Abdul Hadi – Page 3 – BOL News Staging

Jeremy Lalrinnunga brings gold and joy to India

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

19-year-old from Mizoram overcame muscle cramps to lift a Games record total of 300kg.
India’s Achinta Sheuli also wins gold in the 73kg weightlifting category.
Jeremy Lalrinnunga is an Indian weightlifter who won gold at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

An Indian teen weightlifter overcame muscle cramps to win gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

With Jeremy Lalrinnunga’s victory, India earned its fifth medal and second gold medal at the Birmingham Games.

“It seems like I’m in another world now, living a dream,” Lalrinnunga said after his victory. “It’s my first major senior competition since the 2018 Youth Olympics.”

On Sunday, the 19-year-old from the north-eastern Indian state of Mizoram was competing in the men’s 67kg weightlifting final.

Lalrinnunga began with a carefree lift of 136kg, which he improved on by successfully lifting 140kgs in his next attempt – a Games record.

He then lifted 160kg in the clean and jerk category, for a total of 300kg – yet another record.

Hours later, 20-year-old Achinta Sheuli won gold in the 73kg weightlifting category, giving India its sixth medal of the Games. Weightlifters Mirabai Chanu and Bindyarani Devi won gold, Bindyarani Devi and Sanket Sargar won silver, and Gururaja Poojary won bronze.

However, news of Lalrinnunga’s victory, who had been suffering from back and knee injuries since the Commonwealth Games in December 2021, has brought great joy to India, with thousands of people taking to social media to celebrate and congratulate him.

The young athlete seen grimacing in pain during one of the lifts revealed on Sunday that his front thigh and inner thigh muscles had cramped during the competition.

“I never watched the other lifts because they were so painful,” he said after winning gold. “I asked the coach, crying, ‘Did I get a medal?’ Coach [Vijay Sharma] sir assured me, ‘We have the gold,’ which calmed my nerves.”

On Twitter, he announced his victory, writing: “Lifting three tonnes over my shoulder would not have been possible without the support of my country. This is just the tip of the iceberg!”

His father told BBC Hindi’s Pradeep Kumar that an eight-year-old Lalrinnunga would be taken to a sports academy near his home to box.

Boxing was Lalrinnunga’s “first love,” but he switched to weightlifting after seeing classmates train for the sport at the academy.

He began weightlifting for fun as a child and was even named the academy’s most disciplined athlete.

Athletes from the Army Sports Institute spotted him in January 2012. (ASI). With their encouragement, he quickly joined the Boys Sports Company at the ASI in Pune city and began specialised weightlifting training.

“I still box in the ring and enjoy it, but after seeing my friends’ passions, I chose weightlifting,” he told PTI.

His family struggled to fund Lalrinnunga’s education, but they did their best to pool resources and seek assistance from those around them.

Everyone who knew the athlete, according to his neighbour K Jwala, had high hopes for him.

Since 2021, Jeremy Lalrinnunga has suffered from back and knee injuries.
Lalrinnunga won silver in the 56kg category at the World Youth Championships in 2016. He won gold at the Commonwealth Junior Championships in 2017.

His most recent victory came in 2018, when he took gold at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. It was a first for an Indian athlete, but his family in Aizawl had missed the historic moment due to internet problems.

This Sunday, however, the entire family witnessed the teen make history in Birmingham by watching his event live on television.

“We are grateful to our friends and relatives, as well as the entire nation,” his father told BBC Hindi after the victory. “God has compassion on our family, and I pray that Jeremy will do even better in the days ahead.”

Lalrinnunga’s room at home is decorated with his medals, which his family proudly displays to visitors. His mother claims that, like many boys his age, he enjoys travelling and the chicken curry she prepares for him.

Following his victory in Birmingham, the teen will now focus on the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Due to a knee injury, he did not qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year.

The young athlete intends to compete in the 73kg weight class at the 2024 Olympics.

“I now understand that it is on a different level. I still have a lot to work on, and the most difficult part is gaining weight. If everything goes well and I stay injury-free, I should be able to compete in the Olympics in Paris “He stated.

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For China’s military planners, Taiwan is not an easy island to invade

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Taiwan is about 100 miles from China and roughly the size of Maryland. Any invasion would be more akin to the brutal Allied WWII landings on Normandy than the swift victory of Operation Desert Storm.
The United States scrapped a plan to invade Taiwan in 1944 because it was deemed too costly.
A successful landing for China would be a Pyrrhic victory, observers say. Expert: “Xi Jinping could have a god complex that blinds him to the terrible risks” of an invasion.

Taiwan’s KAOHSIUNG CITY Taiwan could be invaded by China. Its military forces dwarf those of the island nation, but any invasion would be more akin to the brutal Allied WWII landings on Normandy than the swift victory of Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War in 1991.

Taiwan, about 100 miles from China and roughly the size of Maryland, is not only surrounded by a protective watery moat, but it also has geographic features that make it an extremely poor candidate for an invasion – no matter how powerful that invading force might be.

Observers point out that the United States military scrapped Operation Causeway, a plan to invade Taiwan (then a Japanese colony known as Formosa), in 1944 because it was deemed too costly. Military planners in the United States concluded that invading and holding Formosa would necessitate a total American assault force of half a million men. The Pentagon calculated the number of US casualties expected from an invasion and subsequent mountain, jungle, and urban fighting and came up with a staggering figure of up to 150,000.

Taiwan has been preparing for an invasion since the 1950s, and as a result, it has a strong intelligence apparatus, troops trained for the sole purpose of repelling Chinese forces, plenty of powerful modern military hardware, and formidable defensives in place along every possible landing area. Because of the hilly terrain, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops would face pulverising firepower raining down from heavily fortified defensive positions.

IN A STAND-OFF WITH CHINA, REPUBLICANS ARE READY TO PASS A BILL TO LEASE TAIWAN WEAPONS.

China threatens Pelosi over her potential trip to Taiwan.

Observers believe that China would not simply bomb Taiwan into submission; however, while cruise missile attacks on Taiwanese military targets are a real concern, Beijing is thought to prefer to keep Taiwan’s infrastructure – particularly anything related to the semiconductor industry – relatively unscathed.

Semiconductors are essential components in everything from weapons systems to automobiles, and Taiwan is the world’s largest producer. Taiwan, according to market research firm TrendForce, “dominates the world’s semiconductor manufacturing industry, controlling 48 percent of the foundry market and 61 percent of the world’s capacity to build at 16nm (nanometer) or better.”

Furthermore, while scare tactics are effective, China’s military leaders are aware that indiscriminate bombings will inevitably kill civilians. Such assassinations have the potential to turn generations of Taiwanese into mortal enemies rather than people who may, albeit reluctantly, come to accept a return to the “embrace of the Motherland.” Taiwan also has missiles, some of which it claims can reach Beijing.

Kitsch Liao, a military and cyber affairs consultant with Taipei-based Doublethink Lab who has also investigated China’s invasion scenarios, told Fox News Digital that, aside from terrain and the fact that the Taiwan Strait is only relatively calm enough for a reasonably safe crossing by a navy, people often overlook simple logistics. “Typically, any military unit carries no more than three days’ worth of supplies,” Liao says, “which means they have to be resupplied or scrounge whatever they can from the field.”

Liao observes that ammunition is heavy, bulky, and quickly depleted. The PLA cannot use ammunition captured from Taiwan, except on an ad hoc basis. “This means they’ll have to bring a massive amount of equipment,” Liao says.

“A successful landing for China would be a Pyrrhic victory.” Far from completing their missions, the amphibious landing ships may be required to transit the Taiwan Strait (becoming extremely vulnerable and lucrative targets) in order to supply onshore forces, according to Liao.

Invading Taiwan would be a painfully bad idea, but the realities of such an invasion, according to some observers, would be a last resort rather than a first option.

Many military experts and China watchers agree that “strangulation” scenarios, such as a quarantine blockade, would be far more effective than killing potentially hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and then committing a million troops to pacify Taiwan.

“Xi Jinping could have a god complex that blinds him to the terrible risks of an invasion of Taiwan.” “A rational strategic leader would opt for a different course of action, such as a long campaign of coercion to isolate and blockade Taiwan,” Taiwan expert Ian Easton said.

When asked if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should visit the island nation, Easton told Fox News Digital that Beijing’s threats should not be taken seriously. “It is critical that American leaders visit Taipei and demonstrate that the United States stands in solidarity with democracies in danger,” he said.

“Failure to visit in the face of coercion would play right into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Easton is the senior director and research fellow at the Project 2049 Institute in Virginia, and he is the author of “The Chinese Invasion Threat.”

His book contains examples of literal and figurative minefields that the People’s Liberation Army, Navy, and Air Force might encounter if they attempt to liberate Taiwan. Easton and others go on to say that, of course, there would be no surprise; invasion preparations are impossible to conceal.

Islands are frequently associated with sandy beach coastlines, but Taiwan has surprisingly few. Furthermore, according to National Geographic magazine, about 75 percent of the island is mountainous, with more than 200 peaks reaching well over 9,000 feet.

Easton lists 14 Taiwanese beaches that could be invaded, but adds, “Unfortunately for Chinese generals…

The 770-mile-long coastline of Taiwan is remarkably unsuitable for amphibious operations.”

Another obstacle is the Taiwan-controlled islands of Matsu and, in particular, Kinmen (formerly known as Quemoy), both of which are located just off the coast of China. These mini fortresses would be difficult to take out, but they would have to be taken out before any attack on Taiwan’s mainland.

Pelosi’s visit to the area began on Sunday. She will lead a delegation to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan, but Taiwan was not listed on her public itinerary.

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Iran’s atomic energy chief says country could build a bomb but has no plan to

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Iranian atomic energy chief says country has capability to build nuclear weapon.
Mohammad Eslami’s comments likely to exacerbate concerns about the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Comments are similar to those made recently by a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Kamal Kharrazi.

According to an Iranian news agency, Iran’s atomic energy chief says the country has the capability to build a nuclear weapon but has no plans to do so.

Mohammad Eslami’s remarks are similar to those made recently by a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader.

Such public statements by top officials are unusual, and they are likely to exacerbate concerns about the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.

It has increased its nuclear activities since a deal to limit them fell through.

When the United States withdrew from the 2015 agreement, crippling economic sanctions were reinstated.

Iran has repeatedly claimed that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes, but Western powers and the global nuclear watchdog are sceptical.

Western officials have warned that time is running out to restore the deal before Iran’s programme becomes irreversible.

How much uranium is required to make a bomb?
Mr Eslami reiterated comments made by the senior adviser, Kamal Kharrazi, in remarks reported on Monday by the semi-official Fars news agency.

“As Mr Kharrazi mentioned, Iran has the technical capability to build an atomic bomb,” Mr Eslami said.

Mr Kharrazi stated to Al Jazeera on July 17th, “Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb, but there has been no decision by Iran to build one.”

Concerns have grown over the so-called breakout time, or the amount of time it will take Iran to accumulate enough highly enriched uranium to build a nuclear weapon.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the global atomic energy agency, stated in June that Iran could obtain such a quantity in a matter of weeks. During the period when the nuclear deal was in place, the US estimated that the breakout time was about a year.

Mr Grossi, on the other hand, stated that just because Iran has enough material does not mean it can build a nuclear bomb.

The IAEA reported in May that Iran had 43.1kg (95lb) of uranium enriched to 60% purity. A nuclear weapon requires approximately 25kg of uranium enriched to 90% purity.

Iran’s claims that it has the technical know-how to develop a nuclear weapon come at a time when Iran and world powers are at odds over reviving the 2015 deal.

Months of on-again, off-again talks in Vienna have stalled, and rare indirect talks between the US and Iran on the issue in Qatar in June ended without agreement.

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California battles worst wildfire this year as flames scorch more than 51,000 acres

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

McKinney Fire is out of control in northern California’s Klamath National Forest.
Forecasters braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions that could lead to more fire growth.
The McKinney Fire has burned more than 51,000 acres so far this year.

This year’s wildfires in California have burned more than 51,000 acres, and evacuations are increasing.

Weather chaos threatens to exacerbate the situation. Crews battling the McKinney Fire in northern California braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions that could lead to more fire growth on Sunday.

The McKinney Fire was raging out of control in northern California’s Klamath National Forest on Sunday, with thunderstorms looming just south of the Oregon state line, according to US Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman.

“The fuel beds are so dry that they could just erupt from the lightning,” Freeman explained. “These thunder cells are accompanied by gusty, erratic winds that can blow fire in all directions.”

The fire grew to more than 80 square miles in size just two days after erupting in a largely unpopulated area of Siskiyou County.

The fire charred trees along California Highway 96, and the scorched remains of a pickup truck sat in a highway lane. Thick smoke blanketed the area, and flames burned through hillsides near homes.

A second, smaller fire sparked by dry lightning just to the west on Saturday threatened the tiny town of Seiad. The two California fires threatened approximately 400 structures.

According to Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson for the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, a third fire on the southwest end of the McKinney blaze prompted evacuation orders for approximately 500 homes on Sunday. Crews had been on the scene since late Saturday, but the fire “became active and escaped its containment line” on Sunday morning, according to the office.

As the McKinney Fire raged on, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. The proclamation gives Newsom more leeway in making decisions about emergency response and recovery efforts, as well as accessing federal aid.

California law enforcement officers knocked on doors in Yreka and Fort Jones, urging residents to leave and safely evacuate their livestock onto trailers. Because there were areas without cellphone service, automated calls were also sent to land phone lines.

The Pacific Coast Trail Association advised hikers to head to the nearest town, while the US Forest Service closed a 110-mile section of the trail in southern Oregon, from the Etna Summit to the Mt. Ashland Campground.

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New York box cutter attack caught in heart of tourist capital

August 1, 2022August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

The New York Police Department released surveillance of a box cutter attack near Times Square.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
Felony assaults increased 17.3 percent in June compared to the same month last year.

New York City’s tourist district, a broad daylight box cutter attack was captured on camera.

The New York Police Department released on Sunday showing an unidentified Black male, wearing a black zip-up jacket and grey or white sweatpants, rushing up behind a woman around 10 a.m. in the bustling tourist destination Times Square, near 7th Avenue and West 42nd Street.

In what police described as an “unprovoked attack,” the assault suspect slashed a woman wheeling what appeared to be a grocery cart with a box cutter.

The New York Police Department is looking for information on a wanted assault suspect following an “unprovoked” box cutter attack near Times Square.

In the brief snippet of surveillance footage released by the police department, the victim appears to walk away quickly, dragging her cart behind her, before leaving the frame.

Her injuries were not immediately apparent. A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

The New York Police Department released surveillance of a box cutter attack near Times Square.

Police are asking anyone with information about the suspect to call 1-800-577-TIPS. All calls are kept strictly confidential.

According to NYPD data, felony assaults increased 17.3 percent in June compared to the same month last year. As of Monday, no citywide crime statistics for July had been released.

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Alabama church shooting suspect indicted for capital murder

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Robert Findlay Smith, 70, was indicted by a grand jury for capital murder.
He is accused of fatally shooting three members of an Alabama church at a potluck last month.

The suspect in the fatal shooting of three members of an Alabama church at a potluck last month has been charged with capital murder.

A grand jury indicted Robert Findlay Smith, 70, on Thursday for capital murder charges stemming from a shooting on June 16 that killed Walter “Bart” Rainey, 84, Sarah Yeager, 75, and Jane Pounds, 84, according to AL.com.

The indictment was made public in court records on Friday.

According to the outlet, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr applauded the indictment but cautioned that the legal prosecution process was “still very early.”

“As we work toward holding Smith accountable, we will work closely with the families of those who died that terrible day, as well as the Vestavia Police Department,” Carr added.

Smith began his shooting spree at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, according to police, when he pulled out a handgun and began firing indiscriminately. Another church member soon interrupted him, rushing him and hitting him with a folding chair.

On June 16, 2022, church members console each other following a shooting at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia, AL.

The parishioner, who was in his 70s at the time, then disarmed Smith and detained him until authorities arrived. Smith was left with a deep bruise under his eye as a result of the hit.

Vestavia Hills Police Capt. Shane Ware described the intervening man’s actions as heroic and life-saving during a press conference the day after the shooting.

“In my opinion, the person who subdued the suspect was a hero,” the police chief said during a news conference. He also stated that his actions were “extremely important in saving lives.”

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Indiana police officer shot and killed during traffic stop in ‘senseless act of violence’

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

A 24-year-old police officer was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Madison County, Indiana, on Sunday.
Carl Roy Webb Boards II, 42, allegedly got out of a 2012 Buick LaCrosse after being pulled over and fired multiple times at Noah Shahnavaz.

According to police, a 24-year-old police officer was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Madison County, Indiana, around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Noah Shahnavaz, a US Army veteran who had been with the Elwood Police Department for 11 months, was taken to an Indianapolis-area hospital and died from his injuries.

According to the Indiana State Police, the suspect, 42-year-old Carl Roy Webb Boards II, allegedly got out of a 2012 Buick LaCrosse after being pulled over and fired multiple times at Shahnavaz, striking him at least once.

Boards allegedly fled the scene in his vehicle before being apprehended by Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies around 2:30 a.m.

Police used a tyre deflation device and two PIT manoeuvres to send the Buick into a median. Boards was apprehended without further incident.

According to Madison County chief deputy prosecutor Andrew Hannah, he will be charged on Monday with murder, possession of a firearm by a violent felon, resisting law enforcement, and two enhancements for use of a firearm and being a habitual offender.

AFTER A SHOOTOUT WITH A SUSPECT, TWO LOS ANGELES-AREA POLICE OFFICERS DIE.

“Noah wore the Elwood Police Department uniform proudly, serving the citizens of Elwood; he was a member of our city family. A senseless act of violence robbed this man of his future life and career “Elwood Mayor Todd Jones made the announcement during a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

“On behalf of myself, my family, and a grateful city, I’d like to ask you to keep Noah’s family, friends, the Elwood Police Department, and our city in your thoughts and prayers as we try to navigate this tragic time.”

Carl Roy Webb Boards II, 42, is accused of shooting and killing a police officer in Madison County, Indiana, on Sunday morning.
Boards is being held in the Hamilton County Jail right now.

Shahnavaz leaves behind his mother, father, and siblings after serving in the United States Army for five years and graduating from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in April.

“When is it going to end? I wish I knew what the answer was. This young man served his country for five years before returning to serve in his community “Superintendent of the Indiana State Police Doug Carter stated on Sunday.

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Florida driver arrested after allegedly playing ‘bumper cars’ in crash

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

The driver of a car in Florida was arrested on Thursday and accused of playing “bumper cars” and causing a multi-car crash, according to police.
Three people were thrown from a car, including a minor who had to be airlifted to a hospital.

The driver of a car in Florida was arrested on Thursday and accused of playing “bumper cars” and causing a multi-car crash, according to police.

According to police, the incident occurred on Thursday around 5:30 p.m. in Melbourne, Florida, when a red Ford sedan intentionally collided with a black Mercury sedan.

According to FOX 35, police discovered that the incident was the result of a domestic incident involving the drivers.

The driver of a car in Florida was arrested on Thursday and accused of playing “bumper cars” and causing a multi-car crash, according to police.

According to the report, the driver of the sedan allegedly sped through an intersection, striking multiple vehicles.

The driver of a car in Florida was arrested on Thursday and accused of playing “bumper cars” and causing a multi-car crash, according to police.

Three people were thrown from a car, including a minor who had to be airlifted to a hospital.

The driver of a car in Florida was arrested on Thursday and accused of playing “bumper cars” and causing a multi-car crash, according to police.

According to the report, Dominique Scott, 30, was identified as the driver and charged with driving with a permanently revoked licence, aggravated abuse, and grand theft of a vehicle.

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Texas police discover bodies of 3 young sisters in pond hours after they were reported missing

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

The three girls, Zi’ariel Oliver, 9, Amanda Hughes, 8, and Temari Oliver, 5, were reported missing Friday night.
They were staying with a family friend while their mother worked.
Autopsies are being performed to determine the cause of death.

On Saturday, police discovered the bodies of three missing girls in a Texas pond, hours after they were reported missing.

The three girls, Zi’ariel Oliver, 9, Amanda Hughes, 8, and Temari Oliver, 5, were staying with a family friend while their mother worked. At around 10 p.m. on Friday, a friend reported the sisters missing.

Police began searching the area and discovered a pair of shoes on the edge of a pond on the property of a neighbour. According to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, investigators discovered the bodies of all three girls at the bottom around 2 a.m. Saturday.

The circumstances surrounding the girls’ deaths are being investigated, but no criminal charges have been filed. The bodies of the sisters have been sent for autopsies to determine the cause of death.

The local police, fire department, and game wardens were among those involved in the law enforcement search. Authorities claim they discovered footprints in the mud near the shoes.

The girls’ mother, who did not want to be identified, confirmed that the shoes belonged to one of her daughters.

Authorities believe the girls’ deaths were the result of an accident.

“It’s unclear whether they were swimmers or not. They weren’t wearing life jackets, so I don’t know how strong or if they were swimmers at all “Lieutenant Game Warden Jason Jones confirmed this to KTAL.

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China home sales drop in July, exposing fragile market

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Sales fell 39.7 percent in July compared to the same month last year, totaling $77.6 billion (or 523.14 billion yuan).
Drop from June to July was 28.6 percent, capping a two-month rally.
Chinese housing boom fueled by debt-financed construction projects that sold homes before they were built.

The Chinese housing market has seen a sharp drop in home sales throughout July, as underlying economic problems become more apparent.

Sales fell 39.7 percent in July compared to the same month last year, totaling $77.6 billion (or 523.14 billion yuan). The drop from June to July was 28.6 percent, capping a two-month rally.

According to The Wall Street Journal, apartment sales increased in May and June compared to the previous months, but July largely offset those gains.

“China’s economy has been slowing for quite some time,” said Craig Singleton, a fellow at the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “We are currently witnessing a rapid economic slowdown.”

Singleton contends that, while COVID-19 contributed to the initial problems, China’s slowing recovery is the result of “deeper structural, systemic problems.”

“One of them is, by some conservative estimates, China’s hyper-leveraged property market,” he said. “Because China’s property sector accounts for 30% of Chinese GDP, even minor fluctuations in that market can have a large impact on China’s broader global domestic product and growth.”

CHINA ANNOUNCES LIVE-FIRE NAVAL EXERCISES BEFORE POTENTIAL PELOSI TAIWAN VISIT

The Chinese real estate market experienced a sales boom, fueled by debt-financed construction projects that sold homes before they were built. Due to the lack of completed projects, angry would-be homebuyers refused to pay their mortgages.

As of July 29, hundreds of buyers from approximately 320 projects across the country had refused to pay their mortgages. Prospective buyers have instead turned to buying second-hand homes or newly built state-owned homes, which can be more affordable.

Even lowering interest rates and down payments, as well as outright offering cash subsidies, have failed to stimulate enough activity to support the sagging housing market. Local governments have considered providing full-fledged relief funds to cash-strapped developers.

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Los Angeles area carjacking suspect shot, killed by police

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

A man suspected of stealing a car was shot and killed in Pasadena.
Pasadena police officers were pursuing a vehicle involved in an armed carjacking.
The pursuit ended in the 600 block of North Lake Avenue, where officers shot the suspect.

Following a police chase, a man suspected of stealing a car was shot and killed in Pasadena early Saturday morning.

Soon after 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Pasadena police officers were pursuing a vehicle involved in an armed carjacking.

According to police, the pursuit ended in the 600 block of North Lake Avenue, where officers shot and killed the carjacking suspect.

Robbery and Homicide Unit detectives from the Pasadena Police Department responded to the scene to begin their investigation. There were no further details provided, and the investigation is still ongoing.

Pasadena is located approximately 11 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The carjacking comes just a few weeks after a man stole a woman’s car while she was shopping in a convenience store in south Los Angeles, with a sleeping child in the back.

Police followed the car around Los Angeles before deflating the tyres with spike strips. The driver was apprehended without incident, and the child was found sleeping in her seat.

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DC schools’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate could hit Black students hardest

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Students in Washington, D.C., will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Only 60 percent of Black students in the same age range have received the shot.
If the mandate is strictly enforced, it may put additional strain on minority communities. Students in Washington, D.C., will be required to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The mandate may force many students back into remote learning situations. New Orleans became one of the few large school districts to implement a policy similar to that of Washington’s in February.

Students over the age of 12 in Washington, D.C., will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend school, a decision that may be especially difficult for the city’s Black students.

According to the Washington Post, “our goal is that no child misses a single day of school,” Asad Bandealy, the chief of the D.C. Department of Health’s Health Care Access Bureau, said of the mandate. “That means we need to get started right away.”

Approximately 85 percent of the student population in Washington, D.C. between the ages of 12 and 15 is currently immunised against COVID-19, but only 60 percent of Black students in the same age range have received the shot. If the vaccine mandate is strictly enforced, it may put additional strain on minority communities, which have already been disproportionately harmed by COVID-19 policies.

According to one Harvard University study, closed schools resulted in significant loss of achievement for students during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly among minority and low-income students.

“Students in high-poverty schools that were remote for most of 2020-21 lost about 0.45 standard deviations in math,” Thomas Kane, a professor of education at Harvard and one of the study’s authors, said of the study’s findings earlier this year in an interview with the Harvard Gazette.

Kane claimed that achievement gaps widened in districts that used remote learning for more than three weeks, claiming that in-person instruction was a “critical piece of our social infrastructure that we had taken for granted.”

However, the vaccine mandate, which is among the strictest in the country, may force many students in the nation’s capital back into remote learning situations.

Students in New York City are strongly encouraged but not required to get vaccinated unless they plan to participate in certain athletic programmes, whereas students in Los Angeles will not be required to get vaccinated after the Los Angeles Unified School District delayed a mandate that was supposed to go into effect for the upcoming school year.

In February, New Orleans became one of the few large school districts in the country to implement a policy similar to that of Washington, D.C., by adding the coronavirus vaccine to a list of required immunizations for students over the age of five.

The nation’s capital has one of the country’s most unique public school systems, governed by the 13-member D.C. Council rather than a school board. According to Anne Liu, an infectious-diseases doctor and clinical associate professor at Stanford University, officials hope that mandates like the one in D.C. will help raise vaccination rates among children.

“I believe it is to the benefit of the children, teachers, and staff in the schools, as well as the rest of the city,” Liu said, describing higher vaccination rates as a “positive thing to work toward.”

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Florida firefighters battle massive house fire, say arson is likely the cause

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

On July 30, a massive house fire broke out in Lake County, Florida.
The residents were able to escape safely. Officials believe the fire was started intentionally.
Fire was quickly put out and the cause is suspected to be arson a local fire department’s Facebook post read.

On July 30, a fire broke out late at night in a home in Lake County, Florida, and the residents were able to escape safely.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, flames were visible throughout the home’s roof.

Officials believe the fire was started intentionally.

On July 30, firefighters in Florida battled a massive house fire, with the likely cause being arson.

“Members of Lake County Firefighters and Clermont Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 4350 responded to an occupied residential structure fire in Montverde last night while you were sleeping. The residents were safely out of the structure at the time of our arrival. The fire was quickly put out, and the cause is suspected to be arson “a local fire department’s Facebook post read.

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Kentucky flooding death toll rises to 26, with more ‘bodies’ expected to be found for ‘weeks’

August 25, 2022August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

The death toll from flooding in Kentucky has risen to 26. Some families have lost almost everyone in their household due to the flooding, with many swept hundreds of yards from their homes.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear says the death toll from flooding has reached 16. More than 330 people have been rescued and more than 18,000 still without power.
Parts of eastern Kentucky received 8-10.5 inches of rain in 48 hours, but rivers and streams were not expected to crest until Saturday.

The death toll in eastern Kentucky from widespread and catastrophic flooding has risen to 26.

“Our death toll is currently at 26, but I know of several additional bodies, and we know it’s going to grow with the level of water,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

“We’ll be looking for bodies for weeks.” Many of them swept hundreds of yards, perhaps a quarter mile or more from where they had been lost. So far, only four children have been found, but I’m afraid there will be a couple more.

Beshear noted that cellphone service remained “incredibly spotty” and that multiple state police posts were taking calls from loved ones still searching for a missing loved one, so total numbers would “take some time to get a firm grasp” on.

The governor, in an emotional news conference on Saturday, told reporters that the deaths were spread across five counties, with some families losing almost everyone in their household.

COUSIN SAYS KENTUCKY CHILDREN DIE DURING HISTORIC FLOODING AFTER BEING SWEPT AWAY

Furthermore, he stated that the number of children among the dead is now believed to be four, rather than the six initially reported.

“The original two children who were reported to us… turned out to be adults,” he explained, noting that numbers could change at any time.

On Friday, teams backed by the National Guard continued to search and rescue. According to the governor, hundreds of people have already been rescued.

On Friday, Beshear viewed the devastation from a helicopter. His initial plans to tour the disaster area had been cancelled due to unsafe conditions at the airport where he was scheduled to land.

More than 330 people have sought refuge from the flooding, which has completely submerged homes and destroyed vehicles.

There are currently 15 active emergency shelters.

Mudslides also impacted roadways, and Beshear reported that at least 28 state roads were partially blocked.

On Saturday afternoon, more than 18,000 Kentucky residents were still without power.

The governor’s office also reported water outages, with systems in Jackson and Fleming-Neon out of service and more than 20 other systems operating with limited capacity.

THE DEATH TOLL FROM THE KENTUCKY FLOODING HAS REACHED 16 AND WILL ‘GET A LOT HIGHER,’ SAYS THE GOVERNOR.

Local states of emergency have been declared in at least 14 counties and three cities.

Parts of eastern Kentucky received 8-10.5 inches of rain in 48 hours, but some rivers and streams were not expected to crest until Saturday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Jackson predicted that the area would begin to dry out during the day on Saturday, but that the dry weather would end on Sunday afternoon.

According to scientists, extreme rain events have become more common as a result of climate change.

Beshear also predicted that it would be “really hot” in Kentucky next week.

“If you can hear us in Eastern Kentucky, we love you, and we’re going to make it,” he said previously.

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Madagascar hunts cattle gang after 32 people killed in fires

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

At least 32 people killed by criminal gang that set fire to their homes in Madagascar.
Women and children among the victims of attack in Ankazobe district north of capital Antananarivo.
Defence minister blames cattle rustlers known locally as “dahalo”.

Army helicopters have been deployed in Madagascar to search for a criminal gang that set fire to at least 32 people’s homes, killing at least 32 people.

According to the police, the people were forced inside three thatched houses, which were then set ablaze.

Women and children were among those killed in Friday’s attack in Ankazobe, a district north of Antananarivo.

The defence minister blamed cattle rustlers known as “dahalo” in the region.

Cattle theft – and efforts to stop it – have resulted in extremely violent clashes in recent years.

Footage from Ambolotarakely, a village on a small hill in Ankazobe district, showed homes that had been burned to the ground, with only parts of the walls remaining.

When the minister of defence visited the area after the attack, he said he suspected the community had been targeted because it had provided information to officials during a previous security operation against the gang.

“We will pursue those who committed this crime as well as their accomplices,” said Gen Richard Rakotonirina.

He also paid visits to those in the hospital, three of whom are still in critical condition.

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Afghan-Iran border clash: Taliban says one killed

August 1, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Taliban claim one of their soldiers was killed in the fighting on Sunday.
The incident took place near the border between Afghanistan’s Nimroz province and Iran’s Hirmand region.
There have been several border clashes since Taliban militants took over Afghanistan a year ago.

On the border between the two countries, Taliban forces in Afghanistan clashed with Iranian border guards.

The Taliban claim one of their soldiers was killed in the fighting on Sunday, which took place near the border between Afghanistan’s Nimroz province and Iran’s Hirmand region.

Each country held the other responsible for the incident.

Since Taliban militants took over Afghanistan a year ago, there have been several border clashes.

The precise circumstances of the most recent clash are unknown.

“We have one dead and one injured,” Nimroz police spokesman Bahram Haqmal told Reuters.

Fars news agency quoted Hirmand official Maysam Barazandeh in Iran’s Sistan va Baluchestan province as saying there had been no casualties on the Iranian side.

According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, the fighting began when Taliban forces attempted to raise their flag “in an area that is not Afghan territory,” resulting in a “several minute” exchange of gunfire.

“Our forces responded appropriately,” Mr Barazandeh said.

Last month, the Iranian foreign ministry reported the death of an Iranian border guard in the same area.

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Ukraine grain tycoon killed in Russian shelling of Mykolaiv

July 31, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Kharkiv is hit by Russian missiles for second time in two months.
Ukrainian mayor says three Russian S-300 missiles struck a school, destroying the main building.

In an earlier blow to the Black Sea Fleet, the flagship Moskva sank in April after what Ukraine described as a strike with two Neptune missiles.

Russia acknowledged a large fire on board caused by exploding ammunition, but denied it was the result of a Ukrainian attack, and said the missile cruiser sank in a storm while being towed.

It is unknown how many Russian sailors were killed or injured when the ship sank.

Meanwhile, in the north, Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv has been hit by Russian missiles once more, according to mayor Igor Terekhov on Telegram. According to him, three Russian S-300 missiles struck the school, destroying the main building.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told all civilians still living in parts of the eastern Donetsk region under Ukrainian control to evacuate in a late-night address on Saturday.

The region has seen heavy clashes as Russian forces, who already control large parts of it, make a slow advance.

“The more people who leave the Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” said Mr Zelensky. “We will take advantage of every available opportunity to save as many lives as possible and to reduce Russian terror as much as possible.”

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The woman declared stateless in India, UK and Uganda

July 31, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

La Popat was born in Uganda in 1955 and came to India on her mother’s passport as a 10-year-old. She married, had children, obtained an Indian driver’s licence, and even a voter ID card.
But she is still unable to travel abroad as an Indian because she lacks a passport. She applied for an Indian passport twice more, both times unsuccessfully, before being advised to register as a Ugandan citizen.
Many Indians fled Uganda in 1972, when Idi Amin ordered all Asians to leave the country.

La Popat has been in India for over five decades.

She married, had children, obtained an Indian driver’s licence, and even a voter identification card.

However, she is still unable to travel abroad as an Indian because she lacks a passport, effectively rendering her stateless.

She has now petitioned the Bombay High Court to order Indian authorities to issue her a passport.

Mrs Popat, 66, was born in Uganda in 1955 and came to India on her mother’s passport as a 10-year-old.

She has since made the country her home, with several documents proving her “Indian-ness,” as she calls it.

She is in this unusual situation because her decades-long quest for a passport has resulted in her being labelled “stateless” by three different countries.

“Every time, they’d get stuck on the issue of my citizenship,” she says.

Mrs. Popat’s father was born and raised in Porbandar, a port city in Gujarat, a western Indian state.

Mrs Popat was born in the east African country’s Kamuli town in 1955, seven years before the country’s independence from British rule.

She left Uganda with her mother and younger brother for India in 1966, during a period of intense political turmoil that resulted in the suspension of the country’s constitution and the declaration of a state of emergency.

“I arrived in India as a minor, with my name on my mother’s passport. Her passport declared her to be a British Protected Person “Mrs Popat explains. The UK government established this class of nationality.

Aditya Chitale, her lawyer, explains how she entered India without a passport at the time.

“I believe the rules at the time stated that a child could enter the country on their parent’s passport, or she would not have been allowed entry,” he says.

Mrs Popat’s family first lived in Porbandar before relocating to Mumbai in 1972. Mrs Popat married and raised her family here in 1977.

Mrs Popat applied for Indian citizenship in 1997, having met the requirements of India’s 1955 Citizenship Act, which included marriage to a citizen and seven years of residency. Her application, however, was not “viewed favourably” and was rejected.

According to the High Commission, she is ineligible to apply for a British passport because neither her father nor her paternal grandfather were “born, registered, or naturalised” in the country or its colonies after 1962.

Mrs Popat was also likely to be a Ugandan citizen, but “if the Ugandan authorities refuse passport facilities, you will appear to be a stateless person,” according to the statement.

This would be the first of many times she would hear herself referred to in this manner.

She applied for an Indian passport twice in the following decades, both times being denied by authorities.

“I would have asked if I could at least get a travel passport to visit my grandfather in the UK,” she says.

Her younger brother, who lives in Vadodara, shared their parents’ British passport.

Covid hastened India’s millionaire exodus.
How did she get through the cracks, and why didn’t her parents get her a British passport?

“We were a blended family. We didn’t know much and relied on what the elders told us. There was no way to find out more, so we had no idea what mistakes had been made “she claims

Only after her third application was denied in 2015 did Indian authorities advise her to first register as a citizen of the country.

Mr Chitale concurs. “She should have applied for citizenship first, because she can’t get a passport without it,” he says.

Mrs Popat claims she was not properly guided.

“We didn’t know what to do, and no one told us. We would simply go in and out of various government offices, hoping to find a solution. People would simply refer to me as “stateless” and dismiss my situation as hopeless.”

In 2018, her daughter applied to the Ugandan High Commission in Delhi for citizenship or a passport, allowing Mrs Popat to apply for an Indian passport. The consulate confirmed her birth in the country but stated that she had “never been a Ugandan.”

She was asked to apply for citizenship in India “as a stateless person” once more.

Mrs Popat finally applied for Indian citizenship in 2019, but her application was denied. According to the official’s order, she had been living in the country without a valid visa or passport and thus did not meet the requirements of the 1955 Citizenship Act.

Mrs Popat claims in her 2022 petition to the Bombay High Court that this caused her depression. “But my husband is Indian, as are my children and grandchildren. I had every other government document, including an Aadhaar (a unique ID issued to all Indian residents), but none of them seemed to be sufficient “She told the BBC that

Many Indians fled Uganda in 1972, when the country’s dictator, Idi Amin, ordered that all Asians leave. However, the majority of them obtained citizenship in the United Kingdom, Canada, or India.

Mrs Popat’s case is scheduled to be heard by the Bombay High Court in August. She claims she has already missed the weddings of two of her nephews in the United Kingdom. “I’ll miss another nephew’s wedding in Dubai,” she says, “which is weeks before the court date.”

All she wants now is to be called a citizen of the country of her ancestors, where she has spent the majority of her adult life.

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US President Joe Biden tests positive for Covid after ‘rebound’ infection

July 31, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

US President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 again.
The 79-year-old first contracted the virus on 21 July.
His doctor has said there is no need to resume treatment but he will remain under observation. Mr Biden had tested negative for the virus four times before.

US President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time, in what his doctor described as a “rebound” infection.

The 79-year-old first became ill with the virus on July 21, when he was diagnosed with mild symptoms.

Mr. Biden stated on Saturday that he was not experiencing symptoms but would isolate “for the safety of everyone around me.”

Between Tuesday and Friday last week, the president tested negative for the virus four times.

Mr Biden’s physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor, stated in a letter describing the situation that there was no need to resume treatment, but that the president would be kept under “close observation.”

Mr. Biden has been taking Paxlovid, an antiviral medication that, according to Dr. O’Connor, has resulted in a “small percentage” of Covid patients having a “rebound” test.

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Trapped woman pulled to safety from flooded car

August 25, 2022July 31, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Sue Teder’s 11-week-old puppy Claire was on her lap as she dialled 911 for help.
Her car was surrounded by water after heavy rain pounded Arizona earlier last week.

In Arizona, police bodycam footage shows a woman being rescued from a car surrounded by flash flooding.

It happened on Thursday, following a week of heavy rain in Arizona.

Sue Teder, the woman, said her 11-week-old puppy Claire was on her lap as she dialled 911 for assistance.

By the time rescuers arrived, the water had pushed her car up against a guardrail, threatening to wash her away.

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Kate Middleton, Prince William planning for another child?

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Recent statement by Kate Middleton about her youngest son Prince Louis has left the royal fans speculating she and Prince William are not planning for another child.
Royal expert Richard Palmer says, I’m going to be quite surprised if they do have another one. But who knows.

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, and ‘broody’ Kate Middleton do not appear to be planning a fourth child.

According to the Cheat Sheet, the Duchess of Cambridge’s recent statement about her youngest son, Prince Louis, has royal fans speculating that she and Prince William are not planning on having another child.

“I keep thinking Louis is my baby, but he’s a proper boy now,” the Duchess said of her youngest son, according to the People.

Kate Middleton’s comments have some fans wondering if she meant she was done having children.

Although Kate Middleton, 40, has always admitted to getting broody around the babies, royal expert Richard Palmer says, “I know that in the last three or four months, she’s talked about feeling broody again.”

“However, I know she’s said on several occasions, ‘I think William would kill me if we had another one,'” “I’m going to be surprised if they have another one,” Palmer added. “However, who knows?”

Prince William and Kate have three children together: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

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Supreme Court judge takes jibe at Prince Harry for wading into US politics

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Samuel Alito takes jibe at Prince Harry’s remarks on Roe v Wade ruling.
Justice Alito was speaking at the University of Notre Dame Law School in Rome. He said: “What really wounded me was when the Duke of Sussex. compared the decision with the Russian attack on Ukraine”.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito poked fun at Prince Harry’s comments on the contentious Roe v Wade decision.

Alito addressed the British Prince’s involvement in domestic US politics during a speech at the University of Notre Dame Law School in Rome last week.

“I had the honour this term of writing, I believe, the only Supreme Court decision in the institution’s history that has been lambasted by a slew of foreign leaders who felt perfectly comfortable commenting on American law.”

“Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was one of these, but he paid the price.” Others are still in power, including President Macron and Prime Minister Trudeau.

“But what really hurt me was when the Duke of Sussex spoke at the UN and seemed to compare the decision – whose name may not be mentioned – to Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” he said, prompting laughter from the audience.

“Well, despite this temptation, I am not going to discuss cases from other countries,” Alito added.

“All I’m going to say is that, in the end, we’ll need more than positive law to win the battle to protect religious freedom in an increasingly secular society.”

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Nestlé has kept hiking prices this year

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Nestlé raises prices by 6.5 percent in the first half of 2022. Company cites an “unprecedented” cost increase.
Food prices have fallen for three months in a row, though they were still 23 percent higher in June than a year ago.
The World Food Programme estimates 47 million people are facing acute hunger.

Nestlé raised its prices by 6.5 percent in the first half of 2022 in response to a “unprecedented” cost increase.

Nestlé said in a statement Thursday that the world’s largest food company raised its prices the most in North America (9.8 percent), followed by Latin America (9.4 percent).
Nestlé (NSRGF) reported that rising commodity, packaging, freight, and energy costs weighed on the company’s operating profit margin.
“Through disciplined cost control and operational efficiencies, we limited the impact of unprecedented inflationary pressures and supply chain constraints on our margin development,” CEO Mark Schneider said in a statement.
Despite higher prices, the company, which owns KitKat and Nescafé, increased organic sales by 8.1 percent during the period, owing to strong demand for its Purina pet food products.
Global inflation has driven up costs for the world’s largest manufacturers, which have then been passed on to consumers. Unilever (UL), a competitor of Nestlé, announced on Tuesday that it raised its prices by an average of 9.8 percent in the first six months of the year.
Higher prices have also exacerbated global food insecurity, which has been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The war has driven up the price of energy and staple commodities to all-time highs, putting pressure on poorer countries that rely on imports.
There is some good news: global food prices have fallen for three months in a row, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization’s Food Price Index, though they were still 23 percent higher in June than a year ago.
The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that the Ukraine war has pushed 47 million people into a state of acute hunger.
Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement last week that will allow grain and oilseed exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports to resume after months of disruption.

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Why India has blocked the popular combat mobile game

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) has been taken off the Google and Apple app stores. BGMI is a rebranded avatar of PUBG, which was among a slew of Chinese-origin apps blocked by the Indian government in 2020.
PUBG was developed by a subsidiary of the South Korean company, Krafton.
PUBG made headlines again after a 16-year-old boy allegedly shot his mother dead for scolding him about playing the game. BGMI is published by the South Korea’s Krafton, China’s Tencent Holdings has a 13.6% stake in the company.

A popular combat and survival game similar to hit video game PlayerUnknown’s Battleground (PUBG) has been blocked in India.

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) has been taken off the Google and Apple app stores.

Google said it had blocked access to the game in the country after receiving a government order.

Developer Krafton confirmed the news and said it was talking to authorities to understand why it was suspended.

BGMI is a rebranded avatar of PUBG, which was among a slew of Chinese-origin apps blocked by the Indian government in 2020.

The ban in 2020 took place against the backdrop of tensions between the two countries along a disputed Himalayan border.

In several phases throughout the year, India banned apps like WeChat Work and TikTok, that had Chinese links.

“The government had banned these apps citing security concerns, data of Indian citizens going out etc, but it was essentially meant to put pressure on China over the border conflict,” says tech analyst Prasanto K Roy.

PUBG was developed by a subsidiary of the South Korean company, Krafton, and operated in India through Tencent Games, a division of the Chinese multinational Tencent Holdings.

The company cut ties with Tencent in India and released BGMI in 2021. A year after its launch, the Krafton said the game had 100 million registered users in India.

In June, PUBG made headlines again after a 16-year-old boy in Lucknow city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh allegedly shot his mother dead for scolding him about playing the game.

The incident renewed a debate about the violence in such games and also came up in the ongoing session of the parliament.

In response to an MP’s question about such apps, the government said it was looking into reports of rebranded and similar sounding apps.

The current BGMI ban links itself back to the Chinese apps ban, says Mr Roy.

“Since 2020, the government had added a further layer of scrutiny to funding sources which come from a country with which India shares a land border,” he says. “It has also been looking harder and harder at apps with Chinese origin.”

This year, the government and the Reserve Bank of India have been cracking down on lending-related apps. “These apps are not regulated and triggered genuine issues but the scrutiny has essentially to do with the concerns with China,” he says.

While BGMI is published by the South Korea’s Krafton, China’s Tencent Holdings has a 13.6% stake in the company through its subsidiary Image Frame Investment.

Under intense government scrutiny, Mr Roy says, apps that are Chinese-owned or have significant Chinese investment will continue to find it extremely difficult to operate in India.

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Biden Touts Senate Spending Deal As Key to ‘Facing Up’ to Inflation, Climate Change

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday. Agreement includes provisions to address inflation, prescription drug prices, corporate taxes, energy costs, and climate change.
The agreement would invest more than $300 billion in domestic energy production, manufacturing, and climate change programmes.
It would also allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and continue expansions to Affordable Care Act.

During remarks on Thursday, President Joe Biden celebrated a major breakthrough in Senate negotiations, touting the “historic agreement” that he said addresses some of the nation’s most pressing issues – and brings him one step closer to seeing his agenda realised.

“I understand that it can sometimes appear that nothing gets done in Washington,” Biden said. “Government work can be slow, frustrating, and even infuriating at times.” Then the hours, days, and months of hard work by people who refuse to give up pay off. History is being written. People’s lives have been altered.”

The president’s speech follows a major development on Wednesday evening, when West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin announced a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York on a spending package that includes provisions to address inflation, prescription drug prices, corporate taxes, energy costs, and climate change – components central to the Biden administration’s agenda that have faced setbacks and been stalled for months.

Manchin said in a statement Wednesday that debate over congressional spending has for too long been “defined by how it can help advance Democrats’ political agenda called Build Back Better,” referring to the massive spending bill Biden has been seeking until it was derailed late last year by Manchin’s own lack of support.

“Build Back Better is dead,” Manchin said, “but we now have the opportunity to strengthen our country by bringing Americans together.”

On Thursday, Biden chuckled at the similarities between his original plan and the new agreement, but the president praised senators for their efforts to reach an agreement on the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, parts of which he called a “big deal” and a “godsend” for American families.

The bill is billed as combating inflation by reducing the deficit by $300 billion, as well as allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and continue expansions to the Affordable Care Act. It would also raise taxes on families earning more than $400,000 per year and on large corporations, which would pay for the rest of the legislation, according to Manchin and Schumer. In addition, the new agreement would invest more than $300 billion in domestic energy production, manufacturing, and climate change programmes, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. Analysts have noted that the agreement’s environmental component was perhaps the most surprising get, given Manchin’s opposition to climate provisions in a reconciliation bill just weeks earlier.

“Let me be clear: This bill would be the most significant legislation in history to address the climate crisis and immediately improve our energy security,” Biden said.

While the agreement is still only a fraction of what Democrats had hoped for, Manchin’s support suggests that Democrats may now turn their attention to another holdout, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, a moderate Democrat who has previously opposed certain tax provisions included in the new agreement. To pass, the filibuster-proof legislation needs the support of all 50 Democratic senators, with Vice President Kamala Harris ready to cast the deciding vote.

Biden acknowledged that the agreement does not include everything he has pushed for since taking office, but he called it a compromise and explained that this is “often how progress is made.”

“This is the strongest bill you can pass to lower inflation, cut the deficit, reduce health care costs, tackle the climate crisis, and promote energy security, all while reducing the burdens facing working-class and middle-class families,” Biden said, as the Senate prepares to move the legislation forward next week.

“So pass it,” said the president. “Pass it for the sake of the American people.” “Give it to America.”

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Winning Back the Working Class

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

Democrats have lost non-college educated, white voters because they are seen as the party of “elites,” experts say.
Ex-Pennsylvania Rep. Rick Fetterman is an outlier candidate, a tattooed biker dude who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president.
Polls show Ryan with a few percentage points ahead of Vance, but he has raised more money and support from President Trump and GOP-friendly groups.

One Senate candidate is a scathing Twitter troll who rarely wears anything more formal than a hoodie and baggy shorts. The other bemoans the loss of manufacturing jobs, China’s economic threat, and the blows to America’s working class.

They’re both middle-aged white men, both Democrats up against celebrity-candidate Republicans, and both could be the key to regaining control of one chamber of Congress for a party that has branded itself as the party of diversity and has been shifting to the left.

The state of Pennsylvania. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is running for a U.S. Senate seat against Mehmet “Dr.” Oz, and he appears to be positioned to give Democrats a pickup in the 50-50 Senate. In redder-tinged Ohio, Democrat Tim Ryan faces a tougher battle, but polls show him neck and neck with Republican opponent J.D. Vance, a former venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy.”

Both men are engaging in some counter-programming while campaigning in states that have become less friendly to Democrats in recent years. Even as the Democratic Party is losing ground among non-college educated, white voters, Fetterman and Ryan are making a direct appeal to working-class voters, portraying their GOP opponents as elitists who don’t understand post-industrial America’s struggles.

“Those with a high school education or less are culturally conservative, support the Second Amendment, and are sceptical of climate change legislation.” “They’ve shifted away from the Democratic Party,” says G. Terry Madonna, senior fellow in residence at Millersville University of Pennsylvania and a state pollster.

But, according to Madonna, former Braddock, Pennsylvania mayor Fetterman, whose coal country roots give him some credibility among that voter group, “has worked hard to connect with working men and women, with working class voters.”

Ryan, now a congressman, is making a similar appeal in Ohio, though his odds are higher because Ohio, a once-swing state, has steadily shifted toward Republicans over the last two decades. However, Ryan is hoping to make enough inroads with the working-class vote to join the state’s only statewide-elected Democrat, Sen. Sherrod Brown, in the Senate by focusing heavily on trade, jobs, and manufacturing investment.

Democrats have lost non-college educated, white voters because they “see them as the party of elites,” focusing on issues such as LGBTQ rights, abortion, and other social and cultural issues “that are not central to the economic declines these communities are facing,” according to Lisa Pruitt, a law professor at UC Davis who has written extensively about the working class. “It’s really hurt them.”

Democrats have capitalised on the country’s shift toward majority-minority status, portraying themselves as the voice of inclusion, representing Black and brown communities as well as new immigrants. While this may pay off electorally as demographics shift, experts say pockets of white, working-class voters in key states are helping Republicans maintain power.

Former President Donald Trump, for example, received 68 percent of the white, non-college educated vote in 2016, with similarly lopsided majorities in key states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

However, removing a small number of those voters was crucial for President Joe Biden in 2020, when the Democrat returned Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin to the blue side of the electoral ledger.

Biden received 34% of the white working-class vote in Pennsylvania, compared to 32% for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the Keystone State in 2016. In Wisconsin, Biden received 41% of the white working-class vote, compared to 34% for Clinton in 2016.

That’s hardly a groundswell, but it demonstrates how small shifts in the vote can mean the difference between a win and a loss, according to experts.

“Democrats can only make so much of an inroad with the white working-class vote.” According to Alan Abramowitz, an Emory University political science professor who studies political behaviour, “the majority of white, working-class voters are not persuadable and are pretty firmly in the Republican camp.”

“However, if you have the right kind of candidate and the right situation, there is still a segment of the white working class vote that is movable.” Candidates like Ryan and Fetterman, I believe, have a better chance of attracting those voters.”

Fetterman is an outlier candidate, a tattooed “huge biker dude” who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president and holds a master’s degree from Harvard. Fetterman has also abandoned his support for a moratorium on fracking, a method of extracting oil and gas that alarms environmentalists while creating jobs in Pennsylvania.

Oz has celebrity, a medical degree, and the support of former President Donald Trump, which could help mobilise a Republican base that is already statistically more likely to vote in midterm elections.

Polls show Fetterman leading Oz by 4-9 percentage points, but political analysts say Fetterman’s health could derail his campaign. Fetterman had a stroke in May and revealed only a few weeks later that he “almost died” and had not been taking his health as seriously as he should have. He has not actively campaigned in person since his illness, though he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently that he was confident he would be able to “run fully” for the seat.

That hasn’t stopped Fetterman from raising large sums of money (more than $11 million in the second quarter of the year, compared to Oz’s $3.8 million) and teasing his fall opponent with tweets depicting Oz in his opulent home or kissing his Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

Oz has posted an ad of himself jogging, a not-so-subtle reference to the men’s differing health conditions, and mocks Fetterman for being away from the campaign trail.

“I’m curious as to why you have to fill up your tank so frequently when you’re not out on the campaign trail meeting with Pennsylvanians,” Oz tweeted after Fetterman mentioned high gas prices.

“You’re literally from Jersey, dude.” “I bet you don’t even know how to pump your own gas,” Fetterman retorted, referring to Oz’s recent residency in New Jersey, the country’s only state where drivers are not permitted to pump their own gas.

Oz’s campaign slammed Fetterman’s portrayal of the TV doctor as elitist. “Dr. Mehmet Oz, unlike John Fetterman, has spent the summer crisscrossing the commonwealth and listening to Pennsylvanians who are dealing with the effects of inflation,” Oz spokeswoman Brittany Yanick said in an email. “Working-class voters will vote heavily against Fetterman because he supports banning fracking and raising taxes.”

Meanwhile, Ryan has emphasised his own roots in the once-thriving steel town of Youngstown, Ohio. His most recent ad mentions that he voted with Trump on trade and opposed a trade agreement supported by former President Barack Obama.

Ryan says in the ad, “I don’t answer to any political party.” “I answer to the people I grew up with, as well as families like yours across Ohio.”

Vance has also received Trump’s support and bills himself as a “conservative outsider” who will assist Ohioans who have felt left behind by their current leaders. Vance also supports the abolition of abortion and tax policies that “reward marriage and family.”

On paper, Vance should be a lock; the party out of power loses seats in midterm elections, and Republicans dominate Ohio politics, controlling both chambers of the state legislature as well as almost every statewide office.

And, according to Ohio-based GOP consultant Mark Weaver, Vance has his own working-class credentials. “He has a powerful story to tell,” says Vance, “and I imagine he’ll lean into his roots, growing up in Appalachia and being a Marine.” Vance also has systemic advantages, such as a strong Republican ground game in Ohio and Biden’s low approval ratings in Ohio.

Despite this, polls show Ryan with a few percentage points ahead of Vance. Ryan also announced that he had raised $9.1 million in the second quarter of the year, a state record. Meanwhile, Vance reported raising more than $2.3 million during that time period.

According to Dante Atkins, a Democratic strategist, Democrats are not in a position to reclaim working-class white voters as a group. “What Democrats need to do is figure out how to stop the erosion and win back some ground,” Atkins adds.

“If you’re John Fetterman and you can reduce the margin (of GOP dominance) in coal country by 50,000-80,000 votes, you can offset” the drop in Democratic turnout that occurs frequently in midterm elections, according to Atkins. “Ultimately, it’s a numbers game.” Small shifts in numbers this fall will determine who controls the Senate.

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15-year-old boy kills three siblings before fatally shooting himself, authorities say

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

A 15-year-old boy shot and killed three siblings before turning the gun on himself.
teen was discovered dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a home near Fairbanks.
Authorities are still looking into any possible motive for the deadly incident.

Authorities in Alaska say a 15-year-old boy shot and killed three siblings before turning the gun on himself.

The teen was discovered dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a home near Fairbanks after a neighbour reported shots fired, according to an Alaska State Troopers spokesperson.

Officers responding to the call discovered four children, ages five to eight, seventeen, and fifteen, dead inside the house.

They stated that the children’s parents were not present at the time of the incident, and that three other children, all under the age of seven, were discovered unharmed.

According to the Associated Press, authorities are still looking into any possible motive for the deadly incident.

Troopers added that the weapon used was a “family gun,” but that “all of this is still under investigation.”

It has also not been revealed whether the 15-year-old had previously been involved with law enforcement, and investigations into that are still ongoing.

The children’s bodies have been taken to the state medical examiner’s office for further examination, and children’s services have been notified.

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San Francisco declares state of emergency as virus cases rise

July 29, 2022 by Abdul Hadi

As of July 27, 261 people had been diagnosed with monkeypox in San Francisco.
Health officials warn that the number is likely to rise. The local emergency will go into effect on August 1st.
Officials are mobilising city resources to plan and allocate resources to prevent the spread.

In response to the citywide spread of monkeypox cases, San Francisco has declared a state of emergency.

As of July 27, 261 people had been diagnosed with monkeypox, with health officials warning that the number is likely to rise.

London Breed, the city’s mayor, tweeted: “Monkeypox has been declared a Local Public Health Emergency in San Francisco.

“This declaration will go into effect on August 1st, allowing us to plan and allocate resources to prevent the spread.

“This virus affects everyone, but our LGBTQ community is seeing a significant increase in cases, and we need action, more vaccines.”

The declaration of an emergency includes measures such as:

• mobilising city resources • hastening emergency planning • streamlining city staffing • coordinating city agencies • raising awareness about how everyone can help stop the spread of monkeypox

Susan Philip, the San Francisco Health Officer, stated: “We want the freedom to use our resources in the most effective way to serve the public and protect health.

“We also want to reaffirm our commitment to the health of our LGBTQ communities in San Francisco, as we have always done as a city,” she added, referring to the population most affected by monkeypox thus far.

Ms Breed also offered support to members of the LGBTQ community who are “scared and frustrated,” assuring them that the local emergency “will allow us to continue to support our most vulnerable, while also better preparing for what’s to come.”

According to reports, San Francisco has received approximately 8,200 doses of the Jynneos vaccine, which is designed to protect adults from monkeypox and smallpox.

Ms Breed, on the other hand, stated in a written statement: “A few weeks ago, the San Francisco Department of Public Health requested 35,000 vaccines to begin reaching those most vulnerable to the virus.

“We’ve only received about a third of that request in the last three weeks.

“That is far from sufficient, and the reality is that we will require far more than 35,000 vaccines to protect our LGBTQ community and slow the spread of this virus.

“We are aware that there is a nationwide vaccine shortage, but these vaccines must be distributed quickly to places like San Francisco that have a disproportionate share of cases.”

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