#cody burns protection agency

[starzcreamer]

Yay more oc art

Her design will never stop changing because I can't draw consistently nor do I care to lmfao

[rjzimmerman]

Photo of my hand holding a baby desert tortoise at the Desert Tortoise Research Center at the Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Base in Twenty-Nine Palms, California:

Excerpt from this story from the LA Times:

A 3.5-million-acre swath of Mojave Desert between Ridgecrest and the Morongo Basin has received a new federal designation that advocates hope will help protect vulnerable wildlife like the Mojave desert tortoise.

The area has been named a sentinel landscape, a federally led effort to promote sustainable land-use practices near military installations.

“It’s built on partnerships,” said Phil Murray, encroachment manager for the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, one of five installations that surrounds the newly designated land. “A lot of the conservation work that’s done around the Morongo Basin or Mojave Desert is coordinated through different federal agencies, NGOs and private partners.”

The goal is to encourage a more collaborative approach, and to streamline federal assistance to the various agencies, groups and people involved, he said.

The designation doesn’t change who owns or manages the land and does not come with dedicated funding, aside from money for an implementation plan and a coordinator, Murray said. But sentinel landscapes are prioritized for funding through certain grants, he said.

The coalition is expected to support conservation efforts such as erecting desert tortoise fencing to reduce vehicle strikes, creating wildlife crossings, propagating seeds and rehabilitating habitat, including areas that have burned in wildfires, Murray said.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust expects to do much work on the ground, including helping with seed collection and outreach, said Cody Hanford, deputy executive director and chief conservation officer of the nonprofit dedicated to protecting the California desert.

“It will elevate our projects, elevate our goals, which I think in the end will help them become more accomplishable,” he said.

Other partners include various federal and state agencies, conservation groups and San Bernardino County.

The expanse of desert that received the designation is ringed by the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, National Training Center Fort Irwin, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow.

It’s also the heart of desert tortoise habitat in California, said Ken MacDonald, board member at-large and former president of the Desert Tortoise Council conservation group, a partner in the new effort.

“There’s recreational interests, tribal interests, local community interests,” he said. “So coming together as a partnership, we thought, would make the coalition and the cooperation more effective than everybody chipping away and working independently in their own backyard.”

“And so really, it’s to manage the whole 3 million acres cooperatively and collaboratively and be more effective in conserving and recovering the desert tortoises, and that’s pretty much it,” he said. “Just team up and take care of these critters.”

The stretch of desert includes at least 40 other protected species, including the Western Joshua tree, which California has protected with a conservation plan, and the Mohave ground squirrel, which the state lists as threatened.

But perhaps none is as imperiled as the desert tortoise, which California recently listed as endangered.

The species is facing pressure from a number of fronts, MacDonald said. The slow-moving reptiles are vulnerable to being hit by cars. Development has carved up previously wide-open stretches of desert into parcels that are in some cases too small to allow for the breeding and genetic diversity needed to sustain their population health. Drought conditions meant the wildflowers they like to eat never grew some years, and invasive species outcompeted them in other years.

[memecucker]

@doombrigade

1988

Edit

26 September 1988: The novel is published in the UK.

Khushwant Singh, while reviewing the book in Illustrated Weekly, proposed a ban on The Satanic Verses, apprehending the reaction it may evoke among people.[citation needed]

5 October 1988: India bans the novel's importation, after Indian parliamentarian and editor of the monthly magazine Muslim India Syed Shahabuddin petitioned the government of Rajiv Gandhi to ban the book.[127][128][129] In 1993, Syed Shahabuddin tried unsuccessfully to ban another book (Ram Swarup's Hindu View of Christianity and Islam).[130][131]

October 1988: Death threats against Rushdie compel him to cancel trips and sometimes take a bodyguard. Letter writing campaign to Viking Press in America brings "tens of thousands of menacing letters".[132]

20 October 1988: Union of Muslim Organisations of the UK writes the British government pressing for a ban of The Satanic Verse on grounds of blasphemy.[133]

21 November 1988: Grand sheik of Egypt Al-Azhar calls on Islamic organisations in Britain to take legal action to prevent the novel's distribution.

24 November 1988: The novel is banned in South Africa and Pakistan; bans follow within weeks in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Somalia, Bangladesh, Sudan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Qatar.

2 December 1988: First book burning of The Satanic Verses in UK. 7000 Muslims attend rally burning the book in Bolton,[134] though the event is barely noticed by the media.[135]

1989

Edit

14 January 1989: A copy of the book is burned in Bradford. Extensive media coverage and debate. Some support from non-Muslims.[134]

January 1989: Islamic Defense Council demands that Penguin Books apologise, withdraw the novel, destroy any extant copies, and never reprint it.

February 1989: The first copies of the United States edition appear in bookstores, along with book reviews in the US press.

12 February 1989: Six people are killed and 100 injured when 10,000 attack the American Cultural Center in Islamabad, Pakistan protesting against Rushdie and his book.[136]

13 February 1989: One person is killed and over 100 injured in anti-Rushdie riots in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.[137][138]

14 February 1989: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issues a fatwa calling on all Muslims to execute all those involved in the publication of the novel; the 15 Khordad Foundation, an Iranian religious foundation or bonyad, offers a reward of $US1 million or 200 million rials for the murder of Rushdie, $3 million if done by an Iranian.

16 February 1989: Armed Islamist groups, such as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp and Hezbollah of Lebanon, express their enthusiasm to "carry out the Imam's decree".[139] Rushdie enters the protection programme of the British government. The bounty on his head is raised to $6 million.[39]

17 February 1989: Iranian president Ali Khamenei says Rushdie could be pardoned if he apologises.[140]

17 February 1989: Book store chains including B. Dalton, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, and Coles Book Stores say that they will no longer sell the book.[141]

18 February 1989: Rushdie apologizes as President Khamenei suggested; initially, IRNA (the official Iranian news agency) says Rushdie's statement "is generally seen as sufficient enough to warrant his pardon".[142]

19 February 1989: Ayatollah Khomeini issues edict saying no apology or contrition by Rushdie could lift his death sentence.

22 February 1989: The novel is published in the US; major bookstore chains Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks, under threat, remove the novel from one-third of the nation's bookstores.

24 February 1989: Twelve people die and 40 are wounded when a large anti-Rushdie riot in Bombay, Maharashtra, India starts to cause considerable property damage and police open fire.[143]

28 February 1989: Bookstores, including Cody's and Waldenbooks in Berkeley, California, USA, are firebombed for selling the novel.[144]

28 February 1989: 1989 firebombing of the Riverdale Press: The offices of the Riverdale Press, a weekly newspaper in the Bronx, is destroyed by firebombs. A caller to 911 says the bombing was in retaliation for an editorial defending the right to read the novel and criticising the chain stores that stopped selling it.[145]

7 March 1989: Iran breaks diplomatic relations with Britain.

March 1989: Independent book stores including Cody's in Berkeley, California, United States and Powell's in Portland, Oregon, United States continue to sell the book.[146]

March 1989: The Organisation of the Islamic Conference calls on its 46 member governments to prohibit the novel. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar sets the punishment for possession of the book as three years in prison and a fine of $2,500; in Malaysia, three years in prison and a fine of $7,400; in Indonesia, a month in prison or a fine. The only nation with a predominantly Muslim population where the novel remains legal is Turkey. Several nations with large Muslim minorities, including Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, also impose penalties for possessing the novel.

May 1989: Musician Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) indicates his support for the fatwa and states during a British television documentary, according to The New York Times, that if Rushdie shows up at his door, he "might ring somebody who might do more damage to him than he would like... I'd try to phone the Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him exactly where this man is".[147] Yusuf Islam later denied giving support to the fatwa. For more on this topic see Cat Stevens' comments about Salman Rushdie.

27 May 1989: 15,000 to 20,000 Muslims gather in Parliament Square in London burning Rushdie in effigy and calling for the novel's banning.[148]

3 June 1989: Khomeini dies. Former president Khamenei takes over as the new Supreme Leader.

31 July 1989: The BBC broadcasts Tony Harrison's film-poem The Blasphemers' Banquet in which Harrison defends Rushdie by likening him to Molière, Voltaire, Omar Khayyam and Byron.

Following the broadcast of his film-poem, Harrison published a poem titled The Satanic Verses in The Observer in which he wrote:[149]

I shall not cease from mental strife

nor shall my pen sleep in my hand

till Rushdie has a right to life

and books aren't burned or banned

3 August 1989: A man using the alias Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh accidentally blew himself up along with two floors of a central London hotel while preparing a bomb intended to kill Rushdie.[150]

Kerstin Ekman and Lars Gyllensten, members of the Swedish Academy (which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature), stopped participating in the Academy's work in protest at the Academy's refusal to support an appeal to the Swedish cabinet in support for Rushdie.[151][152] Gyllensten dies in 2006, while Ekman leaves in 2018 after the Academy changed its rules, permitting resignations.[153]

1990

Edit

1990: Rushdie apologises to Muslims.

1990: Rushdie publishes an essay on Khomeini's death, "In Good Faith", to appease his critics and issues an apology in which he seems to reaffirm his respect for Islam; however, Iranian clerics do not retract the fatwa.

1990: Five bombings target bookstores in England.

24 December 1990: Rushdie signs a declaration affirming his Islamic faith and calls for Viking-Penguin, the publisher of The Satanic Verses, neither to issue the book in paperback nor to allow it to be translated.[91]

1991

Edit

11 July 1991: Hitoshi Igarashi, the novel's Japanese translator, is stabbed to death;[154] and Ettore Capriolo, its Italian translator, is seriously wounded.

1993–1994

Edit

2 July 1993: Thirty-seven Turkish intellectuals and locals participating in the Pir Sultan Abdal Literary Festival die when the conference hotel in Sivas, Turkey, is burnt down by a mob of radical islamists. Participating in the conference was Aziz Nesin, who had previously announced that he was going to get the book translated and published. The mob demanded he be handed over for summary execution. The mob set the hotel alight when Nesin was not turned over. Nesin escaped the fire and survived.[155]

11 August 1993: Rushdie makes a rare public appearance at U2's concert in Wembley Stadium on their Zoo TV Tour in London. Bono, donned as stage character/devil Mr. MacPhisto, placed a call to Rushdie only to find himself face to face with Rushdie on stage. Rushdie told Bono that "real devils don't wear horns".

October 1993: The novel's Norwegian publisher, William Nygaard, is shot and seriously injured.

1997–1998

Edit

1997: The bounty is doubled, to $600,000.

1998: Iranian government publicly declares that it will "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie".[63] This is announced as part of a wider agreement to normalise relations between Iran and the United Kingdom. Rushdie subsequently declares that he will stop living in hiding, and that he is not, in fact, religious. According to some of Iran's leading clerics, despite the death of Khomeini and the Iranian government's official declaration, the fatwa remains in force. Iran's foreign minister Kamal Kharazi stated,

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention, nor is it going to take any action whatsoever, to threaten the life of the author of The Satanic Verses or anybody associated with his work, nor will it encourage or assist anybody to do so".[2]

1999

Edit

1999: An Iranian foundation places a $2.8 million bounty on Rushdie's life.

14 February 1999: on the tenth anniversary of the ruling against Rushdie, more than half of the deputies in (Iranian) Parliament sign a statement declaring, "The verdict on Rushdie, the blasphemer, is death, both today and tomorrow, and to burn in hell for all eternity".[156]

2000–2004

Edit

14 February 2000: Ayatollah Hassan Saneii, the head of the 15th of Khordad Foundation, reiterates that the death sentence remains valid and the foundation's $2.8 million reward will be paid with interest to Rushdie's assassins. Persians take this news with some scepticism as the foundation is "widely known" to be bankrupt.[156]

January 2002: South Africa lifts its ban on The Satanic Verses.[157]

16 February 2003: Iran's Revolutionary Guards reiterate the call for the assassination of Rushdie. As reported by the Sunday Herald, "Ayatollah Hassan Saneii, head of the semi-official Khordad Foundation that has placed a $2.8 million bounty on Rushdie's head, was quoted by the Jomhuri Islami newspaper as saying that his foundation would now pay $3 million to anyone who kills Rushdie".[158]

2005–2007

Edit

Early 2005: Khomeini's fatwa against Rushdie is reaffirmed by Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a message to Muslim pilgrims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Iran has rejected requests to withdraw the fatwa on the basis that only the person who issued it may withdraw it.

14 February 2006: Iran's official state news agency reports on the anniversary of the decree that the government-run Martyrs Foundation has announced, "The fatwā by Imam Khomeini in regard to the apostate Salman Rushdie will be in effect forever", and that one of Iran's state bonyad, or foundations, has offered a $2.8 million bounty on his life.[3]

15 June 2007: Rushdie receives knighthood for services to literature sparking an outcry from Islamic groups. Several groups invoking The Satanic Verses controversy renew calls for his death.

29 June 2007: Bombs planted in central London may have been linked to the Knighthood of Salman Rushdie.[159]

2008–2012

Edit

24 January 2012: The vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, an Islamic school in India, issued a demand that Rushdie be denied a visa for his scheduled appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival at the end of January. The Indian government replied that there were no plans to bar Rushdie from entering the country, and that Rushdie, who had visited India several times in the past, did not need a visa because he held a Persons of Indian Origin Card "that entitles holders to travel to the country of their origin without other documentation".[160] Rushdie ultimately decided not to attend the festival, citing reports of possible assassination attempts.[161] Rushdie investigated police reports of paid assassins and suggested that the police might have lied.[162] Meanwhile, police were seeking Ruchir Joshi, Jeet Thayil, Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar who fled Jaipur on the advice of officials at the Jaipur Literature Festival after reading excerpts from The Satanic Verses, which is banned in India.[163] A proposed video link session between Rushdie and the Jaipur Literature Festival ran into difficulty after the government pressured the festival to stop it.[162]

17 September 2012: Rushdie expressed doubt that The Satanic Verses would be published today because of a climate of "fear and nervousness".[164]

2016

Edit

22 February 2016: A group of forty state-run media organisations in Iran raised $600,000 to add to the Fatwa on Rushdie.[165]

24 March: In a press release, the Swedish Academy, who awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, condemns the death sentence for Rushdie for the first time, saying:

"The death sentence and the reward money are flagrant breaches of international law and rules of civilised interaction within the world community and therefore can in no way be compatible with normalisation.

The fact that the death sentence has been passed as punishment for a work of literature also implies a serious violation of free speech. The principle of the independence of literature from political control is of fundamental importance for civilisation and must be defended against attacks by avengers and the adherents of censorship.

The Swedish Academy decries the retention of the death sentence for Salman Rushdie and that state-controlled media are permitted to encourage violence directed at a writer."[166]

2022

Edit

Main article: Stabbing of Salman Rushdie

12 August 2022: Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and abdomen when he was set to give a lecture in Chautauqua, New York.[167][168] Commenting on the extent of his injuries, Rushdie's agent said that he had likely lost an eye, in addition to sustaining liver damage and severed nerves in one arm.[169][170] Rushdie was placed on a ventilator the day of the attack, but within 48 hours, he was taken off of it and reportedly able to speak.[171]

14 August 2022: Two days after Rushdie's stabbing, the government-run newspaper of Iran called the attack an "implementation of divine decree".[172]

“A guy who has an open bounty placed on him for decades which has resulted in a near fatal stabbing as well as the murders of people connected to him and the bombing of a hotel building is a lot like people on the internet saying JK Rowling is transphobic”

[oversizebuttonup]

Survivor 43 power rankings ahead of finale:

⬆️1: Jesse. Highly favored winner pick. Def in a strong controlling position after last week’s tribal. potentially lost some jury points by crushing Cody’s soul. Potentially has overplayed his threat level BUT he has an idol so he’s guaranteed top 4. Played idol correctly last week for ally & baited Karla into burning hers. Icon. Good relationships w everyone left except maybe Karla rn?

⬆️2: AlliGabler. Controversial ranking bc I think his win probability is low, but I also think he’s in a swing position. Least predictable = most choices available to him. He’s kept threat level low and has a lot of in game agency rn. Has good reads/insight to see that Jesse has a lot of control. He’s powerful but probably will not have a ton of credibility in a final 3 jury. Still counts as in game power though, i expect him to be able to assert a fair amount of agency over who makes it a round further. I gave him an up arrow but he’s probably neutral, I just couldn’t find a good emoji to show that. 🐊

⬇️3: Cassidy. Favored highly to win by many, she’s held her threat level low. perceived to be a close duo w Karla but has the lower threat level of the two. Also has more game awareness/information right now. Was looped in on last 2 votes. Probably less likely target at 4 than her duo Karla. Seems to have good relationships w everyone. Only reason I’d say she’s lost power since last week is breakdown of duo relationship?

⬇️4: Karla Karla karlaaaa… technically kept out of last two votes, incorrectly played her idol. Caught trying to target her closest ally. Big target and has no protection going into final 5. Hopefully she can work it out but after last week… her in-game power seems low. Unsure if she realizes Cassidy is no longer in her pocket, probably has broken enough trust that she’ll have trouble getting anyone else in her corner.

⬆️5: Owen: My pregame winner pick 😭 His power quotient would be higher than last week but he’s still dead last. Poor little Charlie Brown. Jesse and Gabler are giving him the most credit/attention. Was in on last week’s vote so that’s huge for him! Unfortunately he probably doesn’t have a ton of sway over who is targeted at 5. also just got publicly saved by Jesse which probably decreases his overall power perception on jury. I feel like getting someone to play their idol on you kinda makes you look like a little baby to the jury but who knows. Probably is looking like a great neighbor for final tribal rn, but I also don’t think anyone would be devastated to see him go at 5 ???

[carrsuniverse]

Cody Sims Character Sheet

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.”

First name: Cody

Middle name: Elizabeth

Last name: Sims

Nickname: Detective

Birthday: May 6th

Age: 30

Height: 5′10

-

Myers Briggs: ISTJ-A

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Major Arcana: Death

Hogwarts house: Slytherin

RPG Class: the Knight

-

Hair color: black

Hair style: Long, loose, messy waves

Eye color: Dark brown

Glasses: No

Distinguishing facial features: Wrinkles from frowning and a crooked nose

Most prominent body part: Nose

Body type: Athletic and muscular

Makeup: Very rarely

Scars: Some on her knuckles and her face from fights

Birthmarks: A small splotch on the left side of her rip cage

Tattoos: A rose on the back of her neck

Clothes: Old jeans and tank top and leather jacket

Skin: Medium brown

-

Outlook: Pessimist

Mannerisms: Crossing her arms and resting her hands on her belt

Bad habits: Smoking and starting fights when she’s drunk

What makes them laugh out loud: Rowan

Love language(showing): Acts of service, quality time

Love language(receiving): Physical touch, acts of service

Strongest personality trait: Stubbornness

Weakest personality trait: Patience

Are they competitive: Yes

What is their greatest fear: Failing to protect Rowan

When was the last time they cried: The last time she argued with Rowan

Something that haunts them: [REDACTED]

Indoors or outdoors: Indoors

Secret habits: Filling out Rowan’s reports and doing his work so it can get done on time

Pet peeves: Overly positive people

If they could change one thing about themselves: She’d be less harsh on herself

-

How big is their bio family: Her grandfather is her only living relative that she speaks to

Perception of bio family: She has a tensely loving relationship with her grandfather

Chosen family: Rowan

Pets: Her and Rowan have a grumpy old cat that lives at their office

-

What were they like as a child/teen/adolescent: She was distant and independent

Did they grow up rich or poor: Poor

Where they nurtured/neglected: Neglected

Greatest achievement: Starting her own detective agency

First kiss: When she was 17 and she kissed a classmate at prom

One of the worst things they’ve ever said to someone they love: She told Rowan to get off her case and never come back

Ambition: Being a respected detective

Advice they have for their younger self: “Don’t be so hard on Ro. He’s just looking out for you.”

A smell that reminds them on their youth: Pipe tobacco and scotch

Best childhood memory: Standing up to a bully and winning the fight

Worst childhood memory: Finding her dad’s body

Last time they were crushed with disappointment: [REDACTED]

What is their greatest pride: Their agency

Has anyone ever saved their life: Yes

Has anyone ever endangered their life: Yes

Have they ever put themselves in mortal danger to save someone: Yes

Strongest childhood memory: Coming home from school to find her dad’s body

-

Do they believe in love at first sight: No

Are they currently in a relationship: No

How do they act in a relationship: Awkward, just doing her best man

When was the last time they had sex: A few months ago

What are they like during sex: Quiet, expressive, sensitive

Have they ever been in love: Yes

Have they ever had their heart broken: Yes

-

How do they respond to a physical threat: She gets ready for a fight

Are they more likely to fight with their fists or words: Fists

Kryptonite: Rowan

What would they save from their burning house: Whatever files to their current case

Phobias: Heights

Weapon of choice: A gun or taser

What living person do they despise the most: [REDACTED]

Have they ever been bullied: Yes, but she usually fought them

Where do they go when they’re angry: She usually goes for a walk to find a coffee shop

Do they have any enemies: Yes

-

Current job: Investigative journalist/private investigator

Feelings about job: She’s dedicated and she loves her job

Hobbies: Shooting, fighting, photography

Educational background: High school graduate, kicked out of police academy

Intelligence level: High

Any specialist training: Combat training from her grandfather

-

Favorite animal: Dogs

Least favorite animal: She doesn’t really have one

Place they’d most want to visit: She doesn’t really have one

Most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen: Rowan’s photos from around the country

Favorite color: Dark orange

Favorite food: Hot dogs

Favorite work of art: Rowan’s scrapbook of their travels

-

What’s in their fridge: Insulin and water

What’s on their bedside table: Nothing

What’s in their car: A spare bag in case she needs to leave on short notice

What’s in their bag/wallet: Her press ID and some cash

What’s in their pockets: Loose candy wrappers

Most treasured possession: Her dad’s old gun

-

Religious views: Loose Catholic

What do they think Heaven is: Someplace where you’ll be with people you lost

What do they think Hell is: An empty, cold void

Are they superstitious: Yes

What would they like to be reincarnated as: A human

How would they like to die: Protecting someone

Spirit animal: Armadillo

Zodiac: Taurus

-

What is the worst thing that can happen to a person in their eyes: [REDACTED]

Their version of ‘freedom’: Sitting in a motel room with Rowan, eating cheap gas station food

Last time they lied: She lies to people daily to do her job

Views on lying: If you fall for a lie, that’s your fault

Last promise they made: She always promises Rowan she’ll remember to take her insulin

Did they keep or break it: Keep

-

Eating habits: She doesn’t have a great diet, but she eats on a pretty regular schedule

Allergies: None

Describe their home: Messy with old case files

Are they a minimalist or a clutter hoarder: Completely cluttered hoarder

What is the first thing they do on a weekday morning: Go to the office

What do they do on a Sunday afternoon: Watching movies with Rowan

What are they usually doing on a Friday night: Going out for drinks with Rowan

Soft drink of choice: Diet fruit sodas

Alcoholic drink of choice: Whiskey neat

-

Character archetype: The orphan

Their hero: Her dad

If they could save one person(alive): Rowan

If they could bring one person back from the dead: Her dad

If they could call one person for help: Rowan

How someone can redeem themselves: It’s too difficult, and not even worth it

Do they believe in happy endings: No

Their idea of perfect happiness: Her and Rowan relaxing in a motel room, watching a movie

[tilly19761012-blog]

1 million policy to send homeless to distant family members

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[piranha2509-blog]

2019 NFL MOCK DRAFT

ROUND 1

1. Cardinals

The Pick: Nick Bosa - Defensive End, Ohio State   

Chandler Jones has been one of the fews bright spots for this 3-13 Cardinals team with 13 sacks on the seasons. His numbers are actually deflated because with no running mate other teams can double team him without having to worry. With the first pick in the draft the Cardinals can change that by selecting Bosa who dominated at Ohio State. The Jones and Bosa tandem could be one to terrorize quarterbacks for many years to come.

2. 49ers

The Pick: Josh Allen - Edge Rusher, Kentucky                

It’s very likely that the 49ers trade down to either the Jaguars or Giants both of whom are trying to get in front of the other to select Dwayne Haskins. If they stay put however, they will likely take the uber-talented pass rusher Josh Allen whose decision to forgo the chance to enter the draft last year really paid off. He put up monster numbers in Kentucky and he could really strengthen the 49ers D-Line.

3. Jets

The Pick: Quinnen Williams - Defensive Tackle, Alabama

With the top two edge rushers in this draft Nick Bosa and Josh Allen gone the Jets are going to look to get the best player available and thankfully the best player available might be the best player in the entire draft class. Quinnen Williams was a monster up the middle at Alabama. Gregg Williams comes to the Jets with his new 4-3 scheme and Quinnen Williams should slide right in at Nose Tackle.

4. Raiders

The Pick: Kyler Murray - Quarterback, Oklahoma

With the tier one players in this draft class going in the top three selections Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock might not be benefiting as much as they normally would by selecting the best player available. Watching what the division rival Chiefs did with Pat Mahomes they could draft Kyler Murray this year and give him a year to learn the offense before he hopefully explodes like Mahomes did this year.

5. Buccaneers

The Pick: Rashan Gary - Defensive Lineman, Michigan                

There are a lot of reports coming out that Gerald McCoy’s days in Tampa Bay might be numbered. Even if he stays he’s 30 years old and looks to be on the decline. Their next best D-Lineman was Jason Pierre Paul and he’s 30 as well. Rashan Gary is hyper athletic and can play any position on the D-Line. While his numbers might not be the greatest his athleticism warrants a selection in the Top 5.

6. Giants

The Pick: Dwayne Haskins - Quarterback, Ohio  State                

Eli Manning might still have a year or two left in the tank but Dave Gettleman thinks that it’s about to time to replace him with a younger Qb. Dwayne Haskins proved in his redshirt sophomore year about as much as you can prove in just one season. His sturdy frame, quick release, and pinpoint accuracy allowed him to quickly become one of the best CFB prospects who should be the future in the Big Apple.

TRADE! Broncos Get: Jaguars 1st Rounder, Jaguars Get: Broncos 1st, 3rd, & 6th Rounder

7. Broncos

The Pick: Drew Lock - Quarterback, Missouri

Watching Kyler Murray go 4th overall not only horrifies the Broncos because they’re gonna see him twice a year for another 10-15 years but it also may force the Jags to take the third best passer in the class in Drew Lock. Drew Lock perfectly fits John Elway’s mold for a perfect quarterback with good size and a big arm and those characteristics force Denver to trade up to get Lock.

8. Lions

The Pick: Clelin Ferrell - Defensive End, Clemson            

While it looks like Matt Patricia didn’t exactly have the best first year in the Motor City he was able to do a pretty nice job with the Lions defense taking them from 20th in sacks to 11th with sub-par talent. Ziggy Ansah had a down year for his standards totaling only 4 sacks and now he’s set to become a free agent. Clelin Ferrell has great moves which allow him to get to the Qb often and he can fill the void Ziggy Ansah is going to leave.

9. Bills

The Pick: Ed Oliver - Defensive Tackle, Houston

Ed Oliver was projected to go Number One overall just one year ago but he had a kind of down year in 2019. Injuries held him back and at times he had trouble getting to the quarterback at times while other defensive tackles were improving their stock. His size is also an issue but he’s still a disruptive force up the middle. At pick nine he’s a steal for the Bills who will slot him in where previous franchise tackle Kyle Williams played.

TRADE! Broncos Get: Jaguars 1st Rounder, Jaguars Get: Broncos 1st, 3rd, & 6th Rounder

10. Jaguars

The Pick: Jonah Williams - Offensive Tackle, Alabama

The Jaguars trade down 3 spots and pass on Drew Lock when the Broncos give them an offer they can’t pass up. One of the reasons the Blake Bortles underperformed so much last year was because he was under pressure at times. Assuming the Jags pick up Foles in free agency they are going to have to protect him. Jonah Williams was great at Alabama and would be a steal at the tenth pick.

11. Bengals

The Pick: Devin White - Linebacker, LSU

Vontaze Burfict has dealt with multiple injuries over his career and his latest concussion might have just put his career in jeopardy. Even with Burfict for most of the season the Bengals were still ranked 4th worst in rushing yards per game. At LSU Devin White was easily the best linebacker in college football. He’s a fast sideline to sideline thumper who would add some oomph to this Bengals defense.

12. Packers

The Pick: Jachai Polite - Defensive End, Florida

Mike McCarthy was fired at the end of the season but when new coach Matt LaFleur came in the defensive coordinator Mike Pettine stayed. Mike Pettine likes running the 3-4 defensive scheme however, he’s been missing a star pass rusher. Kyler Fackrell shows good potential and they need someone next to him and Jachai Polite has great speed and moves which allow him to get to the quarterback often.   

13. Dolphins

The Pick: Montez Sweat - Edge Rusher, Mississippi State

Cameron Wake is 37 years old and isn’t going to get any younger. The Robert Quinn trade they made last year was solid but he declined a little and soon he’s going to be out of his prime as well. The Dolphins really don’t have much other talent on the Defensive Line. Montez Sweat is 6’6” and 241  pounds and has great speed and power which allows him to get to the quarterback on a regular basis.  

14. Falcons

The Pick: Greedy Williams - Cornerback, LSU

The Falcons were just outside the bottom five in passing yards given up per game and they cut Robert Alford in the offseason. They need help badly in the secondary as Desmond Trufant and Isaiah Oliver were underwhelming to say the least. Greedy Williams is a lengthy, quick, corner with great awareness and ball skills. While he isn’t necessarily the best fit in the Falcons defense he will still be an immediate upgrade at corner. 

15. Redskins   

The Pick: Daniel Jones - Quarterback, Duke

Alex Smith suffered a gruesome injury and it doesn’t look like he’s going to return for the 2019 season. There’s also a chance that Smith never returns from his injury the same way Theismann didn’t and none of the free agent quarterbacks look like long term fixes for the Redskins. Daniel Jones was coached by Daniel Cutcliffe in Duke a man who is also credited in developing Eli & Peyton Manning.   

16. Panthers 

The Pick: Brian Burns - Defensive End, Florida State

Mario Addison is thirty one years old and has a few good years left in the tank. They need to give him a running mate and then a possible replacement after a few more years. Julius Peppers had his lowest sack total since 2007 and he’s now retired. The Panthers need someone to get pressure on the quarterback so they pick Brian Burns a pass rusher with one of the highest upsides in the draft.

17.  Browns               

The Pick: Christian Wilkins - Defensive Tackle, Clemson

Christian Wilkins dominated guards during his first three years and Clemson and that is why it was so surprising to see him return for his senior season in Clemson. The decision that seemed poor at first happened to pay off big time as he had a career year at Clemson. John Dorsey is going to continue building up this young Browns team and he is gonna take Wilkins and put him next to Larry Ogunjobi for a dangerous duo up the middle.

18. Vikings

The Pick: Cody Ford - Offensive Guard, Oklahoma          

Riley Reiff is the only sure thing on this offensive line at this point and they need help at every position. Cody Ford played tackle at times but he was mainly a mover of men at the offensive guard position. Cody Ford is 6’4” and 338 pounds. He’s a monster who finishes his blocks and rarely gets beat. He’s a great run and pass blocker and would automatically make the rest of the team better.

TRADE! Patriots Get: Titans 1st Rounder, Titans Get: Broncos 1st & 3rd Rounder

19. Patriots

The Pick: TJ Hockenson - Tight End, Iowa

It feels as if the Patriots have just won the Super Bowl for the 53rd time in a row. If there is one position that the Patriots might want to look at in the draft it’s going to be at tight end where Rob Gronkowski looks like his career is going to be winding down. In what is probably his last year in the NFL they should look to draft his successor and there’s no one better then the athletic TJ Hockenson to take his job.

20. Steelers

The Pick: Byron Murphy - Cornerback, Washington

For a team that can’t miss when drafting  wide receivers it’s kind of odd that the Steelers always miss while drafting a defensive back. Joe Haden was the only bright spot in the secondary and he looks like he will hold down one of the starting spots. The other spot currently belongs to Coty Sensabaugh who they could use an upgrade over. Byron Murphy is an aggressive ball hawk cornerback who can fix the Steelers issues at cornerback. 

TRADE! Chiefs Get: Seahawks 1st Rounder, Seahawks Get: Chiefs 1st, 4th & 7th Rounder

21. Chiefs

The Pick: DeAndre Baker - Cornerback, Georgia

The Chiefs inability to stop the pass not only got defensive coordinator Bob Sutton fired but it also kept them from playing the Super Bowl. Kendall Fuller was solid but got injured near the end of the season and Eric Berry has hit the 30 year old mark. The rest of the secondary was a complete mess. DeAndre Baker is an agile corner with great ball skills and instincts that make the Chiefs feel the need to trade up to get him.  

22. Ravens

The Pick: DK Metcalf - Wide Receiver, Ole Miss

Lamar Jackson performed well in his first year because teams weren’t used to playing a team with a quarterback who could also play running back. Teams will eventually adjust and Lamar won’t last very long in this league. To stop him from this fate the Ravens need to add talent at wide receiver. DK Metcalf is the prototypical wide receiver with a great combination of speed and size making him the ideal WR1 for Jackson.  

23. Texans

The Pick: Greg Little - Offensive Tackle, Ole Miss  

Every week DeShaun Watson has to fear for his life playing behind the worst offensive line in the league. They gave up SIXTY ONE sacks during the season. The blind side tackle position in particular was one of the worst positions for the Texans and they could really use an upgrade. Greg Little from Ole Miss has great size for an Offensive Tackle and he has great footwork and athleticism. 

24. Raiders

The Pick: Josh Jacobs - Running Back, Alabama 

When the Raiders picked up Marshawn Lynch two years ago they thought they were going to be getting the Marshawn Lynch who they saw in Seattle, a guy who powered straight through people and ran pretty well downhill. The Raiders didn’t get close to that and now they have the perfect opportunity to give Kyler Murray a run game with a crazy dynamic back in Josh Jacobs.  

25. Eagles

The Pick: Dexter Lawrence - Defensive Tackle, Clemson

Fletcher Cox has been one of the best or even the best defensive tackle in football. He can get to the quarterback as evident with his 10.5 sacks. When offenses ran the ball Cox spent his time in backfields as evident by his 12 tackles for a loss. Next to Cox however, the Eagles got next to no production as Haloti Ngata took a big step back. The Eagles draft the humongous Dexter Lawrence who complements Cox.

26. Colts  

The Pick: Kelvin Harmon - Wide Receiver, NC State

The Colts exceeded all expectations this season with a huge bounce back year from Andrew Luck which was enough to get him Comeback Player of the Year Honors. He managed to do this without very many weapons as after Hilton and Ebron the Colts pass catchers aren’t anything special. Kelvin Harmon is a big body wide receiver who catches 50-50 balls and would be the perfect complement to Hilton in the Colts offense.  

27. Raiders

The Pick: Marquise Brown - Wide Receiver, Oklahoma              

One of the reasons why Derek Carr was unable to produce at the level that he did in 2016 was the lack of weapons he’s had. They lost Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree and replaced them with Jared Cook and Jordy Nelson who are 31 and 33 respectively. The Raiders need a deep threat who can stretch the field and make big plays and Antonio Brown’s cousin Marquise Brown would fit that role perfectly.

28. Raiders

The Pick: Devin Bush - Linebacker, Michigan

Despite having a solid Top 12 defense in almost every rushing statistic including yards per game, yards per attempts, and total rushes the Chargers got absolutely crushed by the Patriots run game in the divisional round matchup. The game showed that they needed to upgrade the linebacker position especially with linebacker Denzel Perryman entering free agency.

TRADE! Chiefs Get: Seahawks 1st Rounder, Seahawks Get: Chiefs 1st, 4th & 7th Rounder

29. Seahawks

The Pick: Nasir Adderley - Safety, Delaware  

The Seahawks managed to make the playoffs just a year after losing Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril, and Sheldon Richardson. To add insult to injury Earl Thomas got injured in the third game of the season. After the injury he stuck up his middle finger signifying he isn’t returning to the Emerald City. Nasir Adderley is a versatile safety who should amend for the Earl Thomas loss.

30. Packers

The Pick: Deionte Thompson - Safety, Alabama

The Packers defense not only needs help on the D-Line they need help in the secondary. They drafted two cornerback in the 2018 draft but then they traded Ha-Ha Clinton Dix in the middle of the season and now there is a glaring need at safety. The Packers play one safety up more then any team in the league and a rangy playmaker like Deionte Thompson could really help the defense.

31. Rams

The Pick: Jaylon Ferguson - Edge Rusher, Louisiana Tech

Robert Quinn a key contributor on the Rams defensive line in 2017 was traded away and the Rams traded for Dante Fowler to replace him. Fowler however, is only a short term fix at edge rusher as he is a free agent and the Rams don’t look like their bringing him back. Jaylon Ferguson can replace him and despite playing for small school Louisiana Tech, he managed to set the NCAA record for most sacks in a career.  

TRADE! Patriots Get: Titans 1st Rounder, Titans Get: Broncos 1st & 3rd Rounder

32. Titans

The Pick: N’Keal Harry - Wide Receiver, Arizona State

The Tennessee Titans just don’t have the weapons around Marcus Mariota to make a deep playoff run. Corey Davis was very solid last season but around him Taywan Taylor, Tajae Sharpe, and Jonnu Smith all performed well under expectations which weren’t very high in the first place. Delanie Walker was injured and now he’s getting older and the Titans need another big wide receiver like great measurables like N’Keal Harry.

ROUND 2

33. Cardinals

The Pick: Jawaan Taylor - Offensive Tackle, Florida

34. Colts

The Pick: Dre’Mont Jones - Defensive Tackle, Ohio State

35. Raiders

The Pick: Zach Allen - Defensive End, Boston College

33. 49ers

The Pick: Trayvon Mullen - Cornerback, Clemson

37. Giants

The Pick: Jerry Tillery - Defensive Tackle, Notre Dame

38. Jaguars

The Pick: Noah Fant - Tight End, Iowa

39. Buccaneers

The Pick: Dalton Risner - Offensive Tackle, Kansas State

40. Bills

The Pick: Hakeem Butler - Wide Receiver, Iowa State

41. Broncos

The Pick: Julian Love - Cornerback, Notre Dame

42. Bengals

The Pick: Jeffrey Simmons - Defensive Tackle, Mississippi State

43. Lions

The Pick: Amani Oruwariye - Cornerback, Penn State

44. Packers

The Pick: Irv Smith Jr - Tight End, Alabama

45. Falcons

The Pick: Gerald Willis III - Defensive Tackle, Miami (FL)

46. Redskins

The Pick: JJ Arcega-Whiteside - Wide Receiver, Stanford

47. Panthers

The Pick: Garrett Bradbury - Center, NC State

48. Dolphins

The Pick: Chris Lindstrom - Offensive Guard, Boston College

49. Browns

The Pick: Andre Dillard - Offensive Tackle, Washington State

50. Vikings

The Pick: Mack Wilson - Linebacker, Alabama

51. Titans

The Pick: Oshane Ximines - Edge Rusher, Old Dominion

52. Steelers

The Pick: Tre Lamar - Linebacker, Clemson

53. Eagles

The Pick: Deebo Samuel - Wide Receiver, South Carolina

54. Texans

The Pick: Beau Benzschawel - Offensive Guard, Wisconsin

55. Texans

The Pick: Taylor Rapp - Safety, Washington

56. Patriots

The Pick: Charles Omenihu - Defensive End, Texas

57. Eagles

The Pick: Yodny Cajuste - Offensive Tackle, West Virginia

58. Cowboys

The Pick: Isaiah Buggs - Defensive Line, Alabama

59. Colts

The Pick: Chauncey-Gardner Johnson - Safety, Florida

60. Chargers

The Pick: David Edwards - Offensive Tackle, Wisconsin

61. Chiefs

The Pick: Juan Thornhill - Safety, Virginia Tech

62. New Orleans

The Pick: Rock Ya-Sin - Cornerback, Temple

63. Chiefs

The Pick: David Montgomery - Running Back, Iowa State

64. Patriots

The Pick: AJ Brown - Wide Receiver, Ole Miss

ROUND 3

65. Cardinals

The Pick: Riley Ridley - Wide Receiver, Georgia

66. Raiders

The Pick: Jonathan Abram - Safety, Mississippi State

67. 49ers

The Pick: Erik McCoy - Offensive Guard, Texas A&M

68. Jets

The Pick: Chase Winovich - Edge Rusher, Michigan

69. Jaguars

The Pick: Anthony Johnson - Wide Receiver, Buffalo

70. Buccaneers

The Pick: Kris Boyd - Cornerback, Texas

71. Giants

Forfeited

72. Broncos

The Pick: Kaleb McGary - Offensive Tackle, Washington

73. Bengals

The Pick: Isaiah Prince - Offensive Tackle, Ohio State

74. Patriots

The Pick: Ryan Finley - Quarterback, NC State

75. Bills

The Pick: Elgton Jenkins - Center, Mississippi State

76. Packers

The Pick: Michael Deiter - Offensive Guard, Wisconsin

77. Redskins

The Pick: Connor McGovern - Offensive Guard, Penn State

78. Panthers

The Pick: Kaden Smith - Tight End, Stanford

79. Dolphins

The Pick: Will Grier - Quarterback, West Virginia

80. Falcons

The Pick: Michael Jordan - Offensive Guard, Ohio State

81. Browns

The Pick: Ben Burr-Kirven - Linebacker, Washington

82. Minnesota

The Pick: Jaquan Johnson - Safety, Miami (FL)

83. Titans

The Pick: Lukas Denis - Safety, Boston College

84. Steelers

The Pick: Terry Beckner Jr - Defensive Tackle, Missouri

85. Seahawks

The Pick: TJ Edwards - Linebacker, Wisconsin

86. Ravens

The Pick: Germaine Pratt - Linebacker, NC State

87. Texans

The Pick: Damien Harris - Running Back, Alabama

88. Bears

The Pick: Jalen Jelks - Edge Rusher, Oregon

89. Lions

The Pick: Andy Isabella - Wide Receiver, UMass

90. Colts

The Pick: Joe Jackson - Edge Rusher, Miami (FL)

91. Cowboys

The Pick: Caleb Wilson - Tight End, UCLA

92. Chargers

The Pick: Khalen Saunders - Defensive Tackle, Western Illinois

93. Chiefs

The Pick: Daylon Mack - Defensive Tackle, Texas A&M

94. Jets

The Pick: Dennis Daley - Offensive Tackle, South Carolina

95. Jaguars

The Pick: D’Andre Walker - Edge Rusher, Georgia 

96. Browns

The Pick: Michael Jackson - Cornerback, Miami (FL)

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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.

Usa today Florida

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.

Usa today Georgia

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.

Usa today Hawaii

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.

Usa today Idaho

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.

Usa today Illinois

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.

Usa today Indiana

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.

Usa today Iowa

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.

Usa today Kansas

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.

Usa today Kentucky

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.

Usa today Louisiana

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.

Usa today Maine

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.

Usa today Maryland

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.

Usa today Massachusetts

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.

Usa today Michigan

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.

Usa today Minnesota

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.

Usa today Mississippi

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.

Usa today Missouri

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.

Usa today Montana

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.

Usa today Nebraska

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.

Usa today Nevada

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.

Usa today Fresh Jersey

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.

Usa today Fresh Mexico

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.

Usa today Fresh York

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.”

Usa today North Carolina

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.

Usa today North Dakota

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.

Usa today Ohio

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.

Usa today Oklahoma

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.

Usa today Oregon

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.

Usa today Pennsylvania

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.

Usa today Rhode Island

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.

Usa today South Carolina

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.

Usa today South Dakota

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.

Usa today Tennessee

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.”

Usa today Texas

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.

Usa today Utah

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.

Usa today Vermont

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.

Usa today Virginia

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.

Usa today Washington

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.

Usa today Wisconsin

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.

Usa today Wyoming

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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How your NFL team can fix its biggest offseason needs

Buffalo Bills

The Bills used free agency to build around Josh Allen, getting quantity (if not quality) as they work to prop up their budding franchise QB. Wideouts John Brown and Cole Beasley will add viable targets for a weak passing game, and linemen Mitch Morse and Spencer Long should keep Allen from getting his jersey too dirty in 2019.

There are still plenty of holes to fill in Buffalo, however. The Bills lack the kind of game-changing WR1 who can give Beasley, Brown, and Zay Jones room to thrive. They could also use a run-stopping plug in the middle of the defensive line now that Kyle Williams has retired, and the secondary needs help as well.

Miami Dolphins

Miami needs help just about everywhere, and while signing Ryan Fitzpatrick gives the Dolphins some experience at quarterback, he’s no long-term solution. First-year head coach Brian Flores also brought former Patriots Eric Rowe and Dwayne Allen south with him, which ... yeah, isn’t splashy.

That leaves plenty of work to do in the draft and 2019 will be a rebuilding year, so Flores should prioritize adding as much pure talent to a barren roster as possible. Replenishing the team’s defense — primarily at edge rusher and in the secondary — and the offensive line would be a good start for what could be a long road back to prosperity.

New England Patriots

The Patriots watched some premium talent leave this offseason when Trent Brown and Trey Flowers each struck off for massive contracts elsewhere and Rob Gronkowski retired. Filling Tom Brady’s need for receiving talent is the uninspiring new group of Demaryius Thomas, Bruce Ellington, Matt LaCosse, Maurice Harris, and Austin Seferian-Jenkins. On the plus side, veterans Michael Bennett and Mike Pennel should be able to replace some of the versatile upfront presence Flowers left behind.

New England still needs young blood at wideout and tight end, as well as a dominant pass rusher to keep players like Deatrich Wise and John Simon in rotational roles. With 12 picks, the Patriots could also grab an offensive tackle and — gasp! — a quarterback to potentially replace Brady one day (if he ever stops playing football).

New York Jets

New York is following a similar blueprint as Buffalo: adding talent around a second-year quarterback to help coax a giant leap out. That’s brought Le’Veon Bell and Jamison Crowder into town to revamp the offense, while C.J. Mosley will be called upon to lead the Jets’ defense.

The team still needs to address the departures along the interior of its offensive line in order to allow Bell to feast and to keep Sam Darnold upright. New York also needs help at cornerback to allow the Jamal Adams-Marcus Maye duo to shine and an edge presence to balance out an uneven pass rush.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens lost some big names (C.J. Mosley, Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs) and added a pair of their own in Earl Thomas and Mark Ingram. That’ll add an extra punch to the running game and provide a younger upgrade to Eric Weddle at safety, but Baltimore’s chance to repeat as AFC North champion may hinge on adding new, dynamic talent in this year’s draft.

The top priority may be giving Lamar Jackson the receiving (and tight end) talent he needs to thrive as a passer. He could use more help in the middle of his offensive line to clear a path for both him and Ingram on the ground, too. The Ravens also need pass rushers to replace the production Suggs and Za’Darius Smith left behind.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals’ quest to move on from the Marvin Lewis era meant re-signing marginal (or oft-injured) talent like Bobby Hart, C.J. Uzomah, and Tyler Eifert. Vontaze Burfict is gone though, so now the Steelers will have to drive 15 more yards than usual each time they play Cincinnati.

New coach Zac Taylor is an offensive-minded leader, but he’ll have to draft a cache of defensive talent to restore the Bengals to contender status. Cincinnati needs help in the trenches, with gaps at both defensive tackle and along the edges, and linebacker support — especially now that Burfict is gone. A quarterback to eventually take over for Andy Dalton could be on the agenda, too.

Cleveland Browns

Only the Raiders could match the Browns’ big-name activity this offseason, as new head coach Freddie Kitchens added Odell Beckham Jr., Olivier Vernon, Kareem Hunt, and Sheldon Richardson to his rising team. This influx of talent, coupled with the strong finish to 2018, has Cleveland looking like AFC North favorites for the first time in a long, long time.

There are still holes to be patched, though none especially gaping. A foundational left tackle could upgrade Baker Mayfield’s protection in 2019 and beyond. A linebacker who can be the Kirkland version of Jamie Collins and another cornerback would boost the defense. Oh, and a punter would help, too.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Le’Veon Bell? Gone. Antonio Brown? Gone. Jesse James? Also gone, but in much less dramatic fashion.

Who’s in? Mark Barron, Steven Nelson and, uh, Donte Moncrief.

So the Steelers need some fresh talent in this year’s draft. Getting an inside linebacker who can cover rangy tight ends and replace the leadership Ryan Shazier once provided would be a big win. Help at cornerback should Artie Burns never live up to his potential is also needed. And Ben Roethlisberger could use some supporting WR/TE help to keep Pittsburgh’s offensive legacy intact.

Houston Texans

The Texans lost two major components of their 2018 run when starting safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson departed for eight-figure salaries elsewhere. Kevin Johnson and Christian Covington followed, leaving gaps only be partially filled by free agent signees Tashaun Gipson, Bradley Roby, and Briean Boddy-Calhoun.

Houston still needs secondary help, especially if Roby remains a bit of an enigma. But most importantly it needs to keep Deshaun Watson — who was sacked an unacceptable 62 times in 2018 — upright and healthy. Upgrading an ever-porous offensive line will be paramount to the team’s AFC South title defense.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts jumpstarted their rebuild with a handful of impact additions last offseason, but have been relatively quiet this spring despite a wealth of cap space. Indianapolis re-signed Pierre Desir, bet on Devin Funchess living up to his potential with Andrew Luck, and then lured Justin Houston north after he was released by the Chiefs to cap a small — but potent — free agent haul.

Chris Ballard absolutely nailed last year’s draft, adding two different All-Pros. This year he needs some wide receiving help behind T.Y. Hilton and Funchess, a pass rusher to thrive next to veterans Houston and Jabaal Sheard, and some secondary help to keep Desir from shouldering the entire load in the defensive backfield. He’ll have four top-90 picks to get there.

Jacksonville Jaguars

2018 was an impressive mess, and the 2019 offseason brought quarterback Nick Foles and not much else to help it. Jacksonville is betting last year’s defensive regression won’t last, adding only Green Bay linebacker Jake Ryan despite losing Tashaun Gipson and Malik Jackson. It still has several good, young players in place, but it would benefit from finding an edge rusher to pair with Yannick Ngakoue.

The Jaguars’ lack of cap space places an extra emphasis on drafting playmakers — particularly wide receivers and tight ends who can expand Foles’ margin of error. On a similar note, help at either tackle position would help keep Foles protected. He was sacked 4.5 percent the past two years in Philadelphia, while Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler were sacked on 9 percent of their dropbacks in 2018.

Tennessee Titans

Tennessee has to make a decision about whether to commit to Marcus Mariota at quarterback or not as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. The team has given him some extra weapons this offseason, signing slot receiver Adam Humphries and lineman Rodger Saffold. The latter will be particularly useful after losing both his starting guards from 2018 — Josh Kline and Quinton Spain — this spring.

Adding more playmakers would help Mariota be his best self, but a few impact defenders could transform the Titans’ defense from good to great. Tennessee needs additional depth at all three levels of the defense, including pass-rushing presences both inside and out and some safety help alongside Kevin Byard. Fortunately, the 2019 NFL Draft is loaded with those type of players.

Denver Broncos

John Elway has pegged Joe Flacco, a man with worse numbers than Case Keenum in 2018, as his Keenum replacement. And though he added Ja’Wuan James to hold down the right tackle spot, he also lost interior blockers Matt Paradis and Billy Turner in free agency, creating a need to protect the former Super Bowl MVP — or whichever rookie takes over.

Yep, quarterback is a major need Elway will have to address at the 2019 NFL Draft. So is tight end, where Jake Butt has been limited to just three games in two seasons due to injury. The Denver defense could also use an infusion of talent after backsliding in 2018. Most notably, the Broncos could use a powerful defensive tackle who can take the blocking attention away from Von Miller and Bradley Chubb along the edges.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs needed defense, but were too cash-strapped to keep the big names they already had in 2019. Eric Berry, Dee Ford, Steven Nelson, and Justin Houston are all gone from last year’s AFC finalist squad. Frank Clark, Tyrann Mathieu, and Alex Okafor will help bolster the defensive rebuild, but they’ll need help.

Kansas City enters the draft with several needs and some unappealing picks with which to fill them, especially after trading its first-round pick for Clark. It needs secondary help to keep teams from outscoring Patrick Mahomes. And, if the value is there, the Chiefs wouldn’t be too off base by picking up some interior line help to keep Mahomes upright.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers’ 2018 put them back in contention for the AFC West crown, but a tight salary cap situation meant the biggest contract they’d hand out would go to backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Los Angeles’ free agent losses were minimal — deep threat Tyrell Williams, lane-clogging DT Darius Philon, and oft-injured cornerback Jason Verrett foremost among them — so there’s a chance Philip Rivers’ team can compete in 2019 even without a new crop of rookie playmakers.

Of course, an impact draft class could be the missing piece that sends Rivers to his first Super Bowl. LA needs receiving talent to replace Williams and give Keenan Allen some downfield support — especially if Allen gets injured again. The team could also use some help along the edges to keep its veteran quarterback protected.

Oakland Raiders

Jon Gruden’s second offseason was somehow busier than his first, as he handed out massive deals to Trent Brown, Tyrell Williams, and Lamarcus Joyner after trading for unhappy Pittsburgh wideout Antonio Brown. Vontaze Burfict is also here to give John Madden flashbacks of his 1970s Oakland squads.

The Raiders are primed for a bounce back, but they’ve still got needs to address if they’re going to compete in the ultra-tough AFC West. They no longer have a Khalil Mack-like presence in the pass rush and could use help both on the edge and from the interior of their defensive line. They also need secondary help — a need that’s haunted the team for what seems like the past decade — and a useful dual-threat tailback to replace Marshawn Lynch ... whenever.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys used this offseason to keep DeMarcus Lawrence locked down and bring Jason Witten out of retirement, which is a boon for both their receiving corps and any of us who failed to mute Monday Night Football in 2018. Signing Randall Cobb adds an extra weapon for Dak Prescott, who will be without Cole Beasley and Geoff Swaim after both signed elsewhere. And while George Iloka isn’t Earl Thomas, he’ll still add value to the Dallas secondary.

But Prescott still needs targets, particularly at tight end with Witten pushing 37 years old. And that defense could use a long-term solution at safety, especially since Iloka is only signed for a single year. Getting Lawrence a pocket-crumpling running mate would be a boost as well.

New York Giants

Dave Gettleman’s reshaping of the Giants’ roster has been puzzling for much of the 2019 offseason. He traded both Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon to the Browns, leaving big shoes to fill at wide receiver and defensive end — although the latter trade landed guard Kevin Zeitler in New York, helping to upgrade an offensive line that struggled in 2018. The Giants also lost Landon Collins, one of the best young safeties in the NFL, in free agency.

The Giants found replacements by signing receiver Golden Tate, pass rusher Markus Golden, and safety Antoine Bethea. But all three are downgrades, and the team still has work to do at the most premium positions — not to mention quarterback, where a replacement for Eli Manning needs to be found soon.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles already have a roster that should continue to be in Super Bowl contention, so the offseason has mostly just been small tinkering to make it even better. The Eagles added Malik Jackson to the defensive line, traded to bring receiver DeSean Jackson back to where his career began, and added running back Jordan Howard in another trade.

There are no holes on the roster that desperately need to be filled, but Philadelphia could stand to add defensive depth. Michael Bennett was traded away to the Patriots, leaving room for another pass rusher to be added to the mix. More help in the secondary and a replacement for 37-year-old left tackle Jason Peters could also be top priorities.

Washington

The offseason started for Washington in a big way with the addition of Landon Collins, a transformative safety who should make a gigantic difference on defense. The problem is the rest of the spring has just been depressing for the team.

Alex Smith probably won’t be back in 2019, and Washington acquired Case Keenum as the quarterback to temporarily fill those shoes. The team also signed colossal draft bust Ereck Flowers for offensive line depth, and pulled cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie out of his brief retirement.

Washington is left with plenty of rebuilding to do. A quarterback of the future needs to be found at some point, but a pass rusher to complement Ryan Kerrigan may be the even higher priority. The team also needs receivers, defensive backs, and offensive linemen.

Chicago Bears

Last year, the Bears dove headfirst into free agency and then landed Khalil Mack in a trade just before the regular season. The 2019 offseason hasn’t been nearly as exciting, but it hasn’t had to be. Chicago is already a contender and tried nudging itself over the hump by signing safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

Clinton-Dix will help offset the loss of Adrian Amos, who joined the Packers in free agency. The Bears also lost cornerback Bryce Callahan and running back Jordan Howard, but the additions of Buster Skrine and Mike Davis should fill those holes.

All that leaves little work left for general manager Ryan Pace to do in the draft. The Bears could target help in the secondary, another pass rusher, or hunt for some skill position upgrades.

Detroit Lions

The coup of the offseason for the Lions was pass rusher Trey Flowers, who will make a big difference on defense if he provides more consistency than Ezekiel Ansah did. That was far from the only move Detroit made, though. The Lions also brought on cornerbacks Justin Coleman and Rashaan Melvin, tight end Jesse James, and receiver Danny Amendola.

Still, the roster has plenty of reconstruction left to do. Matthew Stafford needs more help, and Detroit could benefit from drafting another receiver and one of the many top tight end prospects this year. Most of all, Matt Patricia could use more pieces on defense — especially in the secondary and on a defensive line that needs to add more than just Flowers.

Green Bay Packers

It was an uncharacteristically active venture into free agency for the Packers, who added safety Adrian Amos, linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, and offensive lineman Billy Turner. All those additions free up Green Bay to use the draft to fulfill its top priority of the offseason: Make Aaron Rodgers happy.

Outside of Davante Adams, there really aren’t many receiving options that the Packers can feel comfortable with on the roster. Both receivers and tight ends could be on the draft-day wish list for Green Bay. The Packers could also stand to round out the defense with linemen and defensive backs to complement their free agent additions.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings’ defense was still good in 2018, but quarterback Kirk Cousins wasn’t the savior who pushed the team over the top. Part of his struggled can be attributed to an offensive line that failed to clear space. Minnesota hasn’t done much to fix that yet, though. It lost Nick Easton in free agency released Mike Remmers, and only spent big money to retain Anthony Barr.

Protecting Cousins is clearly the top priority heading into the draft, at both guard and tackle. Other places on the roster — like running back, wide receiver, and defensive tackle — could stand to add depth as well.

Atlanta Falcons

The offseason for the Falcons has consisted of more subtraction than addition with Tevin Coleman, Robert Alford, Andy Levitre, and Bruce Irvin all leaving as free agents. Atlanta kept the most important impending free agent, though, by giving defensive tackle Grady Jarrett the franchise tag.

Still, Matt Ryan has no shortage of weapons, and the defense has speed at linebacker and in the secondary. Now, Atlanta needs to add beef on both sides of the ball.

The defensive line will be the more important project of the two with defensive tackles and pass rushers at the top of the wish list. The offensive line needs help too, but adding James Carpenter and Jamon Brown in free agency may serve as a solid band-aid for the situation.

Carolina Panthers

It’s starting to feel like a bit of a broken record at this point: The Panthers need to upgrade Cam Newton’s supporting cast. Keeping offensive tackle Daryl Williams and signing center Matt Paradis was a start, but the offensive line could still use more help and receiving options are thin after D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel — especially after the departure of Devin Funchess.

But the bigger issue is a defensive line that has Kawann Short, Mario Addison, and not much else. Julius Peppers finally retired and that leaves pass rusher as the clear top priority for the team heading into the draft.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints didn’t need to do much this offseason after a 13-win season, and that’s good because they didn’t have many resources to use. New Orleans needs cap space in the reserves to lock down Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara for the future. But the team still managed to tinker away in free agency and add tight end Jared Cook and center Nick Easton. It lost pass rusher Alex Okafor and running back Mark Ingram, but replaced the latter with Latavius Murray.

New Orleans isn’t scheduled to make its first draft pick until late in the second round, but there’s no single pressing need that the Saints have to address. Adding a defensive tackle, wide receiver, or cornerback who can contribute as a rookie could be all it takes to push the Saints over the top.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bruce Arians’ first year coaching in Tampa looks like a rebuilding one. The Bucs made few big moves this offseason; their most expensive signing of the spring was punter Bradley Pinion. Kwon Alexander, Adam Humphries, and even Ryan Fitzpatrick have all moved on from Tampa Bay, leaving Arians with an opportunity to shape the team in his image.

Alexander’s departure leaves a hole in the middle of the defense, and the receiving corps are pretty limited after Mike Evans thanks to Humphries’ departure and the trade that shipped DeSean Jackson back to Philadelphia. Some high-upside defensive backs would also help bolster one of the league’s worst passing defenses — and allow quarterback Jameis Winston to win some games that aren’t shootouts.

Arizona Cardinals

While the Cardinals made some minor moves to improve an awful roster this offseason, their rebound from 2018’s bottoming-out will come through the draft. Defenders like Jordan Hicks, Darius Philon, and Robert Alford were strong supporting additions, but players like J.R. Sweezy, Charles Clay, and a 36-year-old Terrell Suggs probably aren’t going to be instrumental to the team’s rebuild.

Kyler Murray would, however. Taking a second straight first-round quarterback would give debuting head coach Kliff Kingsbury a passer he’s long coveted and make Arizona infinitely more entertaining. The Cardinals need plenty of help elsewhere, no matter who their 2019 QB is — restocking the team’s offensive line and receiving corps should be a priority during the draft.

Los Angeles Rams

2019 has been a measured offseason for a Rams team that built an NFC champion over the course of the previous two years. Starters like Lamarcus Joyner, Rodger Saffold, and Mark Barron have departed, replaced by Eric Weddle, Clay Matthews, and whomever can step up either in this year’s draft or from previous drafts.

The reigning NFC West champs aren’t hurting for talent, but an aging secondary could use reinforcements — many of which will be available at the end of the first round. There’s need up front, too, especially since it appears Ndamukong Suh won’t be returning to Los Angeles this fall.

San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco lost a season due to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s knee injury, but 2019 should bring improvements thanks to the expensive addition of linebacker Kwon Alexander and pass rusher Dee Ford, and the low-risk, high-reward signings of Tevin Coleman, Jordan Matthews, and Jason Verrett. The free agent losses were minimal, too — the biggest names leaving Santa Clara were punter Bradley Pinion and rotational pass rusher Cassius Marsh.

The Niners have premier position in this year’s draft, which should allow them to pick up the pass-rushing talent they need with the No. 2 selection. Their second-round spot will yield a solid group of young receivers to team up with Marquise Goodwin, George Kittle, and Dante Pettis and push Garoppolo to a resurgent season. A little extra blocking wouldn’t hurt, either.

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle’s latest attempt to protect Russell Wilson swaps out J.R. Sweezy for Mike Iupati, which is a step in the right direction but probably not enough for Wilson to avoid being one of the league’s most-sacked QBs again. While retaining K.J. Wright and the awaiting-sentence-for-insider-trading Mychal Kendricks helps, that won’t offset the losses of defenders like Shamar Stephen, Justin Coleman, Frank Clark, and especially Earl Thomas.

If the Seahawks want to stave off a decline, they’ll have to add some defensive talent both up front and in the backfield to provide at least a passable imitation of the former Legion of Boom. Wilson still needs help too — not just from a cheesecloth offensive line, but also from a group of wide receiver and tight end targets led by Tyler Lockett and a 31-year-old Doug Baldwin.

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As Georgia Reopened, Officials Knew of Severe Shortage of PPE for Health Workers

As the coronavirus crisis deepened in April, Georgia officials circulated documents showing that to get through the next month, the state would need millions more masks, gowns and other supplies than it had on hand.

The projections, obtained by KHN and other organizations in response to public records requests, provide one of the clearest pictures of the severe PPE deficits states confronted while thousands fell ill from rising COVID-19 cases, putting health workers at risk.

Georgia on April 19 had 932,620 N95 respirator masks — one of the best protections for health workers against infection — and expected to burn through nearly 7 million within a month. It urgently needed to buy 1.4 million more, according to documents obtained by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation and shared with KHN. For gowns, officials expected to go through 16.1 million in 30 days, a staggering amount compared with the 21,810 the state had at the time.

“Making progress with PPE needs. Biggest challenge now is gowns and we are working it,” Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Director Homer Bryson wrote on April 19 to two of Gov. Brian Kemp’s senior-most aides.

Even so, one day later, the first-term Republican governor announced he would begin to reopen the state’s economy, including gyms, restaurants, hair salons, theaters and a host of other businesses.

“We have relied on data, science and the advice of health care professionals to guide our approach and decision-making,” he said at a news conference, “putting the health and well-being of our citizens first and doing our best to protect lives and livelihoods.”

“Our state agencies and the governor felt confident in the state’s ability to meet daily PPE requests from our local emergency preparedness partners and medical facilities when Georgia began implementing its measured reopening plan,” Cody Hall, the governor’s spokesperson, said in response to questions. “We have continued to meet those needs since April.” He noted the state is now building a PPE stockpile.

A Matter of Life or Death

After Georgia eased its lockdown, COVID cases spiked. Requests for PPE from health workers in the Atlanta area escalated through April and May, according to numbers provided by the nonprofit Atlanta Beats COVID-19, which makes face shields for health workers and other residents.

According to public data on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website, at least 80 Georgia health care workers have died from COVID-19, including after the state reopened its economy.

One was John “Derrick” Couch, a nurse practitioner who worked in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Shortly after graduating with his master’s degree in nursing on May 10, the worker at Med First Immediate Care Medical Center grew sick with COVID-19. His wife, Karol, cared for him at home for a time before he was hospitalized. He died after 36 days on a ventilator, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help his family cover his health care expenses.

“Karol wants everyone to know that Covid-19 doesn’t care or discriminate. She says John would want all of his colleagues and friends in healthcare and community to demand proper equipment and protection,” it said. Med First Immediate Care did not respond to a request for comment.

Between March 16 and Aug. 9, 48 COVID-19-related complaints regarding inadequate PPE in Georgia health care facilities were closed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency responsible for workplace safety. The PPE complaints accounted for the majority — roughly 6 in 10 — of Georgia’s COVID-19 complaints submitted to OSHA during the four-month period.

In April and May, “we received thousands of requests for N95 masks, but we couldn’t get our hands on the right materials to even make an N95 mask,” said Caroline Dunn, Atlanta Beats COVID-19’s communications coordinator.

Nationally, health workers continue to express alarm about protective equipment supplies as COVID-19 hot spots reemerge across the country. A National Nurses United survey in July found 87% of nurses working in hospitals reported reusing at least one piece of single-use PPE. Only a quarter of nurses surveyed felt their employers were providing a safe workplace.

“There’s really been this normalization and this acceptance that some people are going to be expendable. And that’s completely unacceptable,” said Dabney Evans, director of the Center for Humanitarian Emergencies at Emory University in Atlanta.

Another document projecting PPE supplies, dated April 10 and developed by Georgia health and emergency management officials, relied on a calculator from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate how quickly Georgia would burn through supplies across hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis clinics, jails and prisons. The state had 527,424 N95 respirators but needed a total of nearly 1.1 million to get through the ensuing seven days. The projected need grew to 4.8 million masks when estimating supplies for the following 31 days.

It had 196,500 gloves on hand but would need more than 12.1 million to get through a week, and 54 million for 31 days. The state had about 122,000 face shields but required more than 458,000 for the coming seven days. For a month, the projected need ballooned to over 2 million.

The April 10 estimates — a day when Georgia’s new COVID-19 case count rose by about 1,000 people — were sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of a broad effort to assess what states needed across health care settings to operate for at least seven days and up to a month. Federal officials asked state public health and emergency management officials to submit PPE projections daily, according to emails among state personnel, HHS and FEMA.

PPE estimates would be used “to determine projections for our region and the next hot spots within each state,” Jeanne Eckes, an HHS official working with FEMA on the federal government’s COVID-19 response, wrote in an April 3 email to officials in multiple states throughout the South, according to correspondence obtained by KHN.

Calculations Matter

Georgia officials contend the state’s estimated PPE deficits were larger early in the pandemic because projections accounted for all COVID-positive cases. Once the state had more information on how many of these positives were asymptomatic cases and how many led to hospitalizations, it could better gauge what was needed, they argued. Multiple changes were made to its burn-rate calculations, including a May 8 adjustment that replaced the total case count with hospital-based COVID cases, which reduced the projected demand for PPE.

However, multiple experts disputed the idea that knowing the number of asymptomatic patients would be relevant for PPE projections. In facilities like nursing homes and jails — both of which were accounted for in the Georgia estimates — asymptomatic individuals could spread the virus if not quarantined immediately.

“Because there’s not on-the-spot, point-of-care testing available for the most part, you have to use PPE throughout the hospital all the time,” said Dr. Eric Toner, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “In this day and age, you just have to presume that everyone has COVID.”

When the state’s case count began surging in March, many COVID-19 patients treated at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, Georgia, needed ICU-level care and were from nearby Dougherty County, a Georgia hot spot where hospitals were quickly overwhelmed.

“There were times to which we were down to only having a few days of PPE left,” said Dr. Kaine Brown, a physician and medical director at Tift, adding that the hospital was partly saved by donations of N95 and cloth masks. Gowns were the biggest problem. PPE supplies have since improved — as of early July, the hospital had stockpiled more than eight months’ worth of surgical masks and enough N95s and gowns to last six months and about three months, respectively.

Georgia’s stay-at-home order for most residents expired April 30; it remains in place for individuals at higher risk of severe illness.

“We were very apprehensive about [easing restrictions],” Brown said. “Those of us who had been working on the front lines knew how infectious this was.”

Since May, Georgia has reopened a broad swath of businesses. In early July, more than 1,000 health care workers signed a letter to Kemp urging him to institute a statewide mandate requiring face coverings, to close bars and nightclubs, and prohibit indoor gatherings of more than 25 people. Georgia currently bans gatherings of more than 50 people if social distancing cannot be observed.

State officials say PPE supplies have “greatly improved” since the start of the public health emergency. As of Aug. 14, the state had distributed 3.9 million N95s, 13.1 million surgical masks, 36.6 million gloves, 4.6 million gowns and 1.6 million face shields, among other items, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Early on, Georgia also relied on donations to bolster PPE supplies when many items were unattainable through normal supply channels, which have since become more reliable.

However, even with the increased stocks, workers still reuse protective equipment and many fret over the uncertainty about how long they can do so safely. Another community-based organization, the Atlanta chapter of Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals, said that from April to June the organization gave out over 59,000 cloth masks to 152 health care facilities in the Atlanta area, including large hospitals, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital. Kayla Hittig, a co-founder of the sewing group, said that health care workers were using the cloth masks to cover their N95 or surgical masks to make them last longer.

“That’s the thing we hear the most — how often do we have to use these and how protective are they, for how long?” said Richard Lamphier, president of the Georgia Nurses Association.

Lamphier wasn’t critical of the state officials’ efforts to ensure health workers are protected.

“I think they’ve done the best they could with the situation they had,” he said.

It wasn’t enough to protect John Couch, whose family is reeling from his death.

“He was my whole life,” Karol Couch said. “My life is shattered.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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As Georgia Reopened, Officials Knew of Severe Shortage of PPE for Health Workers

As the coronavirus crisis deepened in April, Georgia officials circulated documents showing that to get through the next month, the state would need millions more masks, gowns and other supplies than it had on hand.

The projections, obtained by KHN and other organizations in response to public records requests, provide one of the clearest pictures of the severe PPE deficits states confronted while thousands fell ill from rising COVID-19 cases, putting health workers at risk.

Georgia on April 19 had 932,620 N95 respirator masks — one of the best protections for health workers against infection — and expected to burn through nearly 7 million within a month. It urgently needed to buy 1.4 million more, according to documents obtained by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation and shared with KHN. For gowns, officials expected to go through 16.1 million in 30 days, a staggering amount compared with the 21,810 the state had at the time.

“Making progress with PPE needs. Biggest challenge now is gowns and we are working it,” Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Director Homer Bryson wrote on April 19 to two of Gov. Brian Kemp’s senior-most aides.

Even so, one day later, the first-term Republican governor announced he would begin to reopen the state’s economy, including gyms, restaurants, hair salons, theaters and a host of other businesses.

“We have relied on data, science and the advice of health care professionals to guide our approach and decision-making,” he said at a news conference, “putting the health and well-being of our citizens first and doing our best to protect lives and livelihoods.”

“Our state agencies and the governor felt confident in the state’s ability to meet daily PPE requests from our local emergency preparedness partners and medical facilities when Georgia began implementing its measured reopening plan,” Cody Hall, the governor’s spokesperson, said in response to questions. “We have continued to meet those needs since April.” He noted the state is now building a PPE stockpile.

A Matter of Life or Death

After Georgia eased its lockdown, COVID cases spiked. Requests for PPE from health workers in the Atlanta area escalated through April and May, according to numbers provided by the nonprofit Atlanta Beats COVID-19, which makes face shields for health workers and other residents.

According to public data on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website, at least 80 Georgia health care workers have died from COVID-19, including after the state reopened its economy.

One was John “Derrick” Couch, a nurse practitioner who worked in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Shortly after graduating with his master’s degree in nursing on May 10, the worker at Med First Immediate Care Medical Center grew sick with COVID-19. His wife, Karol, cared for him at home for a time before he was hospitalized. He died after 36 days on a ventilator, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help his family cover his health care expenses.

“Karol wants everyone to know that Covid-19 doesn’t care or discriminate. She says John would want all of his colleagues and friends in healthcare and community to demand proper equipment and protection,” it said. Med First Immediate Care did not respond to a request for comment.

Between March 16 and Aug. 9, 48 COVID-19-related complaints regarding inadequate PPE in Georgia health care facilities were closed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency responsible for workplace safety. The PPE complaints accounted for the majority — roughly 6 in 10 — of Georgia’s COVID-19 complaints submitted to OSHA during the four-month period.

In April and May, “we received thousands of requests for N95 masks, but we couldn’t get our hands on the right materials to even make an N95 mask,” said Caroline Dunn, Atlanta Beats COVID-19’s communications coordinator.

Nationally, health workers continue to express alarm about protective equipment supplies as COVID-19 hot spots reemerge across the country. A National Nurses United survey in July found 87% of nurses working in hospitals reported reusing at least one piece of single-use PPE. Only a quarter of nurses surveyed felt their employers were providing a safe workplace.

“There’s really been this normalization and this acceptance that some people are going to be expendable. And that’s completely unacceptable,” said Dabney Evans, director of the Center for Humanitarian Emergencies at Emory University in Atlanta.

Another document projecting PPE supplies, dated April 10 and developed by Georgia health and emergency management officials, relied on a calculator from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate how quickly Georgia would burn through supplies across hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis clinics, jails and prisons. The state had 527,424 N95 respirators but needed a total of nearly 1.1 million to get through the ensuing seven days. The projected need grew to 4.8 million masks when estimating supplies for the following 31 days.

It had 196,500 gloves on hand but would need more than 12.1 million to get through a week, and 54 million for 31 days. The state had about 122,000 face shields but required more than 458,000 for the coming seven days. For a month, the projected need ballooned to over 2 million.

The April 10 estimates — a day when Georgia’s new COVID-19 case count rose by about 1,000 people — were sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of a broad effort to assess what states needed across health care settings to operate for at least seven days and up to a month. Federal officials asked state public health and emergency management officials to submit PPE projections daily, according to emails among state personnel, HHS and FEMA.

PPE estimates would be used “to determine projections for our region and the next hot spots within each state,” Jeanne Eckes, an HHS official working with FEMA on the federal government’s COVID-19 response, wrote in an April 3 email to officials in multiple states throughout the South, according to correspondence obtained by KHN.

Calculations Matter

Georgia officials contend the state’s estimated PPE deficits were larger early in the pandemic because projections accounted for all COVID-positive cases. Once the state had more information on how many of these positives were asymptomatic cases and how many led to hospitalizations, it could better gauge what was needed, they argued. Multiple changes were made to its burn-rate calculations, including a May 8 adjustment that replaced the total case count with hospital-based COVID cases, which reduced the projected demand for PPE.

However, multiple experts disputed the idea that knowing the number of asymptomatic patients would be relevant for PPE projections. In facilities like nursing homes and jails — both of which were accounted for in the Georgia estimates — asymptomatic individuals could spread the virus if not quarantined immediately.

“Because there’s not on-the-spot, point-of-care testing available for the most part, you have to use PPE throughout the hospital all the time,” said Dr. Eric Toner, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “In this day and age, you just have to presume that everyone has COVID.”

When the state’s case count began surging in March, many COVID-19 patients treated at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, Georgia, needed ICU-level care and were from nearby Dougherty County, a Georgia hot spot where hospitals were quickly overwhelmed.

“There were times to which we were down to only having a few days of PPE left,” said Dr. Kaine Brown, a physician and medical director at Tift, adding that the hospital was partly saved by donations of N95 and cloth masks. Gowns were the biggest problem. PPE supplies have since improved — as of early July, the hospital had stockpiled more than eight months’ worth of surgical masks and enough N95s and gowns to last six months and about three months, respectively.

Georgia’s stay-at-home order for most residents expired April 30; it remains in place for individuals at higher risk of severe illness.

“We were very apprehensive about [easing restrictions],” Brown said. “Those of us who had been working on the front lines knew how infectious this was.”

Since May, Georgia has reopened a broad swath of businesses. In early July, more than 1,000 health care workers signed a letter to Kemp urging him to institute a statewide mandate requiring face coverings, to close bars and nightclubs, and prohibit indoor gatherings of more than 25 people. Georgia currently bans gatherings of more than 50 people if social distancing cannot be observed.

State officials say PPE supplies have “greatly improved” since the start of the public health emergency. As of Aug. 14, the state had distributed 3.9 million N95s, 13.1 million surgical masks, 36.6 million gloves, 4.6 million gowns and 1.6 million face shields, among other items, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Early on, Georgia also relied on donations to bolster PPE supplies when many items were unattainable through normal supply channels, which have since become more reliable.

However, even with the increased stocks, workers still reuse protective equipment and many fret over the uncertainty about how long they can do so safely. Another community-based organization, the Atlanta chapter of Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals, said that from April to June the organization gave out over 59,000 cloth masks to 152 health care facilities in the Atlanta area, including large hospitals, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital. Kayla Hittig, a co-founder of the sewing group, said that health care workers were using the cloth masks to cover their N95 or surgical masks to make them last longer.

“That’s the thing we hear the most — how often do we have to use these and how protective are they, for how long?” said Richard Lamphier, president of the Georgia Nurses Association.

Lamphier wasn’t critical of the state officials’ efforts to ensure health workers are protected.

“I think they’ve done the best they could with the situation they had,” he said.

It wasn’t enough to protect John Couch, whose family is reeling from his death.

“He was my whole life,” Karol Couch said. “My life is shattered.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/as-georgia-reopened-officials-knew-of-severe-shortage-of-ppe-for-health-workers/

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As Georgia Reopened, Officials Knew of Severe Shortage of PPE for Health Workers

As the coronavirus crisis deepened in April, Georgia officials circulated documents showing that to get through the next month, the state would need millions more masks, gowns and other supplies than it had on hand.

The projections, obtained by KHN and other organizations in response to public records requests, provide one of the clearest pictures of the severe PPE deficits states confronted while thousands fell ill from rising COVID-19 cases, putting health workers at risk.

Georgia on April 19 had 932,620 N95 respirator masks — one of the best protections for health workers against infection — and expected to burn through nearly 7 million within a month. It urgently needed to buy 1.4 million more, according to documents obtained by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation and shared with KHN. For gowns, officials expected to go through 16.1 million in 30 days, a staggering amount compared with the 21,810 the state had at the time.

“Making progress with PPE needs. Biggest challenge now is gowns and we are working it,” Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Director Homer Bryson wrote on April 19 to two of Gov. Brian Kemp’s senior-most aides.

Even so, one day later, the first-term Republican governor announced he would begin to reopen the state’s economy, including gyms, restaurants, hair salons, theaters and a host of other businesses.

“We have relied on data, science and the advice of health care professionals to guide our approach and decision-making,” he said at a news conference, “putting the health and well-being of our citizens first and doing our best to protect lives and livelihoods.”

“Our state agencies and the governor felt confident in the state’s ability to meet daily PPE requests from our local emergency preparedness partners and medical facilities when Georgia began implementing its measured reopening plan,” Cody Hall, the governor’s spokesperson, said in response to questions. “We have continued to meet those needs since April.” He noted the state is now building a PPE stockpile.

A Matter of Life or Death

After Georgia eased its lockdown, COVID cases spiked. Requests for PPE from health workers in the Atlanta area escalated through April and May, according to numbers provided by the nonprofit Atlanta Beats COVID-19, which makes face shields for health workers and other residents.

According to public data on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website, at least 80 Georgia health care workers have died from COVID-19, including after the state reopened its economy.

One was John “Derrick” Couch, a nurse practitioner who worked in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Shortly after graduating with his master’s degree in nursing on May 10, the worker at Med First Immediate Care Medical Center grew sick with COVID-19. His wife, Karol, cared for him at home for a time before he was hospitalized. He died after 36 days on a ventilator, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help his family cover his health care expenses.

“Karol wants everyone to know that Covid-19 doesn’t care or discriminate. She says John would want all of his colleagues and friends in healthcare and community to demand proper equipment and protection,” it said. Med First Immediate Care did not respond to a request for comment.

Between March 16 and Aug. 9, 48 COVID-19-related complaints regarding inadequate PPE in Georgia health care facilities were closed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency responsible for workplace safety. The PPE complaints accounted for the majority — roughly 6 in 10 — of Georgia’s COVID-19 complaints submitted to OSHA during the four-month period.

In April and May, “we received thousands of requests for N95 masks, but we couldn’t get our hands on the right materials to even make an N95 mask,” said Caroline Dunn, Atlanta Beats COVID-19’s communications coordinator.

Nationally, health workers continue to express alarm about protective equipment supplies as COVID-19 hot spots reemerge across the country. A National Nurses United survey in July found 87% of nurses working in hospitals reported reusing at least one piece of single-use PPE. Only a quarter of nurses surveyed felt their employers were providing a safe workplace.

“There’s really been this normalization and this acceptance that some people are going to be expendable. And that’s completely unacceptable,” said Dabney Evans, director of the Center for Humanitarian Emergencies at Emory University in Atlanta.

Another document projecting PPE supplies, dated April 10 and developed by Georgia health and emergency management officials, relied on a calculator from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate how quickly Georgia would burn through supplies across hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis clinics, jails and prisons. The state had 527,424 N95 respirators but needed a total of nearly 1.1 million to get through the ensuing seven days. The projected need grew to 4.8 million masks when estimating supplies for the following 31 days.

It had 196,500 gloves on hand but would need more than 12.1 million to get through a week, and 54 million for 31 days. The state had about 122,000 face shields but required more than 458,000 for the coming seven days. For a month, the projected need ballooned to over 2 million.

The April 10 estimates — a day when Georgia’s new COVID-19 case count rose by about 1,000 people — were sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of a broad effort to assess what states needed across health care settings to operate for at least seven days and up to a month. Federal officials asked state public health and emergency management officials to submit PPE projections daily, according to emails among state personnel, HHS and FEMA.

PPE estimates would be used “to determine projections for our region and the next hot spots within each state,” Jeanne Eckes, an HHS official working with FEMA on the federal government’s COVID-19 response, wrote in an April 3 email to officials in multiple states throughout the South, according to correspondence obtained by KHN.

Calculations Matter

Georgia officials contend the state’s estimated PPE deficits were larger early in the pandemic because projections accounted for all COVID-positive cases. Once the state had more information on how many of these positives were asymptomatic cases and how many led to hospitalizations, it could better gauge what was needed, they argued. Multiple changes were made to its burn-rate calculations, including a May 8 adjustment that replaced the total case count with hospital-based COVID cases, which reduced the projected demand for PPE.

However, multiple experts disputed the idea that knowing the number of asymptomatic patients would be relevant for PPE projections. In facilities like nursing homes and jails — both of which were accounted for in the Georgia estimates — asymptomatic individuals could spread the virus if not quarantined immediately.

“Because there’s not on-the-spot, point-of-care testing available for the most part, you have to use PPE throughout the hospital all the time,” said Dr. Eric Toner, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “In this day and age, you just have to presume that everyone has COVID.”

When the state’s case count began surging in March, many COVID-19 patients treated at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, Georgia, needed ICU-level care and were from nearby Dougherty County, a Georgia hot spot where hospitals were quickly overwhelmed.

“There were times to which we were down to only having a few days of PPE left,” said Dr. Kaine Brown, a physician and medical director at Tift, adding that the hospital was partly saved by donations of N95 and cloth masks. Gowns were the biggest problem. PPE supplies have since improved — as of early July, the hospital had stockpiled more than eight months’ worth of surgical masks and enough N95s and gowns to last six months and about three months, respectively.

Georgia’s stay-at-home order for most residents expired April 30; it remains in place for individuals at higher risk of severe illness.

“We were very apprehensive about [easing restrictions],” Brown said. “Those of us who had been working on the front lines knew how infectious this was.”

Since May, Georgia has reopened a broad swath of businesses. In early July, more than 1,000 health care workers signed a letter to Kemp urging him to institute a statewide mandate requiring face coverings, to close bars and nightclubs, and prohibit indoor gatherings of more than 25 people. Georgia currently bans gatherings of more than 50 people if social distancing cannot be observed.

State officials say PPE supplies have “greatly improved” since the start of the public health emergency. As of Aug. 14, the state had distributed 3.9 million N95s, 13.1 million surgical masks, 36.6 million gloves, 4.6 million gowns and 1.6 million face shields, among other items, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Early on, Georgia also relied on donations to bolster PPE supplies when many items were unattainable through normal supply channels, which have since become more reliable.

However, even with the increased stocks, workers still reuse protective equipment and many fret over the uncertainty about how long they can do so safely. Another community-based organization, the Atlanta chapter of Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals, said that from April to June the organization gave out over 59,000 cloth masks to 152 health care facilities in the Atlanta area, including large hospitals, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital. Kayla Hittig, a co-founder of the sewing group, said that health care workers were using the cloth masks to cover their N95 or surgical masks to make them last longer.

“That’s the thing we hear the most — how often do we have to use these and how protective are they, for how long?” said Richard Lamphier, president of the Georgia Nurses Association.

Lamphier wasn’t critical of the state officials’ efforts to ensure health workers are protected.

“I think they’ve done the best they could with the situation they had,” he said.

It wasn’t enough to protect John Couch, whose family is reeling from his death.

“He was my whole life,” Karol Couch said. “My life is shattered.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Family of Wellington man killed in Oklahoma explosion sues oil companies

http://frankgiunta.com/family-of-wellington-man-killed-in-oklahoma-explosion-sues-oil-companies/

Family of Wellington man killed in Oklahoma explosion sues oil companies

(Photo: Levi Brite)

Family of Wellington man killed in Oklahoma explosion sues oil companies

Saja Hindi, Published 5:29 p.m. MT May 1, 2018 | Updated 8:19 p.m. MT May 1, 2018 | By Coloradoan

Family and friends gather to remember Cody Risk of Wellington. Risk was among five people killed in an oil rig explosion on Jan. 22 near Quinton, Oklahoma. Austin Humphreys

The family of a Wellington man killed in a January oil rig explosion in Oklahoma is suing the energy companies involved in the operation, claiming they have sustained more than $10,000 in damages.

Cody Risk, 26, was one of five people killed in the Jan. 22 explosion, deemed one of the deadliest oil and gas industry accidents since the explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 that killed 11 people.

And now, Risk’s children “don’t have their dad; they don’t have barely anything left,” said Charles Levi Brite, who is the legal guardian of Risk’s children.

Brite has filed one of the five lawsuits against Red Mountain Energy LLC, Red Mountain Operating LLC, Crescent Consulting LLC, Jim Brody Blagg, National Oilwell Vargo LP, Patterson-UTI Drilling Company LLC and Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.

Red Mountain is the leaseholder and operator of the well, and Patterson-UTI is the drilling contractor, according to the Chemical Safety Board.

Prior to his death, Risk lived with Brite, who is no stranger to the oil and gas industry. He’s also not an opponent; he’s worked in the industry for 29 years.

“I’m the biggest advocate behind holding these people accountable,” Brite said.

Brite’s lawsuit “arises out of yet another tragic preventable incident caused by irresponsible companies working in the oilfield who place money and profit over safety and human life,” it states.

Multiple federal agencies are still investigating the explosion.

Red Mountain entered into a contract with Patterson to drill the well at the explosion site, and Red Mountain agreed to be “solely responsible and assume liability for ALL consequences of operations of both parties,” according to the lawsuit, despite what it called “Patterson’s less than stellar safety record.”

According to the complaint, an uncontrolled release of gas occurred during the drilling operation, which mixed with oxygen and caused an explosion and a fire, which is consistent with initial reports on the origin of the explosion.

Red Mountain’s “company men” were holding expired Well Control Certificates, according to the complaint, and “failed to take necessary steps to control the well.”

“When the explosion occurred, Mr. Risk was trapped in the Doghouse, a building located on the Rig Floor, unable to get out, he burned to death,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit contends Red Mountain allowed for dangerous conditions on the premises, including hazardous work at the well site, and failed to provide any training or safety policies and procedures connected with the operations at the well site.

Patterson, according to the lawsuit, was also grossly negligent, failing to properly train the crew about the hazards on the site.

The complaint cites Oklahoma Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao’s denouncement of Patterson’s safety record after a worker was killed in 2004 and a special investigation by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy that led to a 2008 report titled “Discounting Death: (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)’s Failure to Punish Safety Violations that Kill Workers.”

Thirty-eight people have died in incidents involving Patterson between 1999 and 2004, according to the report.

Representatives from both Patterson and Red Mountain did not return requests for comment.

David Rumley, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said Patterson, in particular, is “notorious for choosing money over safety” and said he’s been litigating cases against the company since 2006.

Despite citations from OSHA, Patterson negotiates its way through the process, Rumley said.

“How many people have to die before they literally come in and shut them down?” Rumley asked.

According to Rumley, attorneys have filed a motion to consolidate the five lawsuits into one, and they expect a response from the companies May 9.

“Red Mountain needs to understand the seriousness behind the situation that they created and the situation that they allowed to go on. … I pray to God every day that no other family has to go through what we’ve been through,” Brite said.

This story has a clarification: An initial version of this said the family was seeking $10,000 in damages. Rather, the lawsuit says the family has sustained at least $10,000 in damages, which “his estate is entitled to recover.”

  Oil Field Injury Lawyer

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An oilfield injury or death may be caused by:

Company failure to take reasonable precautions

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Negligent operation

 Individuals injured by oil field accidents often suffer catastrophic injuries, including wrongful death.  Our team has the legal and medical experience to effectively handle a range of cases involving serious & complex injuries caused by explosions and burns, falls, defective products and equipment, toxic fumes and fires.

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Oil Field Accidents and Injuries are on the Rise

Oil and gas industry injuries are the most dangerous and fatal in the country.  From 2003 to 2010, the U.S. oil and gas industry (both onshore and offshore combined) had a collective fatality rate that was 7 times higher than the rate for all U.S. workers combined. Louisiana had 5 catastrophic refinery and oil rig explosions between January and October 2017, more than any other state in the country.

What to do After an Oil Field Accident

Stop working immediately

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