the company said. This was particularly the case for investors in less liquid assets, for whom valuations were routinely linked to longer-term timeframes.
The casual living area. In a different wing of the home is a second kitchen, which is just as lavish as the first, an ensuited bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe and a living area. This zone will make hosting guests a breeze. The rumpus room, an office with custom cabinetry, home cinema and a temperature-controlled wine cellar are also found at this end of the home. Upstairs are three bedrooms — two sharing an ensuite, the other with a private ensuite. The main bedroom with floor-to-ceiling curved windows that frame water views, a private balcony, ensuite and custom-designed dressing room is also upstairs. 55-57 Charolais Cres, Benowa Waters, is an opulent mansion on the market. House hunters seeking a residence of distinction will feel right at home in this grand abode.Space is delivered in spades at the Benowa Waters house, which has the whole family and guests accommodated for. This is the first of two kitchens. Make a grand entrance. The vast size of the property was what captured the attention of Amy and Dave Hodge in 2017. “Not many houses can accommodate five cars or have this much land to play with,” Ms Hodge said. “We knew it would be ideal, as well, for our kids.” READ MORE: What $1.4 million buys you around the worldREAD MORE: Before and after: behind the creation of a trendy Mermaid Beach home A pool and tennis court are two luxury inclusions. A room for more formal occasions. The main bedroom is very spacious. The gated estate sprawls across a 2302sq m waterfront block and features a tennis court and in-ground pool. Adding to the resort-style lifestyle is a floating pontoon and boat ramp with main river moments away. The property offers 1022sq m of internal living, which boasts a luxury Hamptons style with a touch of European class. “Everything about this house is big — it’s 110 squares and it’s been excellent for living and entertaining,” Ms Hodge said. “We’ve hosted parties here and have also really enjoyed the floorplan, we will definitely miss all the space.” More from news02:37International architect Desmond Brooks selling luxury beach villa12 hours ago02:37Gold Coast property: Sovereign Islands mega mansion hits market with $16m price tag2 days ago
The second kitchen, in the guests wing, is also very luxurious. The wine cellar is also noteworthy.Past the circular driveway and porte-cochere, a formal entrance features a grand staircase, crystal chandelier, marble floors and 16ft ceilings. One side of the floorplan is dedicated to the main living areas, with a formal lounge and dining room and open-plan family room. The first of the home’s two kitchens takes centre stage here. It has all the essential ingredients including two Miele ovens, an Ilve oven, Zip tap, two integrated dishwashers and a luxuriously large Calacatta-topped island bench. The spacious living room is warmed by a fireplace and opens to the covered veranda and alfresco dining area with a built-in barbecue and pool views. Outdoor entertaining is covered. Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayNext playlist itemMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:51Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time -0:51 Playback Rate1xChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedQuality Levels720p720pHD576p576p432p432p270p270pAutoA, selectedAudio Tracken (Main), selectedFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.PlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time -0:00 Playback Rate1xFullscreenStarting your hunt for a dream home00:51 Grab the popcorn! And of course, a spot to park the boat. “The location has been great, you’re not far from (the) Isle of Capri or Pacific Fair as well as some great private and public schools,” Ms Hodge said. “We will really miss the space, the beautiful hedging and having a separate wing for guests made a huge difference too.“The floorplan and land size really has been fantastic.” The five bedroom house is being marketing by Kollosche agents Michael Kollosche and Eddie Wardale and has a $3.975 million price tag.
Science Direct.com July 2012Loren Marks, Louisiana State UniversityIn 2005, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued an official brief on lesbian and gay parenting. This brief included the assertion: “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents” (p. 15). The present article closely examines this assertion and the 59 published studies cited by the APA to support it. Seven central questions address: (1) homogeneous sampling, (2) absence of comparison groups, (3) comparison group characteristics, (4) contradictory data, (5) the limited scope of children’s outcomes studied, (6) paucity of long-term outcome data, and (7) lack of APA-urged statistical power. The conclusion is that strong assertions, including those made by the APA, were not empirically warranted. Recommendations for future research are offered. Highlights► A 26 of 59 APA studies on same-sex parenting had no heterosexual comparison groups. ► In comparison studies, single mothers were often used as the hetero comparison group. ► No comparison study had the statistical power required to detect a small effect size. ► Definitive claims were not substantiated by the 59 published studies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X12000580
Keep up with family issues in NZ. Receive our weekly emails direct to your Inbox. The Christian Science Monitor 16 December 2015Marijuana use is becoming more acceptable to Americans in general – and that includes teenagers.The shift was highlighted in a 2015 “Monitoring the Future” survey, which found teen use of pot has held steady in the last year even as abuse of most other drugs has declined among teens. At the same time, the survey indicates, teens are showing less concern about the dangers of marijuana use. The survey, published Wednesday by the National Institutes of Health, was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.“We are heartened to see that most illicit drug use is not increasing, non-medical use of prescription opioids is decreasing, and there is improvement in alcohol and cigarette use rates,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the NIH’s Institute of Drug Abuse, in a press release. “However, continued areas of concern are the high rate of daily marijuana smoking seen among high school students, because of marijuana’s potential deleterious effects on the developing brains of teenagers.”Teens are laying off the “hard drugs,” such as heroin and ecstasy at encouraging rates, and abuse of prescription drugs designed to treat pain has declined from 10.5 percent in 2003 to 4.4 percent, according to the survey.But while use of most drugs declined, teens kept using pot at a stable rate. Even more significantly, the survey found a shift in how teenagers view marijuana use.Fewer teens reported they thought using weed was risky – 31.9 percent versus 36.1 percent in 2014, and 6 percent of twelfth graders smoke daily. This is in contrast to smoking tobacco, which teenagers now view with caution at increasingly high rates. Three-quarters of high school seniors said smoking a pack of cigarettes per day was harmful.This shift in how risky teens think marijuana is occurring as more states debate further legalized marijuana use among adults. Four states have legalized marijuana completely, but 23 have legalized it with some restrictions. Teens may be taking their cue from state legislators who feel the drug is not “risky” enough to ban.http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/1216/Are-new-laws-leading-more-teens-to-smoke-marijuanaHigh School Seniors Now Prefer Marijuana to CigarettesTime 16 December 2015More students in the 12th grade said they smoked pot every day, compared to those who smoke daily cigarettes, finds a new federal report. It’s the first time since the survey began in 1975 that daily marijuana use surpassed cigarettes.The “Monitoring the Future” survey released on Wednesday shows that 6% of 12th graders used marijuana every day—about the same rate as last year—while 5.5% of seniors reported smoking cigarettes daily. (That’s a drop from 2014, when 6.7% of high school seniors smoked cigarettes every day.)Their perceptions of pot also changed; fewer students think it’s dangerous. Almost 32% of seniors said they thought regular marijuana use could be harmful, compared to 36% who felt that way last year. “The sense that marijuana has medicinal purposes and that doctors are prescribing it creates a sense that this drug cannot be so harmful,” says Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (the group that funded the research).Volkow says she is surprised that marijuana rates didn’t rise from 2014, after the past year’s attitude and policy changes surrounding the legalization of marijuana. “All of those factors have led many to predict that there would be an increase in the pattern of use of marijuana among teenagers, and we are not seeing it,” she says. Still, it was one of the only substances in the report that did not decline in usage.http://time.com/4149430/marijuana-pot-high-school-cigarettes/
These trips will begin on September 8 with three daily flights from the Seasonal Trips Building at the Cairo Airport, he added.The agreement is not the first of its kind, as the company has always been keen on providing travel services to Palestinian people and ease their suffering, Nahas said.He stressed that EgyptAir will facilitate the procedures of the trips in coordination with Cairo Airport authorities. The head of EgyptAir, Hesham al-Nahas, said Wednesday that the airline company has signed a cooperation agreement with Palestinian Airways, under which the company will operate nine charter flights to transport 2,200 Palestinian pilgrims to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia this year.
Hugh J. Miller, 86, Greensburg, passed away on Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at the Aspen Place Health Campus in Greensburg.Born, November 2, 1929 in Belleville, Illinois, he was the son of Hugh and Mary (Cange) Miller.Hugh served 4 years in the Navy. He worked at Crown Zellerbach / PrintPak / Georgia Pacific for 40 years.Hugh was an outstanding civic minded citizen of Greensburg. He served as a County Councilman at Large for 16 years. He held many offices on a number of committees and served on various boards to promote the good and betterment of Greensburg & Decatur County. He was a deliverer at Christmas time for the Cheer Fund for several years. He was a 50 year member of the Knights of Columbus and he was a Past Grand Knight.Hugh was an active parishioner of St. Mary’s Catholic Church where he served as a lector.He enjoyed golfing, working around his farm, spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.He was married to Rosanne Frascone on February 20, 1954 and she survives.He is also survived by a daughter, Kathy (Greg) Pataky; son-in-law, Dave Cherry; grandchildren, Mike Colson, Jennifer (Justin) Colson, Jenny (Ryan) Burkhart, Jessica (Bart) Cherry, Stephanie (Doug) Volk; great grandchildren, Jada, Layne, and Ashton Lee, Nolan and Maggie Burkhart, Mariah and Rosie Volk; numerous nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents, daughter, Colleen (Miller) Cherry; one sister and one brother.Hugh/ dad/ grandpa/ uncle/ cousin/ friend will be missed by all who knew him.Family and friends will gather at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church to pray the rosary. Visitation will follow the rosary until 8:00 p.m. at the church.Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greensburg with Rev. John Meyer officiating.Interment with military graveside services will be held in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the St. Mary’s Building Fund, Our Hospice, or to the Cheer Fund.Porter-Oliger-Pearson Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.Online condolences can be made to the family at www.popfuneralhome.com
Orlando: Hailing India’s investment in the development of female cagers as much as their male counterparts, retired Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) legend and Olympian Swin Cash on Sunday said they are starting to become family now.The Indian U-14 boys and girls basketball team took part in the second Junior NBA Global Championship and impressed with their performances over the last few days.The boys and girls played against Latin America, Africa, Europe and Middle East and Canada in the international bracket, both sides losing to Canada in the quarterfinals of the youth tournament at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Disney World.The highlight was the way the boys played against the mighty Canadians, the second best team in the world, almost pulling off a major upset against the country which houses the reigning NBA champions, Toronto Raptors. The game went into overtime where they lost 56-64 after being down 16-25 at halftime.In their first game of the meet, they had defeated Latin America to start on a high.The girls, however, failed to conjure up a win in four matches but fought hard against Africa and Girls Northeast in the positive finish game with 13-year old Muskan Singh impressing with her speed and ball control.“I think one of the things I’ve seen in India is the investment that has been there not just on the boys side but the girls side as well,” WNBA LEGEND Cash said on the sidelines of the competition where 314 of the top 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls from around the world are showcasing their talent.Besides Swin Cash, who led the Detroit Shock to their first ever WNBA title in 2003 and also represented the United States in two Olympics, players like Dwyane Wade, Aaron Gordon, Danny Green, Breanna Stewart and Jennifer Azzi have been roped in as ambassadors for the week-long event.“When I first went to India, I had got an idea of what was going to happen in the field of basketball and how they are going to take this game,” said Swin Cash, 39, who was in India in 2013.“I was learning a lot about cricket and other sports which were happening. But to see how the NBA has got infused not only with the resources there, but also the coaching staff, it was great.“I mean, you see the way that kids from India interact with their coaches that are here. They’re starting to become like a family. And I think that’s in all of our academies across the globe,” she said.Among NBA’s seven academies across the world, India has one at Jaypee Greens Integrated Sports Complex in Noida. Currently, there are 23 players in their roster out of which three boys are taking part at the Junior NBA world event. There is no residential academy for the girls yet.Asked how a sport like basketball can find its feet in a country obsessed with cricket, Cash said: “You get foundations in the NBA and people that want to invest and put courts where the kids can go and play and that’s probably the easiest way that you can grow it organically from a grassroots standpoint.“Because whether it’s cricket or other sports, you have to have the money, the gear and necessary equipment. But, that’s not the case in basketball.“All you need to do is lace up the shoes that sometimes people don’t even play with.“All you need is two baskets. And if you have a nice imagination like I had as a young kid, you cut out that milk carton, you put it up, nail it up on a tree to play anywhere,” she signed off.In the positive finish game on Saturday evening, India boys lost to Boys Mid-Atlantic. Both the boys and girls, thus, played a total of five games each. IANSAlso Read: NBA Announces Roster of 32 Youth Teams For Junior Global ChampionshipAlso Watch: Minister Keshab Mahanta visits Jhanjimukh flood-affected areas
Facebook Twitter Google+ Jim Boeheim said there was just one incident of academic fraud in the scope of the NCAA’s recently concluded investigation into Syracuse University’s basketball team, football program and athletic department.It was Fab Melo — referred to as “student-athlete 7” in the NCAA report — receiving an improved grade on a paper from a year-old class that restored his eligibility in January of 2012. Then-director of basketball operations Stan Kissel and the basketball facility secretary violated SU’s academic integrity policy, according to the NCAA report.On Thursday, Boeheim emphasized that the grade change process that Melo went through was legitimate and available to all students, and that there was no way he or anyone else could have known that citations were added to the paper by Kissel and the secretary. Boeheim said the discussion about Melo getting his grade changed began after he became ineligible and he had no doubt that Melo could complete the assignment on his own.“The Committee on Infractions asked me, ‘Coach, why did you do this? Why did you let this happen? Why did you let him go get this grade change,’” Boeheim said. “I said ‘That’s my responsibility.’ It’s my responsibility to at least inform every guy ‘Well you have to get a grade change if you want to be eligible.”In arguing against the NCAA reporting that he failed to promote a culture of compliance, Boeheim pointed out that he had daily meetings with academic coordinators. When asked why Melo only attempted to change his grade more than a year after he took the class, Boeheim reiterated that any student can petition for a grade change.AdvertisementThis is placeholder textMelo missed games at Notre Dame, Cincinnati and at home against West Virginia on Jan. 21, 23 and 28, respectively.SU declared Melo ineligible in January of 2012 before filing for an NCAA Academic and Membership Affairs waiver on Jan. 16 that would have made him eligible, according to the NCAA report. The waiver included a personal statement from Melo that said SU told the NCAA he got help in writing.Four days later, according to the report, the waiver was denied and SU appealed. The appeal was denied on Jan. 24, and Daryl Gross called a Jan. 25 meeting that included Syracuse’s faculty athletics representative, associate provost, both deputy athletic directors, Kissel and the directors of compliance and student-athlete support services.They decided to have Kissel talk to Melo about his options, according to the NCAA report. According to both the NCAA report and what Boeheim said on Thursday, Melo met with a professor to talk about the grade change. The NCAA report sets the date at Jan. 26 and reports that she received the paper the next day but it wasn’t accepted because it lacked citations.“We hired somebody, and I don’t know if this is clear, but who was in charge of academics at a major university for men’s and women’s basketball, who absolutely knew, as would you or anyone, you cannot put citations in somebody’s paper,” Boeheim said, referring to Kissel.On Thursday, Boeheim said he was checking with Melo, who was back at SU, from the road during Syracuse’s road swing against UND and Cincinnati.Melo’s revised paper was accepted early in the week before the Orange played WVU, he said, but not processed through the College of Arts and Sciences in time for Melo to play against the Mountaineers.“I would’ve liked to have him play, but they did not process it,” he said. “I called no one. I didn’t call a soul. That’s not my job. I do not interfere in the academics.”Melo played in the Orange’s next game, against St. John’s on Feb. 4, but he and SU had committed an infraction because Kissel and the secretary revised the paper.Boeheim said the paper — he referred to it as 10 pages, the NCAA report reads four to five — was about Melo’s life and that the NCAA questioned how he wrote it so quickly.“The infractions committee asked me ‘How could he write that paper, in two days?’” Boeheim said. “I said ‘I think I could write that paper in four hours.’”Boeheim had already joked that he wrote a 17-page, 32-quotation paper on the American Revolution when he was a student and that his academics should be looked into because he wrote it so quickly.“I asked the Committee on Infractions, what more did you want me to do?” he said. “There was no answer. There’s no answer in the report of what I should do in that situation.” Comments Published on March 19, 2015 at 1:27 pm Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_
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Related Articles Share UKGC hails ‘delivered efficiencies’ of its revamped licence maintenance service August 20, 2020 Mr Green to pay £3m for failures in gambling harm and money laundering prevention February 27, 2020 StumbleUpon The Gambling Commission has defended its focus on consumer protection amid concerns that the shift in focus under CEO Sarah Harrison is a case of ‘regulatory creep’.The comments came as part of the consultation process into the Commission’s enforcement strategy published today which revealed a new enforcement strategy which will be used to tackle operators who breach gambling regulations.Citing how a fast changing gambling industry requires everyone to stay alert to changing consumer experiences, including new risks to the detriment of consumers, the Commission added: “Placing a greater emphasis on consumer interest ensures that both operators and regulator recognise and respond to these changing circumstances, whilst remaining consistent with the licensing objectives.“It represents a far less radical approach than some respondents seem to suggest but we acknowledge that we could have been clearer in communicating how our approach relates back to the licensing objectives.”The Commission said that its licensing objectives have a clear focus on the consumer and wider public interest embedded within them and the changes were consistent with its longstanding obligations under the licensing objectives.The key changes of the new enforcement strategy include:Changes to the Commission’s statement on financial penalties including introducing higher penalties for breaches, particularly where it sees systemic and repeated failingsPutting all regulatory tools, including licence review (both of the operator and personal management licences), on an equal footing by removing the current bias in favour of settlement (1)Using time-limited discounts to create better incentives for early settlement.Sarah Harrison added: “We will use the full range of enforcement powers to ensure operators put customers first and raise standards. The industry can be assured that we will use our powers in a targeted way, and consumers and the public can be assured we will take robust and effective action when gambling companies don’t meet their obligations.” Betway to pay record £11.6m after Gambling Commission finds VIP customer failings March 12, 2020 Share Submit