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আরিব্বাস, জাল ডাক্তার!

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-10-06 13:41:58

In recent past there has been many reported incidents of fake doctors being arrested from every nuke and corner of Bengal - a funny take on that

http://banglalive.com/the-increasing-number-of-fake-doctors-and-their-treatment/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/fake-doctor.jpg

ভ্যালেন্টাইনের হাত ধরে গভীর রাতে জুহু বিচে শাহরুখ

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-02-14 18:00:01

The King of romance, Shah Rukh Khan spent an amazing time when the Valentine’s day begun.

http://banglalive.com/srk-goes-late-night-walk-valentine/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/srk-1.jpg

A school drop out turns into famous business tycoon

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-01-02 17:03:58

A school drop out at 13 yrs of age now tycoon in diamond business. Dholakia is also involved in diamond jewellery manufacturing and exporting H.K. Designs and Unity Jewels. Through H.K. Jewels Pvt. Ltd. the domestic market is being catered to. Kisna Diamond Jewellery is a Pan India brand distributed through more than 480 distributors to more than 6500 retail outlets.

http://banglalive.com/a-school-drop-out-turns-into-famous-business-tycoon/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/savjibhaidholakia.jpg

Want to visit India's last tea shop ?

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-02-15 13:00:37

Want to visit India's last tea shop ?

http://banglalive.com/want-to-visit-indias-last-tea-shop/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/indiaslastteashop.jpg

Tapas Paul on Connection Between RoseValley & Tollygunj Film Industry

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-01-02 18:12:28

The cine star-turned politician was one of the directors of the tainted chit fund group that allegedly duped investors in Odisha, West Bengal and some other states. Paul is also accused of promoting the company and “misleading” people to deposit money in the firm. He was also charged with giving senior posts to his family members in the company, a senior CBI official said.

http://banglalive.com/tapas-paul-on-connection-between-rosevalley-tollygunj-film-industry/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/tapaspaulcbi.jpg

He is The Saree Man of India Who Wishes People Would Wear Them More Often

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-01-02 15:34:30

I started wearing sarees as a gesture of re-appropriating the saree as a male garment and highlighting the historical traditions where it was all about the fluidity of the drape and not about the structure that was gender specific.

http://banglalive.com/he-is-the-saree-man-of-india-who-wishes-people-would-wear-them-more-often/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/sareemanhimanshu.jpg

Hindu college students to worship Disha Patani for losing their virginity

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-02-14 17:30:58

These college students are going to worship Disha in this bizarre ritual for losing their virginity...

http://banglalive.com/hindu-college-students-worship-disha-patani-losing-virginity/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/disha-1.jpg

Subodh and I have decided to separate!

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-01-02 16:12:48

Celebrity marriages, divorces, hookups and breakups are something which always gets the attention of the viewers. It makes the fans happy when their favourite celebrities take their relationship to next level, but also saddens when they decide to part ways

http://banglalive.com/subodh-and-i-have-decided-to-separate-nandita-das-confirms-split-with-husband/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/nandita-new.jpg

বেণু তব বাজাও একাকী

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-04-14 16:56:36

The start date of Bengali New Year is called Poila Boisakh and the nostalgia around the celebration and customs attached is something that never ends.

http://banglalive.com/the-nostalgia-of-poila-boisakh/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/poila-boisakh-sahitya.jpg

মনে আছে ‘মিঃ ইন্ডিয়া’র ছোট্ট টিনাকে? জানেন এখন কেমন দেখতে সে?

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-01-02 13:13:28

if you talk about child actors then you cannot forget the tiniest and the cutest child artiste of them all, Tina. She is all grown up and is just unrecognizable .

http://banglalive.com/remember-the-cute-girl-tina-from-mr-india-this-is-how-she-looks-now/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/huzan-big.jpg

Sharing the cottage with Shahid Kapoor was a nightmare : Kangana Ranaut

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-02-14 17:47:03

Here's why Kangana Ranaut was fed up of Shahid Kapoor on the sets of Rangoon.

http://banglalive.com/sharing-cottage-shahid-kapoor-nightmare/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/shahid-n-kangana-new.jpg

Can you remember Rajiv & Rinku Das of Barasat ?

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-02-14 15:21:02

Rinku Das she said: “We are happy that they have been thrown behind bars for their entire lives. We want them to rot in jail. My brother will now rest in peace. Though we expected them to be hanged, the court did not give them capital punishment. We will now appeal to the society to ensure that they never leave the jail.”

http://banglalive.com/can-you-remember-rajiv-rinku-das-of-barasat/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/rajivdasmurderbarasat.jpg

A 1400 pieces silver-gilt dinner set of a Maharaja sold at record price

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-02-15 11:36:32

The nearly 500-kg weighing George V dinner service cutlery was especially commissioned for a visit to Patiala by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII in 1922 and Duke of Windsor.

http://banglalive.com/a-1400-pieces-silver-gilt-dinner-set-of-a-maharaja-sold-at-record-price/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/bhupindarsinghdinnerset.jpg

The real story behind St. Valentine

০ = 0, ১ = 1, ২ = 2, ৩ = 3, ৪ = 4, ৫ = 5, ৬ = 6, ৭ = 7, ৮ = 8, ৯ = 9 ্ = See example (Hasant/Viram) ় = * (Nukta) ʼ = ' (Urdhacomma) ঽ = & (Avagrah) ৺ = ~ (Isshar) ৹ = a~ (Bengali ana sign) ৲ = Rs~ (Bengali Rupee sign) ৳ = T~ (Taka sign) । = | (Devanagari danda) ॥ = || (Devanagari double danda) ₹ = Rs (Indian Rupee sign) 卐 = +~ (Swastika sign) Zero Width Joiner = ^ Zero Width Non Joiner = ^^ These symbols will type Bengali characters first but if "~" will be followed, it will remove previously typed Bengali character and then type the symbol. Symbols & ~ * : ^ | ' have special meaning. You can type this way & = &~ ~ = ~~ * = *~ : = :~ ^ = ^~ | = |~ ' = '~ The English symbols [ ] { } ( ) < > - + / = ; . , " ? ! % \ _ $ @ # translate into the same symbols. Example নমস্কার can be written by typing "namaskaar" As per Rule # 3, ligature will be rendered. ZWJ and ZWNJ characters are used to produce alternate rendering of ligature. A consonant followed by ZWJ character will produce half-formed consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‍ন = prash^n A consonant followed by ZWNJ character will produce dead consonant character. Example প্রশ্ন = prashn প্রশ্‌ন = prash^^n If two english characters are making one Bengali Vowel (i.e. ai, au), then ZWJ character is used to separate them into two different vowels. It will not add ZWJ character but only considered as the separator between two vowels.

banglalive.com

2017-02-14 14:02:37

It was found when people were excavating a catacomb near Rome in the early 1800s. The skeletal remains and other relics now associated with St Valentine were dug up. It's the norm for these to be split and distributed to reliquaries - places that keep relics - around the world. If you wanted to see other parts of the saint, he's on display in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, England and France.

http://banglalive.com/the-real-story-behind-st-valentine/

http://blcdn-307f.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/saintvalentine.jpg

Edmonton man arrested in Jasper National Park with guns

An Edmonton man was charged with impaired driving and firearms offenses after a hit-and-run in Jasper National Park on Sunday. James Nicholas Percy, 35, was arrested on Highway 16 near disaster point after fleeing the scene of a collision near Pocahontas Cabins shortly before 3 p.m. According to Jasper RCMP it all started with complaints of an erratic driver from the public and from Hinton RCMP heading westbound toward the park. Jasper RCMP members responded and headed east but almost immediately after received a report of a two-vehicle collision. It got worse. “A male suspect had exited his vehicle and was yelling at bystanders and attempting to fight them,” Const. Patrick Vallee said in a press release. “The suspect then got back into his vehicle and fled the accident scene.” He pulled over a short distance west of the scene at a spot known as disaster point and according to bystanders, started loading what looked like a gun, hiding behind his vehicle. Many of the members of the public likewise took cover behind their own vehicles. Two Jasper RCMP officers conducted a “high-risk arrest” and took the suspect into custody without incident. He was transported to hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries he sustained in the collision. “The RCMP would like to thank the public for its assistance during and after this incident,” Vallee said. Percy was found to be in possession of more than one firearm, triggering a host of Criminal Code, traffic, drug and National Parks Act charges including impaired operation, dangerous operation, failing to remain, possession of a controlled substance and unsafe storage of a firearm. The complete list of charges is below. None of the charges have been proven in court; Percy is scheduled to appear in Jasper court on Dec. 14. – 2 counts of unsafe storage of a firearm 86(2) Criminal Code – Possession of a prohibited device 91(2) Criminal Code – Possession of a prohibited device in a motor vehicle 94 Criminal Code – Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle 249(1)(a) Criminal Code – Failing to remain at an accident scene 252 Criminal Code – Impaired operation of a motor vehicle 253(1)(a) Criminal Code – Possession of a controlled substance 4(1) Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – 3 counts of possession of a firearm in a National Park 24(2) Canada National Parks Act – 2 counts of possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle 24(2) Canada National Parks Act

www.fitzhugh.ca

http://www.fitzhugh.ca/edmonton-man-arrested-in-jasper-national-park-with-guns/

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Jasper RCMP seek owners of abandoned boat, trailer

Police in Jasper are investigating after a driver pulled a Polkaroo. Const. Patrick Vallee said in a press release on Friday that officers responded to a collision at the intersection of Highways 16 and 93 shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday to find a boat and trailer in the ditch, but no vehicle hauling them. The older male driver was described as wearing a blue winter jacket. He was driving an older model Toyota SUV, also blue in colour. The Apollo brand inboard lake cruiser bore what appeared to be a registry number of 23K5364. “Police are asking anyone who may have information regarding this occurrence to contact the Jasper RCMP at (780) 852-4421. If you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or by internet at www.crimestoppers.ab.ca You do not have to reveal your identity to Crime Stoppers, and if you provide information to Crime Stoppers that leads to an arrest(s), you may be eligible for a cash reward.”

www.fitzhugh.ca

http://www.fitzhugh.ca/jasper-rcmp-seek-owners-of-abandoned-boat-trailer/

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Trump assails U.S. intelligence agencies amid questions over Russia

Trump went on the counter-offensive as his administration reeled from the abrupt dismissal of Michael Flynn as national security adviser on Monday. The New York Times reported late on Tuesday that phone call records and intercepted calls showed members of Trump's presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the Nov. 8 election. Trump dismissed the report, firing back in a series of early morning tweets on Wednesday. "This Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing campaign," the Republican president tweeted, citing his former Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential contest. In another tweet, Trump said: "Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia," adding that the situation was "very serious." "The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by "intelligence" like candy. Very un-American!" Trump wrote. He did not give evidence to back his charge that intelligence officials were supplying information to the news media. He did not say if he had ordered any investigation into leaks. Reuters could not immediately confirm the Times report, which the Kremlin dismissed on Wednesday. CNN also reported that Trump advisers were in constant contact with Russian officials during the campaign. The Times, citing current and former U.S. officials, said U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around the same time they discovered Russia was trying to disrupt the presidential election by hacking into the Democratic National Committee. The officials had seen no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election, the Times said, but they were still alarmed by the intercepted communications. Flynn was forced out over conversations he had with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office on Jan. 20, and his misrepresentations to Vice President Mike Pence over what he had discussed. The Times said the intercepted calls in its report were different from the wiretapped conversations between Flynn and the ambassador, Sergei Kislyak. U.S. lawmakers, including some leading Republicans, called on Tuesday for a deeper inquiry into not just Flynn's actions but broader White House ties to Russia. Trump has long said that he would like improved relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Flynn's conversations with the Russian ambassador took place around the time that then-President Barack Obama imposed new sanctions on Russia on Dec. 29, charging that Moscow had used cyber attacks to try to influence the presidential election in Trump's favor. A U.S. official familiar with the transcripts of the calls with the ambassador said Flynn indicated that if Russia did not retaliate, that could smooth the way toward a broader discussion of improving U.S.-Russian relations once Trump took power. This was potentially illegal under a law barring unauthorized private citizens from interfering in disputes the United States has with other countries.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-15 08:43:46

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218424-trump-assails-us-intelligence-agencies-amid-questions-over-russia

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Safer tomorrow, thanks to Safer Tomorrows

Starting in 2011, the effort was awarded more than $3 million in grants, the bulk of that from a competitive U.S. Department of Justice grant program. The program's four lead partners—Grand Forks, the Grand Forks School District, Lutheran Social Services and the Community Violence Intervention Center—used the money to support extensive bullying and sexual-assault prevention programs, therapy services for child victims and character-building efforts such as the Coaching Boys into Men program. Over time, Safer Tomorrows activities were offered in every public school and three parochial schools in Grand Forks County. The federal grant support ran out last month. So, Safer Tomorrows leaders now are reporting back to the county about what the program accomplished and what efforts might be sustained into the future. In December, some of the leaders spoke to the Herald editorial board. A transcript of the conversation is below; it has been edited for clarity and length. □ □ □ Q. Did Safer Tomorrows start with the grant that you won in Washington several years ago? Pete Haga, Grand Forks community/government relations officer: Yes. Since 2012, Safer Tomorrows has received a total of $3.3 million to work toward ending or mitigating childhood exposure to violence in Grand Forks County. We're now sunsetting on the federal grant, but we're sunrising on our efforts to sustain the program into the future. Q. What was the background for the project? Kristi Hall-Jiran, executive director, Community Violence Intervention Center: I don't know if you're familiar with the Adverse Childhood Experiences study. We call it ACE for short. Basically, it was a study that was done some years ago that looked at kids who had experienced trauma during childhood. The things that are counted as ACEs are things like seeing violence in the home, having a parent die, going through a divorce, being a victim of child abuse. So, what the study showed was that besides higher rates of depression and anxiety, there was a very high correlation between the ACEs and physical ailments as well, including things like cancer, heart disease, diabetes. For example, if kids have four or more ACEs, they actually start having neurochemical changes in their brains. And what that can lead to is three times the rate of academic failure, seven times the rate of alcoholism, 12 times the rate of suicide attempts. So those are very depressing outcomes. Add in all the health effects as well, and it gets to be pretty overwhelming. But what the national research also shows is that if we can mitigate trauma at a much earlier age and get people the help and intervention they need, we can really prevent a lot of those long-term health effects from happening to a huge population of people. So, that's why we really wanted to focus on helping kids and changing things in the long term. And of course that has a huge economic value as well, when you look at what we spend on juvenile delinquency programs and health care costs and psychological services costs, all of those things that are impacted down the road. I think we've kind of worked through that part, and now we're focused on, OK, that's a terrible outcome, but there are so many things that can make a difference along the way. And since the program began, we've heard amazing stories about how coaches can make a difference, how teachers can make a difference. If the parents aren't able to be present in a child's life, who else can step up? Q. What kind of programs did you offer that helped bring about your results? Hall-Jiran: At CVIC and elsewhere, we were involved in the actual counseling and intervention piece. We knew that the awareness-building and school-based efforts would lead to huge referrals, which they did. We saw a 213 percent increase in the number of kids that we served over that time, and we helped nearly 1,000 children through the trauma. And so, some of the results we're seeing, 96 percent of kids that go through our programming have an increase in their coping skills and their emotional well-being. That's going to lead to better grades at school, and is reflected in a lot of the results that we've been finding. Janell Regimbal, vice president of children and family services at Lutheran Social Services: At the school level, the programming goes from that preschool age with our Al's Pals program—which is helping those younger kids know how to deal with conflict, to respect and understand differences, to regulate their own emotions better—all the way up to the high school. And in the high schools—to use just one example—we're involved with the Fourth R. That's a curriculum that looks beyond reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic to the fourth R, which is relationships. It helps kids understand how to form and treat relationships. It's an evidence-based curriculum that the health teachers are able to take and infuse into what they're already doing. So that's a unique aspect. It's not just middle school or elementary school, but that entire span of childhood and adolescence, such an important time in the growth and development of kids. Jody Thompson, assistant superintendent for Grand Forks Public Schools: Pete referred to the sunsetting and the sunrising. The sunrise part of the plan is that we've had multiple staff members who've been trained nationally in the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, a research-based and nationally proven model that involves surveys, curriculum and training. And Olweus is one that has just blended perfectly with our character-education themes and what we would do normally. We're big on the sustainability. Thanks to Safer Tomorrows, we were the recipients of some outstanding training and curriculum expertise. As a school district, we don't take that very lightly, because we haven't had to pay for anything. That's a significant benefit to us. But we also want to make sure that this continues to be a part of our culture. Q. Does most of the instruction happen in a classroom setting? Thompson: At the elementary level, we have character assemblies every month. So, that's something we've been doing for many years, but we integrate a lot more of this in those events. There are schoolwide expectations for how to behave in the Grand Forks Public Schools. A lot of it is based on Olweus. You walk through our buildings and see posters about what the expectations are—above the line, below the line behaviors; and that's just become a standard. And it doesn't matter if you're a custodian or a worker in the lunchroom; everyone knows what the expectations are for students. So, if someone is a custodian at Phoenix Elementary School and sees students misbehaving, he or she is trained to intervene and not have to send them to the office. That person can just get them straightened up right then and there. We've empowered all of our staff to intervene if it's necessary. Hall-Jiran: We're trying to look at changing the culture in the schools, instead of just having it be a lesson. One of my favorite stories is about a lunch lady who saw something happening and was on her way to intervene at a table, but by the time she got there, the students' peers had already intervened. That's when we know it's really working. Regimbal: The proactive part is helping those "bystanders" become "upstanders" and to have empathy. Hopefully, these practices and discussions have helped build empathy with the kids, so they can put themselves in someone else's shoes and think, how can I support that person whom I saw that happen to? How can I be an upstander? Coaching Boys into Men is one of those real "upstander" pieces. Q. Tell us about Coaching Boys into Men. Hall-Jiran: CVIC was the lead agency on that, and so we were able to hire (former Grand Forks Central football coach) Mike Berg, who most people know, as our coach specialist. He says he's retired from that role, but he's still a pretty awesome mentor to the coaches involved. So he was able to be the supervisor to the coaches who are involved in this particular program. Basically, it's coaches talking to athletes about respectful behavior. They integrate it right into their practice sessions. Anybody who's had adolescent children at home know that many times, they will listen to their coaches like they listen to no one else. Whatever their parent or teacher is saying, it can take on a different meaning if it's something that comes from the coach: "Well, this is how we treat women and girls, and it's OK to talk about it and have a healthy conversation about it." We've reached more than 800 male athletes. Q. What kinds of results have you seen? Hall-Jiran: A new project update on Safer Tomorrows shows really exciting outcomes. Forty-six percent fewer students in grades 9-12 have reported that someone forced them to do something sexual that they did not want to do. Violence-related suspensions and expulsions are down 42 percent. Physical fights in schools, down 24 percent. Those are pretty awesome numbers. Q. Were these findings based on before-and-after surveys? Hall-Jiran: Right. We used a lot of the surveys that were already done in the school system, and then compared the results as the project progressed. We also in Grand Forks region have the lowest levels of dating violence at 33 percent lower than the rest of the state. And that's since the project started; before it started, we were actually higher than the rest of the state. Haga: The brain science of all this is fascinating. It is a touchy-feely method, but it's also a scientific truth that something is happening to the brains of our children when trauma is happening. And there are methods that we can use, if we know what to do and what to look for, that can heal those harms and actually change their brain science and actually prepare them even better. Hall-Jiran: And that changes generations. As you know, when someone has unresolved trauma and then they parent, there's no way it doesn't affect their kids. So it just goes on and on. I see that at CVIC, and I'm sad, because i think we should have been there for those kids 25 years ago the way we are now.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 10:31:00

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/op-ed-columns/4190505-safer-tomorrow-thanks-safer-tomorrows

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For hockey fans nostalgia is dish best served cold

Nothing particularly new here. After stumbling across a promotional vehicle that has grown well beyond its initial sentimental appeal into a marketing colossus, the NHL has regularly staged outdoor games since 2008, from snowy Buffalo to balmy Los Angeles. What started as a one off novelty has become the league's regular season centerpiece, a New Year's day extravaganza that has become the NHL's signature event. After the first Winter Classic in Buffalo the league was hesitant to even confirm there would be a second one. Now 21 games later, the NHL will tell you the outdoor showcases are here to stay. The Centennial Classic, won 5-4 by Toronto, marked the start of the NHL's 100th birthday celebrations and the outdoor game is a firm part of the league's future. "This will be the 21st outdoor game, so they are here to stay," Steve Mayer, NHL executive vice-president, chief content officer told Reuters. "We all have to figure out the balance of how many. "There are some years where there have been six and some years when there are three. "There is a bit of a balance that we cannot do too many of these because we don't want to make it feel like it is not special." The appeal of the outdoor game lies in the sport's roots, anchored by romantic nostalgia and wintery charm. But after nearly a decade of taking it outside the NHL is looking at ways to keep the romance alive. Games have been played in iconic sporting shrines like Chicago's Wrigley Field and Boston's Fenway Park. There have been exotic settings such as Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and marquee matchups featuring the NHL's biggest draws, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. In 2014, the Maple Leafs and Red Wings faced off in front of a record crowd of over 105,000 at Michigan Stadium but for their Centennial launch the league chose a more intimate setting with 40,148 filling BMO Field. What better way to get a year-long party started than outdoors in the city many consider hockey's biggest market. "We always talked about the greatest thing about these outdoor games is that they take you back to being a kid whether you did it in the backyard or pond or lake or a frozen river," explained Hall of Famer and all-time scoring leader Wayne Gretzky. "Some of the kids in our era, we played on outdoor rinks. We had elite games that were on rinks outdoors. "That's what this brings back. Parents come to these games with their kids and they think about when they were kids." Hockey fans are being served a big helping of hockey nostalgia to start 2017. The Centennial Classic will be followed on Monday, Jan. 2, with the Winter Classic in St. Louis, where the Blues will face off against the Chicago Blackhawks. The highlight of the NHL centennial, which will bridge this season and next, will come near the end of 2017 with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the league on Nov. 26 followed by the Dec. 19 anniversary of the first games. In a bid to keep outdoor games fresh, Mayer says nothing is off the table, not even ruling out the possibility of taking the extravaganza to Europe sometime in the future. "We are looking at all options and from the commissioner on down discuss what is the next best game, what's the next best place and how will it be unique," said Mayer. "We are looking at all options, all places. I don't think there isn't any place we wouldn't go."

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 10:22:40

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190713-hockey-fans-nostalgia-dish-best-served-cold

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Bitcoin jumps above $1,000 for first time in three years

Bitcoin - a web-based "cryptocurrency" that has no central authority, relying instead on thousands of computers across the world that validate transactions and add new bitcoins to the system - jumped 2.5 percent to $1,022 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, its highest since December 2013. Though the digital currency has historically been highly volatile - a tenfold increase in its value in two months in late 2013 took it to above $1,100, before a hack on the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange saw it plunge to under $400 in the following weeks - it has in the past two years been more stable. Its biggest daily moves in 2016 were around 10 percent, still very volatile compared with fiat currencies, but markedly lower than the trading of 2013, which saw daily price swings of as much as 40 percent. Bitcoin may have been boosted in the past year by increased demand in China on the back of a 7 percent annual fall in the value of the yuan in 2016, the Chinese currency's weakest showing in over 20 years. Data shows most bitcoin trading is done in China. Bitcoin is used to move money across the globe quickly and anonymously and does not fall under the purview of any authority, making it attractive to those wanting to get around capital controls, such as China's. It is also may appeal to those worried about a lack of supply of cash, such as in India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed high-denomination bank notes from circulation in November. "The growing war on cash, and capital controls, is making bitcoin look like a viable, if high risk, alternative," said Paul Gordon, a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association and co-founder of Quantave, a firm seeking to make it easier for institutional investors to access digital currency exchanges. Though bitcoin is still some way off the all-time high of $1,163 that it reached on the Bitstamp exchange in late 2013, there are now more bitcoins in circulation - 12.5 are added to the system every 10 minutes. Its total worth is at a record-high above $16 billion, putting its value at around the same as that of an average FTSE 100 company.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 15:10:36

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190764-bitcoin-jumps-above-1000-first-time-three-years

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Man, 22, dies in Duluth neighborhood shooting

Duluth police responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired at 510 E. 11th Street at about 2 p.m. Tuesday. The victim was taken from the home on a gurney, witnesses said, and transferred by Gold Cross Ambulance to a local hospital. Police confirmed just before 5 p.m. that the victim had died. Police remained on the scene into the evening hours, and at 8 p.m. Duluth police reported that its officers — as well as several agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — were executing search warrants in connection with the case. A "person of interest" had been detained but no arrests had been made as of 8 p.m., Duluth police said, with the investigation expected to continue overnight. Mayor Emily Larson said in a statement Tuesday night that she wanted to assure the Duluth community that the police department is "fully engaged" and has responded swiftly to make progress to resolve the case. "When a person is harmed in our community, our whole community is harmed. Today, tragically so. Our condolences go to the victim's family and friends. As a parent, this is simply heartbreaking news," she said in the statement. Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said that preliminary information indicated that the incident may have been related to a home invasion or robbery. The shooting took place in a small, single-story house that neighbors said has been college rental property for several years. Eleventh Street is a dead-end in that area, just off Central Entrance, below Skyline Parkway and two blocks west of Myers-Wilkins Elementary School. School district officials said the school was placed in a precautionary lockdown on request of police after the shooting. School was already out by that time but some students still were in the building for extracurricular activities. More than 20 squad cars converged at the scene within minutes of the first 911 call, with many officers searching backyards, alleys and woods with their guns drawn. Several dogs also were used to search for a suspect outside the home. Agents from the U.S. Border Patrol and Minnesota State Patrol also were at the scene. Residents interviewed during the incident said the neighborhood has mostly avoided serious violence. "I've lived here since 1958 and we've never had anything like this before. We've had some car break-ins, but no shooting before," said Ken Cusick, who lives just down the block and across the street from the house where the shooting took place. Klay Longstreet said he's lived on 11th Street for nearly 20 years. "We have a lot of rentals on this block, so there are parties, the usual college stuff, but nothing serious," he said. Theresa Wanless said she lives just two blocks from the shooting. She said she still trusts law enforcement to find the guilty parties and keep control of the city's streets. "But it's just two blocks from the school. And there have been lots of shootings. It's very scary," she said. Wanless said she's not convinced that the shootings are unrelated or that city officials are correct saying it's not part of a larger problem. "Now, after this, being so close to my home, I'm not so sure," she said, lamenting the lack of information released after each shooting. "It's unfortunate we only get short answers" from police, she said. The case would mark the first homicide in Duluth since October, when 47-year-old Eric Wayne Burns was fatally shot outside a Lincoln Park bar. Aaron Demetrius Humphreys, 42, has been charged with intentional second-degree murder in that case. It's also the second shooting death in the Twin Ports this year. Kyle Androsky, 21, was killed outside a Superior bar on the morning of Jan. 1, with his brother also suffering a gunshot wound. Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for 25-year-old Jamar Maurice Smith, who remains in custody in Minnesota, but have not charged him or anyone else with the actual shooting. Tuesday's shooting is the sixth in Duluth in less than four weeks. Victims have suffered varying levels of injuries, but until Tuesday's shooting no deaths had been reported. Police have said the incidents are an "anomaly," brought on by a number of factors, including increased availability of firearms, but have said there are no clear connections between any of the incidents. "We haven't seen a spike of shootings like this in my career," said Tusken, who has been with the department for 25 years, shortly after Tuesday's incident was reported. Lisa Kaczke contributed to this report.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 21:58:41

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218283-man-22-dies-duluth-neighborhood-shooting

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Turkey close to identifying Istanbul attacker

"Information about the fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found. In the process after this, work to identify him swiftly will be carried out," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a news conference. He said it was clear that Turkey's military incursion into Syria, launched in August, had annoyed terror groups and those behind them, but said the offensive would continue until all threats to Turkey were removed. Turkey sent tanks and special forces into Syria just over four months ago to push back Islamic State militants from its border and prevent Kurdish militia fighters from taking ground in their wake. Kurtulmus also said Sunday's attack bore significant differences to previous attacks in Turkey and that it had been carried out to create divisions within Turkish society.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 10:42:37

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190745-turkey-close-identifying-istanbul-attacker

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Republican Anne Neu wins special election for Minnesota House seat

Neu beat DFL candidate Laurie Warner by 6 percentage points in the Valentine's Day election, carrying 53 percent of the vote to Warner's 47 percent. It was the first Republican-held seat up for election since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. Ordinarily, Neu would have been heavily favored to win — Trump took about 60 percent of the district's vote in November. But with special elections often unpredictable, Republicans didn't take anything for granted. "I'm grateful to Chisago County residents for their support and trust to be their new voice in the legislature," Neu said in an emailed statement. "I'm eager to roll up my sleeves and get to work with my House colleagues working to make health care more affordable, cut taxes for families, and build a budget that respects Minnesota taxpayers." Neu's victory gives Republicans a 20-seat majority in the Minnesota House, their second-largest in the modern era. THE WINNER Neu's victory marks a step out into the limelight for a woman who has long worked behind the scenes on political campaigns. "I never really saw myself on this side of an election," said Neu, a Republican activist and campaign worker. "When this opportunity came ... I thought, it's time. It's time for me to do this in a different way, to step up and try to be an advocate for the people of Chisago County and for conservative values." She says she'll focus on cutting taxes and trying to improve Minnesota's individual health insurance market, where premiums have soared in recent years. By winning, Neu beat Warner in her second bid for the District 32B seat. A former Duluth City Council member before moving to North Branch a decade ago, Warner's top campaign issue was increasing school funding. Both candidates raised and spent more than $25,000 on their campaigns, according to reports filed with the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Most of their spending went to mail sent to voters' homes. AN UNUSUAL ELECTION Tuesday's election came about because of an unusual situation. Just two months before the November 2016 general election, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that incumbent Rep. Bob Barrett didn't live in the district and was ineligible to run. Because the decision came so close to the election, there wasn't enough time under state law to replace Barrett on the ballot. Instead, the Supreme Court ruled that the November election wouldn't count for District 32B. The seat would remain vacant until February. District 32B has been comfortably Republican in recent elections. Barrett beat Warner by 10 points in 2014. In both 2014 and 2016, other Republican candidates up and down the ballot won by similar margins. But it's not impossible for Democrats to win there in a favorable environment: In 2012, Barrett squeaked out a victory by fewer than 2 percentage points, and DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar won in a landslide. TURNOUT LOW, BUT BETTER Tuesday's special election saw about 25 percent of the district's registered voters vote — much lower than the November election, when about 70 percent of registered voters in the district cast ballots. That lower turnout is normal for special elections, since they take place at unusual times of the year and don't coincide with higher-profile state and national races. This can make special elections less predictable than normal races. But Tuesday's race wasn't a normal special election. Because it was technically a continuation of the November election, people who voted early or absentee in November were automatically sent ballots for Tuesday. So 25 percent of District 32B voters was actually much higher than the turnout in a pair of special elections last February, when between 10 percent and 20 percent of voters cast ballots.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:56:58

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218335-republican-anne-neu-wins-special-election-minnesota-house-seat

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Report: Trump campaign had repeated contact with Russian intelligence

U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around the same time they were discovering evidence that Russia was trying to disrupt the presidential election by hacking into the Democratic National Committee, three of the officials said, according to the Times. The intelligence agencies then sought to learn whether the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election, the newspaper said. The officials interviewed in recent weeks said they had seen no evidence of such cooperation so far, it said. However, the intercepts alarmed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, in part because of the amount of contact that was occurring while Trump was speaking glowingly about Russian President Vladimir Putin. The intercepted calls are different from the wiretapped conversations last year between Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, and Sergei I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, the Times said. During those calls, the two men discussed sanctions that the Obama administration imposed on Russia in December. Flynn misled the White House about those calls and was asked to resign on Monday night. The White House did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment on the Times story. The Times reported that the officials said the intercepted communications were not limited to Trump campaign officials, and included other Trump associates. On the Russian side, the contacts also included members of the Russian government outside the intelligence services, the officials told the Times. All of the current and former officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the continuing investigation is classified, the newspaper reported. The officials said one of the advisers picked up on the calls was Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chairman for several months last year and had worked as a political consultant in Russia and Ukraine, the Times said. The officials declined to identify the other Trump associates on the calls. Manafort, who has not been charged with any crimes, dismissed the accounts of the U.S. officials in a telephone interview with the Times on Tuesday. Several of Trump's associates, like Manafort, have done business in Russia. It is not unusual for U.S. businessmen to come in contact with foreign intelligence officials, sometimes unwittingly, in countries like Russia and Ukraine, where the spy services are deeply embedded in society, according to the Times. Law enforcement officials did not say to what extent the contacts may have been about business, the Times said. Officials would not disclose many details, including what was discussed on the calls, which Russian intelligence officials were on the calls, and how many of Trump's advisers were talking to the Russians. It is also unclear whether the conversations had anything to do with Trump himself, the Times said.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:00:25

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218288-report-trump-campaign-had-repeated-contact-russian-intelligence

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Editorial: North Dakota's efficiency/access tradeoff hinders Grand Forks

Omdahl's column is a terrific complement to Herald staff writer Sam Easter's story from last week, "Great debates: Grand Forks history shows division over big projects" (Page A1, Dec. 29). As Easter documents, Grand Forks has long had a tough time getting to "Yes" on big projects such as the library. "It seems — it's just this perception — when you go to other communities, they seem to do much better," City Council member Ken Vein says in the story. But Grand Forks residents shouldn't feel too bad, because North Dakotans as a whole tend to share this resistance to change. That's because "North Dakotans like access, even when it means throwing efficiency under the bus," Omdahl writes. "People want a role—a big role—in government. Having many points at which citizens can be a part of government implements the cultural idea that everybody is important and should 'have a say.'" There's no better analysis of the stop-and-go process that has held up development of Grand Forks' Arbor Park. But what about Fargo? For that matter, what about Bismarck? In both cities, access-loving North Dakotans have mustered the efficiency to get projects done. In 2004, Fargo voters passed an 18-month, half-cent sales tax to build a new downtown library and two branch libraries with 62 percent of the vote. And in Bismarck, the Chamber of Commerce and a steering committee recently raised $8 million to renovate the Community Bowl, in part to keep the 1990s-era facility's status as host of the state high-school track meet. It's always hard to compare communities, because it's so easy to selectively choose examples to make a point. And whenever Grand Forks frets about Fargo or Bismarck, it should remember City Council President Dana Sande's perceptive comment in Easter's story: "My opinion is that people (in Grand Forks) are generally happy. And when you're generally happy, your tendency is to vote no for change." But even contented populations can learn from other communities, especially where big and expensive projects are concerned. Furthermore, Grand Forks' sense that Fargo, in particular, has a stronger efficiency mindset goes back not just years but decades. Where development is concerned, "Fargo means business and Grand Forks means hassles," a Grand Forks City Council member said in a Herald story on the subject in 2003. Grand Forks' policies strike us as being much friendlier to growth than they were then. Now, it's our hope that Grand Forks' determination will follow suit—that the city and its people will follow the Grand Forks Park District's lead, in mapping out an ambitious project (as the district did with Choice Health & Fitness) and finding ways to get it done. -- Tom Dennis for the Herald

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 11:06:24

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/our-opinion/4190736-editorial-north-dakotas-efficiencyaccess-tradeoff-hinders-grand-forks

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Wild pepper goal, but can't score against Ducks

Gibson stopped all 37 shots he faced as Minnesota peppered the Ducks net in all three periods, but was shut out at home for just the second time this season. Joseph Cramarossa had the lone goal for the Ducks (30-18-10), while Gibson recorded his fourth shutout of the season. The Wild (37-13-6) had won their previous two meetings of the season vs. Anaheim, but fell behind early and were frustrated by Gibson throughout. Minnesota failed to score on five power plays in the game, coming within an inch of scoring when a long-range slap shot by defenseman Christian Folin hit the inside of the right post, sailed through the crease and to the side boards. Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk had 22 saves in the loss. The Ducks took a lead less than five minutes into the game when Cramarossa went hard to the net and was rewarded. Streaking down the right side, Corey Perry took a sharp angle shot that Dubnyk stopped, but produced a rebound he couldn't control. Cramarossa, who'd gotten to the top of the crease, slapped the loose puck home before the goalie could react. It was Cramarossa's first goal in more than a month. Minnesota had the first two power plays of the game and out-shot Anaheim 13-8 in the opening period, but could not solve Gibson. The Wild got two more power plays in the second period, and were thoroughly dominant throughout, out-shooting the Ducks 16-4. But Gibson repeatedly thwarted the Minnesota scoring chances. It was the first shutout in more than a month for Gibson, who blanked Dallas on Jan. 10, and the win allowed Anaheim to close its six-game road trip with a 2-3-1 mark. Anaheim lost top-line left winger Antoine Vermette with 12:27 to play in the third period after he was ejected for slashing linesman Shandor Alphonso. NOTES: The Wild assigned F Tyler Graovac to Iowa of the American Hockey League after he cleared waivers. In 45 games with the NHL club this season, he has six goals. With his 6-foot-5 frame, there was some thought that he might be claimed by another team this close to the trade deadline but instead headed back to the minors. ... Ducks RW Jared Boll was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in Anaheim's last seven games. He has two assists in 38 games this season. ... Minnesota, which is in the midst of a franchise-record eight-game homestand, will next host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. Anaheim, which wrapped up a five-game trip on Tuesday, hosts the Florida Panthers on Friday. ... There was some speculation that Ducks D Sami Vatanen could return to the lineup after missing the previous four games with a lower-body injury, but he was scratched again.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:42:38

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4218327-wild-pepper-goal-cant-score-against-ducks

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Cuba puts on show of strength as Trump inauguration nears

The event marked the 60th anniversary of the landing of the Granma yacht which brought the Castro brothers and their bearded rebels from Mexico to Cuba to start their revolution against a U.S.-backed dictatorship. Troops wielding automatic rifles marched in lock step behind a replica of the Granma on Monday, followed by a sea of banner- and flag-waving Cubans, many bussed in and organized through their workplaces and neighborhoods. "This is an important message of unity and strength," said Rene Lazo, 66, who, like most, got up well before the crack of dawn to participate in the parade. "This is going to be a difficult year but we will keep working hard to bring our people forwards". Communist-ruled Cuba fell into an economic recession in the second half of last year, its first since the collapse of the Soviet Union a quarter century ago, as its strategic ally Venezuela floundered. Meanwhile its historic detente with the United States came under threat with the election of Donald Trump as President. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has said he would unravel attempts to normalize relations unless he gets a “better deal". All this is taking place as Cuba is also coming to terms with the loss of its revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro. While "El Comandante" had handed the presidency over to his younger brother Raul in 2008, he remained a key figurehead. Some of those marching held up images of Castro or banners reading "We are Fidel". While the parade normally takes place every five years on Dec. 2, it was postponed a month due to his death in late November. "He may not be present physically but he is in all our hearts," said Natalia Gonzales, who had painted "I am Fidel" on the foreheads of her three grandchildren. Raul Castro and his family watched and waved at those marching from the foot of the towering monument to independence hero Jose Marti in the center of the square. The mood on Monday was of defiance although many Cubans said they hoped there would not be a return of Cold War-era politics. "We are braced for conflict with the USA, we always have been," said 70-year-old Marcial Garcia. "But I hope Trump will instead follow the path ... towards normalization." Trump's threat to gradual and still fragile detente could not come at a worse time for Cuba. A tourism boom in part sparked by looser travel restrictions on Americans failed last year to offset dwindling oil shipments from Venezuela and less cash for Cuban doctors and other professionals working overseas. "Everything is just very uncertain at the moment, so there's more propaganda," said Antonio Sosa, 50, an engineer who chose not to attend the parade. "You don't see news on the news broadcast anymore, just speeches Fidel gave 30 years ago."

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 15:00:49

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190792-cuba-puts-show-strength-trump-inauguration-nears

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UPDATE: Man fires shots from northwest ND home in Crosby, but it ends up with no one hurt

Jeremy Kessler, 33, surrendered just before noon at his home in Crosby, where officers had been stationed since 3 a.m. after a 911 caller reported multiple gunshots coming from the house. No one was injured, and Kessler was taken into custody without incident, Chief Deputy Rob Melby of the Divide County Sheriff’s Office said. Official charges have yet to be filed by the Divide County State’s Attorney’s Office. As of Tuesday afternoon, it was still unclear why Keller, who was alone in his house in northwest Crosby, allegedly began firing. A neighbor said gunshots continued throughout the early morning hours after six shots were heard initially, along with someone yelling. “He emptied a full mag,” Huntter Lacey, who lives next door to Kessler, said. Police issued an emergency notification to surrounding residents, but did not order evacuations, Melby said. “We told them to shelter in place,” he said. Both the elementary and high school in Crosby were put on lockdown as well, according to Divide County School Superintendent Sherlock Hirning. The alert was lifted around 11:15 a.m. when police notified administrators that Kessler was in custody. The incident prompted a response from the U.S. Border Patrol, the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, several deputies from the Williams County Sheriff’s Office and members of the Minot SWAT team, who surrounded the home before Kessler came out. Investigators from the Divide County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation spent hours Tuesday afternoon combing through the small house and inspecting the surrounding property, including the exterior of other houses nearby. Agents removed a number of rifles from the residence, along with what appeared to be ammunition boxes.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 19:24:28

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4217980-update-man-fires-shots-northwest-nd-home-crosby-it-ends-no-one-hurt

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ND state senators vote down bill for them to study cultural differences

The proposed training, which would have been provided by volunteers at no cost to the state, would occur during orientation for legislators at the beginning of each session. The bill was not prompted by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, but several who testified in support of the training said better cultural understanding could have prevented some of the conflicts that arose during the protests. The Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee amended the bill to a legislative management study to consider the need for cultural competency training for legislators, other elected and appointed officials and state employees. Sen. Shawn Vedaa, R-Velva, a member of the committee, said Tuesday, Feb. 14, the bill was amended to a study because several committee members felt requiring the training "was overstepping legislation." Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, spoke in favor of the bill as a way to repair relationships that have been strained during the pipeline protests. "I think there have been damages done to the relationships between our general population and the population south of here through recent events," Dever said. The Senate voted to amend the bill to a study, but ultimately the bill failed in a 20-26 vote on Tuesday. Sen. Richard Marcellais, D-Belcourt, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and one of the bill's sponsors, said he is disappointed with the vote. "It's not going to improve the communications or relations between the state and tribes," he said. Marcellais sponsored similar legislation in 2009 that also failed in the Senate with a similar vote.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:41:13

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218325-nd-state-senators-vote-down-bill-them-study-cultural-differences

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Twins' Perkins encouraged after first bullpen

"That's a good first step," Perkins said. "That was good to get out with probably a little more intensity than I imagined. To feel like I could push it is exciting." Set to take Wednesday off from throwing before long-tossing again on Thursday, Perkins had some anxious moments over the weekend after canceling a planned bullpen session on Feb. 10. He used air quotes around the word "setback," but it wasn't ideal when he felt soreness in his teres minor, one of the rotator cuff muscles involved in the external rotation of the shoulder joint. "I think it had been bugging me longer than I thought," Perkins said. "I just thought it was part of rehabbing and a little discomfort, but I think it had been lingering for a while, a month or so maybe. I forgot what it was like to feel good." Having hit every marker on his rehab calendar since June 23 surgery to repair a torn labrum, Perkins figures it was inevitable he'd have to back off at some point. The good news is Tuesday's moderate-intensity throwing session presented no challenges, physical or otherwise. "They say that when you have the front of your shoulder fixed, eventually you're going to develop some sort of soreness or something in the back," Perkins said. "It was bound to happen. It's just how your arm works. It was a matter of time before something happened." Perkins, who threw as usual under the eye of rehab coordinator Lanning Tucker, noted he was able to get about 7 months into an eight-month rehab schedule before he had to scale back a bit. "I was lucky with that," he said. "The whole thing had been laid out, and so you try to get through it that way and it doesn't always work. I don't think anyone's ever done that. I had a little soreness, and it went away in a couple days." A three-time all-star set to turn 34 on March 2, Perkins is entering the last guaranteed year of a contract extension he signed in the spring of 2014. He anticipates throwing his next bullpen session on Friday or Saturday but will be careful not to look too far ahead. "I'm taking it day by day. I'm not getting that far ahead," he said. "I got too far ahead last week. I was thinking about that bullpen a week before I threw it. You've got to focus on something when you've gone that long. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to play catch on Thursday." The Twins will be careful not to rush Perkins, who hasn't pitched since the opening week of the 2016 season. He figures to see his game action limited to back fields until the latter portion of spring training, and he said last month a season-opening stint on the disabled list is a possibility. "I just want to continue to feel good," he said. "That will be my goal every day for the season — to come in and feel good. That will be a success if that's the case."

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:33:44

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4218315-twins-perkins-encouraged-after-first-bullpen

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Man accused in Crookston bar death a free man

The criminal case against the 29-year-old Crookston man officially was closed Tuesday after Judge Tamara Yon sentenced him in Polk County District Court for his actions during a confrontation with John Henry Torres, who died after hitting his head Dec. 25, 2015, outside Captain Crooks bar. Prosecutors failed to convince a jury that a shove from Strommen caused Torres' death. Strommen didn't deny pushing Torres, but he said he never saw Torres fall, suggesting the victim slipped on the ice. Torres died a week later at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks due to head injuries. Last month, jurors acquitted Strommen of the most serious charges: first-degree manslaughter, a felony; and fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. The jury did find Strommen guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Yon sentenced Strommen to 90 days in jail, the maximum sentence for the charge under Minnesota law. But Strommen will get credit for time served, meaning he does not have to spend anymore time in jail. He was ordered to pay $1,085 in court fees and fines. Torres' fiancee, Rita Saenz, faced Strommen in court, telling him "you destroyed my family." She insisted Strommen killed the man she loved, though she was not present during the altercation. "He doesn't feel bad, I see nothing but evilness in his eyes," Saenz told Forum News Service. "I wanted him to look at me, look at my kids so that he could see what I have to see with my kids every day." Strommen remained silent throughout Tuesday's hearing, only shaking his head when Yon asked if he had anything to say before his sentencing. Strommen did not look at Saenz during the hearing. He also declined to give comment to reporters from WDAZ. Saenz told WDAZ she felt the justice system failed her, adding her family will never see closure. "I tried everything I could do," she said. "I tried to do it, and I feel like I failed my husband because I was going to get justice, and I wasn't able to do that." WDAZ and the Grand Forks Herald are owned by the Forum Communications Co.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 20:13:50

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218162-man-accused-crookston-bar-death-free-man

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Ten different players score for Central in 16-1 win over Grafton-Park River

The Knights received goals from 10 different players in cruising to a 16-1 win over Grafton-Park River in the East Region tournament quarterfinals at Purpur Arena. No. 1 Central improved to 22-0 and will play No. 4 Devils Lake in the semifinals Friday at 6 p.m. at Purpur. "We moved the puck well and shared the load," Central coach Grant Paranica said. "Throughout the lineup, everybody played quite well." Central senior Grant Johnson, the state's leading scorer, led the way with a six-point night. He had three goals and three assists, despite playing limited minutes late in the game with the score out of hand. Boe Bjorge, Cam Olstad, Lucas Kanta and Zachary Murphy all had two goals for the Knights, while Judd Caulfield, Hunter Moreland, Cole Hanson, Parker Stroh (first varsity goal) and Mitch Idalski all scored once. Central defenders Brock Reller and Tate Steffan each had three assists. "We played really well, passing the puck and not being selfish," Reller said. "We can't get complacent now. We have to play our game, pass the puck and move our feet." Central outscored the Spoilers 35-2 in three meetings this season. Fourteen different Knights figured into the scoring. Central scored more goals in a game than it has in at least 10 years. "From our third and fourth line, we logged quite a bit of minutes," Paranica said. "They seemed to manage and actually create opportunities no matter who we played them against." Central led 7-1 after one period, with Grafton-Park River's lone goal coming from Wyatt Wardner, who made it 2-1 at 4 minutes, 39 seconds of the first period. The Knights led 12-1 after two periods and saw running time throughout the third period. The Spoilers, who dropped to 4-18 this season, will play No. 5 Fargo South/Shanley at noon on Friday in a tournament loser-out game at Purpur.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 21:46:57

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4218274-ten-different-players-score-central-16-1-win-over-grafton-park-river

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George Will: To 2016, Americans can say only 'Good riddance'

Let freedom ring, in the nooks and crannies of the administrative state: One day a year—Lemonade Day—children in Austin, Texas, can sell the stuff without spending $460 on various fees, licenses and permits. Twelve-year olds in a Tampa middle school, learning about "how much privilege" they have, were asked if they were "Cisgendered," "Transgendered" or "Genderqueer." Two years after Emma was the most common name given to baby American girls, the trend was toward supposedly gender-neutral baby names (e.g., Lincoln, Max, Arlo) lest the child feel enslaved to stereotypes. A New Jersey mother says a police officer interrogated her 9-year-old son after he was suspected of a racial slur when he talked about brownies, the baked good. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission pondered whether a worker committed racial harassment by wearing a cap emblazoned with the Gadsden flag (depicting a coiled rattlesnake, with the words "Don't Tread on Me"). A University of Iowa professor complained that the Hawkeyes' mascot Herky, a fierce bird, is "conveying an invitation to aggressivity and even violence" that is discordant with the "all accepting, nondiscriminatory messages we are trying to convey." As President's Day approached, San Diego advised city workers to use "bias-free language" by avoiding the phrase "Founding Fathers." A National Park Service employee giving guided tours to Independence Hall in Philadelphia told tourists that the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were produced by "class elites who were just out to protect their privileged status." The employee praised herself for her "bravery." The NBA, which plays preseason games in China, home of forced abortions and organ harvests, moved its 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte because of North Carolina's law stipulating that transgender individuals should use bathrooms appropriate to their physiology. The New York Times reported the downside of humanity's mastery of fire: "Figuring out how to make fire was no doubt an evolutionary boon to our ancestors. But it may have led to our smoking habit." Facing a budget shortfall in 2010, New York's Legislature raised the cigarette tax $1.60 to $4.35 per pack, expecting, illogically, that it would discourage smoking and raise $290 million annually. By 2016, cigarette revenues had fallen 25 percent, and smuggled cigarettes held 58 percent of the New York market. By 2016, six years after the president's wife agitated for federal guidelines limiting sodium, sugar, fats and calories in school lunches, 1.4 million students had exited the National School Lunch Program, and students had a robust black market in salt and sugar. A tweet with the hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama said, "The first lady can have a personal chef, but I can't have two packets of ketchup?" After Connecticut imposed its fifth tax increase since 2011, General Electric moved its headquarters from there to Boston. CKE Restaurants includes the Carl's Jr. chain, which was founded in California and ignited the fast-food industry. CKE announced that it was moving its headquarters from California (highest income tax rate: 13 percent) to Tennessee (highest income tax rate: zero). Congress considered bills to prevent the IRS from hiring or retaining people delinquent in their tax payments. Unions in New York and California lobbied for exemption from the $15 minimum wage they lobbied for. It was splendidly appropriate that when Cuba buried the architect of its ramshackle socialism, the vehicle carrying Castro's ashes broke down and had to be pushed by soldiers. "Thou swell, thou witty, thou sweet, thou grand" were not lyrics that many Americans sang about either presidential candidate, but one of them had to win, so as you steel yourself for 2017, remember H.L. Mencken's timeless wisdom: A martini is "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet." Will writes for the Washington Post. Readers can reach him at [email protected].

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 10:31:00

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/featured-columnists/4190737-george-will-2016-americans-can-say-only-good-riddance

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Tribe asks court to overturn pipeline permits

Tribal lawyers filed for a summary judgement on the permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following an executive order by President Donald Trump that expedited the 1,172-mile crude oil pipeline's approval. The Tribe said it is seeking the judgement in hopes of getting a decision before the pipeline can go into operation. The corps issued the final easement allowing the pipeline to be constructed under the Missouri River, half a mile upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, on Feb. 8, reversing an earlier decision to withhold the easement while the agency completed an environmental impact statement. "In this arbitrary and capricious reversal of course, the Trump Administration is circumventing the law: wholly disregarding the treaty rights of the Standing Rock Sioux and ignoring the legally required environmental review. It isn't the 1800s anymore — the U.S. government must keep its promises to the Standing Rock Sioux and reject rather than embrace dangerous projects that undercut treaties," Jan Hasselman, the Earthjustice attorney who is representing the Tribe in its challenges against the pipeline, said in a statement. The action comes on the heels of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who denied a request for a temporary restraining order to halt pipeline construction while the legal battle plays out.

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2017-02-14 17:34:38

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218110-tribe-asks-court-overturn-pipeline-permits

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Trump administration sued over protection for vanishing bumble bee

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a branch of the Interior Department, in September proposed bringing the bee under federal safeguards. The rule formalizing the listing of the vanishing pollinator, once widely found in the upper Midwest and Northeastern United States, was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 11 and was to take effect last Friday. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the listing has been delayed until March 21 as part of a broader freeze ordered by Trump's White House on rules issued by the prior administration aimed at protecting public health and the environment. The group argued in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that U.S. wildlife managers had violated the law by abruptly suspending the bumble bee listing without public notice or comment. They said the rule technically became final when it was published in the Federal Register. The lawsuit seeks to have a judge declare that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted unlawfully and to order the agency to rescind the rule delaying the bumble bee's listing. "The science is clear—this species is headed toward extinction, and soon. There is no legitimate reason to delay federal protections," Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Rebecca Riley said in a statement. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could not immediately be reached for comment. Bumble bees pollinate wildflowers and about a third of U.S. crops, from blueberries to tomatoes, according to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. The bee's population and range have declined by more than 90 percent since the late 1990s due to disease, pesticides, climate change and habitat loss, according to wildlife officials. The insect is one of 47 varieties of native bumble bees in the United States and Canada, more than a quarter of which face the risk of extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In September, seven varieties of yellow-faced bees in Hawaii became the first such insects to be added to the U.S. list of endangered species because of losses due to habitat destruction, wildfires and the invasion of nonnative plants and insects.

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2017-02-14 17:56:21

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218114-trump-administration-sued-over-protection-vanishing-bumble-bee

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Legislators fear law allowing persons to go free when reporting overdoses isn't being followed

She had overdosed. Someone had brought her to the clinic in the middle of the night on Feb. 2, authorities said, but when the clinic was closed, whoever brought her abandoned the car and left. They didn't call 911. This month, the Grand Forks Police Department put out a reminder that those using and possessing drugs who are present at the time of an overdose will not be prosecuted if they call and cooperate with first responders. In North Dakota and Minnesota, Good Samaritan laws are on the books that give immunity to those who call in drug overdoses if the caller remains on scene until first responders arrive and cooperate with medical services and law enforcement. The person must be in need of emergency medical services. Up to three people can be granted immunity. The law also applies to people overdosing from alcohol consumption. "We want people to be focused on saving a life," said Lt. Jeremy Moe with the special resource bureau. In 2016, Grand Forks Police responded to 28 calls for overdoses. Three of them were fatal. State Sen. Howard Anderson Jr., R-Turtle Lake, was a sponsor of the Good Samaritan laws that passed in North Dakota in 2015. The former director of the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy, Anderson said he wanted to sponsor the law to give people a better chance to survive. Information provided by companions can be key to successful care. "It's hard to find out what they took or what the situation is, so by the time doctors get a chance to figure out what it is, it's too late," Anderson said. In the process of passing the law, legislators heard testimony from a man whose companions had abandoned him in a dumpster, thinking he'd overdosed, Anderson said. But too few people know about the law, Anderson said. He also believes law enforcement have been overzealous in pressing charges against people, despite the law. "They're using the Good Samaritan laws as an excuse to charge people because, obviously, if I gave you drugs, then I'm guilty of providing them for you. It's like a sale even if I gave it to you free," he said. "So we need a little better education with police. If you're trying to save somebody's life for crying out loud, back off a little bit. Catch the crook the next time." Anderson said users speak to one another, and if law enforcement is too aggressive, it might deter people from calling for help. Grand Forks Police said they were not aware of any specific incidents in town where immunity had been granted based on the Good Samaritan laws. Forum News Service contributed to this article.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 18:29:57

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218128-legislators-fear-law-allowing-persons-go-free-when-reporting-overdoses-isnt-being

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Islamic State claims Istanbul attack, gunman remains at large

It described the Reina nightclub, where many foreigners as well as Turks were killed, as a gathering point for Christians celebrating their "apostate holiday". The attack, it said, was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria. "The apostate Turkish government should know that the blood of Muslims shed with airplanes and artillery fire will, with God's permission, ignite a fire in their own land," the Islamic State declaration said. There was no immediate comment from Turkish officials. The jihadist group has been blamed for at least half a dozen attacks on civilian targets in Turkey over the past 18 months; but, other than assassinations, this is the first time it has directly claimed any of them. It made the statement on one of its Telegram channels, a method used after attacks elsewhere. NATO member Turkey is part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State and launched an incursion into neighboring Syria in August to drive the radical Sunni militants from its borders, sending in tanks and special forces backed by fighter jets. Nationals of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco, Libya, Israel, India, Canada, a Turkish-Belgian dual citizen and a Franco-Tunisian woman were among those killed at the nightclub on the shores of the Bosphorus waterway. Twenty-five of the dead were foreigners, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. All of those killed died from gunshot wounds, some of them shot at a very close distance or even point-blank range, according to a forensics report quoted by Milliyet newspaper. Police distributed a hazy black-and-white photo of the alleged gunman taken from security footage. State broadcaster TRT Haber said eight people had been detained in Istanbul. The authorities believe the attacker may be from a Central Asian nation and suspect he had links to Islamic State, the Hurriyet newspaper said. It said he may be from the same cell responsible for a gun-and-bomb attack on Istanbul's main airport in June, in which 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded. The attack at Reina, popular with Turkish celebrities and wealthy visitors, shook Turkey as it tries to recover from a failed July coup and a series of deadly bombings, some blamed on Islamic State, others claimed by Kurdish militants. Around 600 people were thought to be inside when the gunman shot dead a policeman and civilian at the door, forcing his way in then opening fire with an automatic assault rifle. Witnesses said he shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest). Some at the exclusive club jumped into the Bosphorus after the attacker opened fire at random just over an hour into the new year. Witnesses described how he shot the wounded as they lay on the ground. Kalashnikov in suitcast The attacker was believed to have taken a taxi from the southern Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul and, because of the busy traffic, got out and walked the last four minutes to the entrance of the nightclub, newspaper Haberturk said. He pulled his Kalashnikov rifle from a suitcase at the side of the road, opened fire on those at the door, then threw two hand grenades after entering, Haberturk said, without citing its sources. It said six empty magazines were found at the scene and that he was estimated to have fired at least 180 bullets. Security services had been on alert across Europe for new year celebrations following an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people. Only days ago, an online message from a pro-Islamic State group called for attacks by "lone wolves" on "celebrations, gatherings and clubs". In a statement hours after the shooting, President Tayyip Erdogan said such attacks aimed to create chaos and destabilize the country. Four months into its operation in Syria, the Turkish army and the rebels it backs are besieging the Islamic State-held town of al-Bab. Erdogan has said he wants them to continue to Raqqa, the jihadists' Syrian stronghold. Turkey has also been cracking down on Islamic State networks at home. In counter-terrorism operations between Dec 26-Jan 2, Turkish police detained 147 people over links to the group and formally arrested 25 of them, the interior ministry said. The New Year's Day attack came five months after a failed military coup, in which more than 240 people were killed, many of them in Istanbul, as rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets in a bid to seize power. More than 100,000 people, including soldiers and police officers, have been sacked or suspended in a subsequent crackdown ordered by Erdogan, raising concern both about civic rights and the effectiveness of Turkey's security apparatus.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 10:57:07

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190746-islamic-state-claims-istanbul-attack-gunman-remains-large

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Former UND med school could get $3.3 million in renovations

The SMHS left the space over the course of last summer to move into a brand-new facility just a few blocks away. Since then, the administrative and advising offices of the UND College of Arts and Sciences have been moving their operations into the building. The plan to renovate the old SMHS would help clear the way for the consolidation of additional departments in the basement, first and second floors of the old SMHS. Some of the functions that would move over now are housed in buildings slated to be taken offline by the university. As proposed to the SBHE, the renovations would be funded by $1.3 million in extraordinary repair funding and $2 million in appropriated funds. An SBHE summary of the university's proposal states UND indicated there is a "high probability" that digital classrooms will be built while the renovations are taking place. The summary states the board would not consider approval of additional classroom space until prior approval of the university's strategic plan, along with the portion of a master plan which identifies facility needs for programming. The request from UND was heard Tuesday by the board's budget and finance committee. North Dakota University System communications director Billie Jo Lorius said the committee has asked UND for additional information. Lorius said the committee took no specific action on the proposal beyond passing it along to be heard by the board at its next full meeting. Other news • UND's Pride of the North marching band has met its fundraising goal of $88,000, set in November. The funds were donated by 232 alumni, friends and loved ones and will be used to purchase new uniforms for the fall of 2017. • The University of Minnesota-Crookston will host the founder and CEO of Extreme Sandbox, Randy Stenger, at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Peterson Classroom of Heritage Hall. A question and answer session and refreshments will follow the presentation. • The UND Music Department will host a senior trombone recital for Sean Sprague at 1 p.m. Sunday in the Hughes Fine Arts Center. The recital is free, and all are welcome. • The UND Music Department will host a recital for the UND Guitar Studio at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Hughes Fine Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public.

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2017-02-14 20:13:24

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218161-former-und-med-school-could-get-33-million-renovations

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Red River turns it on in second half to beat Knights

The Roughriders were leading only 32-29 with 13:04 remaining after Aaron Knutson scored from close range for Central. But Red River broke the game open when the Riders followed with a decisive 21-2 run. "It was getting a little frustrating,'' Red River junior Jordan Polynice said of the Riders' early scoring problems. "We had open shots. They just weren't falling. "But we went to the press and started running. That's when we're at our best, in a fast-paced game.'' Polynice had 10 of his game-high 22 points in the run, in which the Riders poured in the 21 points in a 4:35 span to build a 53-31 advantage. Pierson Painter had a 3-point basket in the big spurt; otherwise, it was Red River scoring by attacking the basket. And they picked up eight points off turnovers. "We haven't had many first halves like that,'' said Red River coach Kirby Krefting, whose team led 24-22 at halftime. "Can you come out any flatter than we did? We were settling for jump shots and giving Central too many good looks. "Our defense got us going. We got some easy baskets and started attacking the basket.'' In the second half, Cody Robertson and Tyler Enerson each had three steals and Polynice blocked a pair of shots to highlight the defense. Robertson added 11 points for the 12-7 Roughriders, while Painter was a spark off the bench with eight points. Central got a short-lived spark when Jacob Ohnstad hit a long trey at the buzzer to end the first half, pulling the Knights within 24-22. But the Knights couldn't match the pace Red River set in the second half. "Red River is a good offensive team,'' Central coach Dan Carlson said. "We expected them to make a run at some point. And we couldn't score in that run to slow them down. That's what hurt. We've had a hard time scoring this year.'' Knutson had 12 points and Ohnstad 10 to lead the 0-19 Knights. Ohnstad finished with nine rebounds, one shy of a double double.

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2017-02-14 22:14:46

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4218305-red-river-turns-it-second-half-beat-knights

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Pope tells bishops to have zero tolerance for sexual abuse

In a letter sent on Dec. 28 but released by the Vatican only on Monday, Jan. 2, Francis said: "I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst." Since his election in 2013, Francis has taken some steps to root out sexual abuse in the Church and to put in place practices to protect children. But victims' groups say he has not done enough, particularly to hold to account bishops who tolerated sexual abuse or covered it up. "(The Church) recognises the sins of some of her members: the sufferings, the experiences and the pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests. It is a sin that shames us," Francis wrote in the letter. "I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst. Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated. In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to 'zero tolerance'," he said. The comments, included in a letter about the plight of vulnerable children in general, were some of his most comprehensive on abuse. Anne Barrett-Doyle, founder of the U.S.-based research and monitoring group BishopAccountablity.org, said in an email that the pope's words were little more than rhetoric. "This pope keeps proclaiming zero tolerance but doesn't enact it. He knows full well that Church law contains no zero tolerance provision. Zero tolerance is mere rhetoric. The sad fact is that the Church still has not changed its system to make zero tolerance a binding reality," she said. She said that while it existed in the United States, it is "still optional in the global Catholic Church". Francis, who has met victims of sexual abuse several times, both in the Vatican and on some of his foreign trips, said: "We join in the pain of the victims and weep for this sin - the sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power." In 2015, Francis ordered the trial and defrocking of a Polish archbishop accused of paying for sex with minors in the Dominican Republic. The year before, he set up a Vatican commission, including some victims, to advise local Churches on how to prevent abuse. But some members have complained about the slow pace of change in the Vatican. Francis also approved the establishment of a Vatican tribunal to judge bishops accused of covering up sexual abuse or failing to prevent it, but the proposal has so far stalled. Church sexual abuse broke into the open in 2002, when it was discovered that U.S. bishops moved abusers from parish to parish instead of defrocking them. Similar scandals were later discovered around the world and tens of millions of dollars have been paid in compensation.

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2017-01-02 13:01:56

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190769-pope-tells-bishops-have-zero-tolerance-sexual-abuse

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Trump leaning toward Georgia ex-governor for agriculture secretary

Perdue, a Democrat-turned-Republican who founded a grain and fertilizer business, served on Trump's agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. The official gave no other details about Trump's choice for agriculture secretary, one of the few remaining posts Trump has to fill as he assumes the White House on Jan. 20. The appointment must be approved by the Republican-led U.S. Senate. Perdue, 70, led the southern U.S. state for two terms as governor from 2003 to 2011 after previously representing a rural swath of central Georgia about 100 miles south of Atlanta in the state Senate. Elected in 2002, he became the state's first Republican since 1871, according to the National Governors Association. After finishing his second term as governor, Perdue founded Perdue Partners, a global trading firm that consults and provides services for companies looking to export products. Trump had been meeting with a number of other possible candidates for U.S. agriculture secretary, including Elsa Murano, undersecretary of agriculture for food safety under President George W. Bush, and Chuck Conner, head of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. He has also met with Abel Maldonado, former lieutenant governor of California and co-owner of Runway Vineyards; Tim Huelskamp, Republican U.S. representative from Kansas; and Sid Miller, Texas agriculture commissioner.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 12:37:35

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190763-trump-leaning-toward-georgia-ex-governor-agriculture-secretary

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Mathison: Setting a big goal? You might want to keep your lips zipped

Common sense suggests that when you've got a big goal, like committing to a new workout routine, eating better, losing weight, or perhaps writing a book or starting a business, you should tell as many people as possible. After all, if lots of friends know about your goal, you'll be motivated to work harder because you don't want to disappoint yourself or your community. Plus, your friends will check in with you, and push you, and hold you accountable so that you don't quit on yourself. Right? Well... maybe not. In his 3-minute TED Talk, Derek Sivers shares a surprising idea: Telling people about your goal makes it less likely to happen. Why is this? As Derek explains, some researchers think it has something to do with the power of "social acknowledgment." For example, let's say you announce to your best friend: "I'm going to train for 5K race! This year, I'm really doing it!" Your friend responds by saying: "Congratulations! What a great goal. You can do it. I'm so proud of you." As you listen to your friend's encouragement, praise and acknowledgment, you feel really great! You feel accepted, appreciated and full of warm, fuzzy feelings. But there's a catch: once your body is flooded with those types of warm feelings, you're actually less motivated to "do the hard work" that's necessary to reach your goal. In a sense, your brain has been "tricked" into thinking you're already "done." That's why telling people about your goals can be counter-productive. It gives you a "premature sense of completeness." Or so the theory goes. My personal opinion: It really depends on your personality and on the type of goal you're trying to achieve. If your goal is to get a new job, for example, then it's important to tell lots of people, because the people in your professional network can point you towards possible job opportunities, write letters of recommendation and open all kinds of doors for you. You'll get farther and faster if you involve your community. But in other instances, zipping your lips might be a good idea. If you've been telling your friends, "I'm going to write a book!" for 10 years in a row, but you're making zero progress, then maybe you could try changing your approach. Zip your lips and start writing in secret. Maybe you'll find more success if you take the no-talking, action-only approach. My personal goal was to crank out several more articles and get them polished and queued up for publication so that I don't have to worry about writing over the winter holiday break. But instead, I got sidelined by a winter virus. So, maybe I shouldn't have said that.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 09:54:11

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/columns/4189723-mathison-setting-big-goal-you-might-want-keep-your-lips-zipped

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UPDATE: Former Twins manager Gardenhire battling prostate cancer

Gardenhire, 59, will travel back to Minnesota shortly before mid-April surgery, but the cancer was caught early and the prognosis is good for a full recovery. Gardenhire told the Arizona Republic that he expects to return roughly six weeks after surgery but added on a conference call with reporters that he still must undergo additional tests to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread. “I don’t think anybody can say 100 percent of anything when you’re dealing with cancer,” Gardenhire said. “In talking with the doctors, they’re been pretty optimistic. I feel pretty confident, and they do too, that we’re going to go in there and take this thing out.” The second-winningest manager in Twins history, Gardenhire spent last season as a special assistant under former Twins general manager Terry Ryan, himself treated for cancer in 2014. Gardenhire managed the Twins to six division titles in his 13-year run from 2002-14. Even after getting fired after the 2014 season, Gardenhire continued to undergo annual physicals with Twins internist Dr. Vijay Eyunni. It was during a recent exam that Eyunni noticed Gardenhire’s elevated PSA levels and ordered more tests, which came back positive for prostate cancer. “Not only is Dr. Vijay my doctor, he’s a very good friend,” Gardenhire said. “He wouldn’t let me go without getting a physical. If I didn’t show up when the rest of the guys do in January every year, he calls us and says, ‘Get in here.’ I tip my hat to him because he’s done that for a lot of people, not just me.” Toby Gardenhire, the manager’s son, was recently hired to a full-time coaching role with the Gulf Coast League Twins after serving in a part-time capacity last season. The younger Gardenhire spent the past five seasons as head baseball coach at Wisconsin-Stout. “That’s bad news,” Twins closer Glen Perkins said of Ron Gardenhire’s cancer diagnosis. “I’ve known him for a long time. I guess you just pray for him and hope that they catch it early and they’ll be able to get him fixed up. He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s got a great attitude about everything. Hopefully, he’ll continue that.” Perkins lost a grandfather to bone cancer that started out as prostate cancer. He was close with former Gophers pitching coach Todd Oakes, who died last spring after a long battle with leukemia, and was part of a contingent of Twins employees that recently visited former Twins bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek, who is 68 and battling pancreatitis. “It’s not fun watching people go through cancer,” Perkins said. “I’ve had too much experience with that lately. Cancer sucks.” Gardenhire said many friends have reached out to him since his diagnosis was revealed, including Diamondbacks team owner Ken Kendrick and team president Derrick Hall, both of whom overcame prostate cancer. “There’s a lot of people reaching out to me that have been through it, including some good close friends of mine there in the Twin Cities,” Gardenhire said. “Like a lot of people in this country and all over, I’m joining a fight personally against this thing — cancer. We’re going to attack it. (Wife) Carol and I and my kids, we understand it and we’re going to go through it and we’re going to keep our heads high and push on.” The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a media partner with Forum News Service

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 21:37:25

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4217958-update-former-twins-manager-gardenhire-battling-prostate-cancer

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Editorial: Kennedy should learn from reaction to proposed hire

A key bottom line: The position is important, even vital. Why is Kennedy himself among North Dakota's highest paid public servants? Simple: Because Kennedy's salary is leverage. It's an investment by North Dakota in Kennedy's talent and connections, traits that Kennedy is expected to use to raise tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars for the university. Fundraising is a huge part of a modern university president's job. So is running the complicated institution in a way that grows its reputation and strength. If Kennedy succeeds at those goals, then North Dakota's investment will have more than paid off. And if the event coordinator helps Kennedy succeed, then the state will have spent its money wisely there, too. Furthermore, critics hurt their case when they dismiss the coordinator as a "bartender." A glance at the job description sets the record straight. The description lists more than 50 duties, of which "serve as bartender during events" is only one. Other duties include "initiate, plan and coordinate all official entertaining events hosted by the president and first lady," "coordinate all catering arrangements," "extend invitations and coordinate RSVP follow-up," "on-site management of the event," "track expenses," "oversee payment" and dozens of others. As a thoughtful letter in Monday's Herald concluded, "to reduce the impressive multi-tasking that the event coordinator must do to just one of the more trivial duties in the job description is a disservice to her (the retiring incumbent's) valuable work and presence at UND." That said, Kennedy must realize that with every UND staffer and student anxious about where the ax will fall, his own hiring decisions will be second guessed. People are watching, and a key to getting "buy in" from them will be showing that the administration is sharing—not just feeling—their pain. That's where Kennedy should direct his attention, because that's why this hire touched a nerve. It's the timing—meaning the timing of this particular hire, and what it seems to be saying about Kennedy's approach to UND's fiscal squeeze. UND philosophy professor Jack Russell Weinstein was blunt about that perception. "They're cutting the law school, they're cutting the radio station and they're cutting courses, and the president is hiring a party planner," Weinstein told Herald Staff Writer Andrew Hazzard. A few years ago, Altru Health System faced its own cutbacks. Here's how the headline in the next day's Herald read: "Altru tightens its belt; senior leadership taking pay cut until end of 2013." Altru's approach generated comments, too; but those comments were a lot more forgiving of Altru's leaders. That's because the stakeholders knew the leaders were sharing in the sacrifice, not just doing it out. There's a lesson in that perception for Kennedy at UND. -- Tom Dennis for the Herald

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-15 08:01:53

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/our-opinion/4218339-editorial-kennedy-should-learn-reaction-proposed-hire

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A day for friendship: Grand Forks seniors mingle at speed-dating event

Amber Gajeski, the center's activities assistant, said the goal of the evening was to help seniors meet new people. She said she often hears members express that they do not have companions with whom to share activities. "That's kind of one of the main reasons why I (thought), we have to try this event," she said. "Even if they don't find love, which we're not really expecting." Five men and five women attended. They sat in pairs and talked for eight minutes at a time, then mingled as a group afterward. The attendees said they came into the evening expecting a lighthearted evening without pressure. "I'm at an age now where it's about fun, meeting new people," said Bobbie, a member of the center who declined to give her last name. "It's not like I think I'm going to find a husband or anything. It's just about having fun now." Attendees noted on a sheet of paper if they were interested in getting to know anyone they met further. Gajeski had placed conversation prompts on each table in case any of the pairs needed help breaking the ice, but the cards seemed to go untouched as everyone chatted easily up until the time came to switch pairs. Jim Laturnus said he found he had a lot in common with all of the women he visited. "I had nothing to lose, really," he said of his choice to come to the event. "I was just looking for companionship. I do know some of these other people here before. They're all fun. Every single one of them had something in common." "We really had a good time, learned a little bit about each other," Roxie Lord said. "I'm really glad I came." She added she approaches everything with the same positive attitude. "A sense of humor is the best thing to have to keep going through life," she said. Gajeski said in the future, the Senior Center may organize a similar event for women only so they can meet new friends. "There's a lot of people that just moved here. It would be nice for them to get introduced to other people."

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 21:19:54

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218183-day-friendship-grand-forks-seniors-mingle-speed-dating-event

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Lead exposure in children: a guide to U.S. standards

• >0 (µg/dL): Even at birth, all people have some lead in their blood. However, the CDC says no level of exposure has been deemed safe for children. • 1.0 - 1.3 (µg/dL): Average blood lead level among U.S. children ages 1-5. • 3.5 (µg/dL): The CDC is considering using this level as a new "reference value" to identify children under age six with elevated blood lead levels. The threshold is lowered periodically to reflect new data from a national health and nutritional survey. • 5 (µg/dL): The CDC's current reference level for an elevated childhood blood level that warrants public health action, close monitoring or case management. Some 500,000 U.S. children are at or above this level, which some states define as lead poisoning. • 10 (µg/dL): Children who reach this threshold require closer attention and action to limit further lead exposure. Many states conduct inspections of the poisoned child's living environment to identify exposure sources. Research shows that a blood lead level of 10 (µg/dL) can lower IQ by 4 to 6 points on average. • 45 (µg/dL): Poisoning that may require hospitalization and chelation drug treatment, which helps the body to excrete lead. The drugs aren't considered effective for children with lower blood lead levels. • >70 (µg/dL): Left unchecked, acute lead poisoning can cause seizures, coma and death. Sources: CDC, state health agencies, poisoning prevention programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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2017-01-02 13:01:59

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4189568-lead-exposure-children-guide-us-standards

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New Brighton brothers build (another) snow masterpiece

Connor Bartz, 18, said the brothers began working on this year’s sculpture Nov. 18. A dry early winter meant they had to gather snow from neighbors’ yards and a church parking lot. Rain on Christmas Day washed away some of the fish’s scales, but doesn’t seem to have caused any structural damage. The sculpture took about 350 hours to complete and is completely snow. The sculpture is at 2777 16th St. NW in New Brighton and is illuminated until 11 p.m. As in years past, the brothers are accepting free-will donations for clean water initiatives. This year’s collection goes toward funding clean water operations in the African country of Malawi via One Day’s Wages. More information can be found on the Bartz snow sculptures on their Facebook page. The Pioneer Press is a Forum News Service media partner.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-01 22:46:42

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190673-new-brighton-brothers-build-another-snow-masterpiece

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McFeely: UND president goes high-falutin'...and there is silence

We should expect the angry mobs behind their keyboards and their desks at the state capitol to come out strongly against University of North Dakota president Mark Kennedy any moment now, ripping him to pieces for arrogance, aloofness and elitism. Any moment now … Pretty soon … Stand by … No? Not today? OK. This is surprising. Because when Kennedy decided he was going to hire an event coordinator in the midst of shrinking budgets and cutbacks at UND, it was the perfect storm of a high-falutin’ academic (even though Kennedy isn’t an academic as much as a former politician) acting all fancy and rich when the rest of the state is in belt-tightening mode. This usually means pitchforks and torches time in humble North Dakota. The Grand Forks Herald, to its everlasting credit, reported a story last week that the UND president’s office was seeking to replace a retiring event coordinator and assistant to Kennedy’s wife. The position would entail “picking up all the necessary supplies for events hosted by UND President Mark Kennedy and first lady Debbie Kennedy, managing invitations and RSVPs and ‘(serving)’ as bartender for UND football and hockey suite events,” the Herald wrote. A personal assistant of sorts, in other words. To read the rest of this story, click here.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 19:01:00

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/columnists/4218038-mcfeely-und-president-goes-high-falutinand-there-silence

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Despite Wiggins' 41 points, Cavs and LeBron top Wolves

The Cavaliers withstood a big night by Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins, who scored 41 points to lead the way for Minnesota. It matched Wiggins' second-highest point total of the season. Wiggins had help from Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Gorgui Dieng added 12 points, but no other Timberwolves player reached double figures in scoring. A step-back 3-pointer by James and a fast break layup by former Timberwolves player Derrick Williams pushed Cleveland's lead to 114-106 with 1:39 to play. That essentially sealed the win for the Cavaliers, who went on to close out their 38th victory of the season. It's Cleveland's second win over Minnesota in a two-week span. The Cavaliers beat the Timberwolves 125-97 on Feb. 1. Cleveland took its biggest lead of 14 points midway through the third quarter when Irving hit a deep 3-pointer. Wiggins single-handedly brought the Timberwolves back. Wiggins scored 19 points in the third quarter, including a late 3-pointer and a buzzer-beating jumper to tie it at 93 heading into the fourth. Wiggins had 37 points through three quarters on 14-of-22 shooting but cooled off in the final quarter. Cleveland's offense had to make up for the loss of forward Kevin Love, who earlier Tuesday had surgery on his left knee that will sideline him for six weeks. Love was averaging 20.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. In Love's absence, three Cleveland starters topped the 20-point mark. Irving and James had their typical outputs on offense, while Channing Frye chipped in 21 points—including four 3-pointers. Tristan Thompson added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota struggles to guard the 3-pointer this year, while Cleveland entered Tuesday's game as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the league. While the Cavaliers shot only 33.3 percent from long range, they converted 13 3-pointers. NOTES: Timberwolves G Zach LaVine had successful surgery Tuesday to repair his torn ACL in his left knee. LaVine suffered the injury Feb. 3 in Minnesota's game against Detroit. LaVine was averaging a career-high 18.9 points. ... Minnesota plays Wednesday at Denver before a nine-day break for the NBA All-Star Game. The Timberwolves return to action Feb. 24 against Dallas. ... Cleveland hosts Indianapolis on Wednesday before the Cavaliers enter the All-Star Break. The Cavs' first game after the break is Feb. 23 against the Knicks.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:28:16

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4218312-despite-wiggins-41-points-cavs-and-lebron-top-wolves

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Billie Lourd breaks silence on deaths of mom Carrie Fisher & grandmother Debbie Reynolds

Lourd broke her silence on the news on Monday, Jan. 2, sharing an old photo of herself, Fisher, and Reynolds on Instagram. With it, she wrote, "Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist. There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my own and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me." Fisher's death was confirmed last Tuesday morning by way of the family's spokesperson, saying: "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly." A photo posted by Billie Lourd (@praisethelourd) on Jan 2, 2017 at 10:09am PST Other than that statement, Lourd remained silent on social media and had not commented on the heartbreaking deaths of her mother, Fisher, and grandmother, Reynolds, up until now. Fisher died Tuesday morning after suffering a what was described as a massive heart attack on Friday while in flight to Los Angeles from London, where she was filming the series "Catastrophe" on which she had a recurring role. She was rushed from LAX airport to the UCLA Medical Center Friday afternoon when the plane landed. Just one day later, Reynolds, 84, was rushed to Cedar-Sinai in L.A. for a reported stroke. She died just hours after she was transported to the hospital. Her son, Todd Fisher, told Variety, "She wanted to be with Carrie." Lourd—who is the daughter of Fisher and CAA veteran Bryan Lourd, who was with the "Star Wars" actress from 1991 to 1994—stars on Fox's "Scream Queens." In the series, her character wears fuzzy earmuffs, which she told Variety were a tribute to her mother's iconic Princess Leia buns. In the past days since Fisher's death, Lourd's "Scream Queens" co-stars have shown their support with various social media messages, including those from Lea Michele, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Grande, Taylor Lautner and John Stamos. Lourd, her mother and grandmother were last seen together at a public event in 2015 at the SAG Awards where Reynolds was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 14:07:01

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190775-billie-lourd-breaks-silence-deaths-mom-carrie-fisher-grandmother-debbie-reynolds

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80-year-old Thief River Falls man missing

Eighty-year-old Orvin Sund went missing about 11 a.m. Tuesday Sund, who has dementia, was last seen about 4 p.m. on the outskirts of town. People have been looking throughout the day. Police tonight are asking everyone to check their property.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 21:26:57

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218189-80-year-old-thief-river-falls-man-missing

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ND heat wave next week could lessen spring flooding in some areas

After a brief cold snap moved into the region last week, temperatures have been about 20 degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service. Highs statewide have lingered in the high 30s this week and are expected to climb into the low and mid-40s by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. "We have gotten into the 44 to 51 range for this week of February," NWS meteorologist Peter Speicher said of past weather readings. "We've been as warm as 51 back in 2000. It's not totally uncommon, but it's still well above seasonal norms." An extended outlook from NWS favors above-normal temperatures next week for most of the country except for the West Coast and Alaska. Records possible Some cities have a shot of setting record highs next week, and for Grand Forks, Sunday's record high could be the easiest to break. The city's high temperature record for Feb. 19, set last year, was 44 at the Grand Forks International Airport, and Speicher said Sunday's forecast calls for a high of 45 degrees. "That would be the easiest to break," Speicher said. No high records have been set in February so far this year. Above-freezing temperatures could be good news for southern and western parts of North Dakota. The warm weather should speed up snowmelt, helping to remove excess moisture from river basins along watersheds. Fields in the southern part of the Red River Valley have little snow compared with the Red River of the North starting near Hillsboro. Paths could open up as the snow melts, taking the excess water to rivers, streams and lakes. Areas should be on the lookout for rising water levels, but the melt taking off that excess water from snowpack slowly could help alleviate flooding in the spring, according to the NWS. Less snow could mean less moisture that could flow over the plains. "Anything helps," Speicher said. "It definitely helps that we are going back below freezing at night because that slows the flow rate down." Devils Lake Basin In the Devils Lake Basin, they could see above-freezing temperatures Wednesday and into the weekend, with some days going above 40 degrees. A slow melt can't hurt the Devils Lake Basin, said Jeff Frith, manager of the Devils lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board. The region surrounding the 150,000-acre lake likely will see major flooding due to heavy snow and saturated soil from a wet summer and fall. NWS meteorologists predict a 2-foot to 4-foot rise with record runoff and possibly elevations. There still is a lot of winter left and potential for more snow, though Devils Lake has been lucky since snowfall has been relatively low for moisture accumulation in January and into mid-February, he said. "A long, slow melt would be just what the doctor ordered, but I think we have way too much winter left to start getting really excited about spring," Frith said. NWS meteorologists were assessing snowpack and other factors that will play a role in predicting flood outlooks. The agency's second spring flood outlook is due Thursday, though Frith doesn't expect much to change since the last one was released almost three weeks ago. The Midwest likely will see more precipitation than normal in February, and that trend should continue into April, according to NWS. There is no precipitation forecast for this week, though there is a 50 percent chance of next week being wetter than normal. Overall, February for almost all of the U.S. should be warmer than normal. Colder-than-normal temperatures could return by the end of February and into early March, NWS meteorologists predict.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 17:54:11

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218115-nd-heat-wave-next-week-could-lessen-spring-flooding-some-areas

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Devils Lake man accused of terrorizing bar patrons, pointing gun at another man

Brandon Kent Sundeen, of Devils Lake, faces terrorizing, driving under the influence and assault charges after reports he was waving a gun early Tuesday morning at Thirsty's Bar in downtown Devils Lake. Peter Owlboy Jr. told the Forum News Service that Sundeen was outside the bar and appeared drunk and ready to fight. Sundeen also pointed a gun at Owlboy's chest, the victim said, adding he feared for his life. Sundeen eventually left after calming down, Owlboy said. Devils Lake Police said they later pulled Sundeen over and booked him at the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center. Charges had not been filed against Sundeen as of Tuesday evening.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 20:14:30

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218163-devils-lake-man-accused-terrorizing-bar-patrons-pointing-gun-another-man

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Judge closes hearing on South Carolina church gunman's competency

The same jury found Roof guilty last month of 33 counts of federal hate crimes resulting in death, obstruction of religion and firearms violations. The jury will be seated again to determine whether to put Roof to death but first the judge must decide whether Roof can serve as his own attorney or whether he will be represented by court-appointed lawyers. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel, whose decision was expected on Monday, said he was keeping the proceedings closed in order to avoid sequestering the jury. Gergel said he was concerned jurors would inadvertently hear potentially prejudicial information from the hearing if reporters were allowed to cover it, ruling that protecting Roof's right to a fair trial outweighed the media's right to view the hearing. The judge rejected arguments from press attorney Jay Bender and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson, who wanted an open hearing. Gergel also banned relatives of the victims from attending. The judge previously found Roof competent to stand trial after a hearing held in November ahead of the guilt phase but on Monday was due to hear new testimony from forensic psychiatrist James Ballenger, who examined Roof for five hours over the weekend, Gergel said. Roof's standby lawyers filed a motion arguing that Roof was not competent to stand trial or represent himself after he revealed at a hearing last week that he would present no evidence or witnesses during the sentencing phase. His announcement raised "in especially stark fashion the question of whether the defendant is actually unable to defend himself," the lawyers said in a court filing. A team led by prominent capital defense lawyer David Bruck represented Roof during the guilt phase of the trial. Roof has opted to represent himself for the sentencing phase, due to begin on Tuesday, and has sought to keep jurors from hearing evidence about his competency and mental health.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 09:57:11

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190728-judge-closes-hearing-south-carolina-church-gunmans-competency

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Balance powers Red River over Central in girls basketball

The balanced Roughriders used a big second-half start to pull away from host Grand Forks Central for a 67-56 girls basketball win. Red River led only 23-20 at halftime. But they opened the second half with a stretch in which, on their first 13 possessions, they scored on 11 of them while turning the ball over twice. "I don't know if a stretch like that happens very often for anybody,'' Red River coach Kent Ripplinger said. "Sometimes we rush things and don't take care of the ball. We took care of the ball and found open players in that run.'' Lexi Robson and Kendra Bohm each had six points to set the pace as the 16-3 Riders stretched their three-point halftime lead to 45-27 with 10:52 remaining. Central was behind by double figures for most of the remainder of the game until putting together a 7-0 run to pull within 64-56 with 46 seconds left. Robson had 38 points when Red River beat Central 71-59 in the teams' first game. She had a game-high 18 points this time, but Red River had more balance. Bohm added 12 points and Danica Kemnitz and reserve Maggie Steffen each added 10. "That (balance) is something we wanted to get done,'' Ripplinger said. "We needed more offense from our post players and Kendra and Danica came through. We got four players in double figures. Typically, it's more like two or three.'' Red River had a 13-0 run in the first half, but Central still was within three points at intermission. "If you don't give up runs like that, you don't get yourself in trouble,'' Central coach D.J. Burris said. "And (allowing big runs) has been a bit of a problem for us.'' Lauren Dub's 16 points led the 9-10 Knights. Amber Anderson added a season-high 11 points to go with eight rebounds.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:41:04

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4218326-balance-powers-red-river-over-central-girls-basketball

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Legislators delay action on funding for ND oil cities

House Bill 1366, which relates to the way oil tax revenue is distributed to cities, counties and schools in the Bakken, failed with a 37-54 vote. House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo, urged lawmakers to vote no to the bill, emphasizing that it would be better to address funding for oil-impacted areas after the March revenue forecast is released. "A no vote doesn't mean you're against the west," Carlson said. Rep. Gary Sukut, R-Williston, the primary sponsor of the bill, said communities in the Bakken rely on oil tax revenue to pay for expanded law enforcement facilities, new water plants and other infrastructure they added to meet unprecedented growth spurred by oil development. Officials from so-called Bakken hub cities of Dickinson, Williston and Minot, as well as smaller communities in the Oil Patch, testified during a hearing on the bill that the funding is essential so they can continue making debt payments. Initially the bill had a $33.5 million fiscal impact to keep the communities receiving the same amount of funding they received last biennium. The bill was amended to have a $7.65 million fiscal impact. In addition, the bill includes funding for airports in Williston and Dickinson and other oil impact grant funding that was approved during the last session but has not yet been delivered due to budget shortfalls. Several legislators from western North Dakota spoke in favor of the bill. "Many people feel that things are dead or dying in western North Dakota, but it couldn't be further from the truth," said Rep. Denton Zubke, R-Watford City. Carlson and other legislators said they'll discuss funding for western North Dakota again in a different budget after they have an updated picture of the revenue forecast. "It does not need to be decided today. It needs to be decided in the second half," Carlson said.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 18:09:39

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218119-legislators-delay-action-funding-nd-oil-cities

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Judge spells out rules for courtroom attendance in Castile c...

An order written by presiding Ramsey County District Judge William Leary addresses everything from what people may wear to what time they may arrive and leave the court proceedings in the case pending against Jeronimo Yanez. Anyone who arrives at the courtroom after a hearing starts, for example, will be ordered to leave, the order says. And no one will be allowed to walk out of a hearing until the judge calls for a recess. Another rule restricts wearing any clothes or buttons or carrying signs that in any way "refer to or call attention to (the case), the defendant, parties or witnesses," the order says. Spectators who can't find a seat in the courtroom will be asked to leave, and no congregating will be allowed in the hallway outside it. Further, "blocking of or loitering in walkways, doorways, staircases, or near elevator access ... in any part of the (St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse)," during proceedings will be prohibited. Enhanced regulations also will be enforced on cellphone use and other recording devices. The unusually strict set of rules was issued in the name of providing a "fair and open process that recognizes the responsibility of the state, the rights of the Defendant and the public interest," the order states. Leary did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for further explanation, nor did Ramsey County Chief Judge John Guthmann. Yanez was charged in November with one count of second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm for firing several bullets into Castile's car during a routine traffic stop this past July, killing the 32-year-old black man. Yanez has said through his attorneys that he shot out of fear for his life after Castile reached for the gun he was carrying in his pocket, despite Yanez's commands what he was not to move. Prosecutors say that Yanez recklessly shot Castile, a licensed gun owner, after Castile handed over his insurance card and "calmly and in a nonthreatening manner" told the four-year police officer he was carrying a firearm, according to the criminal complaint filed against Yanez. When first announcing the decision to file charges in the case, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said it was the state's belief that Castile "never removed nor tried to remove his handgun," at any point during the incident. The shooting drew national attention and stirred protests around the Twin Cities and the country about accusations of police brutality against people of color. With that in mind, the case should be heavily attended by members of the media and public. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday for a defense motion filed in December that seeks to have the case against Yanez dismissed on the grounds that Castile was high on marijuana when he was pulled over and therefore culpably negligent in the shooting. Prosecutors have refuted that assertion in legal filings, saying they had enough evidence to charge Yanez and that the suggestion that Castile somehow caused his own death through negligence is for a jury to decide. Wednesday's hearing is expected to start at 9 a.m.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 22:14:10

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218303-judge-spells-out-rules-courtroom-attendance-castile-case

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Scott Hennen: GoFundMe's NoDAPL dollars put police in danger

Whether it's the infamous "Veterans For Standing Rock" with their missing $1.1 million, or another organization in the litany of Standing Rock-based pages on the website, rough estimates for the amount raised on these pages have been reported to be around $11 million. Just as a point of reference, the state of North Dakota already has spent more than $30 million managing the crisis these donations were meant to fund. All of this begs the question of whether GoFundMe shoulders any of the blame for providing a platform to fundraise for illegal protest activities—activities that include repeated violent attacks against our North Dakota law enforcement officers, using everything from Molotov cocktails and other improvised explosive devices to actual guns. Do the site's owners care that they are actively enabling professional protesters to come into our community and disrupt the lives and livelihoods of both the residents of Morton County and members of the Standing Rock tribe alike? When you take a deeper look at GoFundMe, it becomes clear that the answer is no. GoFundMe is a business. And their business is fundraising for "causes" like these protesters. In 2015, Forbes magazine published an article outlining how GoFundMe earns "profits off of controversy." As the company outlines in its "Common Questions" page, GoFundMe takes a 5 percent fee from every contribution made over the site, along with an additional 3 percent processing fee. Meaning the company has made roughly $880,000 off of these DAPL protests without having to do a thing beyond maintaining the website. Pretty good haul for just shy of six months. While the website has no official ideological loyalty, all you have to do is look at members of the company's senior leadership to get an idea of where they fall on the political spectrum. The company's chairman and CEO, Rob Solomon, gave the maximum amount in contributions allowed by law to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. President and Chief Product Officer David Hahn is a former staffer for ultra-liberal California Senator Diane Feinstein. And GoFundMe's vice president for communications and policy is none other than Dan Pfeiffer, former senior advisor, White House communications director and long-time confidant of President Obama. Shockingly, there are no former Republican political staff members serving as executives for GoFundMe. So the truth is, despite the violent and illegal behavior these GoFundMe pages are supporting, the company probably doesn't care. They are probably indifferent to the close to 600 people who have been arrested during these protests, or the public posting of threats against police officers, community leaders and their families. They're making a hefty profit while supporting the liberal causes they personally believe in, while never having to leave sunny California. It's all win-win for them, even if it's all lose-lose for North Dakota and its residents. Hennen is the host of What's On Your Mind radio show, heard throughout North Dakota on AM 1100 TheFlag and AM 550 KFYR.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-15 06:59:10

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/op-ed-columns/4218337-scott-hennen-gofundmes-nodapl-dollars-put-police-danger

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France finds bird flu in new part of country

Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of H5N8 avian influenza among backyard birds and at a poultry farm in two rural districts near the western town of Niort, the Deux-Sevres prefecture said in a statement. The H5N8 strain of the disease is highly contagious among birds and has spread in a number of European countries since late last year. It is not known to be contagious for humans. France has already confirmed more than 80 cases of H5N8 bird flu among domestic poultry, but these have been in southwestern areas far from the latest outbreaks. The country, which is has the largest poultry flock in the European Union, was already affected by a severe bird flu episode a year ago in the southwest that led the authorities to suspend duck and goose breeding in the region known for production of foie gras liver pate. Different strains of bird flu have also spread in Asia in recent weeks, leading to the slaughtering of millions of birds in South Korea and Japan and several human infections in China.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 12:51:48

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190768-france-finds-bird-flu-new-part-country

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Jamestown lawmaker seeks to keep highway maintenance shops o...

Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, tried to attach an amendment to the North Dakota Department of Transportation budget bill requiring the agency to keep all of the state's shops in operation through mid-2019. The amendment would also provide for a legislative study of the shops' proposed closure "and the impact of services in the areas affected," as well as the possibility of cooperating with local political subdivisions. The amendment ultimately failed and the budget passed the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning. Wanzek said he intends to try to amend the bill on the Senate floor. Wanzek said he wasn't enthusiastic about micromanaging the DOT, but "the outcry that I've heard from members in my district that have these shops in their area, it is overwhelming." "I just feel that this is something, that in representing the people of my district, that I have to bring forward," he added. The amended DOT budget includes a $66.4 million reduction in operating expenses from the $295.8 million included in the base budget, a 22 percent decrease. It also decreases the full-time equivalent positions in the department by 31.5, from 1,080.5 to 1,049. Jamie Olson, a DOT spokeswoman, said the proposed consolidation of eight maintenance "sections" into neighboring facilities would save about $2.1 million in the coming two-year budget cycle. She said the buildings are aging and today's snowplows can cover more miles. "They're able to do more than they were before," Olson said. "Those rural roads that some of these sections lie on, there's still going to be service. They're just going to be serviced out of the next shop over." The shops slated for closure are in Starkweather, Finley, Fessenden, Gackle, Litchville, New England, Courtenay and Mayville, Olson said. There are 67 section shops across the state, Olson said, along with with additional shops at the eight main district locations. Sen. Gary Lee, R-Casselton, said the DOT was asked to "look at their budgets critically just like everyone else was." Olson said the department saw a 13 percent decline in 2015 in highway tax distribution revenues, a main source of funding for operations, because of a slower economy and lower fuel tax collections. "We ask them to seek out efficiencies, and then we tell them we don't want them," Lee said in arguing against Wanzek's amendment. But Sen. John Grabinger, D-Jamestown, there has been a "grassroots effort" with petitions attempting to persuade lawmakers and department officials. "They're going out to every farm and everything, getting these signatures," he said. "It is important to these people."

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 19:11:09

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218137-jamestown-lawmaker-seeks-keep-highway-maintenance-shops-open

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Traffic collision injures Grand Forks driver

Grand Forks Police Sgt. Travis Benson said the driver of the SUV, a gray Toyota RAV4, was heading south on North 55th Street and lost control of her vehicle on slippery roads as she approached the T-intersection with DeMers Avenue, sliding into the trailer of a passing semi truck. The driver of the vehicle was transported for medical attention with unknown injuries, Benson said, and there were no passengers in the car. He said he was not aware of any damage to the trailer.

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2017-01-02 13:32:20

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4190773-traffic-collision-injures-grand-forks-driver

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Evacuees from California dam can return home, sheriff says

A previous evacuation order has been reduced to an evacuation warning, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told a news conference, after water management officials drained enough water from the Oroville Dam. The warning means that people can return but should be prepared to evacuate again if necessary, Honea said. Both the primary and backup drainage channels of the dam, known as spillways, were damaged after a buildup of water that resulted from an extraordinarily wet winter in Northern California that followed years of severe drought. More rain was forecast for as early as Wednesday and through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Swift action by officials led by the state Department of Water Resources relieved pressure on the spillways, Honea said.

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2017-02-14 18:02:13

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218118-evacuees-california-dam-can-return-home-sheriff-says

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Some like it hot: Heat wave next week could lessen spring flooding concerns in some areas

After a brief cold snap moved into the region last week, temperatures have been about 20 degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service. Grand Forks' high went from 2 degrees last Wednesday to 22 on Thursday and 38 on Friday, a 36-degree jump in two days. Highs have lingered in the high 30s this week and are expected to climb into the low and mid-40s by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. "We have gotten into the 44 to 51 range for this week of February," NWS meteorologist Pete Speicher said of past weather readings. "We've been as warm as 51 back in 2000. It's not totally uncommon, but it's still well above seasonal norms." An extended outlook from NWS favors above-normal temperatures next week for most of the country except for the West Coast and Alaska. Northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota have a 70 to 90 percent chance of seeing unseasonably warm weather. Records possible Some cities have a shot of setting record highs. The lowest record high for next week was set Feb. 19, 2016, at the Grand Forks International Airport with 44 degrees. "That would be the easiest to break," Speicher said, adding the forecast for Sunday is 45 degrees. No high records have been set in February so far this year. Above-freezing temperatures could be good news for southern and western parts of North Dakota. The warm weather should speed up snowmelt, helping to remove excess moisture from river basins along watersheds. Fields in the southern part of the Red River Valley have little snow compared with the Red River of the North starting near Hillsboro. Paths could open up as the snow melts, taking the excess water to rivers, streams and lakes. Areas should be on the lookout for rising water levels, but but the melt taking off that excess water from snowpack slowly could help alleviate flooding in the spring, according to the NWS. Less snow could mean less moisture that could flow over the plains. "Anything helps," Speicher said. "It definitely helps that we are going back below freezing at night because that slows the flow rate down." Devils Lake Basin To the west, Devils Lake could see above-freezing temperatures today and into the weekend, with some days going above 40 degrees. A slow melt can't hurt the Devils Lake Basin, said Jeff Frith, manager of the Devils lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board. The region surrounding the 150,000-acre lake likely will see major flooding due to heavy snow and saturated soil from a wet summer and fall. NWS meteorologists predict a 2- to 4-foot rise with record runoff and possibly elevations. There still is a lot of winter left and potential for more snow, though Devils Lake has been lucky since snowfall has been relatively low for moisture accumulation in January and into mid-February, he said. "A long, slow melt would be just what the doctor ordered, but I think we have way too much winter left to start getting really excited about spring," Frith said. NWS meteorologists were assessing snowpack and other factors that will play a role in predicting flood outlooks. The agency's second spring flood outlook is due Thursday, though Frith doesn't expect much to change since the last one was released almost three weeks ago. The Midwest likely will see more precipitation than normal in February, and that trend should continue into April, according to NWS. There is no precipitation forecast for this week, though there is a 50 percent chance of next week being wetter than normal. Overall, February for almost all of the U.S. should be warmer than normal. Colder-than-normal temperatures could return by the end of February and into early March, NWS meteorologists predict.

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2017-02-14 16:52:34

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218077-some-it-hot-heat-wave-next-week-could-lessen-spring-flooding-concerns-some-areas

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Lloyd Omdahl: Governor faces resistance reinventing government

North Dakotans don't take to reorganization. Rather than going all the way back to statehood, let's just start with 1942, when the Public Administration Service of Chicago did a comprehensive analysis and reorganization plan for North Dakota state government. Some of the recommendations still are gathering dust today, indicating the low priority we place on reorganization. Rather than implementing the report, state officials of the day thought it would be best to wait until after World War II was over. The connection between reorganization and the war was never explained, but by the time the War was over, dust had buried the recommendations. In 1966, voters rejected proposals to revamp the judicial, executive and legislative branches of government. So the reinventors thought of a different route—a constitutional convention to dramatize the need for reform. The convention met. The proposed constitution would have made possible reducing the number of elected state officials down to the nationwide average of six per state. Opposed by every state official and others, the document went down to defeat, In 1984 and 2000, the voters refused to abolish the office of state treasurer, made obsolete in 1919 with the creation of the Bank of North Dakota. In November 1980, the voters defeated another general proposal to revise the legislative and executive branches of government. In 1989, a similar measure was swamped at the polls. Meanwhile, disorganization was spreading in the underbrush. In 2009, Legislative Librarian Marilyn Johnson counted 142 boards, councils and commissions. (If your interest group doesn't have a board, council and/or commission, you simply haven't asked for one.) We have more local governments per capita, the largest Legislature per capita outside of New Hampshire and the most elected state officials outside of South Carolina. So there is room for a lot of reinventing, but the governor should be forewarned that the holder of every public office will fight him to the death. That's one reason we pretty much have the same government we started with in 1889. What this tells us is that North Dakotans like access, even when it means throwing efficiency under the bus. People want a role—a big role—in government. Having many points at which citizens can be a part of government implements the cultural idea that everybody is important and should "have a say." If we haven't dissuaded the governor from reinventing, he would be well advised to choose only those entities that have no constituencies, because constituencies rise up with a wrath when abolition or consolidation of their entity is proposed. For example, if he told the barbers he was going to mess with their licensing board, he would have to go out-of-state for a haircut. While the office holders, agencies and their constituencies will be arrayed against him, the governor will be spending lot of political capital on something about which the citizenry does not care a hoot, meaning that the governor will have no citizen uprising on behalf of reinventing. He'll be out there alone. Reinventing North Dakota state and local governments would require the effort of a mountain to produce a molehill. As a recovering government reinventor, I wish the governor well but will just sit this one out. On the other hand, it has been said that those who say it can't be done are sometimes interrupted by somebody doing it. Omdahl is a retired professor of political science at UND and a former lieutenant governor of North Dakota.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 10:33:59

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/featured-columnists/4190735-lloyd-omdahl-governor-faces-resistance-reinventing-government

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N. Korea suspected behind murder of leader's half-brother, U.S. sources say

American authorities have not yet determined exactly how Kim Jong Nam was killed, according to two sources, who did not provide specific evidence to support the U.S. government's view. A South Korean government source also had said that Kim Jong Nam had been murdered in Malaysia. He did not provide further details. South Korea's foreign ministry said it could not confirm the reports, and the country's intelligence agency could not immediately be reached for comment. In Washington, there was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Trump administration, which faces a stiff challenge from a defiant North Korea over its nuclear arms program and the test of a ballistic missile last weekend. Kim Jong Nam was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside North Korea and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state. If confirmed as an assassination, it would the latest in a string of killings over the decades at home and abroad meant to silence those perceived by North Korea's leaders as threats to their authority, one of the U.S. sources said on condition of anonymity. In a statement, Malaysian police said the dead man, 46, held a passport under the name Kim Chol. Kim Jong Nam has been caught in the past using forged travel documents. Malaysian police official Fadzil Ahmat said the cause of Kim's death was not yet known, and that a post mortem would be carried out. "So far there are no suspects, but we have started investigations and are looking at a few possibilities to get leads," Fadzil told Reuters. According to Fadzil, Kim had been planning to travel to Macau on Monday when he fell ill at the low-cost terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. "The deceased ... felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind," Fadzil said. "He felt dizzy, so he asked for help at the ... counter of KLIA." Kim was taken to an airport clinic where he still felt unwell, and it was decided to take him to hospital. He died in the ambulance on the way to Putrajaya Hospital, Fadzil added. The U.S. government sources said it was possible that Kim Jong Nam had been poisoned. They said it could not be ruled out that assassins used some kind of "poison pen" device. South Korea's TV Chosun, a cable-TV network, reported that Kim had been poisoned with a needle by two women believed to be North Korean operatives who fled in a taxi and were at large, citing multiple South Korean government sources. Reuters could not independently confirm those details. Malaysia is one of a dwindling number of countries that has close relations with North Korea, which is under tightening global sanctions over its nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, the latest of which took place on Sunday. Malaysians and North Koreans can visit each other's country without visas. A phone call to the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur late on Tuesday went straight to an answering machine. Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un are both sons of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who died in late 2011, but they had different mothers. Kim Jong Nam, the elder of the two, did not attend his father's funeral. His mother was an actress named Song Hye Rim, and Kim Jong Nam said his father kept his parents' relationship secret. The portly and easygoing Kim Jong Nam was believed to be close to his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was North Korea's second most powerful man before being executed on Kim Jong Un's orders in 2013. In an embarrassing 2001 incident, Kim Jong Nam was caught at an airport in Japan traveling on a forged Dominican Republic passport, saying he had wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He was known to travel to Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Dongguk University in Seoul, said Kim Jong Nam had occasionally been the subject of speculation that he could replace his younger half-brother, the country's third-generation leader. "Loyalists may have wanted to get rid of him," he said.

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2017-02-14 17:13:44

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4217846-n-korea-suspected-behind-murder-leaders-half-brother-us-sources-say

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Police: Saving a life comes first when reporting overdoses

She had overdosed. Someone had brought her to the clinic in the middle of the night, authorities said, but when the clinic was closed, whoever brought her abandoned the car and left. They didn't call 911. This month, the Grand Forks Police Department put out a reminder that those using and possessing drugs who are present at the time of an overdose will not be prosecuted if they call and cooperate with first responders. In North Dakota and Minnesota, Good Samaritan laws are on the books that give immunity to those who call in drug overdoses if the caller remains on scene until first responders arrive and cooperate with medical services and law enforcement. The person must be in need of emergency medical services. Up to three people can be granted immunity. The law also applies to people overdosing from alcohol consumption. "We want people to be focused on saving a life," said Lt. Jeremy Moe with the special resource bureau. In 2016, Grand Forks Police responded to 28 calls for overdoses. Three of them were fatal. State Sen. Howard Anderson Jr., R-Turtle Lake, was a sponsor of the Good Samaritan laws that passed in North Dakota in 2015. The former director of the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy, Anderson said he wanted to sponsor the law to give people a better chance to survive. Information provided by companions can be key to successful care. "It's hard to find out what they took or what the situation is, so by the time doctors get a chance to figure out what it is, it's too late," Anderson said. In the process of passing the law, legislators heard testimony from a man whose companions had abandoned him in a dumpster, thinking he'd overdosed, Anderson said. But too few people know about the law, Anderson said. He also believes law enforcement have been overzealous in pressing charges against people, despite the law. "They're using the Good Samaritan laws as an excuse to charge people because, obviously, if I gave you drugs, then I'm guilty of providing them for you. It's like a sale even if I gave it to you free," he said. "So we need a little better education with police. If you're trying to save somebody's life for crying out loud, back off a little bit. Catch the crook the next time." Anderson said users speak to one another, and if law enforcement is too aggressive, it might deter people from calling for help. Grand Forks Police said they were not aware of any specific incidents in town where immunity had been granted based on the Good Samaritan laws. Forum News Service contributed to this article.

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2017-02-14 17:17:33

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218092-police-saving-life-comes-first-when-reporting-overdoses

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Ethics office urges White House to weigh disciplining Conway

The letter, dated Monday and addressed to a White House ethics official, asked President Donald Trump's administration to investigate the incident and gave it two weeks to provide its findings and detail any disciplinary steps taken. Conway, Trump's presidential campaign manager and now a senior counselor, said on Fox News last week that Americans should "go buy Ivanka's stuff." She spoke after retailer Nordstrom announced it was dropping the branded line of Ivanka Trump, the president's older daughter. Federal ethics rules prohibit executive branch employees from using their positions to endorse products. "There is strong reason to believe that Ms. Conway has violated the Standards of Conduct and that disciplinary action is warranted," Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub wrote in the letter. Stefan Passantino, the White House ethics official named in the letter, declined to comment. A White House spokesman did not reply to a request for comment. The ethics office has little enforcement power. It can formally recommend disciplinary action if the White House does not act, Shaub said in a separate letter to two U.S. lawmakers who sought a review of Conway's remarks. Following video from Feb. 10 That recommendation would not be binding, and the process would take until late April or early May, Shaub said. If the ethics office does formally recommend discipline, it would be up to the White House to decide any steps against Conway. Norman Eisen, who was ethics chief under President Barack Obama, said Congress also could call hearings or subpoena documents if the White House did not act. Trump himself earlier attacked Nordstrom for dropping his daughter's brand. The ethics rules that bar endorsements do not apply to the president, though critics said his comments were inappropriate. Nordstrom said it made the decision because sales had steadily declined, especially in the last half of 2016, to where carrying the line "didn't make good business sense." In his letter to the White House, Shaub wrote that his office's regulatory guidelines include an example violation in which a hypothetical presidential appointee promotes a product in a television commercial. He said Conway's remarks closely mirrored that example of what not to do. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Thursday that Conway had been "counseled," but Shaub wrote that the Office of Government Ethics had not been informed of any corrective steps.

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2017-02-14 18:00:26

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218117-ethics-office-urges-white-house-weigh-disciplining-conway

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Letter: Event coordinator outstandingly serves UND

What I haven't heard from either side, and which I find dismaying, is the acknowledgement and praise of the stellar work of the remarkable women who serve in the Office of the President at UND. The event coordinator is one of these women. President Mark Kennedy chose not to name her in his letter, and I will respect her privacy and do the same. But she deserves to be acknowledged and respected for her dedication to UND. There are few on campus who have given as much to this institution with little to no public recognition. If you have ever attended an official UND event that involved the administration or visiting dignitaries, you have seen her. Events on campus run smoothly not by luck, but by the hard work she puts in before, during and after each event. The staff and faculty understand her worth very well. A brief note about these "events": They are not simply fundraisers, welcome receptions or retirement receptions. They include visits by acclaimed authors, artists, scientists, and teachers; meetings of the state board; athletic events; alumni events; legislative forums; conferences; media interviews; and the list goes on. To reduce the impressive multi-tasking that the event coordinator must do to just one of the more trivial duties in the job description is a disservice to her valuable work and presence at UND. UND's official motto is Lux et Lex — Light and Law. The event coordinator is the embodiment of Lux, allowing students, staff and faculty to be more and achieve more by lighting the path for us. She deserves our praise, respect and profound thanks. Michelle Bowles Grand Forks The writer is the institutional review board coordinator in the Division of Research and Economic Development at UND. The views she expresses are her own and are not meant to be a reflection of the views of the division or university.

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2017-02-15 06:51:19

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/letters/4218343-letter-event-coordinator-outstandingly-serves-und

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CDC considers lowering threshold level for lead exposure

Since 2012, the CDC, which sets public health standards for exposure to lead, has used a blood lead threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter for children under age 6. While no level of lead exposure is safe for children, those who test at or above that level warrant a public health response, the agency says. Based on new data from a national health survey, the CDC may lower its reference level to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter in the coming months, according to six people briefed by the agency. The measure will come up for discussion at a CDC meeting January 17 in Atlanta. But the step, which has been under consideration for months, could prove controversial. One concern: Lowering the threshold could drain sparse resources from the public health response to children who need the most help—those with far higher lead levels. The CDC did not respond to a request for comment. Exposure to lead—typically in peeling old paint, tainted water or contaminated soil—can cause cognitive impairment and other irreversible health impacts. The CDC adjusts its threshold periodically as nationwide average levels drop. The threshold value is meant to identify children whose blood lead levels put them among the 2.5 percent of those with the heaviest exposure. "Lead has no biological function in the body, and so the less there is of it in the body the better," Bernard M Y Cheung, a University of Hong Kong professor who studies lead data, told Reuters. "The revision in the blood lead reference level is to push local governments to tighten the regulations on lead in the environment." The federal agency is talking with state health officials, laboratory operators, medical device makers and public housing authorities about how and when to implement a new threshold. Since lead was banned in paint and phased out of gasoline nearly 40 years ago, average childhood blood lead levels have fallen more than 90 percent. The average is now around 1 microgram per deciliter. Yet progress has been uneven, and lead poisoning remains an urgent problem in many U.S. communities. A Reuters investigation published this month found nearly 3,000 areas with recently recorded lead poisoning rates of at least 10 percent, or double those in Flint, Michigan, during that city's water crisis. More than 1,100 of these communities had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher than in Flint. In the worst-affected urban areas, up to 50 percent of children tested in recent years had elevated lead levels. The CDC has estimated that as many as 500,000 U.S. children have lead levels at or above the current threshold. The agency encourages "case management" for these children, which is often carried out by state or local health departments and can involve educating families about lead safety, ordering more blood tests, home inspections or remediation. Any change in the threshold level carries financial implications. The CDC budget for assisting states with lead safety programs this year was just $17 million, and many state or local health departments are understaffed to treat children who test high. Another concern: Many lead testing devices or labs currently have trouble identifying blood lead levels in the 3 micrograms per deciliter range. Test results can have margins of error. "You could get false positives and false negatives," said Rad Cunningham, an epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health. "It's just not very sensitive in that range." The CDC doesn't hold regulatory power, leaving states to make their own decisions on how to proceed. Many have yet to adapt their lead poisoning prevention programs to the last reference change, implemented four years ago, when the level dropped from 10 to 5 micrograms per deciliter. Other states, including Virginia and Maine, made changes this year. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is close to adopting a rule requiring an environmental inspection—and lead cleanup if hazards are found—in any public housing units where a young child tests at or above the CDC threshold. If the CDC urges public health action under a new threshold, HUD said it will follow through. "The only thing that will affect our policy is the CDC recommendation for environmental intervention," said Dr. Warren Friedman, with HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. To set the reference value, the CDC relies upon data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey. The latest data suggests that a small child with a blood lead level of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter has higher exposure than 97.5 percent of others in the age group, 1 to 5 years. But in lead-poisoning hotspots, a far greater portion of children have higher lead levels. Wisconsin data, for instance, shows that around 10 percent of children tested in Milwaukee's most poisoned census tracts had levels double the current CDC standard. Some worry a lower threshold could produce the opposite effect sought, by diverting money and attention away from children with the worst exposure. "A lower reference level may actually do harm by masking reality—that significant levels of lead exposure are still a problem throughout the country," said Amy Winslow, chief executive of Magellan Diagnostics, whose blood lead testing machines are used in thousands of U.S. clinics.

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2017-01-02 13:01:59

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4189567-cdc-considers-lowering-threshold-level-lead-exposure

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Protect Minnesota group takes aim at 'lifetime permit' gun b...

Under Minnesota law, permits expire every five years, at which point applicants must undergo training and pay a fee to renew their permit. The new bill, introduced by Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, would establish a one-time permitting system by eliminating expiration dates from carrying permits issued after Aug. 1. "It's similar to our firearm safety certificate," Cornish said. "You're given that when you're 11 years old, and you can handle a firearm for the rest of your life and you never have to take another class. Why do we require (renewal) for handguns?" The bill is among gun-related legislation to garner opposition this year from anti-gun violence group Protect Minnesota. The group took to the State Capitol Tuesday, Feb. 14 for its Broken Hearts Day event to urge lawmakers to reject bills like lifetime permits, which members called "extreme." The group distributed 1,500 handmade cards to lawmakers, each one representing an incident of gun violence in the last year. The Rev. Nancy Nord Bence, Protect Minnesota executive director, said the Cornish bill would hinder law enforcement's ability to remove licenses from people who can no longer safely carry a gun. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reported cancelling, revoking or suspending permits from nearly 400 Minnesotans who had previously been approved to carry firearms. The bill, she said, also raises concern over Minnesota's aging population, who will become increasingly susceptible to dementia. The Alzheimer's Association estimates more than 90,000 Minnesotans over the age of 65 live with Alzheimer's, and the number is expected to grow to 120,000 by 2020. "Do we really believe that that person who was safe to carry a gun when they were 21, or 31 or 41 still be totally completely together when they're 91?" she asked. "We have a serious issue with our aging population that is well-armed." Cornish dismissed concerns from Protect Minnesota, whom he called "gun-haters." A former police officer who chairs the House Public Safety and Security Committee, Cornish said the initial training and background check would sufficiently vet applicants the first time. The lifetime permits holders, he said, could lose their permit if convicted of crimes that would bar them from carrying a handgun. Cornish's bill also aims to lower the cost of legally carrying a firearm by reducing the maximum permit fee counties can charge from $100 to $50. Applicants currently pay permit fees to counties in addition to the cost for permit to carry classes, which range from about $90 to $150. Although Protect Minnesota estimates the permit fees generate nearly $1 million for the state, Cornish said the process has become unduly expensive for applicants. "There's a number of counties who've gotten more money in their pocket from that than they need," he said. "It's not that expensive to do background checks and issue these cards any more." From the other side of the aisle, two bills to be reintroduced by Sen. Ron Latz, D-St. Louis Park, and Rep. Dave Pinto, D-St. Paul, next week have gained support from Protect Minnesota. One bill would require background checks for any gun purchases made by private sellers in Minnesota. Only licensed retailers now are required to conduct background checks. The second Latz-Pinto bill would establish "red flag laws" allowing families and law enforcement officers to petition courts to have guns temporarily confiscated from people at risk of hurting themselves or other people. The third bill to receive support from Protect Minnesota would allocate state funding into gun violence prevention programs. Sen. Jeff Hayden, D-Minneapolis, will introduce the bill in memory of his sister, who was killed in the crossfire of an Atlanta shooting last summer. Other Gun bills • Permitless carry bills proposed in both the House and Senate would allow any citizen to carry "any firearm or self-defense device" without a permit. A carry permit would would be optional, but not required to carry a handgun. Under this bill, any public official who "interferes with the right to carry a pistol" would be subject to misdemeanor charges. • A second set of permitless carry bills proposed in the House and Senate would establish a system in which a permit to carry a handgun would be optional, but not required. Permits would not be required to carry a gun in a "public space," which the bill has expanded to include "property owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental unit and private property that is regularly and frequently open to or made available for use by the public in sufficient numbers." Locations not exempt from the "public space" definition include a person's home, place of business or land as well as gun shows or gun shops. • A proposed "stand your ground" bill would eliminate the obligation to retreat from danger in cases of self-defense by deadly force. For self-defense regarding a person's home, the bill expands the definition of "dwelling" to include "an overnight stopping accommodation of any kind or place of abode." This could include porches, boats and cars. The original House bill also gained a companion Senate bill.

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2017-02-14 18:43:34

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218138-protect-minnesota-group-takes-aim-lifetime-permit-gun-bill

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Concordia Language Villages director: Travel ban hurts hiring of summer-camp staff

For many, this is their first experience in the United States. They are introduced to the time-honored tradition of songs and s'mores around the campfire. In turn, they share their family stories and cultural traditions with campers who have never traveled to Egypt, Germany or Argentina. Friendships that cross continents are forged at camp. The international camp staff return to their home countries with an increased understanding of typical American life; and there's nothing more typical than sleepaway camp for the average American family in summer. The American Camp Association confirms that more than 11 million Americans enroll in a residential or day camp each year. This is citizen diplomacy at its best, made possible by the U.S. State Department's J-1 Exchange Visitor program that has a category specially designed for camp counselors. Since 1979, Concordia Language Villages has taken advantage of this opportunity to bring counselors from around the world to share their love of language and culture with young people eager to explore something new and different. About 900 staff join the 15 Language Villages each summer. Of that number, about 135 are international staff from 30 countries on six continents. We cannot afford to have these international exchange opportunities limited to a defined number of countries or for those of a certain religious or socioeconomic background. The recently imposed travel ban by the Trump administration has fostered an unreasonable sense of fear and anxiety for those applying for international camp jobs, no matter where they live in the world. Our country is strengthened through more dialogue with the world, than less. Our ambassadors around the globe state that exchange programs are the most cost-effective investment in strengthening our national security. Exchange participants consistently report that they completed their programs with a better impression of the United States. A Department of State program evaluation shows that 94 percent of high school exchange students from Muslim-majority countries said that their stay in the United States gave them a more favorable view of the American people and culture. To understand America, it's best to experience it. And where better to start than at summer camp? Schulze is the executive director of Concordia Language Villages, the language- and cultural-immersion camps sponsored by Concordia College in Moorhead. She is board chair emeritus of the Alliance for International Exchange, a Washington-based organization that promotes educational and cultural exchange.

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2017-02-15 06:05:59

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Around 60 killed as drug gangs clash in Brazil prison massacre

BRASILIA - Around 60 people were killed in a bloody prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus sparked by a war between rival drug gangs, officials said on Monday, Jan. 2, in the worst violence in over two decades in Brazil's overcrowded penitentiary system. The head of security for Amazonas state, Sergio Fontes, told a news conference that the death toll could rise as authorities get a clearer idea of the scale of the rebellion sparked by a fight between rival drug gangs. Fontes told reporters that several of the dead had their decapitated bodies thrown over the prison wall - and that most of those killed came from one gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. Pedro Florencio, the Amazonas state prison secretary, said that the massacre was a "revenge killing" that formed part of an ongoing feud between criminal gangs in Brazil. The riot began late Sunday and was brought under control by around 7 a.m. on Monday, Fontes said. Authorities were still counting the prisoners to determine how many had escaped, he added, with reports that up to 300 fled. Just as the riot began in one unit of the Anisio Jobim prison complex, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what authorities said was a coordinated effort to distract guards. Overcrowding is extremely common in Brazil's prisons, which suffer endemic violence and what rights groups call medieval conditions with cells so crowded prisoners have no space to lie down and food is scarce. The Anisio Jobim prison complex currently houses 2,230 inmates despite having a capacity of only 590. Watchdog groups sharply criticize Brazil for its prisons where deadly riots routinely break out. "These massacres occur almost daily in Brazil," said Father Valdir Silveira, director of Pastoral Carceraria, a Catholic center that monitors prison conditions in Brazil. "Our prisons were built to annihilate, torture and kill." The violence was the latest clash between inmates aligned with the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command drug gang, Brazil's most powerful, and a local Manaus criminal group known as the North Family. The Manaus-based gang is widely believed to be attacking PCC inmates at the behest of the Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command drug gang, Brazil's second largest. Security analysts have said that a truce that held for years between the PCC and CV was broken last year, resulting in months of deadly prison battles between the gangs and sparking fears that chaos will spread to other prisons. In the latest riot, a group of inmates exchanged gunfire with police and held 12 prison guards hostage late on Sunday in the largest prison in Manaus, an industrial city on the banks of the Amazon River, Globo TV reported. Fontes said that 74 prisoners were taken hostage during the riot, with some executed and some released. A video posted on the website of the Manaus-based newspaper Em Tempo showed dozens of bloodied and mutilated bodies piled atop each other on the prison floor as other inmates milled about. Brazil's prison system is precariously overcrowded and conditions in many institutions are horrific. That has sparked a rash of deadly riots in recent years. Sunday's riot was the deadliest in years. A 1992 rebellion at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo state saw 111 inmates killed, nearly all of them by police as they retook the jail. Maria Canineu, director of Human Rights Watch for Brazil, said the most recent violence was the result of "no government in 20 years giving much attention to the penitentiary system." Canineu said that for years it's been very difficult for states to receiving any funding help from the federal government for prisons. President Michel Temer announced last week that the federal government would furnish states with $366 million, mostly to improve infrastructure and security in existing prisons and to build new ones.

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2017-01-02 14:49:42

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Group looks to recruit Nolan for Minnesota governor

"Last year we lost both houses of the Legislature and suffered a devastating defeat," reads the letter from the Coalition to Draft Rick Nolan for Governor. "We need a candidate for governor who appeals to the broadest number of Minnesotans, based on proven DFL policies and principles." The group warns: "If we lose the governorship in 2018, we will become Wisconsin," a reference to the Republican control of the Badger State's Legislature and governor's seat. Nolan's spokeswoman in January said Nolan is considering a run and didn't have a timeline for making a decision. The coalition that sent the letter includes current and former state legislators such as Joe Begich, Ron Dicklich, Rob Ecklund, Jason Metsa and David Tomassoni. The group also includes Iron Range businesspeople and mining interests and is chaired by 8th District DFL Chair Justin Perpich. "At a time when the DFL Party is reeling from significant losses in the 2016 elections, Congressman Nolan is the perfect candidate to stop the party's hemorrhaging of working class voters," the group said in an email Tuesday. Nolan would join a growing field of DFL contenders for governor: State Auditor Rebecca Otto, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and state Rep. Erin Murphy of St. Paul all have thrown their hats in the ring. Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey, Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson are also vying for the nomination from their party. Incumbent DFL Gov. Mark Dayton has said he will not seek re-election in 2018.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 18:45:10

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4218139-group-looks-recruit-nolan-minnesota-governor

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Local clipboard

West Fargo's Courtney Walsh and Talexi Gasal notched two goals each in the win, keeping KnightRider goalies Quinn Kuntz and Teresa Mattson busy with 29 and 20 stops, respectively. "We got outworked most of the game," said KnightRider coach Alex Hedlund. "We just need to find a way to put 51 minutes together and create more chances." Grand Forks will open the state tournament against West Fargo next week. Sacred Heart 66, Hatton-Northwood 64 NORTHWOOD, N.D.—The Sacred Heart boys basketball team edged out a victory against Hatton-Northwood on Tuesday night. Despite being down 36-28 at halftime, the Eagles rallied behind Jordan Tomkinson, who had 37 points and 11 rebounds. Jack Gerber also had a stout performance for Sacred Heart, notching a double double with 12 points. "I'm proud of how they fought," said Sacred Heart coach Destry Sterkel. Park Rapids 59, EGF Senior High 58 PARK RAPIDS, Minn.—The Park Rapids boys basketball team beat East Grand Forks Senior High in a close home victory Tuesday night. Park Rapids senior center Hunter Jewison posted 22 points, while Senior High's Sam Votava, Christian Dugan and Julian Benson each scored 11 points at the end of Tuesday's loss. "They came out with a lot of energy and took it to us," said Senior High coach Josh Perkerwicz. In the end, Park Rapids made a free throw to push ahead of the Green Wave. Senior High next faces Fosston in a home match Thursday night. Thief River Falls 3, EGF Senior High 2 THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn.—Aaron Myers scored two goals, including the game-winner late in the second period, to lead Thief River Falls to a boys hockey win over East Grand Forks Senior High on Tuesday. Myers scored the winner at 15:42 of the second. East Grand Forks outshot Thief River Falls 32-14. Nick Corneliuson posted 31 saves in net for the Prowlers. Coby Stauss led the Green Wave with a goal and an assist. Sacred Heart 66, Grafton 56 Bolstered by a strong first half, the Sacred Heart girls basketball team defeated Grafton on Tuesday night in East Grand Forks. "We were up pretty handily at the half, but they came back in the second with strong defense," said Sacred Heart coach Joann Remer. Anya Edwards paced the Eagles with 28 points to victory. Following Tuesday's win, Sacred Heart's record now stands at 17-6. Sacred Heart will go on the road Friday to play Climax-Fisher.

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2017-02-14 22:41:57

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Minnesota group holds first-ever Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's Walk

Kingbird was one of about 100 participants who gathered in the parking lot of the John Glas Fieldhouse on Tuesday for Bemidji's first-ever Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's Walk. Marchers, including men and children, as well as Native American women, united in solidarity with similar events taking place nationwide, hoping to call attention to the disproportionate amount of violence against Native women. "We felt that it was very important for us to organize an event for today with the other actions that are happening all over Canada and all over the rest of the United States," said organizer Audrianna Goodwin. "This is a very touching issue for almost all of us in the room ... and we just want to do our part in raising awareness to this issue." Participants held signs and some wore red shawls during the march from the field house to BSU's Hobson Memorial Union; the group was greeted by honking cars as it traveled along Bemidji Avenue North. Native women and those who had lost family members led the march and allies brought up the rear. The event was planned by the Indigenous Environmental Network's women's leadership group Ogimaakwewiwin. Group member Simone Senogles said that while Ogimaakwewiwin only became aware of similar marches last week, they decided to do their best to pull together the Tuesday event. "Even though the time was really, really short we knew that it was something we wanted to do, we wanted to at least try," Senogles told participants. "We're really, really humbled and honored by all of you coming out on this cold day and joining us." After the march, attendees gathered in the Beaux Arts Ballroom in Hobson. A Planned Parenthood table offered condoms and literature about HIV/AIDS prevention, while Northwoods Battered Women's Shelter and Red Lake shelter Equay Wiigamig also offered information about services. The organizers spoke about violence against Native women both nationwide and locally before jingle dress dancers performed. "We want to acknowledge that this is a real issue to people," said organizer Anna Goldtooth. "It affects us everywhere, and in our community we've experienced a lot of violence happening in the past few years against Native women." Each speaker said that much of the violence against indigenous women stems from colonization, even violence within Native communities. "This violence that's perpetuated against our women isn't who we are. It never was part of our ways to hurt our women," Goodwin said. "I just can't stress enough that this isn't who we are."

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2017-02-14 22:30:05

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Red River sweeps Central in basketball doubleheader

In the nightcap, Red River had 40 second-half points to pull away to a 64-41 boys victory. Jordan Polynice scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in a 21-2 second-half spurt that broke the game open for the Riders. Cody Robertson added 11 points. Aaron Knutson scored 12 points and Jacob Ohnstad 10 to lead Central.

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2017-02-14 21:36:39

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Having a ball: Seniors two-step to the oldies at Parkwood Senior Living's Valentine's social

Joi (left) and Arvid Thompson dance Tuesday afternoon during a Valentine's Day event at Parkwood Senior Living in Grand Forks. Parkwood puts on various events such as the Valentine's Day Dance and Social, which is always a big hit. The Cathy Erickson Band played old tunes from the '60s and '70s. Some couples got up and danced while others just enjoyed old-fashioned conversation. (Joshua Komer / Grand Forks Herald) 1 / 2

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-02-14 21:25:04

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Port: Let’s start giving politicians awards for leading instead of winning elections

My intent here isn’t to throw dirt on Burgum. He’s had a fantastically successful career in the private sector, and his rise to the highest office in state government last year was remarkable. But in terms of governing he hasn’t, you know, done anything. Yet. Regardless, the Forum‘s premature honors aren’t his fault. You can read the rest of this story by clicking here.

www.grandforksherald.com

2017-01-02 09:36:23

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/4190723-port-lets-start-giving-politicians-awards-leading-instead-winning-elections

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Grieving for America on the 4th of July

Best of One Foot Tsunami Read a random selection from OFT's very best posts: I Put a Spell on You Check out the full Best Of archive. Tune in to Just The Tip Hear Paul and his good friend Amy Jane Gruber on their mildly-popular Just The Tip comedy podcast.

onefoottsunami.com

2018-07-04 00:00:00

Humor writing by Paul Kafasis

https://onefoottsunami.com/2018/07/04/grieving-for-america-on-the-4th-of-july/

The Razor and Blades Model, Applied to Mattresses

Best of One Foot Tsunami Read a random selection from OFT's very best posts: My Most Expensive Tweet Ever Check out the full Best Of archive. Tune in to Just The Tip Hear Paul and his good friend Amy Jane Gruber on their mildly-popular Just The Tip comedy podcast.

onefoottsunami.com

2017-12-11 14:13:11

Humor writing by Paul Kafasis

https://onefoottsunami.com/2017/12/11/the-razor-and-blades-model-applied-to-mattresses/

ACT UP At 30: Reinvigorated For Trump Fight

Donald Trump's presidency is less than three months old, but in that time there have been massive turnouts for the Women's March, and Tax Day protests in cities across the country demanding that Trump release his returns. This coming Saturday, on Earth Day, scores of March for Science protests are expected. Helping to guide these actions are veteran activists with the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power — better known as ACT UP. Thirty years after its founding, some seasoned activists are dusting off their bullhorns and updating their direct-action playbooks to tap into the new wave of activism energized by opposition to Trump's policies. Founded in 1987, ACT UP never settled for trying to push change quietly or behind the scenes. They were loud, demanding, and in-your-face with telegenic direct action, a protest that got serious attention and, occasionally, laughs. Like the time members engulfed the suburban Virginia home of their nemesis, the late Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, in a giant canvas condom that read "Helms Is Deadlier Than A Virus." Or when ACT UP members posed as news executives and bum-rushed Dan Rather during a live broadcast of the CBS Evening News at the start of the Gulf War. Then there was the time they stormed the National Institutes of Health, pushing for changes in AIDS research, funding and clinical trials. Over an NIH foyer, activists unfurled a giant banner with their logo and slogan: Silence=Death. I'm "the snarky, Machiavellian dude behind the Silence=Death image," New York artist and writer Avram Finkelstein says with a chuckle. That slogan — black and white with a pink triangle — presaged the formation of the radical AIDS advocacy group ACT UP. The slogan helped change the way the world looked at AIDS. At one point, Silence=Death was the most powerful protest slogan around. It became an iconic backdrop to the group's chant for "ACT UP, FIGHT BACK, FIGHT AIDS!" Now, at 65, Finkelstein is one of several ACT UP veterans from the 1980s and '90s who today is helping shepherd new protesters train and strategize, including the anti-Trump collective Rise and Resist. "Many people are younger people who work with organizations that were formed by ACT UP. Or were in ACT UP themselves," he says. He recently led a teach-in on design and imagery for Rise and Resist. "All of the civil disobedience training is being done by the same exact people who did them at ACT UP," Finkelstein says. "So here is this perfect cross-section of this moment. Here is an inter-generational activist organization. And its meetings are in the community center a spitting distance from where the original ACT UP meetings took place." In January, Rise and Resist took one of its first actions: scores of members booked brunch reservations at restaurants in several Trump-owned properties including Trump Tower. Over eggs Benedict in the crowded eateries, protesters began to cough and cough some more. The "cough-in" protesters held up signs saying "Trumpcare is making us sick." "That's the kind of mediagenic sort of action that ACT UP used to needle their opponent," says filmmaker and writer David France, who's behind the book and film How To Survive A Plague. "And Trump is an easy target for needling, and they're working on trying to exploit that weakness of his. The more time he spends in the early morning hours fashioning his tweets in response to perceived slights, the less time he has to advance his agenda." France and others note the feeling of total powerlessness in the face of Trump and Republican control of Washington echoes the early days of the AIDS crisis. "Younger generations, the millennials, and even Gen X and Gen Y, have the sense of never having had power, really," France says. "And it's kind of a learning experience for them to realize that there were times in history when others felt the same, and were yet not dispirited by it, but found a way to plow through it and find that power." ACT UP was certainly not immune to internal fissures and strategic stumbles. Some members broke off into subgroups. But ACT UP remained steadfast in its strategy of being bold, persistent and willing to be unpopular to foster change. It's a template Rise and Resist is trying to emulate, France says. "I think what they're doing, especially at Rise and Resist, is taking those tactics and strategies and bringing them to the modern era, and making them appropriate for the particular struggles being faced today," he says. Grassroots anger at president Trump's policies has galvanized protesters on the left, including many new to political action. While ACT UP is best known for its direct action protests, the group's potency came from a clear-eyed strategy and its well-organized committees, says Maxine Wolfe — another veteran gay rights activist from ACT UP's earliest days, who is now involved in Rise and Resist. ACT UP had committees on health, research, PR, housing, and more. They did their homework, Wolfe says, and helped ACT UP create a potent "inside-outside" strategy: demanding a seat of power alongside politicians and big pharma while keeping pressure up through creative street protests. The strategy helped turn HIV from a death sentence to a manageable condition. "We had a women's committee, a people of color committee, the treatment and data committee," Wolfe recalls. "We lobbied peoples, we did civil disobedience. The idea there was that you could use not a huge number of people but a varied playbook," she says. "And [you] would keep coming at it until we won. Which we did." What's not clear just a few months into Trump's presidency is what tactics and actions by Trump "resistors" will actually have an impact on public opinion and policy. There are sharp tactical disagreements within the inchoate grassroots opposition to Trump's policies over what might prove most effective and sustainable. Go with massive rallies or small direct actions? Focus on urban population centers or the rural and suburban swing areas that helped elect Trump? There are ongoing Trump boycott efforts such as Grab Your Wallet as well as get-off- the couch group Run For Something. "It's the movements that are willing to take risks and willing to do bold action over time that are the most successful," says writer and activist L.A. Kauffman, author of Direct Action: Protest and the Reinvention of American Radicalism. "Obviously you can't stay in crisis mode and at a fever pitch for year after year after year," she adds, "but I see a lot of people recognizing that this is the long haul. What the movements are doing together is creating a crisis for the Trump administration, and in so doing, managing to slow down some of the worst of the harm." While ACT UP's activism centered on an array of complex issues, the central focus of HIV and AIDS was a unifying and organizing force. But anger at Trump is broad, diffuse and across a range of issues from health care to climate change. "It's a different animal, there's not one single thing to organize against," Wolfe says. "What we need is how to sustain focus. You can't just do one action, let's say, against (senior presidential adviser Steve) Bannon. You have to do many such actions." "We know now that nominally democratic governments don't have to listen to social protests," says activist and writer Micah White, who helped launch the Occupy Wall Street protests. "You can get 4 million people into the streets and there is no requirement in our Constitution or in our laws that the president has to listen. He's able to say, 'Thanks. Now go home.' And they go home." White now advocates a rural, Internet-enabled progressive movement where activists get elected to local offices and prove they can govern. "As social protesters, we need to stop with this naïve belief that if we just get more people into the streets, then we'll get what we want. It's not true!" White says. Finkelstein notes that he did not come up with the Silence=Death logo quickly on the back of a napkin one night over a beer. It was, he says, a deliberative, iterative process with five friends that took about six months to produce. He's not against big marches like January's massive Women's March in cities across America and the world, or the upcoming Earth Day March for Science. But his lesson from creating the iconic ACT UP logo: there's tremendous power in smaller actions that can reverberate in unexpected ways. "If that million people were broken into small groups of four and five, think of the power that could have," Finkelstein says. "Pussy Riot was four people with a boombox, and it totally changed the way we thought about Putin's administration." Rise and Resist and several other anti-Trump groups are still groping, in these early days, with what tactics might have a real impact with a famously media-savvy mogul turned president, who may be thin-skinned, but knows how to punch back. "A lot of super smart people that I know are so distracted by the scorching lava flow of Trump's campaign, and now his first days in office, that they seem to be unable to think strategically about it," Finkelstein says. "That surprises me, frankly. The toolbox for doing so is right in front of us."

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Donald Trump's presidency is less than three months old, but in that time there have been massive turnouts for the Women's March, and Tax

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In Germany, Churchgoers Are Encouraged To Tweet From The Pews

In Germany this year, the Protestant church is celebrating 500 years since Martin Luther brought about the Reformation. Today, as the number of churchgoers dwindles, the clergy is turning to new media to appeal to those with little time to attend worship in person. In the eastern city of Magdeburg, the monotone peal of a single church bell calls a modest flock of parishioners to evening prayers at the Walloon Reformed Church of St. Augustine. As the faithful file into a High Gothic church where Martin Luther once delivered a sermon, most fumble around in handbags and pockets, looking for their cellphones. But instead of dutifully switching off their phones and putting them away on this Friday evening, these 40 or so churchgoers take a pew and bow their heads over their lit-up devices as if they were prayer books. This is a Twitter service, where the congregation is encouraged to tweet about the liturgy and share their prayers online. Pastor Ralf Peter Reimann says it's an experiment. He believes that social media can help the Protestant church retain and even gain followers, even in today's increasingly secular society. "There are lots of people who live online," he says. "We want to include these people and offer them to participate in a way that's comfortable to them." While Reimann preaches from behind the lectern, a chorus of young parishioners perching in the choir stalls tweets about his sermon. Above them, a large screen displays a hash-tagged feed which, in real time, shows tweets coming from both within the church and from around Germany. "Luther talked about the priesthood of all believers," Reimann says. "So if you use social media, it's not only the pastor communicating on behalf of the church, but Christians communicating among each other." Although such Twitter services are yet to catch on, embracing the latest media trend is nothing new for Protestants. Five-hundred years ago, when Martin Luther first protested against corruption in the Catholic Church, it was the then relatively new printing press that helped his challenge to papal authority to "go viral." Luther's supporters printed his radical ideas in pamphlets. Cheap to produce and easy to distribute, these pamphlets fostered public debate. Ulrike Zitzlsperger, a professor of German studies at the University of Exeter in England, says the 16th century pamphlet was the social media of Luther's day. "I think the parallels with the use of Twitter today are really strong," Zitzlsperger says. "You've got a topic that engages not just an educated public but really the wider public, the lay people. Everybody has a say." Luther's followers shared these pamphlets and responded to them by printing their own. These Twitter-like discussions spread so rapidly that the Catholic Church could do little to censor what it called heresy. Today though, it's no longer dissent but disinterest that threatens the Christian church in Europe. Back in Magdeburg, the Twitter service is in full swing. Messages from around Germany, where dozens of others participated, are displayed on the church's interactive screen in front of the altar. Some posts are encouraging, like the one from a Twitter user who tweets in German, "We all make mistakes. God will show us the right way." Some users share their private prayers, like one who posts: "I pray for the unborn child in my belly and that it is blessed with good health." Other users are less convinced. "Sorry, this is too hectic," one writes. "I go to church to find inner peace. I'm signing off." It's also too much for 86-year-old Ingeborg Brunner, who tiptoes out of church before the Twitter service is over. Brunner doesn't own a smartphone, so she feels somewhat left out. "It was certainly interesting, but it's not my cup of tea" Brunner admits. "I'm a little old for Twitter. I prefer a proper service, when we get to sing hymns." While Brunner says she's pleased the church is appealing to the digitally devout, regular churchgoers like her would rather sing than tweet. After all, congregational singing is another major legacy of the Reformation.

tpr.org

In Germany this year, the Protestant church is celebrating 500 years since Martin Luther brought about the Reformation. Today, as the number of churchgoers

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In Portugal, Drug Use Is Treated As A Medical Issue, Not A Crime

Gandelina Damião, 78, is permanently hunched, carrying her sorrow. She lost three children to heroin in the 1990s. A quarter century ago, her cobblestone lane, up a grassy hill from Lisbon's Tagus River, was littered with syringes. She recalls having to search for her teenagers in graffitied stone buildings nearby, where they would shoot up. "It was a huge blow," Damião says, pointing to framed photos on her wall of Paulo, Miguel and Liliana. "I was a good mother. I never gave them money for drugs. But I couldn't save them." For much of the 20th century, Portugal was a closed, Catholic society, with a military dictator and no drug education. In the early 1970s, young Portuguese men were drafted to fight wars in the country's African colonies, where many were exposed to drugs for the first time. Some came home addicted. In 1974, there was a revolution — and an explosion of freedom. "It was a little bit like the Americans in Vietnam. Whiskey was cheaper than water, and cannabis was easy to access. So people came home from war with some [drug] habits," says João Goulão, Portugal's drug czar. "Suddenly everything was different [after the revolution]. Freedom! And drugs were something that came with that freedom. But we were completely naive." By the 1990s, 1 percent of Portugal's population was hooked on heroin. It was one of the worst drug epidemics in the world, and it prompted Portugal's government to take a novel approach: It decriminalized all drugs. Starting in 2001, possession or use of any drug — even heroin — has been treated as a health issue, not a crime. Goulão, who had worked as a family physician in his 20s, at the height of the crisis, says there was very little opposition to the policy change. "Every family had its own drug addict. It was so, so present in everyday life, that it turned public opinion," Goulão says. "We are dealing with a chronic relapsing disease, and this is a disease like any other. I do not put a diabetic in jail, for instance." Under the 2001 decriminalization law, authored by Goulão, drug dealers are still sent to prison. But anyone caught with less than a 10-day supply of any drug — including heroin — gets mandatory medical treatment. No judge, no courtroom, no jail. Instead they end up in a sparsely furnished, discreet, unmarked office in downtown Lisbon, for counselling with government sociologists, who decide whether to refer them to drug treatment centers. "It's cheaper to treat people than to incarcerate them," says sociologist Nuno Cabaz. "If I come across someone who wants my help, I'm in a much better position to provide it than a judge would ever be. Simple as that." Cabaz's team of 10 counselors handles all of Lisbon's roughly 2,500 drug cases a year. It may sound like a lot, but it's actually a 75 percent drop from the 1990s. Portugal's drug-induced death rate has plummeted to five times lower than the European Union average. Along a row of abandoned buildings in northern Lisbon, field psychologists took NPR to meet some of Portugal's remaining drug users. The hillside is littered with needles, and bursting with wildflowers. The sky rumbles with airliners landing at the international airport nearby. There's a philosophy book on a cement stoop next to a middle-aged man who's smoking crack cocaine. He gives his name as Rui, and says the stigma against addicts has eased since decriminalization. "Now, not so much. It's less, because the methadone is coming, and people are treating this problem," he says. "They see the drugs with another perspective." Every day, a government van pulls up and gives him a dose of methadone, an opioid that helps wean people off of heroin. It's a step toward harm-reduction. He still does cocaine, but no longer shoots up. Drug-related HIV infections in Portugal have dropped 95 percent. Drug workers hand out packets with clean needles and condoms, and listen to another addict, Antonio, describe his anxiety. "If the drugs hurt too much my body, I escape a little, and then I come back again," he says. "But it's a world I cannot escape! If I turn there, it's there — it's everywhere. I cannot escape." For every person in Portugal who cannot escape addiction, there's daily methadone, counseling and free treatment. A generation ago, these addicts were put in jail. Now they're on the street. But polls show the Portuguese — having lived through the ravages of a heroin epidemic — overwhelmingly support this policy.

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Gandelina Damião, 78, is permanently hunched, carrying her sorrow. She lost three children to heroin in the 1990s. A quarter century ago, her cobblestone

http://tpr.org/post/portugal-drug-use-treated-medical-issue-not-crime

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City Seeks Public Input On San Antonio Animal Ordinances

Before making revisions to Animal Care Services' strategic plan, the City is gathering public input on how to handle San Antonio's stray pet and animal population. There are also suggested changes to the Chapter 5 animal ordinance, which include a ban on tethering animals overnight and the number of animals an individual can legally own. Another topic up for discussion is mandatory spaying and neutering. Citizens can share feedback through a series of public meetings, which began in February and will continue through mid-May. Proposals for ordinance changes will be submitted to City Council later this year. The next public meeting is scheduled tonight at Miller’s Pond Community Center from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more dates and an online version of the survey, click here. Guests: Officer Shannon Sims, assistant director of the City of San Antonio's Animal Care Services department Lisa Norwood, public relations and outreach manager at the City of San Antonio's Animal Care Services department *Audio for this segment will be available by 3:30 p.m. on April 18

tpr.org

2017-02-27 00:00:00

Before making revisions to Animal Care Services' strategic plan , the City is gathering public input on how to handle San Antonio's stray pet and animal

http://tpr.org/post/city-seeks-public-input-san-antonio-animal-ordinances

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Schools Will Soon Have To Put In Writing If They 'Lunch Shame'

Every day in this country students come to school without a way to pay for lunch. Right now it's up to the school to decide what happens next. Since new legislation out of New Mexico on so-called lunch shaming made headlines - we've heard a lot about how schools react. Some provide kids an alternative lunch, like a cold cheese sandwich. Other schools sometimes will provide hot lunch, but require students do chores, have their hand stamped or wear a wristband showing they're behind in payment. And, some schools will deny students lunch all together. With policies to handle unpaid meals all over the map, the USDA, which administers the federal school meal program, will soon require that all school districts have a policy on what to do when kids can't pay - a growing problem. By July 1, those policies must be in writing and communicated to staff, parents and the community. "We're saying feed these children first, and let the grownups sort out the finances," says Jennifer Ramo, who's with the anti-hunger group, New Mexico Appleseed. About nine years ago she says she started hearing stories about kids receiving a tray of food only to have it tossed out by a cafeteria worker when they realized students didn't have the money to pay. Seeing the need, Ramo worked with New Mexico state Sen. Michael Padilla to write the state law banning schools from shaming children without the ability to pay for meals. "A lot of people are very disgusted by this practice and they're reaching out – calling their own state senators and state representatives and asking them to get on it immediately," says Sen. Padilla. Since the bill became law earlier this month, he says lawmakers from around the country have reached out to see how they can address the same issues where they are. Texas and California are already working on similar legislation. California Democratic state Sen. Robert Hertzberg introduced the Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act. "When I presented the bill, the two Republican senators on the committee joined as co-authors. How great is that? It just tells you this is not a partisan issue. It's a basic fundamental human issue everybody gets," he says. The School Nutrition Association found about 75 percent of districts had some unpaid student meal debt at the end of the last school year. Part of the challenge is that students who qualify for free or reduced priced meals through the federal school lunch program, aren't signed up. The law in New Mexico aims to deal with that fact. Jennifer Ramo says her state law is leading the way. Perhaps the timing couldn't be better. She says she's confident that because districts must now put their debt policies in writing, they will get much more scrutiny. "I'm hoping communities really put pressure on their own districts to say, 'We want our children fed,'" she says.

tpr.org

Every day in this country students come to school without a way to pay for lunch. Right now it's up to the school to decide what happens next. Since

http://tpr.org/post/schools-will-soon-have-put-writing-if-they-lunch-shame

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Men, Listen Up: Women Like The Smell Of Guys Who Eat A Certain Diet

What we eat can influence more than our waistlines. It turns out, our diets also help determine what we smell like. A recent study found that women preferred the body odor of men who ate a lot of fruits and vegetables. Whereas men who ate a lot of carbohydrates gave off a smell that was less appealing. Skeptical? At first, I was, too. I thought this line of inquiry must have been dreamed up by the produce industry. (Makes a good marketing campaign, right?!) But it's legit. "We've known for a while that odor is an important component of attractiveness, especially for women," says Ian Stephen of Macquarie University in Australia. He studies evolution, genetics and psychology and is an author of the study. From an evolutionary perspective, scientists say our sweat can help signal our health status, and could possibly play a role in helping attract a mate. So, how did scientists evaluate the link between diet and the attractiveness of body odor? They began by recruiting a bunch of healthy, young men. They assessed the men's skin using an instrument called a spectrophotometer. When people eat a lot of colorful veggies, their skin takes on the hue of carotenoids, the plant pigments that are responsible for bright red, yellow and orange foods. "The carotenoids get deposited in our skin," explains Stephen. The spectrophotometer "flashes a light onto your skin and measures the color reflected back," says Stephen. The results are "a good indicator of how much fruits and vegetables we're eating," he says. Stephen and his colleagues also had the men in the study compete food frequency questionnaires, so they could determine the men's overall patterns of eating. Then, men were given clean T-shirts and asked to do some exercise. Afterwards, women in the study were asked to sniff the sweat. (Note: The methodology was much more scientific and precise than my breezy explanation, but you get the picture!) "We asked the women to rate how much they liked it, how floral, how fruity," and a bunch of other descriptors, explains Stephen. It's a small study, but the results were pretty consistent. "Women basically found that men who ate more vegetables smelled nicer," Stephen told us. Men who ate a lot of meat did not produce a sweat that was any more — or less — attractive to women. But meat did tend to make men's odor more intense. "This is not the first study to show that diet influences body odor," says George Preti, an adjunct professor in the dermatology department at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. A study published in 2006 found that women preferred the odor of men who ate a non-meat diet, "characterized by increased intakes of eggs, cheese, soy, fruit and vegetables." But Preti points out that the relationship between diet and body odor is indirect. Some people think if they eat a garlic or onion — or a piece of meat — they will smell like that food. "But that's not what happens," Preti says. Your breath might smell like the food you eat, but not your sweat. Body odor is created when the bacteria on our skin metabolize the compounds that come out of our sweat glands. "The sweat doesn't come out smelly," Preti explains, "It must be metabolized by the bacteria that live on the surface of the skin." Now, of course, at a time when good hygiene and deodorant use are commonplace, is the smell of our sweat a big concern? I put that question to the happy-hour crowd at a bar down the street from the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. "I'm pretty OK with my smell," Stefan Ruffini told me. That evening he was ordering a burger on a bun and a side of fries, along with a beer. When I told him about the findings of the study, he laughed it off. "I've got a girlfriend, so I don't worry about these things!"he said. The study did not assess diet and odor attractiveness among same-sex couples. "As a lesbian, I haven't smelled a man in several years," Stacy Carroll, who was also at happy hour, told me. "I eat a lot of produce, I have a girlfriend, so it's working out!" Carroll says people who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are more likely to be interested in their health --"feeling good, looking fit" — than their smell.

tpr.org

What we eat can influence more than our waistlines. It turns out, our diets also help determine what we smell like. A recent study found that women

http://tpr.org/post/men-listen-women-smell-guys-who-eat-certain-diet

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San Antonio's Confederate Monument Controversy Reflects A Nationwide Debate

A rally to save the Confederate monument in Travis Park was met by counterprotesters in support of removing the memorial last Saturday. The mostly peaceful events in San Antonio coincided with violent demonstrations the same day in Charlottesville, Virginia stemming from a similar debate about the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Part of downtown's Travis Park since its dedication in 1899, the 40-foot-tall memorial to Confederate soldiers withstood resistance during initial construction as well as calls for removal in 2015. The recent rally and local interest is spurred by the submission of a council consideration request by District 1 representative Roberto Treviño and District 2 representative William "Cruz" Shaw to relocate the monument. "Going forward, community involvement will be critical to developing a thoughtful and appropriate relocation plan," Treviño said in a statement. "Please continue to bring forth your opinions and ideas. We are listening.” What is the history behind Confederate monuments in San Antonio? Can a compromise be found for the statue in Travis Park? How do disputes over similar issues nationwide affect the future of identity in the United States? Guests: This is a community conversation and we want to hear from you. Leave a voicemail with your questions and comments in advance by calling 210-615-8982. During the live show (12 - 1 p.m.), call 210-614-8980, email [email protected] or tweet at @TPRSource. *Audio for this segment will be available by 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15

tpr.org

2017-07-21 00:00:00

A rally to save the Confederate monument in Travis Park was met by counterprotesters in support of removing the memorial last Saturday. The mostly peaceful

http://tpr.org/post/san-antonios-confederate-monument-controversy-reflects-nationwide-debate

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Its Survival In Doubt, Sears Struggles To Transform Once Again

A century ago, it was one of the biggest names in retail. Now, even Sears officials say its future could be in doubt — though they say they have plans to make sure the retail icon survives. Nancy Koehn with the Harvard Business School says in its early days — Sears Roebuck and Co. was like Amazon is today — a retailer of great disruption. For Sears, it meant a path-breaking strategy of offering all sorts of merchandise in catalogs and building department stores in remote places with ample parking. "It wasn't the Internet, but it was the same idea that no matter where you are you can touch and feel and imagine what these different products could mean in your life by virtue of an outreach, a distribution channel that an imaginative and gutsy retailer — in this case Sears — had created and then invested in and then enlarged," Koehn says. Elgin, Ill., about 40 miles northwest of Chicago, is one town where Sears' innovation is clearly visible. Drive through the streets of one neighborhood and more than likely there will be a Sears Roebuck mail order kit house on one of the lots. Dr. Rebecca Hunter, an architectural historian, stands on the porch of one of them — an arts and crafts style bungalow listed as "The Osborne" in the Sears catalog. It's one of about 200 Sears homes in Elgin. "It's a phenomenon that gained popularity in the 1920s," Hunter says. "Mostly your framing boards were cut at the mill and numbered so that your builder would know how to put them together." Between 1908 and 1940, Sears sold blueprints and approximately 70,000 pre-cut kit houses. It was a small part of the company's booming business. Sears' stature is far smaller these days amid a constantly changing retail landscape which brought with it the dominance of Amazon, the rise of e-commerce and big-box discount retailers. It's left brick-and-mortar stores reeling. Despite its merger with Kmart in 2005, Sears has consistently lost millions of dollars each quarter. The retailer has closed hundreds of stores, slashed jobs and sold off key assets like the Lands' End clothing line and its legendary Craftsman brand — although both brands continue to be sold at Sears. Independent retail analyst Sucharita Mulpuru says these changes haven't worked. "There are just so many onerous forces relating to competition," she says. "I think that no matter what they do, they are fighting a losing battle." In a memo, CEO Eddie Lampert says Sears is taking decisive action to return to profitability and to become a new kind of retailer. Some analysts accuse Lampert of sucking the value out of the company, selling off its most marketable assets. Then there's that line in Sears' recent annual report to federal regulators — which states "substantial doubt exists related to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern." But Leena Munjal, a Sears senior vice president in charge of retail operations, says that reports of the company's demise are exaggerated. "Do we have challenges? Absolutely," she says. "Just like many of the retailers out there and we are all trying to figure out what are the changes we need to make to our business models to be able to rise to those challenges." Sears' transformation plan includes a membership program called Shop Your Way. Customers collect points they can redeem when they shop at Sears. The company's also worked on ways to make it more convenient for customers to shop online, or on their phones. The Sears at Woodfield Mall, about 30 miles northwest of Chicago, is huge. There are clothes, fitness equipment and aisles of gleaming appliances. Carla and Jeremy Lang push their twin 18-month-old sons in a stroller while looking at ovens and stoves. Carla Lang says they've heard about the store's financial troubles. "We've read stuff online that they may be closing stores and what not, but we still come here," she says. "It's close by, and like I said we've had success with purchasing things." There are others though, loyal past shoppers, who haven't been in a Sears for years. Susan Mullen has fond memories of the store, but says she's not sure Sears' efforts to transform itself will work. "It fits no niche. It's not a discount place. It's not high end," Mullen says. "It has no identity anymore. I guess it tried to be everything to everybody and it was very successful at that. But now it's nothing to nobody, which is sad." But Munjal says that as a company with more than $20 billion in sales, Sears is still important to many and she invites former customers to give the company another chance while it implements changes. It's all part of the effort to counter the predictions of a slow death for Sears, while bolstering the reputation of a company that's been in business for more than a century.

tpr.org

A century ago, it was one of the biggest names in retail. Now, even Sears officials say its future could be in doubt — though they say they have plans to

http://tpr.org/post/its-survival-doubt-sears-struggles-transform-once-again

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Charlottesville Rally Aimed To Defend A Confederate Statue. It May Have Doomed Others

On Saturday, white supremacists converged on Charlottesville, Va. to protest the pending removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Their stated goal: to "take America back" — and to begin doing so by saving Lee's monument, which has become a lightning rod since the local city council voted to remove it earlier this year. Within hours, three people had died in the chaos surrounding the gathering — one of whom was rammed by a car allegedly driven by a rally attendee. And within three days, politicians in a number of cities, far from protecting their own Confederate monuments, had instead moved to hasten their removal. In Baltimore and Jacksonville, Fla., in Memphis and Lexington, Ky., local leaders acted to begin getting rid of these long-standing landmarks. "Mayors are on the razor's edge. When you see the tension. When you see the violence that we saw in Charlottesville," Lexington Mayor Jim Gray told a local CBS affiliate, "then you know that we must act." He said Sunday he has recommended to the city council that the statues depicting Confederate officers John C. Breckinridge and John Hunt Morgan be relocated to a new site where they would stand side by side with with "two monuments to the Union effort." In their current location, the Confederate monuments stand on land that formerly played host to one of the South's largest slave auction blocks. "It's just not right that we would continue to honor these Confederate men who fought to preserve slavery on the same ground as men, women and even children were once sold into a life of slavery," Gray said in a video statement. "Relocating these statues and explaining them is the right thing to do." Meanwhile, in Memphis, city leaders re-asserted their longstanding resistance to Confederate monuments on public land, promising again to fight for those statues' removal. State lawmakers have required that these memorials could only be moved with a waiver from the Tennessee Historical Commission, which has previously rejected the city's attempts to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. "What Nathan Bedford Forrest stood for doesn't express the views of this community at this time," City Attorney Bruce McMullen told the local Commercial Appeal, "and it's counterproductive to what we want this community to be, and that is an inclusive community working together." Along with the still-pending waiver application to have Forrest's statue removed, McMullen told the paper the city plans to apply for a waiver to pull a monument to Confederate President Jefferson Davis from a park. In Baltimore, too, Mayor Catherine Pugh said Monday that she had reached out to contractors to discuss relocating the city's four monuments to the Confederacy, according to The Baltimore Sun. The city council president in Jacksonville, Fla., said Monday she is preparing a plan to relocate its Confederate monuments "from public property to museums and educational institutions where they can be respectfully preserved and historically contextualized." Elsewhere in Florida, in Gainesville, construction workers took down a 113-year-old Confederate statue Monday morning. "There was no riot. No protesters showed up," The Gainesville Sun reported. Some protesters did not even wait for city leaders. In Durham, N.C., shouting demonstrators pulled down a monument to Confederate soldiers, kicking it after it fell to the ground. In all, "at least 1,500 symbols of the Confederacy can be found in public spaces across the country, mostly in the Deep South," the Southern Poverty Law Center noted in a report last year. "Most were put in place during the early decades of Jim Crow or in reaction to the civil rights movement." And many of them remain flashpoints of controversy between those who wish to see them removed and those who see them as crucial markers of their community's past. As for Lexington, Gray said the relocation of his city's monuments would enable residents to "tell the story accurately and share a truthful history." "It's true that hiding our history won't allow our future generations to learn and avoid the same mistakes," Gray said. "But keeping monuments to those who fought to preserve slavery on this hallowed ground is simply not right."

tpr.org

On Saturday, white supremacists converged on Charlottesville, Va. to protest the pending removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Thei

http://tpr.org/post/charlottesville-rally-aimed-defend-confederate-statue-it-may-have-doomed-others

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Taylor Swift Wins Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Former Radio Host

A Denver jury found fully in pop singer Taylor Swift's favor Monday, delivering a unanimous verdict in a trial over whether she was groped by a former radio host during a Denver meet-and-greet. Wanting the trial to serve as an "example to other women," the star had sought a single dollar in damages, which she was granted. In his closing statements, Swift's lawyer Douglas Baldridge referenced the example that Swift hoped her suit could be for others in similar situations "by returning a verdict on Ms. Swift's counterclaim for a single dollar — a single symbolic dollar, the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation." In his own closing arguments, David Mueller attorney Gabriel McFarland wondered why his client would introduce himself by name and then almost immediately after reach under the skirt of "one of the planet's, one of the country's, biggest superstars?" The case was largely fought on the credibility of Swift and Mueller. Late this past Friday, a federal judge threw out part of the case brought against Swift by Mueller, saying he had not proven Swift had set out to get him fired. Swift countersued Mueller for sexual assault after his own suit was filed in 2015, leading to Denver trial which began jury selection last Monday. Swift initially had sought to keep the incident quiet. By Friday, most of the principals in the case had been heard from — most notably Ms. Swift herself, who had several sharp rejoinders to questions from Mueller's attorney. Asked about Mueller's firing, Swift responded: "I am not going to allow your client to make me feel like it is anyway my fault, because it isn't."

tpr.org

A Denver jury found fully in pop singer Taylor Swift's favor Monday, delivering a unanimous verdict in a trial over whether she was groped by a former

http://tpr.org/post/taylor-swift-wins-sexual-assault-lawsuit-against-former-radio-host

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White Supremacist Site Is Banned By GoDaddy After Virginia Rally

The Daily Stormer, a Neo-Nazi website that promoted the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., will no longer be hosted by GoDaddy, after the service received calls to ban the site over its hate-filled stories. The Daily Stormer is now seen as trying to spin the threat of being taken down, with the site posting a story that claims to be written by hackers affiliated with the activist group Anonymous. That story includes a threat to delete the site within 24 hours. But a main source of news about Anonymous says the group doesn't seem to be involved. The dispute over the website comes after a violent weekend in Charlottesville culminated in the killing of Heather Heyer, 32, an anti-white nationalist protester. Police say James Alex Fields Jr., 20, killed Heyer when he drove his car into a crowd of people. The Daily Stormer then published a story mocking Heyer and making light of the events in Virginia, prompting calls for GoDaddy, which hosts the site, to be taken down. Posting a link to the offending story, women's rights advocate Amy Siskind‏ wrote via Twitter, "@GoDaddy you host The Daily Stormer - they posted this on their site. Please retweet if you think this hate should be taken down & banned." More than 6,500 people retweeted that message, and the web service replied late Sunday night, "We informed The Daily Stormer that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another provider, as they have violated our terms of service." In the story on the Daily Stormer, the purported hackers say they'll delete the site by the same deadline set by GoDaddy. But in a break with notable hacking takeovers, the story doesn't appear as a message plastered on the front of the site; instead, it's published alongside other pieces, including the one about Heyer. The Daily Stormer is published by Andrew Anglin, who also writes much of its most high-profile content; the site is supported by reader donations rather than by advertising. The alleged hackers' message included the hashtag #TANGODOWN — a term that was quickly used by opponents of the site's views to celebrate its seeming demise. News organizations around the world ran stories about the apparent takeover, which had included the explanation, "this evil cannot be allowed to stand." But a Twitter account that often relays news about Anonymous states, "We have no confirmation that 'Anonymous' is involved yet. Looks more like a DS stunt. Wonder if they are having issues finding a new host." Referring to the all-caps message posted on the site — about an elite team targeting Anglin and his site — the account states, "We find claim that it took a 'UNITED FORCE OF ELITE HACKERS' to hack a CMS run by amateurs incredibly amusing." People commenting on the Daily Stormer site also found the situation amusing, noting that the supposed hackers had said they had located Anglin and would be "sending our allies in Lagos to pay him a visit in person." "LOL, this meme just won't end," one person wrote about the Lagos reference. Earlier this year, Anglin's website was linked to an office in Worthington, Ohio, the Columbus suburb where he went to high school. As Columbus Alive reported, "Anglin's current whereabouts remain unknown." The most popular response on the comment board was one that mocked people on Twitter who had announced the Daily Stormer had been taken over. "Anglin you are a legend," one person wrote.

tpr.org

The Daily Stormer, a Neo-Nazi website that promoted the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., will no longer be hosted by GoDaddy,

http://tpr.org/post/white-supremacist-site-banned-godaddy-after-virginia-rally

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Mexico Catches One Of Several Fugitive Former Governors After A Half-Year Hunt

When Javier Duarte stepped down from office last October, the former governor of Mexico's Veracruz state vowed to fight the mounting corruption allegations that unraveled his tenure. "The circumstances created by false accusations ... force me to dedicate myself full-time to clear my name and that of my family," Duarte said on Oct. 13, according to The Yucatan Times, just one day after he ended his term six weeks early. Then, Duarte disappeared. It would be another half-year before the he surfaced — this time in handcuffs, escorted from his hotel at a lakeside resort in Guatemala on Saturday night. Authorities say he had been squirreled away in a hotel room with his wife, attempting to pass as a tourist. Now he is in a prison cell in Guatemala City, awaiting his widely expected extradition back to Mexico, where Reuters reports he'll face allegations that he diverted public funds for his personal enrichment. That includes a luxury ranch — packed with paintings by masters such as Joan Miro and Leonora Carrington, the BBC reports — that authorities say was paid for by siphoned dollars. During his roughly six years in office, Duarte's Gulf Coast state also earned the inglorious distinction of becoming "one of the world's most lethal regions for the press," according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The CPJ estimated last year that at least 12 journalists were murdered during Duarte's tenure; other organizations have placed that number even higher. A 2012 dispatch from CPJ correspondent Mike O'Connor explains the atmosphere that took shape under Duarte: "Veracruz is a beautiful, long, thin state on the Gulf coast of Mexico where many journalists are terrified not only of the rampant organized crime groups that kill and control, but also of the state government. Fear that state officials will order them murdered for what they investigate or write has forced about a dozen journalists to flee the state, claiming that fear also puts a clamp on coverage for those who remain." And that's not to mention the mass grave discovered outside Veracruz city last month that contained 252 bodies, many of which are believed to have been buried years ago. Strikingly, Duarte's allegation-plagued tenure was by no means uncommon. The politician isn't the only former Mexican governor to draw prosecutors' attention — nor was he the only former leader in his own party, the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, to go on the lam for an extended period. Former Tamaulipas Gov. Tomás Yarrington was caught in Florence, Italy, just last week after five years on the run. U.S. prosecutors have alleged he "accepted millions of dollars in drug cartel bribes and invested it in Texas real estate," according to The Associated Press. And The Wall Street Journal, citing orders issued by state police, says that Yarrington had been assigned eight law enforcement officers as bodyguards as late as last year. Meanwhile former Chihuahua Gov. Cesar Duarte — no relation — has still eluded authorities after he stepped down last year. Once a rising star in the PRI like Javier Duarte (who was suspended from the party around the time of his disappearance) and Yarrington, Cesar Duarte is being pursued over embezzlement charges. All of this makes for a rather persistent problem for the party's leader, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who has been battling historically terrible approval ratings. So it's not too much of a surprise that, as the AP reports, the PRI cheered the capture of the former Veracruz governor, who the party said should "be punished in an exemplary fashion, as well as anyone who is confirmed to have taken part in his criminal ring." Still, it will do little to erase the rather unexemplary records of many governors across Mexico — and not just those in the PRI. The Duartes have plenty of company. The Los Angeles Times breaks it down: In a country of 31 states and one federal district, nearly a dozen governors recently out of office are on the lam, under investigation or already in prison.

tpr.org

When Javier Duarte stepped down from office last October, the former governor of Mexico's Veracruz state vowed to fight the mounting corruption

http://tpr.org/post/mexico-catches-one-several-fugitive-former-governors-after-half-year-hunt

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Best Of Broadway Comes to Kerrville

The Symphony of the Hills has its first concert of the new year this Saturday night. If you don't know them, the Symphony of the Hills is situated in Kerrville, but people come from all around to hear symphonic music they won't otherwise hear. Gene Dowdy is its conductor. "We're very proud that people come from all over: Junction, Hunt, Harper, Fredericksburg, Comfort, Boerne. People drive from San Antonio; I've got friends who come up, watch the shows." As the Symphony normally does, this first concert of the year is thematic. Its theme: The Best of Broadway. "We're going to kick off the night with Phantom of the Opera, so those big, thundering chords...bum-bum-bum! But we're also going to do both new and old, so A Chorus Line, Marvin Hamlisch's great book. Fiddler on the Roof. We're doing a beautiful orchestral setting, and this is really cool, arranged by the great film composer John Williams." Dowdy continued with his rundown. "And then My Fair Lady--Lerner and Lowe, just a wonderful duo--I Could've Danced All Night. Second half we're going to kick off with something newer--the music from Wicked. Very wonderful Steven Schwartz music. Cabaret--Fabulous musical. And it is interesting how these musicals tend to jump to Hollywood. Here's one that went the other way: The Lion King. Started as this wonderful animated special. Music by Elton John, Hans Zimmer, great collaborators, but then jumped to Broadway. And then we're going to end the concert with Oklahoma...Rodgers and Hammerstein, the great orchestrator, Robert Russell Bennett. Oh What a Beautiful Morning." For those thinking of going it all happens 7:30 this Saturday at Kerrville's Kathleen Cailloux Theater. "This music is timeless. We're looking forward to welcoming everybody for a new year and a new season." Find more on the Symphony of the Hills here.

tpr.org

The Symphony of the Hills has its first concert of the new year this Saturday night. If you don't know them, the Symphony of the Hills is situated in

http://tpr.org/post/best-broadway-comes-kerrville

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Tips For Filing Your Taxes Ahead Of Tuesday's Deadline

If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, there’s still time since the IRS extended the deadline to Tuesday this year. Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson gets advice on last-minute ways to save you time and money on your taxes with CBS News’ Jill Schlesinger (@jillonmoney), host of “Jill on Money” and the podcast “Better Off.”

tpr.org

If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, there’s still time since the IRS extended the deadline to Tuesday this year. Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson gets

http://tpr.org/post/tips-filing-your-taxes-ahead-tuesdays-deadline

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In The Rockies, Climate Change Spells Trouble For Cutthroat Trout

There's an unplanned experiment going on in the northern Rocky Mountains. What's happening is that spring is arriving earlier, and it's generally warmer and drier than usual. And that's messing with some of the fish that live there. The fish is the iconic cutthroat trout. It's a native North American fish that thrives in cold, small streams. Explorer Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark Expedition fame was among the first European-Americans to catch this spangly, spotted fish. He used deer spleen as bait. It's relative rarity now makes it a favorite for catch-and-release anglers. But biologists have now found that it's in danger. The much more common rainbow trout is invading cutthroat streams and mating with the native fish. Ecologist Clint Muhlfeld says that creates hybrids. "It jumbles up the genes that are linked to the locally adapted traits that these fish have evolved with," says Muhlfeld, who's with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station. Those traits have allowed cutthroats to survive through millennia in cold northern streams. And cold streams were thought to protect them from rainbows, which prefer warmer water. But climate change is warming many high-altitude streams, and they frequently have less water, another change that favors rainbows. So they're moving in. Muhlfeld says that when rainbows and cutthroats breed, the resulting hybrids are feeble — "less fit," in biological terms. "They don't survive as well as the native fish," he says. And hybrids that do survive continue to make more hybrids; there's no going back to making cutthroats again. Writing in the journal Global Change Biology, Muhlfeld and a team of scientists from several research institutions studied fish in hundreds of locations in the northern Rockies. Hybridization was widespread. It was most common in places where fish and game departments have introduced rainbow trout, a practice that goes back to the 19th century. Some states are trying to solve the problem by getting rid of rainbow trout. That might not please some anglers, but Muhlfeld says the cutthroat species could disappear otherwise. "There are so many places around the world where you can go catch a rainbow trout," he says; it's been introduced all over the world. "There's very few places where you can actually go and catch a native fish that's been around for thousands and thousands of years. "Extinction is permanent. Once the native genomes and adaptive traits are gone, they are gone forever."

tpr.org

There's an unplanned experiment going on in the northern Rocky Mountains. What's happening is that spring is arriving earlier, and it's

http://tpr.org/post/rockies-climate-change-spells-trouble-cutthroat-trout

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Forget Tough Passwords: New Guidelines Make It Simple

Here's what we've been told about passwords: Make them complicated. Use numbers, question marks and hash marks. Change them regularly. Use different passwords for each app and website. Of course, these guidelines often leave users frustrated and struggling to remember them all. Now, the National Institute of Standards and Technology is about the make all of our lives much easier. The organization recently revised its guidelines on creating passwords, and the new advice sharply diverges from previous rules. "The traditional guidance is actually producing passwords that are easy for bad guys and hard for legitimate users," says Paul Grassi, senior standards and technology adviser at NIST, who led the new revision of guidelines. The organization suggests keeping passwords simple, long and memorable. Phrases, lowercase letters and typical English words work well, Grassi tells NPR's Audie Cornish. Experts no longer suggest special characters and a mixture of lower and uppercase letters. And passwords never need to expire. "We focus on the cognitive side of this, which is what tools can users use to remember these things?" Grassi says. "So if you can picture it in your head, and no one else could, that's a good password." While these rules may seem suspiciously easy, Grassi says these guidelines help users create longer passwords that are harder for hackers to break. And he says the computer security industry in both the public and private sectors has received these new rules positively. "It works because we are creating longer passwords that cryptographically are harder to break than the shorter ones, even with all those special character requirements," Grassi says. "We are really bad at random passwords, so the longer the better." Previously, security experts recommended the use of password manager apps to ensure users' accounts were protected. Grassi says these apps are useful because they completely randomize the password, but he says they aren't necessary to maintain security. Grassi stands by these new guidelines because he says previous tips for passwords impacted users negatively and did not do much to boost security. When users change their passwords every 90 days, they often aren't dramatically changing the password, Grassi says. "I'm pretty sure you're not changing your entire password; you're shifting one character," he says. "Everyone does that, and the bad guys know that."

tpr.org

Here's what we've been told about passwords: Make them complicated. Use numbers, question marks and hash marks. Change them regularly. Use

http://tpr.org/post/forget-tough-passwords-new-guidelines-make-it-simple

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White Nationalist Rally At Texas A&M Has Been Canceled

A white nationalist rally planned on Texas A&M University's campus has been canceled, apparently out of concern for student safety, officials confirmed Monday. The school made the decision after consulting law enforcement and "considerable study" because of "concerns about the safety of its students, faculty, staff and the public." "Texas A&M's support of the First Amendment and the freedom of speech cannot be questioned," the university said in a statement Monday afternoon. "However, in this case circumstances and information relating to the event have changed and the risks of threat to life and safety compel us to cancel the event." After the event was announced over the weekend, university and state leaders expressed strong objections, but legal experts and one A&M System regent had fretted that First Amendment protections made that impossible. Reached by phone while shopping at Walmart on Monday afternoon, Wiginton said he had not heard the news. He said he had signed up to protest at a “free speech area” on campus on Sept. 11, but had not heard from anyone at the school since he announced. His response: “I guess my lawyers will now be suing the state of Texas.” The news was first announced on the floor of the Texas House. The lawmaker who made the declaration was Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, whose district includes A&M. He said that A&M System Chancellor John Sharp had canceled the event to protect student safety. Raney said the event was axed "because of concerns with hate messages that have been on Facebook, and people who’ve said they were coming and they were bringing their weapons." He added the local police department said they "can't handle that." Earlier in the afternoon, lawmakers had urged university administrators – and Sharp, in particular – to prevent the event from happening. Gov. Greg Abbott was also involved in the discussion, an Abbott spokesman said. “The Governor’s office has been working with Texas A&M University to prevent the type of hate-filled event that we saw in Charlottesville. Governor Abbott’s top goal is to ensure the safety and security of Texans and Texas A&M students,” said the spokesman, John Wittman. Patrick Svitek and Morgan Smith contributed to this report.

tpr.org

A white nationalist rally planned on Texas A&M University's campus has been canceled, apparently out of concern for student safety, officials

http://tpr.org/post/white-nationalist-rally-texas-am-has-been-canceled

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San Antonio and Bexar County Vote This Week On Hulu Incentives

TPR broke the story that Hulu and its 500 jobs would come to San Antonio pending incentives that city, county and state officials have promised. While the state of Texas has already offered nearly $1.3 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, Bexar County and the City of San Antonio have to vote on aspects of their deals this week. The city is offering up more than $278,000 in a six-year tax rebate on property located on Horizon Hill Boulevard near the medical center. The city funds come with requirements that Hulu create 500 jobs over three years, 70 percent of which within in a year must make 15.68 per hour and include medical benefits. Hulu is also expected to make an investment of 13 million dollars into the property. Mayor Ivy Taylor says it is a good deal for the city for more than just those 500 jobs. "I think it certainly can lead to much more because Hulu is a growing company, but also just the cache that comes with a company like that being here could lead similar companies to give San Antonio fair consideration," says Taylor. Bexar County is offering $403,000 in a 10-year, 90 percent rebate. This deal would include the same 500 job requirement. It also expects a 15 million dollar investment in the company's Viewer Experience Operations headquarters. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff agrees that Hulu is great for building the local tech industry. "So, we're really beginning to grow this industry. Now Hulu gives us another avenue to be able to sell other companies to come here. And that's important because they look at whose here," he says. The county votes Tuesday to authorize city staff to begin negotiations, with the above as its opening offer. City council votes on their final deal on Thursday.

tpr.org

2017-04-12 00:00:00

TPR broke the story that Hulu and its 500 jobs would come to San Antonio pending incentives that city, county and state officials have promised.

http://tpr.org/post/san-antonio-and-bexar-county-vote-week-hulu-incentives

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Once Routine, ICE Check-Ins Now Fill Immigrants In U.S. Illegally With Anxiety

Florinda Lorenzo has been in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade but checks in with federal immigration agents in Baltimore several times a year. Until recently, it had become routine, almost like a trip to the dentist. Many immigrants — like Lorenzo — who are here illegally are not in hiding. Hundreds of thousands of them report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a regular basis. They've been allowed to stay because past administrations considered them a low priority for deportation. But with the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, that once-routine check-in has become a nerve-wracking experience. In recent weeks, some immigrants say they've been detained without warning at their ICE check-ins. "It creates a lot of chaos for me," Lorenzo says through an interpreter. "I know lots of people are getting deported now, and I wouldn't want to be deported." Lorenzo came to the U.S. from Guatemala 14 years ago. She has three children, two of them U.S. citizens who were born here. Lorenzo was arrested in 2010 and charged with selling prepaid phone cards without a license. The charges were dropped, but she's been required to check in with ICE since then. Before her most recent appointment earlier this month, Lorenzo looked nervous. Her eyes were red. "It's hard for my family, for me ... my kids, my husband," Lorenzo says. "It's very painful and stressful for me. ... I just hope I go back to my children today." A few dozen friends gathered to pray and show their support — both for Lorenzo's sake, and for ICE officials, in case they were watching. Nick Katz, a lawyer with CASA de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group, accompanied Lorenzo to provide legal help in case she was detained. "The environment is so uncertain," Katz says. "We've heard stories of people being taken into custody. We know of at least one mother who was taken into custody out of a check-in." Across the U.S., judges have issued final removal orders for more than 900,000 people in the country illegally. Many remain as long as they check in regularly with ICE. Under the Obama administration, they were not considered priorities for deportation because they had clean criminal records, or strong ties to their communities. The Trump administration, however, is taking a more aggressive enforcement stance. President Trump signed executive orders that broadly expanded the number of people who are priorities for deportation. That category now includes many immigrants whose only offense may be entering or staying in the country illegally. Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, applauded the move. Von Spakovsky says criminals should be the priority. But, he says, that doesn't mean everyone else should get a free pass. "You're in the United States illegally; you broke the law to come here illegally," von Spakovsky says. "And the government agency is basically saying, 'That's OK, we're not going to do anything about it.' That just to me is a complete violation of the rule of law." An ICE spokeswoman did not respond to questions about the check-ins. Several cases of unauthorized immigrants being detained at their ICE appointments have gotten widespread attention. That could have unintended consequences, says Alonzo Pena, who served as deputy director of ICE in the Obama administration. If agents detain large numbers of immigrants at their check-ins, he says, other immigrants may decide it's too risky to report. "It's going to send a bad message to others, and it's going to really backfire," Pena says. "They lose faith in the system ... and you don't know where they're at. "There's nothing good that will come out of that," he says. Lorenzo emerges from her appointment in the ICE field office with a smile on her face. "I feel very happy right now. ... My heart isn't as heavy anymore," Lorenzo says. "I don't have the words, but I feel relief." Lorenzo found out that she can stay, at least for a few more months. She doesn't have to check in with ICE again until October. But neither Lorenzo nor her lawyers can say what will happen when she does.

tpr.org

Florinda Lorenzo has been in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade but checks in with federal immigration agents in Baltimore several times a year.

http://tpr.org/post/once-routine-ice-check-ins-now-fill-immigrants-us-illegally-anxiety

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Trump Calls Out KKK, White Supremacists After Charlottesville: 'Racism Is Evil'

Updated at 2:30 p.m. ET Almost 48 hours after violence engulfed Charlottesville, Va., President Trump called out white nationalist groups by name. Trump's remarks on Monday followed criticism that his initial statement about the clash of protesters did not condemn racist groups specifically. "Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," the president said from the White House. Trump began his remarks talking about his economic accomplishments and plans for trade negotiations before turning his attention to the events over the weekend in Virginia. After the Charlottesville City Council had voted earlier this year to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from one of its parks, white nationalist groups — including white supremacists, the alt-right, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis — descended on the city for a "Unite the Right" rally. On Friday night, they marched on the normally sleepy college town, home to the University of Virginia, carrying torches. On Saturday conditions turned deadly as hundreds of the white nationalists, some carrying Confederate flags and shields and others in militia-like gear, clashed with counterprotesters in the city streets. At one point a silver Dodge Challenger, allegedly driven by 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio, rammed into a street filled with counterprotesters. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed, and at least 19 others were injured. Fields was charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and one count of hit and run. President Trump expressed sympathy to Heyer's family as well as to the families of Virginia State Troopers Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Berke M.M. Bates, who died when their helicopter that was patrolling Saturday's event crashed. "These three fallen Americans embody the goodness and decency of our nation," Trump said. "In times such as these, America has always shown its true character, responding to hate with love, division with unity, and violence with an unwavering resolve for justice." Trump spoke after meeting with newly installed FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the White House. He said that the Department of Justice had opened a civil rights investigation into the car attack. "To anyone who acted criminally at this weekend's racist violence, you will be held fully accountable. Justice will be delivered," the president said. Sessions told ABC News on Monday morning that the car crash that had killed Heyer "does meet the definition of domestic terrorism." "You can be sure we will charge and advance the investigation towards the most serious charges that can be brought, because this is unequivocally an unacceptable, evil attack," he said. The president's condemnations may be too little, too late for those who criticized Trump's initial remarks — and Trump may have missed a critical moment to be the nation's healer in chief. On Saturday, Trump claimed that the clashes were a result of "hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides." Top Republicans, among others, quickly criticized him for not calling out by name the white supremacists, alt-right, KKK and neo-Nazi groups that began the protests. "Mr. President — we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism," Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who heads up the GOP Senate campaign committee, tweeted on Saturday. The White House put out an unsigned statement on Sunday morning, saying that, "The President said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred and of course that includes white Supremacists, KKK, neo-nazi and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together." Vice President Pence had gone further than the president in his own comments, telling reporters Sunday night while traveling in Colombia, "We have no tolerance for hate and violence from white supremacists, neo-Nazis or the KKK. These dangerous fringe groups have no place in American public life and in the American debate, and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms." Trump has been blamed for being slow to criticize white supremacist groups in the past — even as he regularly attacks other targets on Twitter. During the 2016 campaign, Trump came under fire for not immediately disavowing the endorsement of David Duke, a former KKK grand wizard. Duke, who attended the march in Virginia, said on Saturday that participants' aim was "to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That's what we believed in. That's why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he's going to take our country back." Duke later responded to one of the president's tweets condemning the violence by saying, "I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists."

tpr.org

2017-08-12 00:00:00

Updated at 2:30 p.m. ET Almost 48 hours after violence engulfed Charlottesville, Va., President Trump called out white nationalist groups by name. T

http://tpr.org/post/trump-calls-out-kkk-white-supremacists-after-charlottesville-racism-evil

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