#Officer he is zilly

[griffincastle]

Do I have your attention???

[ivory--raven]

Dagon has a pretty good excuse as to why she's not coming home... companion to this post

“He’zz gone,” says Beelzebub, their voice rough. There are tears streaming down their cheeks, smudging their makeup. Dagon didn’t know that was even possible.

“Who’s gone?” Dagon isn’t sure why she’s here. Beelzebub had summoned her to their office, and was clearly devastated about something. She’s never seen them so sad, so hopeless, and she saw them immediately after the failed Armageddon.

A fresh wave of sobs. Dagon inches around their desk, brushes against them tentatively. When she isn’t immediately stabbed, she grows bolder and pats them on the shoulder. They lean in. So it’s one of those days. They want to be touched. Dagon wraps her arms around them and squeezes their shaking body. They seem to calm down a little. “Hey,” she says. It was the wrong thing to say. A horribly sad high-pitched noise comes out of their mouth.

“Zzey lozzt him,” they gasp out. “I lozzt him.”

“Okay,” says Dagon, sliding onto the edge of Beelzebub’s chair to hold them better.

“I love him,” wails Beelzebub, their chest heaving like the sea during a hurricane, like they’re suffocating, desperately scrambling for something.

Dagon knows who this is about now. This is about Gabriel. She’s not sure what they see in him, he is the source of many of Michael’s complaints about work, but Michael has said he’s been happier lately. So has Beelzebub. Dagon’s been catching them staring into space and smiling.

They’re not smiling now. They’re crying like nothing will ever be okay again.

“I’m sure he loves you,” she says, because hasn’t Michael said she can feel it rolling off him? That he isn’t subtle at all, even though he thinks he is?

“He’zz gone,” Beelzebub sobs, “he’zz mizzing! Zz-zey could have-” they can’t finish the sentence. They don’t need to. Dagon knows. Heaven is terrifying. She worries enough about her own angel, her own Michael, and nothing has ever really happened to Michael.

“He’s missing from Heaven?” Dagon checks. Beelzebub nods against her. “We’ll find him,” Dagon says, even though she isn’t sure, because if Gabriel is hiding somewhere (is hidden somewhere, says an even more pessimistic voice in her head) he could be anywhere. Still, that means… “He’s got to be somewhere.”

“He’zz zo zilly,” chokes Beelzebub.

Someone knocks on the door. Beelzebub wildly scrubs at their face, like they’re going to erase the evidence. It’s hopeless, they only succeed in making themself look even more disheveled. “Ignore them,” Dagon says. Beelzebub makes a miserable noise. “Why don’t you tell me your favourite thing about Gabriel?”

“He… he makezz these fazzezz…” Beelzebub takes a shuddering breath, collapses crying again. “He zayzz…”

They buzz something Dagon can’t make out. They’re more crying than talking, really, until they’re just buzzing rhythmically and their eyes flutter shut and they’re asleep. They’re actually asleep. They’ve cried themselves to sleep. Dagon didn’t know that was possible. It’s probably best this way. They look much less distressed. She’s stuck here now, she can’t leave them asleep in their office alone. Not while they’re this vulnerable.

Dagon waves a hand, summons one of her guns. It’s a flintlock pistol she got in the 1770s. It’s already loaded, in case she needs to shoot someone.

[soclonely]

My Hero!

Zillo Beast x Reader fluff crack oneshot Summary: Reader and Zillo beast are dating, Breha is a very patient and supportive friend Warnings: Idk very dumb but good hearted reader I guess, star wars crack

Hi gang! Its been awhile so I figured I'd drop this warm up treat in preparation for my star wars hyperfixation kick in, in which I grace you friends with my finest cracks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So how did you and Zillie meet exactly?” Breha asks, trying to make pleasant conversation as she tries to remain calm at the large monster that accompanied the two of you to lunch. “Did you er- attend the same university?”

You laugh and shake your head.“Oh no! Not at all. Actually, its pretty romantic.” You place your hand on the Zillo Beasts claw, his tail sweeping and destroying the next block over as he looks down at you happily.”You know how I had been working as Palpatine’s private secretary? And how he was running me absolutely ragged for weeks?”

Breha nods, her eyes darting up to the monster grumbling as it hovers above them. “He seems hungry. Might he like one of the cookies here?” She points to the tray of desserts?

“No thank you. Zillie is gluten free!” You hum, unaware of the lady Organa’s discomfort.

“Very well, continue.”

“Well, the day we met was an especially hard day. The late chancellor was being especially cruel and the office was absolutely chaotic. Everyone was running around screaming but I was so concentrated on planning the state dinner that night that I wasn’t able to learn why. But by the time I looked up the office was nearly deserted!” You shrug, taking a sip of your tea.”Luckily, the streets were also empty which for Coruscant on a friday evening is especially rare as you know. So I was able to make it to the place where we were supposed to have the dinner without any trouble. But I got there and the entire place was empty. It was a dump too.”

“You mean to tell me someone booked a low rate place for a state dinner?” Breha asks, slightly shocked. “I think palpatine would have looked into a place firsthand before even reserving.”

“No, no. When I say a dump I mean a literal pile of rubble. Where the place was before, it was all just destroyed! I still don’t know what happened to it.” You add, the curiosity taking over momentarily.

Breha looks up once more at the third member of their table.”Yeah, I wonder what could have done it.” She mutters under her breath. “A mystery.”

“Right?” You sigh, shaking your head. “So there I was, crying on the curb alone and confused, worried about losing my job because this failure of a dinner didn’t happen and it falls on my shoulders, and a killer headache because for some reason sirens were all over that day when suddenly he starts stalking up to me.”

“Zillie?”

“No, Chancellor Palpatine!” You clarify. “And he looked angrier than a Rancor in a designer suit at a Geonosian wedding. I was preparing myself for the ass chewing of a lifetime until suddenly the ground shook and this big guy here,” You pat Zillies claw lovingly, “He swooped right up and knocked Palpatine right off the edge of the level we were on!” You couldn’t help but laugh. “I mean I feel absolutely terrible, no one deserves to go that way. Zillie only saw a beautiful woman in distress and a creepy old man running toward her so he naturally just acted in my defense. But if the Chancellor hadn’t of been so cruel…” You trail off, taking another casual sip of tea.”Anyways, I asked him for coffee and its all been uphill from there! I am very happy and we are planning to move to Corellia in the spring and open up an Orchard. Dreams do come true.”

Breha struggles to find the words for a moment.“Well, I suppose that uh, thats all that matters.” She sighs. Breha reaches over the table, taking your hand and smiling. “If you are happy, then I am happy.”

“Thank you Breha.” You beam, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. “We will have to double date with you and Bail before the big move! Zillie really needs more friends. The last ones I introduced him to disappeared after their night out! The poor wives.”

“Ah, yes well. Now that Bail is Chancellor, free time is hard to come by. Buuuutttt I will put it in the calendar! We could maybe work something out!”

“Wonderful!”

Zillie screeches in agreement, tail taking out another set of luxury condos.

[nityarawal]

July 30, 2024

A Persian Prince

Morning Songs

How Do You Raise

A Persian American Prince

How Do You Raise

An Unspoiled

Child

Grandparents Gave

Cuzzie A Hundred Dollars

To Blow

At Five

Then His Country

Fell Apart

How Do You Raise A

Persian Prince

Give Him Everything

He Wants

How Do You Raise A Persian

Prince

Tehrangeles

So He Laughs And

Cares For The Squirrels

And Children

How Do You Raise

A Persian Prince

Cognizant Of The

Law

King Henry Started

Out So Well

With Queen Catherine

Then Lost His Morale

How Do You Raise

A Persian Prince

Who Wins

He Loves The Lands

But Won't Do Your

Dirty Work

How Do We Raise

A Persian Prince

How Do We Ever

Elect Him

We Want Our Kings

Back In America

King Henry

Rulings Failed

He Was Too Spoiled

With Gout

And Murdered

Way Too Many

Moms

The Virgin Queen

Brought Henry

Along

A Born Again Virgin

Won Him His

Country

Whose Gonna Give

America Back To

US

Not The Indians

Not The Israelis

Not UK

Whose Gonna Say

No More Invitro

Babies

Canada

Whose Gonna Say

You Got Dystopian

About Your Childrens'

Sex

Iowa

Whose Gonna Say

We Can't Satisfy

Errol's Sushi Fettish

With Surrogate Grimesz

And Biographer Walter Issacson

South Africa

Oppression

Whose Gonna Tell

The Investors

We've Had Enough

Rapes

And Kidnappings

Mr. Zillis

American Babies

Aren't For Sale

American Babies

Aren't For Barter

Make The Jewish

Attys

Pay Ukranian

Fair And Square

For Their Surrogates

Palestinians Are

Gangbanged

By Circumcised Gay

Soldiers

Middle East Is Crushed

And No One Wants

Netanyahu

Pedophiles

Why Hasn't His Wife

Closed The Doors

We Look At Second

Gentleman

And See Our Child

Mollester

The Judge Who Sold

His Step Daughters

To The Wealthiest

Married Bidder

In Fairfield

When We Look At

The Vice President

We Wonder

Why God Blessed

Her With No Children

When We Look

At The Presidential

Candidates

We Feel Your Ambitions

Pissed

All Over Our Children

When We Look At

The Second Gentleman

We Thank Him

Retire Him

For Eight Years Of Wet

Farts

From Cohen Officers

And America

First Legal

Gang Bangs

In USA

When We Look At

The Second Gentleman

A Beard For Our

Vice President

A Beard For Our

Country

We'd Love To Replace

Him With Elon

And Give Our

Nation A Better

Natural Parenting

Buffer

Peace,

Nitya Nella Davigo Azam Moezzi Huntley Rawal

Encinitasbeachhome.com

[redhatmeg]

Okay, so I’ve finished “Dastardly and Muttley in their flying machines”

When I was binge watching the original Wacky Races, I’ve noticed in two of the last episodes that Dastardly was actually complimenting Muttley. He even once petted him saying: “Good job, Muttley.”

And while in their own spin-off, Dick Dastardly was still a bad boss and Muttley was ready to betray him for not giving him a medal (not to mention that in all Magnificent Muttley segments Dastardly plays a villain), I think that they started to get a little more close.

First of all, Dastardly thanks Muttley more often. There is even an episode when he apologizes to his dog for throwing pie at him.

Secondly, most of the time he’s mean to all three men under his command, because he’s focused on mission and his subordinates don’t make it easier (with Muttley needed to be bribed to do his job, Zilly constantly running away and Klunk’s inventions backfiring on them)... however, he does, occassionally, shows he cares about them, although, the most straighforward example of that is the fact that he felt guilty about Klunk going nuts under pressure in Have Plane Will Travel.

Notice that at some point the Vulture Squadron starts to call him “DD”. The first time when it happens, he says: “Don’t call me DD.”, but when they do it in later episodes, he doesn’t seem to mind. Of course, Zilly and Klunk still address him as “chief” (he is, after all, their commanding officer), but one can easily see that this nickname is somewhat a term of endearment. They wouldn’t dare to call him that to his face and he wouldn’t let them, if there wasn’t some kind of camradarie among them.

And, well, Vacation Trip Trap kind of confirms it: after spending whole episode trying to get well-deserved vacation but being constantly interrupted by rest of the squadron chasing the pigeon, Dastardly wanted to give Muttley a medal, but the dog not only refused to take it, but Klunk and Zilly present Dastardly with medal. And I think it’s really sweet becuase they didn’t need to do that (their commanding officer wasn’t angry with them, so there was no need to appease him). They just wanted to do something nice to him after ruining his furlough so many times. This is something that only people who like their commanding officer would do.

And you know what? Now some part of me wants to see how Klunk and Zilly are in Scoobverse. Becuase if Dick Dastardly was ready to risk unleashing Hell on Earth for Muttley, imagine how his relations with former teammates look like.

[bladekindeyewear]

Bloggin’ bout HS^2′s second upd8 continued.  > (==>)

And it had felt so real, almost like he could have reached out and touched him--

--Yeah, the next page is gonna be BGDirk just standing there like I saw before I read the update, right?

> (==>)

> (==>)

Two pages. Close enough.

> (==>)

Hah!  Get fucked, Dirk.  (Even if you’re supposedly one of the better Dirks.)

> (==>)

Yep, all see-thru and everything.

DIRK: You passed out in a puddle of your own drool. And what the fuck is that on your face? JAKE: My face? What do you mean on my face? DIRK: The moustache, Jake. Who’s idea was that. JAKE: Oh! You dont like it? DIRK: I didn’t say that.

Oh come the fuck on.  He looks good in a mustache, Jane-influence or no Jane-influence.

DIRK: We’ve had this conversation before, dingus. I’m you. And I’m me. But I only exist because of your powers. The fact that I’m manifesting here, in the new universe, outside of a dream, is evidence in itself for just how absolutely boned you are.

Now what exactly do you mean by that last part?  How is this a sign of trouble?

--Is it because this Dirk thinks he’s needed?  And therefore shit will be going down?

DIRK: You’ve been a useless sack of shit for two decades. I’m here to kick your ass back into active duty.

...Hm.

I mean, Jake MIGHT be able to help stop this stupid goddamn war, but this IS Dirk trying to help him, so...

JAKE: And what side am i supposed to be fighting on? for jane or against her? DIRK: Against her. Obviously. What the fuck, dude.

Pffff.

JAKE: But you were the one who wanted her to run in the first place! You wrote her bloody speeches! DIRK: Yeah, I did. And every single one of them kicked ass. I wanted Jane to be the democratically elected president. Not a cake-slinging Jeff Bezos with a great rack.

Pfff.  I mean, you didn’t do a great job the first way, either.  It’s heavily implied things in Canon-land were about to go to shit too.

Not as FAR to shit, nor as quickly, but still to shit.  So, really, how DIFFERENT is this from the way you wanted it done, Dirk?  How can you claim this isn’t half YOUR fuck-up too?

DIRK: Don’t worry about it. The point is, you have a chance to make a difference. You’re in the perfect position to infiltrate her operation.

Oh hell no.  Don’t send him back in THERE you utter horse’s ass!  How could THAT be good for his mental health!? What the fuck about Tavros?!?

DIRK: That’s horseshit and we both know it. Jane would take you back in a second. She loves you.

I think Jane’s definition of “taking him back” would be a bit broader than his body or soul could fucking afford.

> (==>)

Eugh.  You really liked the Condesce’s way of doing things right down to her style, huh?  To think you used to love the spoon.  Is that a fucking spork?  Is that zilly Battlespork your go-to weapon now?

Also, it took me a moment to realize those green and orange silhouettes were Jake and BGDirk.  I was a little like “how did Rose get here?!?”.

> (==>)

Have I mentioned how good all this art is?  So much attention being paid to the use of color, to making everything look so soft and streamlined?

Looks like she’s going in for at LEAST a hug.  And the art style might be mercifully light on showing us indulgent details of just how asset-laden Jane is supposed to be.  Shots of Jake’s manly bod aside, something in me doesn’t like the traditionally-sexualized stuff pushed like that in a canon that’s been light on it for so long...

> (==>)

Oh, that... THAT looks fake.  Or like, she’s about to turn around and happily wail on his ass or something.

JANE: Boo hoo hoo! Oh, Jake! Something awful has happened! JAKE: It--it has? You mean more awful than usual? JANE: The opposition has taken Tavros, Jake. They’ve finally shown their true colors. I knew it was only a matter of time before they attacked our family directly!

.....Ah.  Well, that explains it.  She’d never cry like that about HIM returning AFTER STEPPING OUT ON HER.

It’s then that Jake realizes that Jane isn’t mad because she’d never realized he was gone.

Poor pages, huh?  All their most dramatic gestures always undercut.

...It seems like we might see Candy kind of resolved in less of a fucked-up worldstate after all, at this rate?

She seems to have forgotten that she’d been cross with him the last time they met, because now that Gamzee is gone, there’s no one left to talk to.

It’s true. Gamzee’s absence always improves things.

> (==>)

All of it is made worse by the occasional wry glint in her eye, or moment of self-deprecation in the slant of her mouth. It reminds him of the Jane he used to know. Or the Jane he thought he used to know.

Ambition is a hell of a thing.  Seems like she’s drunk of it almost as deeply as Prince Dirk.  I’d imagine this could be a pretty consistent thing with really active Life players when they get actual power, huh?  The way it just gathers to Life players in all its forms -- power over others, status, wealth -- it’s easy to start to leverage it in ways that constitute abuse of power over others from a Riddle perspective.

At first Dirk stands at Jake’s elbow, a one-ghost support staff, before he appears to lose interest in Jane’s rant and wanders off across the office, reading the spines of books and spending way too long staring at a startlingly phallic piece of installation art,

--PLEASE let us see it.

, the provenance of which Jake doesn’t know, but could hazard a guess it wore a codpiece.

Nope, never mind. Interest lost.

> (==>)

Then he settles on Jane’s desk, propping his ghost butt there and sort of just...well. Here’s a picture of what he does.

Um.

Where is this going?

> (==>)

Oh, so the BEST option, then.  :D

Okay. That’s a bit of an exaggeration.

Boooooo.

> (==>)

--Alright, forgiven.

he’s thoroughly exhausted from attempting to pay attention to his supervillain wife while trying not to look at the crotch of a ghost man from his brain.

...Okay, hold up.  BGDirk, are you trying to steer him into doing this for self-indulgent, non-comedic purposes? Or is this a bit of Prince Dirk in there?  (I mean... I can’t definitively say Jake wouldn’t have wanted this.)

And I’m still wondering how all of this is going to be relevant.  IF it’s going to be relevant.  Despite promises to the contrary that are seemingly being ignored.

> (==>)

DIRK: All according to keikaku.

Fuck you.

JAKE: i really didnt think id fall off the wagon so quickly. I dont think being here is good for my emotions to be honest. DIRK: Yeah, probably not. But that’s okay. They don’t matter. JAKE: Oh.

Yeah, Dirk, you suck at this more than you know.  This ain’t going to go as well as you “hope” I don’t think.

DIRK: Don’t know anything about stiff lips, dude. But that’s not what I mean. It’s not because you’re a man. You’re a god. JAKE: Oh right. That. DIRK: The world comes first, even at the expense of all your relationships and personal happiness. That’s what being a hero means. JAKE: I guess...i never really thought about it like that.

You’re also not guaranteed to be fucking right, you know.

There are definitely dichotomies where what was best for the world wasn’t best for the person, so far, and vice versa in Homestuck.  But Dirk’s taking his anime-flavored principles as gospel as usual, and ignoring, oh I dunno, the impact of the heart in all of this.  Some people, ESPECIALLY JAKE and other Pages so far, CAN’T operate at their best until they’re at least reasonably healthy and sure of themselves, and investments to that effect are essential to letting them slowly realize their full potential.  Brain Ghost Dirk is likely making the same goddamn mistake he made with his overbearing Dirkbot back on Jake’s island.

> (==>)

DIRK: Think what you want about Jane, but at least she realizes that none of you can ever be normal, and she never bothered to try. Can it really be a god-complex if you’re actually a god? DIRK: People like us don’t get happy endings.

...Yup.  This is the fucked-over part of Dirk’s worldview coming in full play, here.  And he believes in it so strongly that he couldn’t even fucking leave NON-CANON alone anymore.  Fuck.

JAKE: Thats bleak dirk i dont think i could possibly believe that!

Mmmhmm.

DIRK: Yeah. That’s probably more a Dirk thought than a Jake one. I told you, it’s hard to tell sometimes. JAKE: Is...is that really how dirk felt the whole gosh darned time?

Mmmhmm.

> (==>)

Last page of the upd8.  Well... all I can say is, it’s a good thing he’s a fucking ghost here.  And half Jake, at that.  At least that can limit the damage.  Hopefully giving Jake just enough of a kick in the doing-something direction without being so overbearing that he makes things worse, making for a balance of...

...Wait.

Wait, is that why we’re here?

Maybe that finally makes some sense of all this.  Of this cut, of this small violation of that last sentence in Meat, of--  ah, yeah, I might be on to something here!  Only maybe, but still--!

We’re quite possibly bearing witness to a realm of influence where, through measures outside of his control, Dirk has a balanced impact.  Where this same ideology of his, tempered by Jake’s hopeful mindset and Dirk’s inability to take direct action, might just manage to make things better and actually make everyone happier by the end, while solving Earth C’s fucked-up Candyland state at the same time.  It’s possibly to show the readers (through the lens of a Hope player specializing in positive possibility) that Dirk, had he been restrained, COULD have had a positive impact, even at the same time that we’re shown Prince Dirk at his soul’s most overblown and heinous.

And, if we want to be optimistic..... perhaps this’ll show Dirk, too?

Canon and Non-Canon may not “meet” again.  But that doesn’t stop Dirk, via this fragment of his multiverse-spanning soul, from seeing Non-Canon.  From seeing how well things COULD have worked out, had he held back.  And if we keep cutting like this -- back and forth between the “real” story and these events in Candyverse -- perhaps the moment at which Brain Ghost Dirk realizes what he’s accomplished, realizes how much better things are because he could hold back, will coincide at the end with Prince Dirk finally, belatedly, realizing just how fucked his plan was, and understanding at the very, very end why he has to fucking die?

THAT would be interesting.

I guess we’ll see?  Talk to y’all next upd8.

[zillyeh]

I get stressed out if i don’t know the exact layout of my characters’ livingspace 

[newspro24x7]

Elon Musk gave birth to twins with an older officer last year! report claim

Elon Musk gave birth to twins with an older officer last year! report claim

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is often in discussion about his personal life apart from his business. Similarly, this time around Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been claimed that he has given birth to twins with a senior executive of his own company. She has given birth to 2 twins last year in November 2021 with Sivon Zillis. Sivon Zillis is Tesla’s top executive.   Elon Musk gave birth to twins…

[paulbenedictblog]

%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Usa today Pumpkin boat, foie gras ban, library raccoons: News from around our 50 states

Usa today

Usa today Alabama

Florence: A brand contemporary facility has opened with the target of lowering poverty and its outcomes on families. The Shoals Dream Center is envisioned as a hub for an array of companies and products to attend the residing’s families, The TimesDaily experiences. Amongst them: offering meals; tutorial tutoring and mentoring for at-likelihood children. The heart also plans to give dependancy restoration resources and lifestyles abilities coaching. The Shoals Dream Center is an extension of the Chapel church. The social companies and products parts will offer after-faculty programs where college students can select in studying and developmental coaching, actions, and video games three days per week, says Toyia Gourley, director of the Dream Center Academy. The meals distribution is determined up within the form of a grocery store, the newspaper experiences.

Usa today Alaska

Fairbanks: The articulate company overseeing air quality has agreed to publish a cleanup conception by mid-December for this metropolis that has some of the nation’s most polluted iciness air. A federal courtroom luxuriate in, as fragment of a lawsuit, authorized an settlement that establish the closing date for the cleanup conception to be submitted by the articulate Division of Environmental Conservation to the federal Environmental Safety Agency. Bewitch Thomas Zilly also authorized a mid-January closing date for the EPA to procure obvious the conception whole. Shining air advocates sued in December, asserting the articulate failed to publish a legally compliant conception to address particulate air pollution prompted by picket-burning stoves and other sources. Lovely particulate is a pollutant that can establish off heart and lung concerns.

Usa today Arizona

Tucson: The College of Arizona has launched it is miles altering its abbreviation from UA to UArizona in deliver to prolong SEO outcomes for the college. The Tucson-basically basically based faculty in a assertion Monday talked about the change would support distinguish the college from other national and world entities that spend UA, including the College of Alabama, Under Armour and United Airways. Officers articulate the southern Arizona faculty was not acting excessive on Google outcomes for “UA.” College officers articulate the college will now spend UArizona for its communications. The college had already modified its Twitter address to @uarizona. Officers articulate there'll not be but any plans to make spend of the contemporary abbreviation on faculty merchandise or in chants at wearing events.

Usa today Arkansas

Jonesboro: An Arkansas Sigh College alumnus says he was very much surprised to articulate a few uncommon critters working round the campus library. Codie Clark, a math tutor, says he spotted on the least two raccoons Sunday on the third ground of the university’s Dean B. Ellis Library while trying forward to a student to entire for a tutoring session. Clark says other college students then cornered one raccoon. Accomplice Vice Chancellor for Advertising and marketing and marketing and Communications Bill Smith knowledgeable KAIT-TV that the college’s facility administration personnel humanely trapped the animals after being notified by library employees. Clark says an animal rescuer released the racoons back into the wild that night. Smith effectively-known the raccoons likely came to campus thanks to recent rain. He inspired someone who encounters wild animals to contact the Facilities Administration Division.

Usa today California

Sacramento: Just some of the country’s most spicy scramble-sharing companies proposed a articulate law Tuesday that can allow them to proceed to treat drivers as self reliant contractors while also guaranteeing them a minimum wage and cash for effectively being insurance protection. The Legislature enacted regulations this twelve months requiring such companies to treat drivers as employees, which would allow them to invent a union and entitle them to advantages. But the law proposed Tuesday would exempt scramble-sharing companies. The proposal has to be authorized by voters. If handed, it would supersede the Legislature’s motion and any identical ordinances by native governments. It also would prevent lawmakers from passing but every other law to dam it. The proposal will exclusively procure on the November 2020 ballotif supporters can gain about 660,000 signatures. Uber, Lyft and DoorDash procure already pledged $90 million to enhance the pains, making it one of basically the costliest ballotmeasures ever.

Usa today Colorado

Denver: An entire bunch of articulate employees procure ready to procure their emails eradicated to receive procure correct of entry to to executive records that can in every other case be public. The Denver Put up experiences the affected employees work for the Division of Regulatory Companies, which regulates articulate industries including insurance protection, banks, electrical utilities and staunch property. Officers articulate the department’s 600 employees had been notified multiple cases of the upcoming purge establish to initiate Friday. Division officers articulate employees had been instructed to retain any critical emails, including pending litigation or recent launch records requests. Officers articulate the purge is to procure obvious department emails are without pronounce searchable. Colorado Freedom of Data Coalition says deletion of electronic records is a necessary challenge for these trying to fetch knowledge. Colorado law provides articulate departments huge discretion in crafting their document-conserving policies.

Usa today Connecticut

Waterbury: Gov. Ned Lamont has signed an executive instruct that creates an entity charged with increasing with a conception for higher coordination between articulate executive agencies and the business personnel. The Democrat says he has a goal of reworking a personnel style machine that’s for the time being designed to meet the needs of 20th-century jobs into one which serves 21st-century jobs. He says the articulate’s training and training machine this day is “too static and disconnected,” and there’s a necessity for higher collaboration with business and labor so Connecticut’s lecturers know what abilities to educate. Lamont launched the advent of the Governor’s Staff Council at Naugatuck Neighborhood College on Tuesday.

Usa today Delaware

Dover: A federal magistrate is recommending dismissal of a lawsuit in opposition to Delaware Sigh College officers by a lady who says she was sexually assaulted by a fellow student. The magistrate ruled Tuesday that the revised lawsuit by Mai-Ajah Keel is time-barred and that Keel has failed to articulate a snarl. Keel says after she reported the assault in 2013, she was met with deliberate indifference by faculty officers and harassment and retaliation by her alleged attacker and other college students. Keel’s alleged attacker, Jason Faustin, was charged in 2015 with fourth-level rape. The prices had been later dropped, however Faustin was suspended from campus after a college panel stumbled on him “responsible” for sexual assault. Faustin later served as an intern within the Dover diagram of business of Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Coons.

Usa today District of Columbia

Washington: There was glam; there had been costumes; there had been excessive heels and a jog. In a D.C. custom that has made a assertion since the 1980s, the 33rd Annual 17th Boulevard High Heel Flee took off Tuesday night with a parade and jog finish to Dupont Circle, WUSA-TV experiences. The tournament is the district’s 2d-most spicy annual LGBTQ personnel tournament, stuffed with cheer as costumed dawdle queens and other participants jog down the aspect motorway. It was on the initiating attach started by a personnel of 25 dawdle queens who determined to go down the avenue and strut their stuff. This twelve months, the tournament introduced out hundreds of residents and mates to be a part of in on the fun. Even Mayor Muriel Bowser made an look on the tournament, serving because the massive marshal to kick off the celebration.

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Orlando: A memorial for the Pulse nightclub massacre will procure a reflecting pool with rainbow-colored traces radiating from it, and a nearby museum will resemble a three-dimensional spirograph, in accordance to procure ideas launched Wednesday. Forty-nine of us had been killed and dozens extra had been injured when a gunman opened fireplace on the delighted nightclub in June 2016. It was basically the most spicy mass taking pictures in standard U.S. historic previous except a gunman opened fireplace on Las Vegas concertgoers in 2017. The procure ideas are exclusively a initiating point for discussions on the Pulse memorial and museum and are launch to revisions, in accordance to organizers. The designs had been produced by several French architects and artists who labored with an Orlando architectural company and a DePaul College professor. Plans name for the memorial to characteristic a garden with 49 bushes in honor of the victims who had been killed.

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Atlanta: Officers are sharp forward with plans for some contemporary parks within the metropolis. The Atlanta-Journal Structure experiences that the City Council final week authorized the acquisition of land from The Conservation Fund for a park within the Dwelling Park neighborhood. The metropolis will resolve the land for moderately of extra than $200,000. City officers also authorized funding to resolve two properties for the $40 million Rodney Cook dinner Sr. Park for the time being below construction within the Vine City neighborhood. The AJC says the park will characteristic 18 sculptures memorializing civil rights heroes, including Martin Luther King Jr.

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Hilo: The Colossal Island neighborhood that was ravaged by the 2018 Kilauea volcano eruption has become a destination for tourists trying to procure a take into story on the injure prompted by one of basically the most spicy eruptions within the volcano’s recent historic previous. But the Hawaii Tribune Herald experiences residents of the Leilani Estates neighborhood receive in mind the mates a nuisance and are relieved to take into story hobby initiating to wane. Tourism elevated as residents had been trying to entire back to their properties and property after being pressured to evacuate. More than 700 properties had been destroyed. Leilani Estates Neighborhood Association president Andy Andrews says the collection of tourists has fallen very much since earlier this twelve months, and there are fewer confrontations between locals and mates, who he says ignore warning indicators and parking principles.

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Boise: Latino college students procure up 18% of the enrollment within the articulate’s public schools, however their success scores proceed to dawdle articulate averages. The Idaho Statesman experiences researchers and articulate officers articulate improving Latino college students’ outcomes is an pressing want thanks to their importance to the articulate’s personnel. The Idaho Division of Education has establish lengthy-term targets to toughen Latino outcomes. Nevertheless, the department has left plan for reaching these targets to districts and schools with puny success in two years. Latino college students are recording lower-than-common test scores and fewer postsecondary degrees. Rod Gramer, the CEO of Idaho Substitute for training, says if the Latino college students will not be worthwhile, Idaho just isn't very going to attain success.

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Chicago: The metropolis’s lecturers union voted to approve a tentative contract settlement with metropolis officers Wednesday however refused to quit a strike that has canceled two weeks of classes except the mayor adds faculty days to veil that misplaced time. Mayor Lori Lightfoot talked about Wednesday night that she wouldn't meet that question. Lightfoot accused the union’s top leadership of “sharp the target posts” by elevating the pronounce Wednesday in want to in a face-to-face meeting along with her Tuesday. “Not once correct thru that three-and-a-half-hour meeting did they elevate compensation for strike days,” Lightfoot talked about heatedly. Chicago Public Colleges CEO Janice Jackson talked about it would require lowering iciness or spring atomize days or including days to the quit of the twelve months. Union President Jesse Sharkey talked about the lecturers will not be asking to be paid for a strike however raise out credit ranking the walkout for forcing the district to compromise on some contract components.

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Seymour: John Mellencamp, the matter of a brand contemporary mural in his native land, instructed the challenge by including a few vital brushstrokes Tuesday afternoon. Indiana rock star Mellencamp painted his initials, “JJM,” on the exterior of a song retailer in Seymour, the personnel he immortalized in 1985 hit “Tiny City.” Artist Pamela Bliss says Mellencamp was reserved and appreciative correct thru his surprise talk over with, however he also flashed his signature ornery demeanor when Bliss offered a limited paintbrush after he agreed to signal the work. “He talked about, ‘You name that a (expletive) brush? Give me but every other one,’ ” Bliss talked about, laughing. “I got moderately of a part of the particular John lovely there.” Bliss says she’s a fan of Mellencamp’s artwork, a few of which are for the time being on display on the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts in Seymour and at ACA Galleries in Fresh York City.

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Waukee: Authorities are investigating but every other explosion at a gender present celebration that came about in some unspecified time in the future after a blast at a identical gathering killed a 56-twelve months-outdated woman in a nearby personnel. Authorities articulate no one was injured within the explosion Sunday in rural Waukee, a Des Moines suburb, however they're taking a take into story into unconfirmed claims that the blast broke a neighbor’s windows. Waukee Fire Capt. Tomme Tysdal says the Waukee explosion came from a commercially within the market gender present kit, not like the house made tool that killed Pamela Kreimeyer on Saturday finish to Knoxville, a town 45 miles away. Authorities articulate Kreimeyer died straight when her family’s tool exploded, hitting her within the highest from 45 toes away.

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Dodge City: A monkey that was injured final month trying to present protection to his offspring from being taken by an outsider correct thru an apparent atomize-in at a zoo has died. Officers on the Wright Park Zoo articulate the 32-twelve months-outdated tufted capuchin monkey was stumbled on unresponsive early Tuesday. City spokeswoman Abbey Martin says the zoo’s veterinarian was unable to revive the monkey, named Vern. The Hutchinson Recordsdata experiences a necropsy will likely be carried out to opt the establish off of demise. Vern underwent surgical plan for damaged bones after the Sept. 3 atomize-in. A youthful monkey named Pickett was stumbled on free correct thru the metropolis limits and returned to the zoo. Vern and a female monkey named Charro arrived on the zoo in 1988. Their two youngest sons, Jack and Pickett, are fragment of the zoo’s recent capuchin troop.

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Murray: Murray Sigh College college students are the usage of GPS devices to be aware field turtles and fetch out about the technology’s cost. Assistant wildlife biology professor Andrea Darracq says college students work within the college room to own the tracking devices and jog into the discipline at an off-campus university property to detect the turtles. The university says the turtles are tracked with the GPS devices and a transmitter, allowing the college students to opt a turtle’s diagram with a receiver and evaluate it to extra staunch GPS readings. The college says the taking pictures and marking of turtles was carried out with approval from its Institute on Animal Care and Utilize Committee and a articulate academic wildlife collection enable.

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Fresh Orleans: A $2.1 million evaluate challenge at Tulane College is geared toward helping participants of an American Indian tribe take care of climate change and economic inequality. In a info open, Tulane says the challenge objectives to learn the United Houma Nation. Challenges going thru the south Louisiana tribe embody coastal land loss that threatens fishing, trapping and even some properties. Segment of the challenge will procure inspecting how tribal residents switch interior and launch air the articulate to receive watch over these and other challenges. Tulane’s College of Public Health and Tropical Treatment was awarded the challenge by the Nationwide Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Treatment’s Gulf Be taught Program.

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Gardiner: It appears to be like be pleased a duck, quacks be pleased a duck, and – if it will get a prosthetic leg – will once extra stroll be pleased a duck. Loni Hamner, of Gardiner, not too lengthy within the past adopted a female Mallard duck that was left with one leg and a stump after being attacked by a fox final twelve months. Hamner says the duck she’s named Faith can hop and walk round, however she wants her “to procure a correct duck quality of lifestyles and raise out your entire things ducks attach to receive out.” The Bangor Each day Recordsdata experiences that a search info from on the Maine Poultry Connection Fb internet page led Hamner to the College of Maine Stepped forward Building and Composites Center. Lab manager Paul Bussiere says he’ll procure a prosthetic leg for Faith for free in his spare time.

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Annapolis: Exelon Corp., the energy firm that runs the Conowingo Dam, will make investments extra than $200 million in environmental projects, in accordance to an settlement launched Tuesday by Gov. Larry Hogan. Officers procure been focusing on easy how you potentially may well also take care of the environmental impression of trash and debris that has been swept downstream from Pennsylvania to Maryland thru the dam after heavy rains. Sigh officers also are appealing that sediment buildup within the back of the dam’s walls would be released and wreak havoc on the honest Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The cash within the proposed settlement will likely be mature to toughen water quality within the Lower Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s most spicy estuary, Hogan talked about. Parts of the settlement will likely be submitted for approval to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as fragment of the licensing renewal for the dam.

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Carver: The cranberry industry is taking a take into story to photo voltaic energy for reduction because it struggles with plummeting fruit prices. Cranberry farmers in Massachusetts, the nation’s 2d-most spicy grower after Wisconsin, are proposing to own photo voltaic panels above their lavatories. Jordan Macknick, an analyst on the Nationwide Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, says the novel advance to blending photo voltaic production with sever cultivation is being researched however hasn’t been tried sooner than on a enormous scale anywhere on this planet. Michael Wainio, a Massachusetts cranberry farmer proposing one of many projects, says earnings from photo voltaic energy is well-known to striking forward his family’s farm finish to Cape Cod. College of Massachusetts researchers procure launched a take into story to spy the idea that. Opponents argue there would be lengthy-term environmental consequences.

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Detroit: The funeral for John Conyers, who served extra than 50 years in Congress, will likely be held Monday at a church within the metropolis. The public will procure a likelihood to display their admire for Conyers on Saturday and Sunday on the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Conyers died Sunday at age 90, two years after resigning from the U.S. Condominium. Monica Conyers tells The Detroit Recordsdata that her husband’s funeral will likely be held at Elevated Grace Temple. She anticipates dilapidated President Bill Clinton will abet, along with elected officers. On Twitter, Clinton called Conyers a “champion for justice & equality.” Conyers was a founding father of the Congressional Sunless Caucus and is credited with increasing the federal vacation honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Minneapolis: Recordsdata display that the College of Minnesota’s 2019 learners class is basically the most spicy in 50 years and comprises basically the most college students of colour within the college’s historic previous. The Minnesota Each day experiences the Sigh of job of Institutional Be taught’s numbers present that most learners – about 54% – are female. In 2010, 18% of the freshman class was college students of colour. Now, minority college students procure up extra than a quarter of this twelve months’s class. Vice provost and dean of the college’s Sigh of job of Undergraduate Education Bob McMaster says fragment of the upward thrust is thanks to adjustments in Minnesota excessive schools, which procure seen demographic shifts in recent years. Peaceful, the collection of murky college students stays moderately limited. About 5% of recent college students are murky, up moderately from over 4% a decade within the past.

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Jackson: With the nationwide closure of Fred’s Pharmacy, one county is taking it in actuality arduous. The residents of Kemper County in east-central Mississippi now fetch themselves without any pharmacy for your entire county. Residents will want to diagram and capture up prescriptions at pharmacies in Meridian or Philadelphia – a few 30-minute drive to every particular person. Mississippi Board of Pharmacy President Ryan Harper says that will more than likely be a challenge for some of the articulate’s most serious patients. He says patients on multiple prescriptions also on occasion procure an infinite hurdle of having procure correct of entry to to real transportation. Fred’s closed Oct. 18. It was positioned within the county seat, Dekalb, with a inhabitants of honest over 1,000 residents.

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Kansas City: The mayor is proposing an ordinance geared toward helping police receive firearms away from these with a historic previous of home violence. The Kansas Smartly-known particular person experiences that the ordinance Quinton Lucas unveiled Wednesday would enable police to receive firearms from home violence offenders or these who're the matter of restraining orders. A identical federal law exists, however backers articulate a local law would support police and prosecutors pursue the cases. Lucas and his employees wrote the proposal with support from the Rose Brooks Center, a refuge for victims of home violence. Safe haven sufferer advocate Annie Struby says extra than half of basically the most unhealthy home abusers in Kansas City procure procure correct of entry to to firearms.

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Helena: The articulate has spent extra than $2 million on snow plowing to this point this twelve months, surpassing what charges had been by this date for the previous two years. The Just Document experiences snow plowing charges for the articulate Division of Transportation elevated by extra than 250% since final twelve months. Division officers articulate they spent $575,577 from July 1 to Oct. 28 final twelve months and $544,872 correct thru the identical length in 2017. Officers articulate document snowstorms procure hit enormous areas honest days into the tumble season, breaking a protracted time­lengthy snowstorm records in cities be pleased Huge Falls. Officers articulate about 277,800 miles procure been plowed to this point this season. Only a quarter of that was plowed this time final twelve months. Officers articulate charges embody labor, working instruments and provides.

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North Platte: Officers procure begun the procedure to procure the metropolis’s downtown placed on the Nationwide Register of Historical Areas. City officers convened an launch home Monday to learn about the federal and articulate historic-district options with participants of an Omaha planning company and the Nebraska Sigh Historical Preservation Sigh of job. Omaha-basically basically based RDG will put together North Platte’s nomination papers. Stephanie Rose, an metropolis planner for the company, says residents are welcome to portion their options and historic knowledge along with her over the arriving months. If the U.S. Nationwide Park Carrier adds downtown North Platte to the register, structures which are on the least 50 years outdated correct thru the district may well qualify for federal and articulate historic tax credit ranking to support pay for rehabilitation projects.

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Las Vegas: The articulate’s casinos took in nearly $1.06 billion in winnings final month – a excessive for 2019 and a document for September in a key index of articulate fiscal effectively being. Nevada Gaming Administration Board analyst Michael Lawton attributes Wednesday’s healthy “gaming purchase” document to a upward push in slot machine play and outcomes from Las Vegas Strip and Clark County casinos. Lawton says a 6.8% elevate within the monthly figure compared with the identical month a twelve months within the past was the fourth straight elevate within the twelve months-to-twelve months comparability. The articulate took in nearly $66.4 million in taxes on the September 2019 figures. The $1.059 billion tally topped the earlier September exclusively of $1.058 billion in 2007 by honest $100,000. October 2007 was the exclusively month ever for on line casino winnings, at $1.165 billion.

Usa today Fresh Hampshire

Durham: The College System of Fresh Hampshire has launched that tuition for in-articulate college students will likely be frozen in diagram for the 2020-2021 tutorial twelve months. The Harmony Video display experiences that the articulate board of trustees launched Tuesday that it had unanimously voted to freeze tuition for undergraduate college students. The freeze will jog into assemble for college students on the College of Fresh Hampshire, Plymouth Sigh College, Keene Sigh College and Granite Sigh College. The Fresh Hampshire Condominium not too lengthy within the past elevated the articulate’s appropriation to the university machine by $12 million over two years to freeze tuition. Gov. Chris Sununu called the announcement a “gargantuan purchase for Fresh Hampshire college students.” Here is the machine’s first tuition freeze since 2013.

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Woodbridge: A limited airplane crashed thru the roof of a home Tuesday, killing the pilot and causing an explosion that establish two homes ablaze in a Fresh Jersey suburb of Fresh York City. No one was within the house correct thru which the Cessna 414 crashed, however flames spread to but every other home, where a lady escaped atomize, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac talked about. The airplane went down about 11 a.m. not removed from an elementary faculty, in accordance to Nationwide Transportation Safety Board investigator Adam Gerhardt. The wreck sent flames into the air, belched smoke for hours and left neighbors thinking the earth was shaking. Gerhardt talked about the pilot was flying the usage of instrument flight principles on occasion mature by skilled pilots when flying with diminished visibility. The weather within the residing was cloudy and misty on the time of the wreck.

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Albuquerque: The U.S. Condominium has authorized regulations that can prohibit oil and gas style on federal land surrounding a national park held sacred by moderately a few Native American tribes. The vote came Wednesday to procure eternal a buffer round Chaco Tradition Nationwide Historical Park. U.S. Gather. Ben Ray Lujan of Fresh Mexico says there are some areas where drilling should tranquil not happen, and the residing round Chaco is one of them. As antagonistic to prohibiting contemporary permits and canceling any recent nonproducing leases, the measure suggests further experiences and preserving measures has to be taken to address effectively being, security and environmental outcomes on nearby communities and tribal interests. The residing comprises land belonging to the Navajo Nation and person tribal participants. The regulations doesn't procure an impression on these parcels.

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Fresh York: City lawmakers on Wednesday handed a invoice that bans provocative locations and grocery stores from promoting foie gras, the fattened liver of a duck or goose, considered a culinary delicacy for hundreds of years. The invoice, anticipated to be signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, would forbid the sale of the French specialty initiating in 2022. Animal welfare activists had campaigned for a ban on the grounds that the options mature to make foie gras are merciless, spicy drive-feeding a chook a corn-basically basically based combination thru a tube slipped down its throat. Farmers who make foie gras – that methodology fatty liver in French – articulate the birds are treated humanely and don’t endure correct thru the fattening process. The council vote was 42-6 for the last model of the invoice that calls for an even of up to $2,000 for every violation. With about 1,000 Fresh York provocative locations offering foie gras, top cooks did not receive kindly to the details, including Momofuku’s David Chang, who called it “idiocracy.”

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Spencer: The articulate has bought a federal grant to renovate a 1920s rail vehicle that was built to conform with the racist Jim Crow authorized options of the 20th century. Sigh officers articulate the Nationwide Park Carrier awarded a grant of extra than $287,000 to renovate the railroad vehicle that’s now on the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer. The 44-seat coach hasn’t been mature since 1969. The vehicle has 22 seats within the rear that had been designated for African Americans so that it complied with segregation authorized options. It needs vast renovation, including asbestos elimination. The Division of Natural and Cultural Resources says it’s one of few such vehicles held by a museum for public viewing. One more one is on the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Tradition in Washington, D.C.

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Bismarck: The articulate auditor is retracting an audit serious of the metropolis of Williston after officers offered extra knowledge to the articulate. Auditor Josh Gallion issued the audit document Monday however retracted it late Tuesday. Gallion says the audit “highlighted several areas of pronounce,” including a violation of the articulate’s launch meetings law and $92 million in airport contracts that weren't disclosed in monetary statements. Gallion says the metropolis auditor signed off on the document final week. But Gallion says the metropolis has now offered extra knowledge for review. Gallion says auditors are reviewing the contemporary knowledge and can pronounce a revised audit later.

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Cleveland: A federal civil rights lawsuit says a 10-twelve months-outdated Muslim boy was wondered about his patriotism and non secular beliefs by a student instructor at a college launch air Cleveland and was ordered to undress to opt whether or not his oldsters had abused him. The lawsuit filed final week says the boy’s instructor, the student instructor and a nurse for the Lakeview Local College District in Cortland held him in opposition to his will in a room final November and coerced him into asserting he’d been disciplined by his mother with a belt. Family authorized real Matthew Abens says a county teens’s companies and products investigation hasty obvious there was no wrongdoing by his oldsters. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says the boy is being treated for trauma.

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Oklahoma City: Health officers articulate the frequency of congenital syphilis cases has risen sharply within the articulate correct thru the previous 5 years and continues to prolong. The Oklahoma Division of Health talked about Tuesday that the articulate has skilled a 283% elevate within the collection of congenital syphilis cases among females since 2014 and a 92% elevate since final twelve months. Adults transmit syphilis thru sexual contact, however effectively being officers articulate congenital syphilis would be transmitted by an contaminated mother to her toddler within the womb or thru the birthing process. The illness can establish off miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, initiating defects and demise. Officers articulate effectively being care suppliers should tranquil test pregnant females for the illness early in their being pregnant and again early within the third trimester.

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Salem: The collection of wolves within the articulate is rising, however not in particular hasty. Sigh biologists tallied on the least 124 wolves statewide final twelve months, in accordance to the annual wolf document released Wednesday. The amount represented an 11% elevate over the earlier twelve months, however exclusively a growth of 14 animals since 2015. Four wolves had been killed illegally in 2017, and but every other 5 had been killed on account of battle with farm animals. Wolves endured to prolong their territory. A pair of resident wolves had been documented within the Mount Hood residing for the first time, that methodology the apex predator has a foothold in every discipline of the articulate with the exception of the dawdle. Oregon is house to on the least 12 wolf packs, in accordance to the document, including 11 that procure a breeding male and female with on the least two pups that survived the iciness.

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Bethlehem: A prosecutor says he'll advocate dismissal of costs in opposition to a lady authorities articulate handed her 1-month-outdated toddler to a bus driver and walked away in tears. Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli talked about Wednesday that 26-twelve months-outdated Ashley Walters “clearly has some psychological effectively being components.” He talked about she had displayed combative and erratic habits and would be involuntarily dedicated for medication. Walters was charged with puny one endangerment after authorities talked about she boarded a bus in Bethlehem, placed her son on the farebox and knowledgeable the driver to name police due to the “this was her son that she will be able to’t receive care of.” Pennsylvania’s Safe Haven Legislation permits infants up to 28 days outdated to be left at a sanatorium or police attach of residing. Morganelli says Walters’ toddler was 32 days outdated.

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Windfall: The metropolis has near up with what it calls a “climate justice conception” to gash its carbon footprint while accounting for the needs of low-earnings and minority neighborhoods. The conception unveiled Friday by the metropolis’s Sigh of job of Sustainability and Racial and Environmental Justice Committee comprises getting 100% of municipal structures’ electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and making all metropolis vehicles and faculty buses trot on renewable energy by 2040. Priorities outlined within the 88-internet page conception embody planting extra bushes and expanding green spaces; investing in bike paths, trails and sidewalk enhancements; and striking off meals atomize. The conception says neighborhoods with basically the most spicy populations of of us of colour and lowest median incomes procure basically the most air pollution, the extreme effectively being outcomes from environmental causes, and the least quantity of green residing.

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Charleston: Environmental groups are taking steps toward suing a firm they articulate is accountable for polluting the articulate’s waters with diminutive plastic beads. Recordsdata shops document the groups represented by Southern Environmental Legislation Center sent Frontier Logistics a 60-day correct scrutinize Monday on grounds it violated the Shining Water Act. The articulate environmental adjust department cited Frontier in July after the plastic bits, called nurdles, had been stumbled on in its facility and considered the identical ones spilled onto Sullivan’s Island. Environmental groups articulate they’re tranquil washing up. But Frontier’s vice president contends the nurdles can’t be traced to it. An environmental adjust spokeswoman talked about Frontier installed preventative measures, so the company closed the matter. The pellets are became into plastic merchandise, and environmentalists articulate marine animals mistake them for meals.

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Sioux Falls: College leaders clarify articulate lawmakers they’re working to implement a brand contemporary law geared toward guaranteeing free speech and psychological diversity on campus. A legislative committee summoned regents and university presidents to a gathering Wednesday to detail their efforts to conform with the law. Its passage final spring came after controversy over a “Hawaiian Day” celebration theme on the College of South Dakota revived conservative lawmakers’ complaints about political correctness on campus. The university presidents talked about they’re keeping trainings for college students and faculty on preserving speech. They are saying they’re also working to gauge college students’ experiences on campus. The Board of Regents is required to present a written document on its implementation of the law by Dec. 1.

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Cleveland: You’ve heard of a pumpkin being became correct into a carriage, however what about correct into a boat? Justin Ownby has tried for years to develop the ultimate massive pumpkin, with runt success. This twelve months, though, he outdid himself. “We’ve pumpkin spiced every thing else; why not pumpkin spice a boat?” he talked about. Ownby, 36, owns a family farm in Cleveland along with his spouse, Christin, 32, and their four teens. A massive pumpkin in his patch grew to extra than 900 pounds and several toes across this twelve months, gargantuan enough to gash out residing for a grown man to sit down down interior it and trip across a pond – sooner than it sank below him. “It’s fish meals now,” Ownby talked about with fun. “There’s catfish in there. They’ll procure quick work of that thing.”

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Harlingen: The critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle had an offseason for nesting this twelve months along beaches within the articulate, with 190 nests recorded in Texas. The Valley Morning Smartly-known particular person experiences the quantity, which covers a geographic residing from the Bolivar Peninsula south to Boca Chica seaside, was down from 250 nests logged final twelve months and 353 in 2017. But this twelve months’s consuming tumble-off in Kemp’s ridley nesting in Mexico has establish off off yellow-flag indicators among scientists who be aware and take into story the species. The Texas nesting numbers weren't necessarily downhearted by the criteria of the previous decade, they assuredly're inclined to fluctuate due to the adult females don’t return to their house seaside yearly to attach a clutch of eggs. Most up-to-date experiences display female Kemp’s ridleys may well also near back to nest at three-plus-twelve months intervals.

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Salt Lake City: A articulate liquor commission has launched it is miles working out of bar licenses for likely business owners again after a identical shortage two years within the past. The Salt Lake Tribune experiences that the articulate Division of Alcoholic Beverage Administration handed out its final 2019 bar permits Tuesday to two institutions in Lehi and West Valley City. Division authorities articulate 5 other business had been placed on the ready listing, a few of them planning to launch in November and December. Officers articulate companies need to look forward to a inhabitants elevate after applying on account of a articulate law allowing one bar for every 10,200 of us. Officers articulate three permits are anticipated sooner than July 2020 following contemporary inhabitants knowledge. Some owners articulate the Legislature should tranquil review the inhabitants quota.

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Montpelier: The articulate has named a brand contemporary poet laureate. Republican Gov. Phil Scott appointed Mary Ruefle to the honorary attach of residing this week. WCAX-TV experiences she was instructed by a panel of judges. The poet laureate is picked every four years and serves because the articulate’s ambassador for the art of poetry, participating in ceremonies and readings in Vermont and nationwide. Ruefle talked about on the ceremony Monday that she was honored to be a part of the ranks of these who served sooner than her and was humbled and panicked. She talked about she’s mature to that and talked about that’s how she feels within the face of poetry and as “a member of that tribe.” Chard Deniord was the articulate’s final poet laureate. Robert Frost served as Vermont’s first in 1961.

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Richmond: Democrats hoping to pick out adjust of the Legislature in next month’s elections articulate passing the lengthy-stalled Equal Rights Modification will likely be a top priority next twelve months. Handed by Congress in 1972, the Equal Rights Modification would ban discrimination on the foundation of sex, explicitly enshrining equality for females within the U.S. Structure. Thirty-seven states procure ratified it, and advocates articulate having 38 would meet the constitutional threshold for approval, though it would also likely spark courtroom battles over a lengthy-handed ratification closing date and other correct questions. Different states are working toward ratification, however advocates articulate the once solidly conservative Virginia, where every seat is on the ballotin November, appears to be like closest. The measure has cleared Virginia’s GOP-managed Senate sooner than however stalled within the Condominium, which Republicans also narrowly adjust.

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Yakima: County officers procure launched a proposal to flip a detention heart correct into a homeless refuge and spend an further gross sales tax for funding. The Yakima Herald-Republic experiences the proposal would convert the 288-mattress detention heart correct into a multi-care facility named the Yakima County Care Campus. Yakima County commissioners articulate the 0.3% countywide gross sales tax that generates extra than $3.5 million a twelve months may well fund the care facility with commissioner approval. Officers articulate commissioners are anticipated to receive a metropolis hall meeting Oct. 29 to luxuriate in. Commissioners articulate the power would present psychological effectively being companies and products, substance abuse medication and lengthy-term housing. Officers articulate an 8,000-sq.-foot storage building on the detention heart’s property would be mature as eternal refuge. Commissioners request to completely convert the power by 2026.

Usa today West Virginia

Richwood: An 11-foot python that was on the free was stumbled on Tuesday, a few month after it got out of its tank, broke thru a window screen and slithered launch air. Richwood Police Chief Charles Burkhamer says a letter carrier saw the snake laying out within the sun next to a roadway Tuesday, a few block away from where it escaped a month within the past. Authorities had been scouring the residing trying for the reptile, and Richwood residents had been notified to attach learn about over limited teens and home pets. Burkhamer talked about he faced a sparkling question as he regarded on the massive snake on the aspect of the avenue. “What am I going to receive out with it?” he puzzled. “We didn’t procure a dog crate gargantuan enough.” So Burkhamer stuck the snake in a trash can for safekeeping except it would be returned to its proprietor, who has been asked to register the animal with articulate officers and make stronger the reptile’s tank.

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Madison: The articulate has the widest success hole between murky and white college students of any articulate in accordance to outcomes of a test assuredly known because the nation’s document card. The Nationwide Overview of Academic Growth test outcomes released Wednesday display no vital change from statewide outcomes a decade within the past. Nevertheless, declining scores for the lowest-performing college students resulted in Wisconsin having the widest success hole of any articulate. Sigh superintendent of schools Carolyn Stanford Taylor says the success hole is a disaster, and shutting the gaps is “crucial for our articulate.” The test was given to varsity students in fourth and eighth grades final spring. Wisconsin’s scores had been elevated than the national averages in every grades and in every issues.

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Cody: Farmers within the articulate are wrapping up a not easy twelve months for sugar beets. A cool snap followed by per week of aloof temperatures is threatening the harvest within the Bighorn Basin. A freeze followed by a thaw causes liquids to trot out and ruin other beets after they’re stacked in piles. It also lowers the sugar lisp and cost for beets. The Cody Endeavor experiences a summer hailstorm and rainy weather also made for a not easy twelve months. Farmer Cody Easum says harvest dimension and sugar lisp are every low this twelve months. A local beet pile is rising by about 1,200 heaps per day, down from 3,000-4,000 heaps in a strange twelve months.

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[kohaive]

how many times are you going to do this? - serafina

When her father left, her freedom left along with him.

Serafina can't remember her last name.

She knows that she used to have one, but she doesn't know what it was. She doesn't remember much of her family either. The earliest thing Serafina remembers, in fact, was watching a man she could identify as her father hand a woman in a red coat a thick stack of green paper and turn towards a door. She couldn't remember seeing his face as he turned away, only the spread of his back as he walked out the door.

The door closed, and Serafina never saw it open again.

Project Dawn Confidential File Clearance Level: Red Subject: Branders

The Brander faction is directly under the Leira's control. Branders are first, regardless of age, put through intense physical training. They must be able to fight as well as any other Pact member.

Serafina is positive that she is not going to die, and that's the bad news.

She no longer remembers her birthday, or her age. She doesn't remember how old she is. All she remembers is pain.

Bones are snapped. Skin is ripped. Ligaments are torn apart and sewn back together. Teeth, broken and chipped and snapped off. Every time Serafina is carried back into her small dark world of a room, she begs to be killed, begs for it to end.

Serafina recalls being told that healers are supposed to be benevolent, kind. Healers are supposed to gently wipe the blood from your wounds and make them disappear with a wave of a hand. Healers are supposed to be angelic, soft beings that care about the patient and puts them first. Aren't doctors supposed to swear an oath to do no harm, after all?

The healers assigned to Serafina are nothing like that. They are powerful, but they simply snap their fingers and stitch back together her muscles, melt her bones into one piece, wipe out all the agony and suffering and black pain in an instant. "She's all yours," they say, pushing Serafina, cobbled back together again, back out into the fray.

So the cycle goes.

Serafina learns that she was wrong. Healers are not kind. Healers are cruel and vicious and heartless. Healers do not let you stop, no matter how exhausted or hopeless or broken you feel. Healers are horrible people with horrible ideals that are capable of raising whole armies from the brink of death and send them against their foes once again.

So naturally, when it came time to train in magic, Serafina did not want to be a healer.

Serafina was not given a choice.

When Branders-in-training have satisfied the Leira's requirements and have trained in a magical path, they begin the final part of training. Branders in this phase are taught directly by the Leira, not how to remove taint from the body, but to direct it somewhere else.

Before such training can take place, of course, trainees must be Branded themselves, and in a very specific way. This is the most dangerous part of the process, and often where things may go dreadfully wrong...

There is taint crawling down Serafina's throat and across her face, spreading out from the blood-caked, hollow eye socket. It steals her air, sucks it from her lungs, and she jerks against the leather straps pinning her to the table.

Let me die, Serafina thinks, not for the first time. Make it end. Make it stop. Let me die. But she does not die, and it does not end, not for what feels like centuries. She doesn't recall everything that happens, drifting in and out of consciousness, pain and black and something foreign and wrong overwhelming her senses. All that Serafina knows is she eventually wakes up in a hard, uncomfortable bed with bandages wrapped around one half of her head.

Serafina overhears the doctors chatting about how she had nearly died multiple times during the procedure. They use phrases such as "lost case" and "waste of resources" and "not worth it" to describe her, and Serafina finds herself agreeing with them. She will agree with just about anything if it means the end.

For some reason, though, the Leira persists, insists that Serafina is a valuable asset. The Leira sees something that no one else does, but nobody questions the Leira.

(Nobody questions the Leira and survives anyway.)

Serafina eventually recovers, though she wishes she hadn't. Her newly constructed eye is sensitive to light, so she's given a dark eyepatch that fits fairly comfortably. It's the only comfortable thing Serafina has.

Once Branders have recovered from the process, they are ready to begin Branding. Branders will usually select a stone first and charm it appropriately, and then Brand according to the stone's magical waves.

Brands can go anywhere on the mortal body, and the cursestone is usually given to the Leader, who is Branded last.

The first person in Serafina's room is a ten-year-old girl.

Serafina doesn't recognize her, but she's pushed in by a few escorts in red jackets, dragged up to Serafina forcibly. The girl is shaking, huge round eyes filling with tears as she looks at Serafina. "P-p-please d-don't," she stammers. "L-let me g-g-go, p-please--"

"Shut up," one of the escorts growls, and then glances at Serafina. "Is the stone ready?"

"....yes." Serafina's voice is quiet, unable to tear her eyes away from the child.

"Then what are you waiting for?" The escort shoves the girl's left hand forward. "Do your damn job."

If Serafina was able to hesitate without consequences, she would have. But Serafina is not allowed to hesitate when given an order, and, though crass, "do your damn job" could count as an order. Forgive me for this, she thinks, forming a backwards, black 17 in the palm of her hand and pressing it to the back of the girl's.

The child screams. Serafina is never able to forget it.

After the first child comes another, and then another, and another. Only one--a child with dark brown hair and furious eyes the color of sunlight--struggles harder than the first girl did, and this one has to be held down by more than two escorts.

The Brands' locations are burned into Serafina's memories. The back of the left hand. The right shoulder blade. Over the heart.The back of the neck. Left upper arm, just below the shoulder.

The last one, an albino, does not shout as loudly as the others. They cry out at initial contact, but otherwise hardly make a sound. It's welcome after the other four children were so loud, but the silence unnerves Serafina more than anything else now. When she's finished, the child sags in the escorts' grip, and Serafina retrieves the cursestone and presses it into their palm.

"Keep it safe," she says quietly, and the albino is escorted from the room.

Branders are only allowed to leave the bunkers under exceptional circumstances.

"Do you understand, Serafina?" Musoke's gaze is cool and bores into Serafina as if unveiling every one of her secrets. "These children need a handler to keep them on task, and we have decided that you should be the one to do so."

"U-um," Serafina stumbles over her words, "i-if... if I may, why do you feel that way?"

"They're rejecting all of the escorts around them," Anthea replies casually, filing her nails to a razor point. "You're the only other person they've been in contact with. It is you or no one, and no one is not an option."

"Don't screw this up, okay~?" Zilli giggles, watching her fingers intermix with each other and then straighten out again. "Branders aren't supposed to leave the bunkers, but we've already gone ahead and gotten the Leira's permission, so you're fine~"

"...Understood," Serafina says quietly, bowing. "I'll--I'll go review the mission file then."

"See that you do," Musoke nods, eyes flicking down to the paperwork in front of them. "Now then, on to the next order of business..."

Serafina leaves and joins the mission briefing, hovering at the back of the room. It sounds like a simple recon mission, at least on the surface, but there's always something more to Pact missions. The higher ups like to test those down below, see who's worthy and who isn't. Serafina's gut says that if the kids aren't careful, they're going to get killed.

It isn't that she can't sympathize with them, but Serafina decides she won't let that happen. Death is certainly the more attractive option, but they're... well, they're kids. They're young. Serafina could not escape.

Serafina wonders if they would be able to.

As Branders are typically of no use to the Pact beyond their extremely specialized skill of Branding, most Branders will be forced into becoming healers, enchanters, or chemists to ensure the Pact is always using all resources at its disposal efficiently.

The first mission is the farthest thing from a simple recon mission.

Security on the building is far tighter than the file said, and the first attempt to sneak in results in broken bones and bloody lips. Serafina peels back the palms of her gloves and sets to healing, wiping away the blood and knitting bone and flesh back together. The unit looks exhausted after one attempt, but Serafina knows they won't be allowed back to the base until they're successful or dead. As soon as she's finished, the kids shuffle away from her and get back to quietly planning, trying to find a way to complete the mission without dying.

As they plot, Serafina steps away and goes back over the case file. It looks like the goal of the mission is to retrieve a certain file of information that could lead to locating a Pact base. The problem is the file is locked in an office that is hidden through a practical gauntlet of security. It's definitely too tough for a bunch of kids.

...unless...

Serafina's eyes catch on the schematics of the security system, and she looks back over the files of Seventeen and notes what's under the specialties. They needed someone to take control of the network, someone to still the guards' movements, someone to hold a door shut... it could be done, but...

Serafina glances up at Sage, brows knit together in worry. It could be done if Sage was a bit more intuitive and a bit less improvisational.

This isn't a test for the Unit, she realizes. This is a test for, as Anthea had put it, "that shoddy excuse of a Leader".

Serafina waits until Sage ends the meeting, calling it a night and telling them to pick it up later. The kids head off to bed, but Serafina stops Sage, who gives her a wary, irritated look.

"What?" they ask sharply.

"I... was just thinking," Serafina replied quietly, holding up the schematics. "I think... it can be done. But... you're thinking about this too closely. Remember that each of your teammates have their own specialties, and I think you can create a plan that will work."

"Don't preach to me," Sage snaps, pulling away from Serafina. "And don't come near us in the middle of the night either. If you do I'll drown you."

The words sting. Serafina stays on the other side of the room all night.

Branders are not to interfere with combat missions under any circumstances.

The next morning, Sage announces they have a plan at breakfast.

The others seem skeptical, but as Sage lays out the plot they sit up and take attention. Serafina doesn't say anything, but she admires how surprisingly thought out and well-crafted this plan is. Jun, out of the combat zone and instead on proper Scout duty, watching the entire building by hacking into the security cameras and causing false alarms within the system to scatter the guards. Labron, creating talismans, and Ahellia, warping behind guards to freeze them in their place or put them to sleep. Saidi, in proper Tank fashion, leading the charge and making a path for Sage and Paz to get to the main room. There are several places where the plan could go wrong, but Sage has even prepared a few ideas for that.

All they needed was a push in the right direction, Serafina thinks, watching the Unit kids chatter about the various details. All she needs to do is make sure they get back to the bunker safely.

A Brander that fails to comply with the rules imposed upon their lifestyle will suffer at the hands of Unit One or the Leira if their offense is appropriately high. Most consequences will be non-lethal.

Most.

The plan is a success.

There are few wounds, which Serafina easily heals, and she brings them back to the bunker with the intel in hand. Unit One is surprised, but it doesn't show on their faces. Sage delivers the report, as stony-faced as they can be, but Serafina can see their fingers shaking and she's sure the others do as well.

The Unit is dismissed and Serafina turns to follow them, but Anthea speaks. "Serafina, hold on a moment."

The door closes, and Serafina is alone with Unit One. Serafina turns back to them, shoulders straight and back stiff. "Is there a problem?" she says quietly, struggling to keep her voice from shaking.

Ezrael regards her through his white bangs, and Serafina remembers when they weren't like that. When he looked different, powerful. The demon before her is weak and vulnerable. She wonders if he regrets what he did.

Ezrael speaks. "Pax," he says.

Serafina barely registers the order before a wave of force slams into her and sends her smashing against the wall. She gasps for breath, but relief doesn't come as Pax swings his sword again, this time shattering her femur and yanking a cry of agony from her lips.

Pax doesn't stop until Serafina gives up whimpering in pain. She's a mess of broken bones and torn skin and ripped ligaments and she can feel the bone shards piercing through flesh, through nerves, through muscles, she'll never be the same again, she's never going to be anything less than a monster--

"Stop."

The new pain ends. The old pain does not.

"Never interfere with a mission again." Ezrael's deep tones cut through the fog of pain and suffering like a razor blade. "That is all. Take her." Serafina dully registers a door opening before she's dragged off to a healing ward, back to the damn healers, back to those terrifying, horrible people that wipe physical trauma in an instant but can do nothing for the mental scars.

How many times are you going to take me from shattered to whole? Serafina wonders as she's stitched back together for the thousandth time. How many times are you going to do this?

A Brander with repeat offenses or a Brander that attempts to defect from the Pact is a threat to the Pact and therefore must be eliminated.

Branders have no purpose outside the Pact's bunkers. Therefore, Branders that try to escape their walls have no right to continue to exist.

[glassceilingbreakers]

Trump’s Nightmare: Women Opposing Him

It must be galling for a man who has been so open about his disregard for women to find that the strongest pushback to his administration so far has come from a bunch of women who appear more than a little unimpressed by President Trump, his appointees, and his executive orders. On his first day in office, there was the Women’s March, the largest global political protest in America’s history, led by women of color. The march did many remarkable things, establishing a culture of protest and setting a determined, exuberant tone for the dozens of spontaneous demonstrations that have occurred since — many of which have also been populated and led by women.

But women’s leadership extends beyond the grass-roots revival. In Congress, where many Democrats began the new administration short a spine, New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand emerged as the only senator to so far vote no on all but one of Trump’s picks (she voted for Nikki Haley for U.N. ambassador). In the House, California congresswoman Barbara Lee was among the first to announce that she was boycotting Trump’s inauguration. New York congresswoman Nydia Velázquez was early to John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday where she demanded the release of refugees being held at the airport after Trump signed an executive order that prevented travelers with valid visas and green cards from entering the U.S. Velázquez, along with Gillibrand, Women’s March leaders Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory, and New York City public advocate Tish James, was among those receiving the biggest cheers at Sunday’s anti-wall, anti-ban rally in Battery Park. And on Tuesday morning, California representative Maxine Waters is having a press conference about Trump’s ties to Russia.

As Dahlia Lithwick has pointed out, it was four women judges — Anne Donnelly in New York; Leonie Brinkema in Virginia; Allison Burroughs and Judith Dein in Boston — along with Thomas Zilly in Washington, who ordered the temporary stays of Trump’s ban. Many noted that among the lawyers who flocked to airports over the weekend to help detainees, the preponderance of them were female. The Atlantic’s Matt Ford tweeted on Sunday night after leaving Dulles, “Gender disparity was striking: probably 70 percent of lawyers volunteering there are young women.” He noted in his later story that many of the volunteer lawyers were also people of color.

On Monday afternoon, California’s Kamala Harris and Washington’s Patty Murray led a coalition of their fellow senators in opposition to Trump’s Muslim ban, writing a letter expressing “outrage” at Trump’s executive order, and noting that the order “and its haphazard implementation both run counter to our American values and the Constitution, as well as our national security and economic interests.” Executive action “that denies entry to refugees escaping violence and oppression with an explicit preference for people of one religion over another is unconscionable and unconstitutional.”

And of course on Monday night, interim Attorney General Sally Yates sent a letter to lawyers in the Justice Department noting that she was not “convinced that the executive order is lawful,” and that “consequently, for as long as I am the acting attorney general, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the executive order unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so.” Yates was not acting attorney general for long; Trump fired her by the end of the night, releasing a statement in which he claimed that she “has betrayed the Department of Justice” and called her “weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.”

But Yates’s reputation is unlikely to be tied to any sense of weakness; rather, she has, in the span of a few short hours, become the symbol of righteous defiance of a leader whose team spent Monday defending the detention of 5-year-olds at airports.

Yes, there are men who’ve been doing their part to oppose Trump: Congressman John Lewis made news by questioning his legitimacy as president and settled in at the Atlanta airport in support of detainees on Saturday; New Jersey senator Cory Booker broke precedent to testify against Trump’s attorney general pick Jeff Sessions; Oregon senator Jeff Merkley promised on Monday to filibuster any Trump candidate for the Supreme Court who is not Merrick Garland; congressman Jerrold Nadler was right next to Velázquez at JFK; and the anonymous park ranger insurrectionists on social media are surely women and men. Yet it’s striking how many women have put themselves, or found themselves, on the front lines of this burgeoning political fight. In part, this is the result of having more women in public and political spaces where they used to be such distinct minorities — thanks to the kinds of social progress that Trump’s team seems to want to roll back.

Despite the strides, women remain minorities in the institutions where they are leading the fight against Trump. They make up less than 20 percent of Congress and 33 percent of state and federal judges, though as journalist Lisa Belkin pointed out on Monday, more than 60 percent of public interest lawyers are women. To suggest that women’s leadership is inherently more righteous than men’s is both essentialist and wrong, but the female will to resist is pretty poetic: Trump may have vanquished one powerful female foe in the election, but now a million more women have sprouted in her place.

[charlenejpatterson]

Marketing Day: Snapchat’s unskippable video ads, new Gmail features & Reddit’s native ads

Here’s our recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web.

From Marketing Land:

Snapchat to test 6-second unskippable video ‘Commercials’ to run during Shows Apr 26, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues The new ads will be exclusive to Snapchat’s Shows content — the platform’s premium TV-like videos produced by entertainment studios and TV networks.

Twitter attributes more than half of its $575M Q1 ad revenue to video Apr 26, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues Up 21% year over year, Twitter’s $575 million in advertising earnings is split evenly between its US and international markets.

Report: Millennials least influenced by retail advertising, most active tech adopters Apr 26, 2018 by Greg Sterling The bar is getting higher for retailers, and most of them won’t clear it.

The conflicted marketer’s take on AMP for Gmail Apr 26, 2018 by Kyle Henderick Will AMP for email be a force for unparalleled interactivity, or will it be a coding and QA headache? Contributor Kyle Henderick explains why he’s of two minds.

New Gmail features are on the way, including a confidential mode that lets users expire messages Apr 25, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues First announced earlier this month, the Gmail redesign will include several new features scheduled to roll out over the coming weeks.

Reddit’s native ads are now available in the Android app Apr 25, 2018 by Susan Wenograd Promoted Posts are now available on Reddit’s Android and iOS apps.

Recent Headlines From MarTech Today, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Marketing Technology:

Can you afford not to empower your team to build their personal brand? Apr 26, 2018 by Mary Wallace Contributor Mary Wallace describes the elements you should put in place to help your employees become your company’s most effective advocates.

Sprinklr adds AI to its customer experience platform Apr 26, 2018 by Barry Levine Built around social media, the company is first launching its new Intuition to categorize and route social posts related to customer care.

How to build a fearless marketing team Apr 26, 2018 by Matt Zilli As a CMO or marketing leader, you can’t go it alone. Contributor Matt Zilli explains the characteristics you should seek out when building a team.

At the MarTech Conference, City National Bank draws a roadmap for creating a MarTech Office Apr 26, 2018 by Barry Levine After skills and tech assessments, a reorganization, new purposes and an adoption of agile development, the California-based bank has set up its marketers to be ‘digital practitioners.’

Online Marketing News From Around The Web:

‘Your Company Is the Problem’ U.K. Lawmakers Tell Facebook CTO, Bloomberg

20 subject lines + 4 tips for Mother’s Day emails, VerticalResponse

53% of Businesses Use Content Marketing, Small Biz Trends

8 Takeaways and Predictions from the Latest Email Marketing Research, Convince & Convert

9 Warning Signs You Need a Website Redesign (2018), Ignite Visibility

A brief history of artificial intelligence in advertising, Econsultancy

Countdown to F8 2018, – Facebook for Developers

Digg Was Just Bought By An Ad-Tech Company Called BuySellAds, Fast Company

Get creative with 6-second ads: Forget the cutdown, think sequence instead, Think with Google

The Real Cost of Duplicates in Your CRM/Marketing Automation Platform, Marketo

The post Marketing Day: Snapchat’s unskippable video ads, new Gmail features & Reddit’s native ads appeared first on Marketing Land.

[armeniaitn]

My Armenian grandfather was a tailor: Youri Djorkaeff on his connection with fashion and the contract with Zilli

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/sports/my-armenian-grandfather-was-a-tailor-youri-djorkaeff-on-his-connection-with-fashion-and-the-contract-with-zilli-23717-24-06-2020/

My Armenian grandfather was a tailor: Youri Djorkaeff on his connection with fashion and the contract with Zilli

Former French international Youri Djorkaeff, 1998 world champion and 2000 European champion, takes his first steps in the fashion world by signing a contract with French luxury label Zilli.

Djorkaeff, says in  2016, the director of Zilli Laurent Schimel contacted him to offer to dress for the Euro that he was covering with TF1.

 “We started to chat and realized that we had a lot in common. In addition to the fact that it is a Lyon-based company, we have similar paths and life trajectories. A real friendship was quickly created. Rather than playing the simple ambassadors of the brand, we decided to go further and think for long-term collaboration,” the ex-footballer told L’Equipe.

The idea, he says,  was to create his ideal wardrobe for 24 hours and for all places – from sports to the office.

“I opened my wardrobe and looked at the pieces I cared about the most, the ones I wore the most. Some clothes follow me everywhere between Paris, Milan and New York. This is what I wanted to share through this collection. I couldn’t have done things that I don’t wear, it wouldn’t make sense to me. This is my philosophy. I designed the clothes and then worked with the Zilli designers on the materials and the cuts. It’s a real collaboration, it’s not just a marketing coup,” Djorkaeff said.

Asked whether he ever had any connections to the fashion world, Djorkaeff said his Armenian grandfather was a tailor.

“It is a universe that I knew from afar but which I have always liked. My grandfather was a tailor, like many Armenians who immigrated to France. I still remember his warehouse with his fabrics, his huge scissors, his big chalks … It’s a fascinating world that I really like. I am also very sensitive to materials. I went to the workshops of the Zilli brand in Lyon. I could see workers still working by hand. It was a real eye-opener for me,” he added.

Besides, Djorkaeff said that when playing at Inter Milan (1996-1999), he would often be invited to Giorgio Armani shows. “They made me discover this environment.”

“I also know that at that time, the brand’s designers were very close to the world of football. Fashion has always had very strong links with sport in general, and football in particular. With streetwear and basketball, we realize today that sport has its place in fashion,” the former French international said.

“And then, it is also a way to mark your personality: you can find yourself in a sweatshirt, jeans or a t-shirt signed by a great designer. Being able to assert yourself with a piece or two, I think that’s what appeals. To everyone, not just footballers,” he stated.

Read original article here.

[96thdayofrage]

The algorithm used to create the Florida risk scores is a product of a for-profit company, Northpointe. The company disputes our analysis.

In a letter, it criticized ProPublica’s methodology and defended the accuracy of its test: “Northpointe does not agree that the results of your analysis, or the claims being made based upon that analysis, are correct or that they accurately reflect the outcomes from the application of the model.”

Northpointe’s software is among the most widely used assessment tools in the country. The company does not publicly disclose the calculations used to arrive at defendants’ risk scores, so it is not possible for either defendants or the public to see what might be driving the disparity. (On Sunday, Northpointe gave ProPublica the basics of its future-crime formula — which includes factors such as education levels, and whether a defendant has a job. It did not share the specific calculations, which it said are proprietary.)

Northpointe’s core product is a set of scores derived from 137 questions that are either answered by defendants or pulled from criminal records. Race is not one of the questions. The survey asks defendants such things as: “Was one of your parents ever sent to jail or prison?” “How many of your friends/acquaintances are taking drugs illegally?” and “How often did you get in fights while at school?” The questionnaire also asks people to agree or disagree with statements such as “A hungry person has a right to steal” and “If people make me angry or lose my temper, I can be dangerous.”

The appeal of risk scores is obvious: The United States locks up far more people than any other country, a disproportionate number of them black. For more than two centuries, the key decisions in the legal process, from pretrial release to sentencing to parole, have been in the hands of human beings guided by their instincts and personal biases.

If computers could accurately predict which defendants were likely to commit new crimes, the criminal justice system could be fairer and more selective about who is incarcerated and for how long. The trick, of course, is to make sure the computer gets it right. If it’s wrong in one direction, a dangerous criminal could go free. If it’s wrong in another direction, it could result in someone unfairly receiving a harsher sentence or waiting longer for parole than is appropriate.

The first time Paul Zilly heard of his score — and realized how much was riding on it — was during his sentencing hearing on Feb. 15, 2013, in court in Barron County, Wisconsin. Zilly had been convicted of stealing a push lawnmower and some tools. The prosecutor recommended a year in county jail and follow-up supervision that could help Zilly with “staying on the right path.” His lawyer agreed to a plea deal.

But Judge James Babler had seen Zilly’s scores. Northpointe’s software had rated Zilly as a high risk for future violent crime and a medium risk for general recidivism. “When I look at the risk assessment,” Babler said in court, “it is about as bad as it could be.”

Then Babler overturned the plea deal that had been agreed on by the prosecution and defense and imposed two years in state prison and three years of supervision.

CRIMINOLOGISTS HAVE LONG TRIED to predict which criminals are more dangerous before deciding whether they should be released. Race, nationality and skin color were often used in making such predictions until about the 1970s, when it became politically unacceptable, according to a survey of risk assessment tools by Columbia University law professor Bernard Harcourt.

In the 1980s, as a crime wave engulfed the nation, lawmakers made it much harder for judges and parole boards to exercise discretion in making such decisions. States and the federal government began instituting mandatory sentences and, in some cases, abolished parole, making it less important to evaluate individual offenders.

But as states struggle to pay for swelling prison and jail populations, forecasting criminal risk has made a comeback.

Two Drug Possession Arrests

DYLAN FUGETT

LOW RISK3

BERNARD PARKER

HIGH RISK10

Fugett was rated low risk after being arrested with cocaine and marijuana. He was arrested three times on drug charges after that.

Dozens of risk assessments are being used across the nation — some created by for-profit companies such as Northpointe and others by nonprofit organizations. (One tool being used in states including Kentucky and Arizona, called the Public Safety Assessment, was developed by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, which also is a funder of ProPublica.)

There have been few independent studies of these criminal risk assessments. In 2013, researchers Sarah Desmarais and Jay Singh examined 19 different risk methodologies used in the United States and found that “in most cases, validity had only been examined in one or two studies” and that “frequently, those investigations were completed by the same people who developed the instrument.”

Their analysis of the research through 2012 found that the tools “were moderate at best in terms of predictive validity,” Desmarais said in an interview. And she could not find any substantial set of studies conducted in the United States that examined whether risk scores were racially biased. “The data do not exist,” she said.

Since then, there have been some attempts to explore racial disparities in risk scores. One 2016 study examined the validity of a risk assessment tool, not Northpointe’s, used to make probation decisions for about 35,000 federal convicts. The researchers, Jennifer Skeem at University of California, Berkeley, and Christopher T. Lowenkamp from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, found that blacks did get a higher average score but concluded the differences were not attributable to bias.

The increasing use of risk scores is controversial and has garnered media coverage, including articles by the Associated Press, and the Marshall Project and FiveThirtyEight last year.

Most modern risk tools were originally designed to provide judges with insight into the types of treatment that an individual might need — from drug treatment to mental health counseling.

“What it tells the judge is that if I put you on probation, I’m going to need to give you a lot of services or you’re probably going to fail,” said Edward Latessa, a University of Cincinnati professor who is the author of a risk assessment tool that is used in Ohio and several other states.

But being judged ineligible for alternative treatment — particularly during a sentencing hearing — can translate into incarceration. Defendants rarely have an opportunity to challenge their assessments. The results are usually shared with the defendant’s attorney, but the calculations that transformed the underlying data into a score are rarely revealed.

“Risk assessments should be impermissible unless both parties get to see all the data that go into them,” said Christopher Slobogin, director of the criminal justice program at Vanderbilt Law School. “It should be an open, full-court adversarial proceeding.”

[go-redgirl]

15 years for Washington man who stole $12.7M from investors By GENE JOHNSON today

SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state man who served nearly three years in federal prison for an $800,000 fraud — only to steal $12.7 million in a different scam after his release — has now been sentenced to a much longer term of 15 years.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle says that from shortly after his release in 2010 until last year, Sung “Lawrence” Hong and his wife, Hyun Joo “Grace” Hong, defrauded 57 clients who thought the Hongs were legitimate investment advisers. Both were sentenced Wednesday; Grace Hong, 42, received six years.

The couple lost some of the money trading, but they used some the rest on personal expenses, including lavish trips; $12,000 per month to rent a 9,000-square-foot (830-square-meter) mansion in Clyde Hill, east of Seattle; a 45-foot (14-meter) yacht; and luxury vehicles including a Maserati and a Lamborghini.

Federal prosecutors said the Hongs preyed upon members of religious institutions; they named their investment company “Pishon” after a river in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Among the evidence was a YouTube video of the Hongs speaking to a religious conference in Lancaster, California, in 2016.

In it, Grace Hong claims — falsely, prosecutors said — to have worked at Deutsche Bank before she and her husband decided to use their talents to help Christians.

“The desires in my heart was always saying, ‘How can I glorify His kingdom?’” she says in the recording. “I thought, ‘The right Christian way is make money and give back to His church.’”

One California church invested $1 million with the Hongs and lost about $300,000 on a single trade. Another couple allowed the Hongs to manage their $180,000 in retirement funds only to lose $100,000 within less than a year. The losses for some victims represented their entire life savings.

Sung Hong, 47, was arrested by federal agents for investment fraud in 2007 after an Associated Press story detailed how he had cheated his neighbor in Kirkland out of $800,000. When he was sentenced to 33 months for that crime, he told the judge: “Your Honor, once I get back into society, not only will I try my best, even if it means getting menial jobs ... I’ll try my best to pay back my debt.”

He added: “You’ll never see me here again, because I learned my lesson being incarcerated.”

“You clearly did not learn anything from the fact you were convicted and sentenced to prison,” Thomas Zilly, a different U.S. district judge, told him Wednesday, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “You are one of those con men who will never be able to stop conning people.”

Hong told Zilly in a letter Monday that he was “deeply ashamed of the suffering” he had inflicted and that he “wanted to create a company that will benefit a lot of people.” The letter didn’t explain why he and his wife stole so much from their investors.

In a sentencing memo, assistant U.S. attorneys Justin Arnold and Steven Masada wrote that the Hongs had obtained $20 million from clients. They were ordered to repay the $12.7 million.

[districtdaily]

9th Circuit Upholds National Suspension of Immigration Ban

February 5, 2017

The Immigration Ban has been a cluster... well you know what I mean. No denying it.  Here is a timeline:

Friday, January 27, 2017: Executive Order Announced

Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. White House

Source: CNN

Saturday, January 28, 2017: Brooklyn, Virginia, Seattle

Darweesh v. Trump (E.D.N.Y.) [The “Brooklyn” Case]

Background: The Yale Law School Worker and Immigrants’ Rights Advocacy Clinic, the International Refugee Assistance Project, the National Immigration Law Center, the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP together brought this representative habeas action on behalf of all detained travelers from the seven banned countries who were lawful permanent residents, who held valid visas, or who were other individuals from the seven listed countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) legally authorized to enter the United States. Just Security.

Yale Law/ACLU files a writ of habeas corpus, emergency motion for stay of removal, and class action.  Brooklyn Writ.  Brooklyn Motion for Stay. Brooklyn Cert. Yale Newspaper.

Judge Ann Donnelly, granted the writ and “There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations subject to the January 27, 2017, Executive Order.” Brooklyn Order 

White House Response: "Saturday's ruling does not undercut the President's executive order. All stopped visas will remain stopped. All halted admissions will remain halted. All restricted travel will remain prohibited...The order remains in place," the spokesperson said. CNN

Aziz v. Trump (E.D. Va.) [The “Virginia” Case]

Background: The Legal Aid Justice Center and Mayer Brown LLP brought this action on behalf of two lawful permanent residents and a group of others detained at Dulles Airport. Just Security.

Judge Leonie Brinkema,  Virginia Order

Doe v. Trump (W.D. Wash.) [The “Seattle” Case]

Background: In Seattle, the ACLU of Washington, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and the Pacifica Law Project filed a habeas petition and stay motion on behalf of two individuals detained at Sea-Tac airport. Just Security.

Judge Thomas S. ZIlly, granted emergency stay. Limited to only the two petitioners. Seattle Order

Sunday, January 29, 2017:  The “Boston” Case

Tootkaboni v. Trump (D. Mass.) The “Boston” Case

Background: The ACLU of Massachusetts, together with Demissie & Church and Graves & Doyle, filed habeas petitions on behalf of two lawful permanent residents—both Iranian nationals who are professors at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth—who were detained at Logan Airport on their way home from an academic conference. Just Security.

Judge Allison D. Burroughs, granted temporary restraining order (7 days) CNN

Order went a step further ordering that the government could not "detain or remove" individuals who had arrived legally from the countries subject to Trump's order: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Massachusetts Order.

Vayeghan v. Trump (C.D. Cal.) [The “Los Angeles” Case]

Background: The ACLU of Southern California and the Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin brought this habeas action on behalf of a man with a valid immigrant visa who had been denied entry under the Executive Order.

Judge Dolly M Gee, ordered the government to permit him to return to the United States and to admit him pursuant to his approved visa  Los Angeles Order.

February 3, 2017: “Dueling” Cases, Washington Issued TRO

Louhghalam v. Trump (D. Mass) The “Boston Part 2″ Case

Background: This case revisits the Boston Case, where Judge Burroughs, granted the Temporary Restraining Order

Judge Nathaniel Gorton, refused to extend a temporary stay. Massachusetts Order

Ruled that the president had the authority on national-security grounds to bar citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

State of Washington v. Trump (E.D. Wash. [The “Washington” Case]

Background: State of Washington and State of Minnesota filed a temporary restraining order against the Executive Order.

Judge James R. Robart, ordered a national halt to the Executive Order.  in Washington Order

Result???

Lufthansa The airline told passengers Saturday on its website that a judge had halted the ban on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. People with those passports and holding a valid visa "are again allowed to travel to the USA." CNSNews

Qatar Airlines “All refugees seeking admission presenting a valid, unexpired U.S. visa or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) card (Green Card) will be permitted to travel to the United States and will be processed accordingly upon arrival." NPR

Etihad Airways “Following advice received today from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit at Abu Dhabi Airport, the airline will again be accepting nationals from the seven countries named last week.” New York Times

February 4, 2017: DOJ Appeals Washington Case to 9th Circuit

Unhappy with Judge Robart’s decision, He Who Must Not Be Named, went to Twitter. 

“The president’s hostility toward the rule of law is not just embarrassing, it is dangerous,” Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement. Washington Post

Citing "Sovereign prerogative" DOJ filed an appeal requesting both an immediate administrative stay and a emergency motion stay regarding Judge Robert’s appeal Department of Justice Appeal  NPR

“immediately harms the public by thwarting enforcement of an Executive Order issued by the President, based on his national security judgment.” New York Times

February 5, 2017: 9th Circuit Upholds “Washington” Case, Suspension of EO Stands

9th Circuit Appeal of State of Washington v. Trump (E.D. Wash. [The “Washington” Case]

Background: DOJ  filed an appeal challenging Judge Robart’s decision block of Trump's travel ban. AP

Judges Canby & Friedland, reject immediate administrative stay - suspension of Executive Order stands. 9th Circuit Order. New York Times

On the emergency motion, Washington et al. has until Sunday evening 11:59PST to respond to it

DOJ has until Monday 3pmPST. 

Dulles Airport 2pm Rally to Welcome Them Home:

Immigration News Coverage:

With Trump travel ban stay, immigrants scramble to get back to U.S. Washington Post

Trump’s blasts at judge raise questions for Gorsuch on independence Washington Post

Pence Defends Trump’s Criticism of Judge Who Blocked Travel Ban. New York Times

The Hill reports over 50 law suits have been filed. The Hill

Other White House News:

Presidential Executive Order: CORE PRINCIPLES FOR REGULATING THE UNITED STATES FINANCIAL SYSTEM White House

Donald Trump Plans to Undo Dodd-Frank Law, Fiduciary Rule, Wall Street Journal

SNL: Melissa McCarthy was the perfect choice to play White House’s Sean Spicer on SNL Washington Post