#the only ones i have an issue with are miami and mexico rip

[forzafinally]

Tbh I think I am one of the few people who have 22/24 races at a fairly convenient time for me

[teafortwo29]

Once Reluctant to Speak Out, an Energized Obama Now Calls Out His Successor

Former President Barack Obama has leveled many attacks on President Trump heading into the 2018 midterm elections. These sharp rebukes, though, are a departure from how past leaders used their post-presidential campaign stops. Published on Nov. 1, 2018, Credit Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

By Peter Baker Nov. 2, 2018

MIAMI — Former President Barack Obama’s voice has a way of lifting into a high-pitched tone of astonishment when he talks about his successor, almost as if he still cannot believe that the Executive Mansion he occupied for eight years is now the home of President Trump.

For most of the last two years, he stewed about it in private, only occasionally speaking out. But as he hit the campaign trail this fall, Mr. Obama has vented his exasperation loud and often, assailing his successor in a sharper, more systematic way arguably than any former president has done in three-quarters of a century.

Although some admirers believe he remains too restrained in an era of Trumpian bombast, Mr. Obama has excoriated the incumbent for “lying” and “fear-mongering” and pulling “a political stunt” by sending troops to the border. As he opened a final weekend of campaigning before Tuesday’s midterm elections, Mr. Obama has re-emerged as the Democrats’ most prominent face, pitting president versus president over the future of the country.

In a fiery speech in Miami on Friday afternoon before heading to Georgia for another rally, Mr. Obama said that even conservatives should be disturbed by Mr. Trump’s disregard for the Constitution and basic decency. “I know there are sincere conservatives who are compassionate and must think there is nothing compassionate about ripping immigrant children from the arms of their mothers at the border,” he said.

“I am assuming that they recognize that a president doesn’t get to decide on his own who’s an American citizen and who’s not,” he continued, referring to Mr. Trump’s vow to sign an executive order canceling birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. “That’s not how the Constitution of the United States works. That’s not how the Bill of Rights works. That’s not how our democracy works.”

“I’m assuming people must get upset,” he went on, “when they see folks who spend all their time vilifying others, questioning their patriotism, calling them enemies of the people and then suddenly pretending they’re concerned about civility.”

The current president fired back later in the afternoon. Mr. Trump, who has made more than 6,400 false or misleading statements since taking office, according to a count by The Washington Post, said his predecessor had lied by telling Americans they could keep their doctor under his health care plan, which ultimately turned out not to be the case.

“Twenty-eight times he said you can keep your doctor if you like your doctor,” he told a small crowd at a West Virginia airport hangar. “They were all lies. Used it to pass a terrible health care plan we are decimating strike by strike.”

He also criticized Mr. Obama’s trade policies and treatment of the news media. “Lie after lie,” Mr. Trump said. “Broken promise after broken promise. Unlike President Obama, we live under a different mantra. It’s called promises made, promises kept.”

Since leaving office, Mr. Obama has risen in the esteem of many Americans, as former presidents often do. A poll by CNN this year found that 66 percent had a favorable view of him, far more than those who approve of Mr. Trump’s performance in office.

When he left the White House in January 2017, Mr. Obama said he intended to follow the tradition of his predecessors by staying out of the spotlight unless he perceived what he considered broader threats to American values. Advisers said Mr. Trump’s performance in office has qualified, justifying his decision to abandon restraint this fall.

“He cares very deeply,” said Valerie Jarrett, his longtime friend, and adviser. “His language has been very direct and he’s made an appeal to citizens across our country that now’s the time to stand up for our core ideals.”

He has issued 350 endorsements that candidates then trumpeted on social media and he has helped raise millions of dollars for Democrats. A video op-ed he taped generated 17 million views and a voter registration video drove nearly 700,000 viewers to Vote.org, according to his team. He is taping dozens of recorded telephone messages that will be sent out this weekend.

Mr. Obama’s red-meat speech on Friday delighted the crowd at the Ice Palace Film Studios in Miami. But if he has become the Democrats’ “forever president,” as Andrew Gillum, the party’s candidate for governor of Florida, called him, there are trade-offs for an opposition party trying to groom a new generation of leaders as the start of the 2020 presidential election approaches.

“President Obama wants to make room for the next generation of Democratic leaders to step up, which is why he’s largely stayed out of the day-to-day fray over the past two years,” said Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to the former president. “But too much is at stake in these midterms and this moment is too consequential to sit out.”

To Republicans, Mr. Obama’s decision to directly take on his successor smacks of violating norms just as he accuses Mr. Trump of doing.

“I was taken aback by the amount of space in President Obama’s speeches that are devoted to a full frontal assault on Donald J. Trump and his administration,” said Karl Rove, the political strategist for former President George W. Bush. “He spends a considerable amount of his time to get up there and trash Trump.”

Ron Kaufman, who was White House political director for the first President George Bush, said Mr. Obama’s language had been strikingly harsh from one president about another. “If you go back and dig up some of the pretty nasty things President Obama has said, I think you would be a bit surprised,” he said. “He gets away with it because of his style.”

Not since Theodore Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover has a president hit the campaign trail after leaving office to actively take on his successor in quite the way Mr. Obama has. Roosevelt actually mounted a comeback against his handpicked replacement, William Howard Taft, while Hoover castigated Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program as “despotism” at the Republican convention in 1936.

Other former presidents have been critical of their successors, too. Jimmy Carter became a vocal opponent of George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, calling his administration the “worst in history.” But with Mr. Carter and others, these were one-off comments in interviews or other public settings, not a systematic indictment on the campaign trail.

Until this cycle, Bill Clinton has been a regular campaigner for fellow Democrats, not least his wife, but even as he assailed Republican ideas, he generally refrained from directly attacking his successors. As in previous years, the younger Mr. Bush has been out on the trail this fall but has largely kept his post-White House campaigning to closed-door fund-raisers and studiously avoided criticizing either Mr. Obama or Mr. Trump.

Mr. Obama’s criticism of Mr. Trump reflects a deep antipathy he feels for his successor, whom he called a “con man” and a “know nothing” during the 2016 campaign. Mr. Trump was the leading promoter of the lie that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States, a conspiracy theory that irritated the 44th president.

Mr. Obama has never been effective at translating his own popularity to other Democrats — the party lost all three elections while he was president when his name was not on the ballot — but he seems liberated as he finally unloads on Mr. Trump. “He wants to be in the game and he’s really energized doing it,” said Bill Burton, a former aide who caught up with Mr. Obama at a campaign stop in California.

Now 57, Mr. Obama has turned even grayer on top but has otherwise not changed much. For rallies, he still doffs coat and tie for his trademark white collared shirt with rolled up sleeves. He has dispensed with the professorial history lessons that slowed his stump speech down at the beginning of the fall and sharpened his argument into an animated, finger-pointing, crowd-riling indictment of his successor.

While he did not use Mr. Trump’s name in Miami on Friday, Mr. Obama left no doubt who he was talking about. He pointed to Mr. Trump’s use of a cellphone that advisers have told him is being monitored by foreign powers, contrasting that with the Republican criticism of Hillary Clinton’s use of an unsecure email server.

“You know they don’t care about that because if they did, they’d be worrying about the current president talking on his cell phone while the Chinese are listening in,” Mr. Obama said. “They didn’t care about it. They said it to get folks angry and ginned up.”

“Now in 2018, they’re telling you the vestigial threat to America is a bunch of poor refugees a thousand miles away,” he added, referring to a migrant caravan in Mexico. “They’re even taking our brave troops away from their families for a political stunt at the border. And the men and women of our military deserve better than that.”

In just a few days, he will find out whether voters see it his way or Mr. Trump’s.

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting from Huntington, W.Va., and Alan Blinder from Atlanta.

Follow Peter Baker on Twitter: @peterbakernyt.

[gapimnydiaries]

Diary Entry #17

Dear Diary,

I have a story to tell you –

“Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” I asked him.

He thought about it for a while and responded.

“Um, I want to have a house, and I want to have a job. On the weekends I want to go to the movies, and I want to have a group of friends to go with.”

“That sounds pretty good! How can you get there?”

Another pause.

“Well, I have to quit meth…”

It was a warm, sunny afternoon. I sat across from a friend on a balcony looking down on a calm street. We got into a conversation about his struggles with methamphetamine addiction, and I wanted to understand where he was coming from. I thought it would be a good idea to talk first about his aspirations rather than the gritty details of how he became addicted. I was shocked by how simple and “normal” his dreams were for the future. I had always taken shelter, school and friends for granted, but my friend didn’t have those things. He grew up in an impoverished neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York where drugs and violence were rampant. He joined the military, which was his ticket out of that environment. He finished his service only to fall back into a life of drugs and destitution. All of these complicated social issues were also intertwined with his sexuality. In our conversation, he told me he just wanted to be normal – a place to live, a job and friends. What was noticeably missing in his vision was a family.

◆◆◆

I recently read an article in the Huffington Post called “The Epidemic of Gay Loneliness” by Michael Hobbes that I thought captured very well some of the psychological problems that plague the modern gay man, and it has become one of my most referenced articles. One concept that stood out to me was minority stress that describes the constant psychological strain associated with being a stigmatized minority. In the case of being a minority in sexuality, relatively minor stresses dealing with perceived or actual social rejection and prejudice accumulate over time and lead to prolonged psychological trauma. It also talked about the sadness of not being able to have a traditional family. That was definitely an "aha!" moment for me because up to that point, I had not realized that a significant portion of my own depression could be attributed to my sexuality.

In junior year of college, I was going to a weekend retreat with the board of one of my college organizations. It was one of those bonding opportunities that gets the board closer to each other so we can work better together. The retreat would start with talks of organizational agenda setting and annual planning and eventually progress into secret sharing after a few rounds of drinks. When everyone was having a good time playing “Fuck, Marry, Kill”, I had already retreated into the corner anxiously like I always did in similar situations. I had to mentally prepare all kinds of reasons why I didn’t have an extensive dating history by college and came up with stories of attractions to various imaginary people. I would be mentally exhausted by the end of the night trying my hardest to provide unsatisfactory answers. To everyone else, it made me seem secretive and unwilling to share, defeating the point of a bonding night. It took me a while to process how those experiences shaped my interactions with others and my own psyche. I now realized how much my sexuality contributed to my social anxiety and unwillingness to get emotionally close to others. I felt like I had something to hide and was afraid I would be “discovered”. It was difficult to develop the kind of close friendship I saw in others because I couldn’t let my guards down.

I am much more comfortable with my sexuality today, but unfortunately the stress persists. When I visited relatives in China this past summer, I had an earful of questions about why I didn’t get a girlfriend in medical school or when I would get one. My family members were making all kinds of commitments to attend my wedding, including my 80 year old grandmother. When this came up, and it did a lot, I simply smiled and nodded. To them, I was an exemplar child -- well educated and professionally accomplished. To me, I just felt like a fraud – I likely would never be able to deliver the kind of “normal” marriage and family they expected. I was going to be a disappointment to people who loved me the most. I believe that the closer one is to family, the worse the feeling. It only took me half a week before I couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to take the next flight back to the U.S….

◆◆◆

When I asked my friend why he kept using meth despite all its negative consequences on his life, he said he felt powerful and sexy with it. It’s boring to meet guys without it because he didn’t feel attractive and confident. He had been struggling with depression and loneliness, and taking drugs was his way to have a moment of feeling like normal, no matter how temporary. He actively looked for people who party and play (hook up while on drugs) on Grindr. He just wanted to feel good about himself, and drugs were his gateway to that feeling. I nodded with an implicit understanding – I knew that feeling too well.

Perhaps you have read my last year’s diary entry on my entrance into the gay world, and it wasn’t full of rainbows and unicorns, so to speak. When I first came into contact with the gay world, a series of painful rejections quickly crushed my naive idealism and simple desires for acceptance. My self-esteem was at an all-time low, and what came with it was depression and a sense of self-hatred. There must’ve been something wrong with me if none of the pretty profiles on dating apps wanted me, right? In Hobbes’ article, he describes a process of being “re-traumatized” as one enters the gay world, a community where we are waiting to be accepted for who we are, only to be ruthlessly rejected for our ethnicity, appearance, income or demeanor. A quote that stood out to me was that “every gay man I know carries around a mental portfolio of all the shitty things other gay men have said and done to him.” In an age of anonymous, headless profiles on dating apps, it’s easy to forget all social etiquette, and we end up with a collective toxic culture that makes everyone miserable.

I have been ghosted or blocked on datings apps more times than I can keep track in the past years, but I do remember a few notable ones. One time I talked to a guy for several weeks and made plans to get boba. I was blocked right after finally sending him a picture. Another time I went rock climbing with a guy and never received a reply to my text after. There was a time that I traveled all the way from Boston to Hartford for a second meeting with a guy who said “you are a great person with a great personality and career, but not exactly my type physically.” Over the years I have struggled with deleting the apps but only to go back on a few days later. I think using dating apps is like gambling. We are on it to hit whatever jackpot that we imagine for ourselves, whether it’s the perfect boyfriend or the hot-boy-next-door hookup. But just like the casino, the player never wins. We end up creating an environment where guys with the best profile pictures get all the attention and can therefore pick and choose and leave the rest of us miserable and desperate from the trail of rejections.

The rejections, especially in the form of ignoring, ghosting and blocking, left me confused and depressed. At times it seemed like I was bracing myself for the eventual rejection in all my interaction with guys. I was defensive and quick to jump to conclusions whenever there was even a lag in response. Many of my friends have told me that I just needed more confidence, but it was very hard to find confidence when I had just received so many rejections. It was especially bad when this was compounded by being Asian and getting racist responses from apps. A friend once commented to me, when you have low self-esteem, you become desperate. And when you are desperate, you do the most irrational things. People engage in risky hook ups and drugs in an attempt to fill this painful void, but it’s like scratching an itch; they offer ephemeral relief but only to make the problem worse long term.

◆◆◆

“Sometimes, I only eat a little bit of my food, like a quarter of a sandwich, and it would make me feel really fat, so I just threw the rest into the toilet.”

A while into the conversation, my friend admitted that he had been struggling with bulimia. Even though he had a normal Body Mass Index, which is how weight is measured to determine if someone is in a healthy range, he had an altered view of his body and believed he was overweight. He mentioned to me how there are so many fit and muscular guys and Grindr, and it made him feel unattractive.

A few years ago, I met up with a guy in Downtown LA. I was surprised that he even responded to me because he had what looked like a modeling picture on his Jack’d profile with the most amazing tan and ripped muscles. Fortunately for my anxiety, he looked a lot more normal in person, and we had a discussion about what he believed to be an inevitable progression for many guys in gay life. He said that when someone first enters the gay world, the person has this vision of finding and settling down with a normal looking, nice guy. Then he gets into the partying culture and starts to work out and look better. All of a sudden the nice guys are not fun and attractive enough. At the time, I was quite surprised and told myself “no, that’s not going to be me, I will always want the nice guy”.

In my exploration of the gay world, I have discovered more and more a whole lifestyle centered on partying. I started in West Hollywood and made my way around some of the gay centers in the country like the Castro and Hell’s Kitchen. I have been to clubs in LA, NYC, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, San Diego and even some international spots like Valparaíso, Mexico City and Bangkok. I started learning about the various colors of circuit parties in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Interestingly, the attendants are typically young professionals who can afford the ticket and travel expenses to attend these parties, and I have gotten a glimpse of the scale of the drug culture in these events.

I went to Songkran in Thailand during April, and I think I finally understood what that guy meant with the progression of gay life. What I saw were professionally successful gaysians with model-like bodies from around the world descend upon the city overnight, filling up all the hotels in the well-known Silom district and meandering around in the busy streets of Bangkok. I was told by an acquaintance that the parties served as body building check-points for these guys who planned their travels around Songkran in April, White Party in May and EDC in June, etc. and that the most muscular guys are the ones who are perhaps most insecure about their bodies. Perhaps these guys are the ones who have “succeeded” to reach the body image zenith that gay guys strive for and are now enjoying the partying life, but then what?

We live in the era of social media and are under the constant bombardment of impossibly muscular guys from around the world who fill up our Instagram feed. These guys put Adam West’s Batman and George Reeve’s Superman to shame. The western standard of beauty for men has changed over the years to “more muscle and less body fat the better”, and the world is catching up. It takes an incredible amount of training and dieting, as well as good genetics, to reach that level. Most of us with normal lives busy with school and work will find it hard to pursue that lifestyle, but our Instagram and Facebook give the illusion that it’s ubiquitous and anything less is unattractive. We could blame professional makeup and Photoshop for the guys in magazines, but Instagram is real people! We forget that people take painstaking effort to curate their social media profiles by picking one out of hundreds of pictures with the best lighting, angle and shading. We are now all looking for someone who looks like that and feel bad that people don’t like us for not looking that way.

That day, I tried to offer as many words of encouragement and comfort to my friend as he shared his struggles with mental health, substance abuse and body image. I tried to tell him that it’s possible to be gay and to have a normal and perhaps even “successful” life. I wished to give him more hope for the future so he could heal from his past traumas and end his drug addition. But deep down, I don’t feel so different from him. I struggle with my own insecurities and psychological void. I have a hard time defining my own vision of “success” in life in the context of the gay world. Just like my friend, I need to figure out where my own path leads to and define a vision that is worth striving for.

I would like to suggest that one way to counter the toxic culture in the gay community is to create supportive, friendly and less-sexualized spaces both in person and online. I admire the work done by organizations such as GAPIMNY in NYC and AQUA in DC that offer in-person communities and safe spaces for gaysians to explore their identities and connect with others in a more meaningful way. However, not everyone lives in a big city with a large enough gaysian population, so online communities become extremely important. I want to put in a pitch for G3S where we offer an opportunity to discuss gaysian related issues and offer a supportive online space for those who might not have any organizations locally. We also have a mentorship program that connects people in a more personal setting where someone new to the gay world can be paired up with a mentor who have more experiences with coming to terms with their identities. Additionally, we are working to expand our model to more in-person groups by developing local chapters in cities like LA, SF and Toronto in an effort to create a more affirming gaysian culture.

I think we all have an individual responsibility to improve our collective culture. For me, I think it’s about treating myself and others well and with respect. I want to keep a realistic perspective of how many of the above mentioned issues affect me personally and take myself out of a loop of negative thoughts. I want to have goals for myself, whether it’s body image or professionally, but I want to keep them realistic and measured against my own growth. I am also making an effort to treat my online interactions with the same courtesy I would with my in-person interactions. I do my best to clearly communicate my intentions and only make promises I can keep. I think my life would improve significantly if I surround myself with kind and supportive people who are invested in my success. I want to thank all my friends in G3S and GAPIMNY who have supported me and encouraged me to write this follow up entry!

Fish

[mushville-blog1]

College Football Week 8

I am sure all of you did great last week, you know, with Clemson, Washington, Washington State and Auburn all going down. Maybe you had Utah to pull the upset of USC, only to have Coach Whittingham take that chance away from you by going for two instead of OT. Perhaps, you had Georgia Tech beating Miami, only to have the Cardiac Canes rip that one out of your hands. All I know is for a “bad slate of games,” last Saturday was a lot of fun. All fun aside, my picks didn’t match my success at the actual sports book. I went 2-3, which puts me at 27-22-2 on the year. It’s a new week, new picks, new chances to make some money, so here we go:

Colorado State ( -7.5, o/u 58) @ New Mexico

Friday Night game- This game sets up perfectly for me after my research yesterday into totals in the Mountain West conference. In 2016 and so far in limited games in the MWC, one stadium has had more overs hit than any other in the conference. That stadium is University Stadium, Albuquerque, where this game is being played. The last 6 games played here all went over the total. What’s more interesting, second place on that stadium trend at 5 of the last 6 overs happens to be Fort Collins, CO, where Colorado State plays. Okay, so a trend is great, but it’s really just numbers without a ton of context. What about this game, between these two teams. Well, Colorado State gives up 26.6 points per game; NM gives up 34.6 and is coming off back to back weeks allowing 38 points.  The issue here is will New Mexico score enough to make this pick work or be awful enough on defense to let the Rams do most of the heavy lifting here. My answer is yes to both, but more so to the second part. The pick here is over 58.

Kent State @ Ohio (-20, o/u 46)

Let me say it again, MAC road underdogs cover and win. I can’t explain it, science has no answers, but the numbers prove it as do the eyes week after week. The key is catching the right one. I like two games this week, Akron getting 14.5 at Toledo and this one. I pick against Toledo too much, so let me spread the wealth. Ohio is a much better football team than Kent State. They are in the mix for a conference title, so a loss here would be pretty devastating. The thing about the MAC is the talent gap between say a 2-5 team and a 5-2 one. Small talent gap, 2 year trend, that’s enough for me to take the 20 points on the road with Kent State.

Syracuse @ Miami (-16, o/u 59)

The Cuse fresh off their upset of #2 Clemson head to Miami to face the suddenly in the playoff mix and undefeated Hurricanes. Miami has flirted with disaster all the way back to their close game in the 3rd quarter with Toledo. I wonder how long they can keep squeaking out close wins week after week, especially with RB Mark Walton out for the season. This one is all about Syracuse for me, because they are road dog darlings. They are 2-0 ATS spread this season on the road covering double digit spreads at LSU and NC State. They do it again here against Miami, take the Orange getting 16 points.

USC @ Notre Dame (-4, o/u 65)

Ah, the classic rivalry of Trojans vs Irish with a twist this year, since the loser will be all but eliminated from playoff contention. USC is the worst 6-1 team I have ever seen. They easily could be 3-3 with how inconsistent they are week to week, hell quarter to quarter. I’ll say it until he either wins a national title or gets fired, but Clay Helton is not a great coach. He’s been fortunate to have a wart hider in Sam Darnold at QB. Without him, this is maybe a 7 win team. Notre Dame has been really good this year and a lot of fun to watch. QB Brandon Wimbush is 100% (allegedly) and good to go for Saturday. Wimbush has played really well, but it’s RB’s Josh Adams, Deon McIntosh and Dexter Williams that get this team moving. I think USC is going to have a tough time with a physical Irish offensive line and containing their explosive running game. I like the Irish to end USC’s playoffs dreams and keep their own alive. The pick is Notre Dame -4 and you’ll probably be sweating this out to the final whistle.  

Fresno State @ San Diego State (-7.5, o/u 47)

Like Oregon for a few weeks, I tend to pick a lot of Aztecs. I assure you it’s not just because they tend to play the last game of the night so it’s a good way to end on a high note (I mean even a mush has his limits, maybe). That high note can backfire when they get beat by Boise State, at home and make you look foolish for picking and betting them. This week it’s more about who they are playing versus when (2nd to last game of the night). They host a much better than you think Fresno team, coming off a 38 point shut out over New Mexico. Actually, Fresno is 3-0 in the MW, but this is their first real test against the upper half of the conference. The Bulldogs play fast, are athletic and getting solid coaching from former Cal man Jeff Tedford. They also are getting excellent QB play from Oregon State transfer Marcus McMaryion. I’m not sure they are ready to be real MW contenders, but this is a great way to find out. San Diego State has owned the MW for the past 3 seasons, but they have some serious flaws despite being 6-1. They are a one trick pony and that is run, run and run some more. When the running game doesn’t work or they fall behind (like last week), they are essentially a turtle on its back. This line opened at 11.5 and is now 7.5. The betting public thinks it’s a closer game than the opening line and despite my tendency to ignore the public, I agree with them here.  My play is Fresno +7.5

[trunewsofficial]

Hurricane Dorian Update: Florida to Escape Storm’s Full Fury

Florida may not be preparing for landfall of a powerful tropical cyclone, but Hurricane Dorian’s impact is still expected to be considerable on the state’s east coast as it grows in size. According to the office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he is receiving constant updates from Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz and State Meteorologist Amy Godsey. A number of evacuation orders have been issued by government officials in Florida: • Brevard County – mandatory for all zones • Clay County – mandatory for Zones A and B, low-lying areas, and manufactured homes • Duval County – mandatory for Zones A and B and Huguenot and Hanna parks • Flagler County – mandatory for all zones • Glades County – voluntary • Hendry County – voluntary • Highlands County – voluntary • Indian River County – mandatory for barrier islands and all areas east of U.S. Highway 1 • Martin County – mandatory for Zones A and B • Nassau County – mandatory for all zones • Okeechobee County - voluntary • Palm Beach County – mandatory for Zones A and B • Putnam County – mandatory for Zone A • Seminole County – voluntary • St. Johns County – mandatory for Zones A and B • St. Lucie County – mandatory for barrier islands • Volusia County – mandatory for beachside areas A number of curfews have been ordered, as well. DeSantis has suspended tolls on the main line of the Florida Turnpike to help facilitate evacuations. Additional toll suspensions were also announced on spurs in areas subject to evacuation orders. Click here for more emergency information from the Florida Division of Emergency Management: https://ift.tt/2zNV3mi Here is a list of other Hurricane Dorian headlines so far today: • Orlando International Airport ceased operations at 2 a.m. EDT. Flights will not resume until operations management deem it safe to do so. • Spectrum has joined Xfinity in providing free wifi throughout Florida to help keep communications going during the storm. With maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, it still remains a “major hurricane,” rating a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It is not expected to weaken any further over the next several days. According to the National Weather Service, a Category 3 storm’s damage potential is: “Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads. Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes.” The storm is now centered 45 miles north of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island and 105 miles east of Fort Pierce, Florida. It’s moving northwest at 2 mph. Hurricane, tropical storm, and storm surge warnings have been issued along much of the Atlantic coast from Miami to the North Carolina-Virginia border. Hurricane Dorian is forecast to drop up to 9 inches of rain on some parts of Florida and Georgia, while the Carolinas could see isolated amounts of up to 15 inches. Virginia is beginning to join the forecast discussion with the Weather Prediction Center estimating isolated rainfall of up to 6 inches. The storm now ranks in a tie for the second-most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever. It matched the 1935 “Labor Day Hurricane”—from the period before tropical cyclones were named—1988’s Gilbert, and 2005’s Wilma in terms of highest one-minute sustained winds. Only 1980’s Allen had a stronger wind. Hurricanes Allen, Gilbert, and Wilma never made landfall. The Bahamas were battered for the better part of a week by Hurricane Dorian at the height of its fury with wind gusts in excess of 220 mph. The storm also stalled out over the northwest part of the island chain for more than 40 hours over the weekend. Even at the 8 a.m. EDT report, the southern eye wall of the storm was still battering Grand Bahama Island. Five people have already been reportedly killed by the storm, but officials admit many more are likely to be found once they can reach storm-damaged areas. Bahamian Prime Minister Herbert Minnis called the devastation caused by the hurricane a “historic tragedy.” Dramatic video has emerged from the Bahamas. In one video, a desperate mother on Great Abaco Island begged for prayers as the then-Category 5 storm ripped the roof off an apartment building that was surrounded by raging flood waters: “Please pray for us. Please pray for us. Everyone please pray for us. Me and my baby, everyone that stay in our apartment building, we stuck right here. Please pray for us. My baby is only four months old. Please pray for us. I’m begging y’all pray for us.” Click here to see the full video: https://ift.tt/2PGn0ax Bahamian Agriculture Minister Michael Pintard also waited out the storm in his home on Grand Bahama Island, which he estimated to be at least 20 feet above ground level. In the video, storm waters rose above window level. He said: “This is what I’m facing at the moment, and I have neighbors that are in a far worse position than me and my family.” Click here to see the full video: https://ift.tt/2zOZ9KN The National Hurricane Center is tracking another system—now designated Potential Tropical Cyclone Seven—which is expected to develop into a weak tropical storm before making landfall along Mexico’s gulf coast about 100 miles south of Brownsville, Texas. Two other disturbances in the open Atlantic are also being monitored with high likelihood of developing into tropical cyclones. One of those, now situated a couple hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands, could be drawn on a similar track as Dorian. That storm is predicted to become a tropical depression within the next day or two. (Photo Credit: TruNews) source https://trunews.com/stream/hurricane-dorian-update-florida-to-escape-storms-full-fury

[bountyofbeads]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/us/politics/trump-ice-raids.html#click=https://t.co/mxkw6omSWV

DHS officials were reluctant to undertake Trump's mass arrests, because they feared the "optics" of child separations would be brutal, the NYT reports.

One top official says Trump's tweet about the raids put ICE agents' safety at risk.

Trump Says He’ll Delay Deportation Operation Aimed at Undocumented Families

By Michael D. Shear and Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Published June 22, 2019 | New York Times | Posted June 23, 2019

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Saturday delayed plans for nationwide raids to deport undocumented families, but he threatened to unleash Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in two weeks if Democrats do not submit to changes in asylum law they have long opposed.

The announcement, made on Twitter as Mr. Trump was meeting with aides at Camp David, was the president’s latest attempt to pressure his adversaries into making immigration changes. Last month, he threatened to levy tariffs on Mexico unless it did more to stop the flow of migrants into the United States.

Immigration agents had been planning to sweep into several immigrant communities in 10 major cities — including Miami, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Chicago — beginning on Sunday. Officials said on Friday that they had targeted about 2,000 families in a show of force intended to demonstrate their strict enforcement of immigration laws. Children of immigrants — some of whom were born in the United States — had faced the prospect of being forcibly separated from their undocumented parents.

Mark Morgan, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had announced this month that his agency would begin the raids at some point in the future. But on Monday, Mr. Trump revealed on Twitter that they would start the following week, claiming that officials would deport millions of people and sending panic through cities across the country.

The president’s abrupt reversal on Saturday came as lawmakers were considering a measure to send $4.5 billion in humanitarian aid to the border, money the Trump administration has said is desperately needed to handle a huge influx of migrants.

Some Democrats, including members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, had threatened to withhold their support for the funding package when it comes to a vote in the House this upcoming week, in protest of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies. The specter of high-profile immigration raids had risked imperiling its chances of passage.

The Senate has reached a bipartisan deal on a similar measure, though Democrats have conditioned their support on assurances that none of the money would go toward Mr. Trump’s threatened raids.

Democratic lawmakers and immigration activists had demanded in recent days that the raids be prevented, calling them a cruel attack on minority communities whose only crime was illegally entering the country.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Mr. Trump on Friday evening to persuade him to cancel the raids, according to a person familiar with the conversation who was not authorized to speak about it. During the 12-minute call, the president said he would consider doing so but made no commitments, the person said.

On Saturday, Ms. Pelosi put out a strongly worded statement, calling the raids “heartless” and saying they would rip families apart and terrorize communities. She publicly urged Mr. Trump to “stop this brutal action.”

The president did that a few hours later, announcing that “at the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks.”

But Mr. Trump made clear he planned to use the threat of family deportations to extract concessions from Democratic lawmakers. He said he had delayed the raids “to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border.”

“If not, Deportations start!” he tweeted.

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, has said he wants to work with Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, on a possible solution to asylum and other immigration issues. Mr. Graham introduced a bill that would radically revamp immigration policy, blocking many migrants from seeking asylum and loosening rules around detention. But the odds that a negotiation between the two senators will bear fruit are exceedingly slim.

Shortly after Mr. Trump’s tweet, Ms. Pelosi responded on Twitter, saying: “Mr. President, delay is welcome. Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform. Families belong together.”

The president was not specific in his tweet about what changes he was demanding, but Mr. Trump has angrily denounced the country’s asylum laws as “stupid” and the “worst in the world.” He has claimed that releasing migrants and their families into the United States while they wait for their asylum cases to proceed amounts to the “catch and release” of dangerous criminals.

The coordinated deportation operation, scheduled to begin in the predawn hours of Sunday, would have targeted immigrants who crossed the border in recent years and either received deportation orders from a judge or failed to appear for a court appearance. They were among thousands of migrants who had their immigration cases expedited by the Trump administration last fall.

Deportation raids are not uncommon. ICE will often approach undocumented immigrants in their home, workplace or even in court to detain and deport them. But the scale of the raids that were expected to begin on Sunday was much greater, spanning several states over multiple days.

The raids also drew condemnation because ICE agents planned to specifically target adults with children, raising again the possibility that families would be separated. The Trump administration abandoned its policy of separating migrant families at the border after it incited global outrage.

On Friday night, the Guatemalan-Maya Center in Lake Worth, Fla., held an information session about immigration. Lake Worth, part of Palm Beach County, has for decades attracted Guatemalans who work in construction and agriculture as well as at resorts nearby. By Saturday, some undocumented immigrants had already gone underground to avoid arrest, having left their homes to stay with relatives or friends in other places. Others said they had prepared to hunker down and hope for the best.

���My family was shopping for the whole week today. We didn’t plan to go out all week,” said Jessi Zavala, 23, the American child of an undocumented Nicaraguan mother, who was working the cash register at World Thrift Store.

“My family was shopping for the whole week today. We didn’t plan to go out all week,” said Jessi Zavala, the American child of an undocumented Nicaraguan mother.CreditEve Edelheit for The New York Times

Candi Vasquez, 13, who was born in Florida to undocumented parents, said that she and her brother, Rudolfo, 8, were still frightened after hearing about the postponement.

“I am kind of happy,” Candi said. “But if it happens in two weeks I am still scared. I don’t want to lose my mom.”

The surge of Central American families crossing the border has infuriated Mr. Trump. Last month, more than 144,200 migrants were taken into custody at the border, the highest monthly total in 13 years. Border patrol facilities, built to house adults who would quickly be deported, are now packed with migrants, including children, who would usually be housed in shelters managed by the Health and Human Services Department. Those shelters have also been pushed beyond capacity.

Mr. Morgan, who won his job at ICE in part by pushing for aggressive deportations in appearances on Fox News, has said the new family raids were needed as a deterrent.

But in recent days officials within the Department of Homeland Security have fiercely debated whether to begin the operation, according to government authorities. Officials within the agency have been hesitant about the effort because of limited space in family detention facilities and the bad optics of separating undocumented parents from their children.

Mr. Trump’s tweet of the operation frustrated high-ranking ICE officials, including the deputy director, Matthew Albence, who expressed concern that the disclosure put agents’ safety at risk, a government official said.

One homeland security official said the operation could lead to “collateral deportations,” in which agents looking for certain individuals detain other undocumented immigrants who happened to be present nearby.

In a meeting with White House officials on Friday, Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security, pushed back against the planned raids, arguing that they would lead to family separations. He said he could achieve similar numbers over a measured deportation plan spanning four weeks.

Mayors of several cities, including Denver, Baltimore and San Francisco, vowed not to cooperate with immigration authorities.

On Saturday morning, Thomas Homan, the former acting director of ICE, went on Fox News to advocate the operations and criticize officials who were arguing against Sunday’s raid, including Mr. McAleenan.

“These mayors aren’t the only ones resisting ICE,” said Mr. Homan, whom Mr. Trump has chosen as border czar. (Mr. Homan has not yet accepted the position.) “You’ve got the acting secretary of homeland security resisting what ICE is trying to do.”

News of the delay spread quickly in immigrant communities on Saturday, as acute dread turned to confusion. In Lake Worth, the Rev. Frank O’Loughlin, who runs the Guatemalan-Maya Center, had tried to soothe anxieties that morning. “A lot of people are scared today,” Father O’Loughlin told immigrants who had gathered for an event. “Let everything else go. You and your children are here.”

Hours later, the priest heard that the raids had been postponed. “Wow. We are at the end of a yo-yo string,” he said. “It’s incomprehensible.”

Julie Hirschfeld Davis contributed reporting from Washington, Miriam Jordan from Lake Worth, Fla., and Maggie Haberman from New York.

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‘Children of a Lesser God’ playwright Mark Medoff dead at 79

‘Children of a Lesser God’ playwright Mark Medoff dead at 79 ‘Children of a Lesser God’ playwright Mark Medoff dead at 79 https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Mark Medoff, a provocative playwright whose Children of a Lesser God won Tony and Olivier awards and whose screen adaptation of his play earned an Oscar nomination, has died in Las Cruces, N.M. He was 79.

Medoff died Tuesday in a hospice surrounded by family, according to his daughter, Jessica Bunchman. He had been battling both multiple myeloma, a cancer, and renal failure, she said Wednesday in a family statement.

Medoff wrote 30 plays and wrote, produced or directed 19 movies. He found his greatest success with Children of a Lesser God, the tale of a troubled love affair between a speech teacher and a deaf woman who struggle to overcome the communications gap between their two cultures.

Phyllis Frelich won a Tony in 1980 for her Broadway portrayal of Sarah Norman, the deaf woman at the heart of the play, which ran for almost 900 performances. It was later made into a movie, which won an Academy Award for actress Marlee Matlin, who co-starred opposite William Hurt.

Medoff was a caring adviser to many in the business, according to the statement.

“He had a way of making every creative heart with whom he worked feel as if their work, or their part in his work, was the single most important thing to him in the moment. In turn, hundreds of writers, actors, directors and creatives all over the world consider Mark Medoff a mentor,” the statement said.

Matlin tweeted on Wednesday: “Mark Medoff, the brilliant mind behind the Tony Award winning play, ‘Children Of A Lesser God,’ has passed at 79. He insisted and fought the studio that the role be played by a deaf actor; I would not be here as an Oscar winner if it weren’t for him. RIP Dear Mark.”

Mark Medoff, the brilliant mind behind the Tony Award winning play, “Children Of A Lesser God,” has passed at 79. He insisted and fought the studio that the role be played by a deaf actor; I would not be here as an Oscar winner if it weren’t for him. RIP Dear Mark. pic.twitter.com/wpIJJqW00x

— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) April 24, 2019

A Broadway revival last year of Children of a Lesser God starred Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff, a former Miss Deaf America who earned a Tony nomination.

Medoff’s work often tackled social issues, from animal testing and AIDS in the play Prymate, to American myths and disorders in the Obie-winning stage work When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder to poverty in India in his screenplay for the 1992 film City of Joy. His 2015 play, Marilee and Baby Lamb: The Assassination of an American Goddess, is about the last days of Marilyn Monroe.

“Everything I do probably starts more from a social-issue impulse than anything else,” the playwright told The Associated Press in 2004. “I went to a psychologist when I was 18 or 19 and he said I was the first kid he’d ever met who was rebelling against a happy childhood. So when I started writing, I began to expropriate social issues and quickly roped myself out of my angst.”

Medoff was inspired to write Children of a Lesser God after meeting Frelich and her husband, Robert Steinberg, a lighting designer. “I told him there were no roles for deaf actresses,” Frelich recalled. “He said, ‘OK, I’ll write a play for you.’ He did. He went home and wrote Children of a Lesser God. He wanted to write a good play.”

Medoff was co-founder of the American Southwest Theatre Company and head of the Department of Theatre Arts for nine years at New Mexico State University, where he taught for years. He helped form the Creative Media Institute for Film & Digital Arts in 2005.

“When the Creative Media Institute was just getting going, Mark told the faculty, ‘Look, we can sit around and talk about how to teach people to make movies, or we can just go make movies,’ which reflected his philosophy across life,” said Amy Lanasa, a friend who now heads the institute, in the family statement. “Why sit around talking about it when you can get up and take action or create something?”

Medoff’s other works include the plays The Wager, The Hand of Its Enemy, The Heart Outright, The Majestic Kid and the screenplay for the HBO movie thriller Apology. He also penned the 1978 Chuck Norris action film, Good Guys Wear Black and the black comedy Refuge starring Linda Hamilton in 2010.

His second original Broadway play was in 2004 with Prymate, which closed quickly after 23 previews and five performances, having in one week only grossed 8 % of the theatre’s capacity.

Prymate tells the story of two middle-age scientists and former lovers — an animal behaviourist and a biologist — in a tug-of-war over the fate of an aging gorilla rescued from an AIDS lab. The Associated Press review said “Medoff’s dialogue is unsubtle, often crude and, what’s worse, unbelievable.” Variety called it “ludicrous.”

Medoff was born in Mount Carmel, Ill., grew up in Miami Beach, Fla., and received his bachelor’s in English from the University of Miami in 1962. He completed graduate studies in English in 1966 at Stanford University.

Medoff is survived by his second wife, Stephanie Thorne, whom he wed in 1972, three daughters and eight grandchildren. In 1981, he also received an honorary degree from Gallaudet University for exemplary service to the deaf community.

Medoff and his family have created The Hope E. Harrison Foundation to raise awareness and finance research to end the chromosomal anomaly Trisomy 18, which afflicts his five-year old granddaughter, Hope.

Click for update news Bangla news http://bit.ly/2XEV5Xt world news

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Oklahoma city thunder on Miami’s all time leaderboard

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The post Oklahoma city thunder on Miami’s all time leaderboard appeared first on Reliable Remodeling.

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Florida Illegally Separating Children of U.S. Citizens from their Parents – Where's the Outcry?

The Verzosa family in Florida lost their 7 children because the mother had a learning disability. It took years of fighting the Florida child welfare system to get their children back home. Original Story.

Commentary by Terri LaPoint Health Impact News

“It's here too.” That is the cry of parents and advocates all over the United States as they watch the media frenzy about the separation of parents and children at the border.

They had a similar response as they watched the outcry about Baby Alfie earlier this year and Charlie Gard last year, both in the U.K.

Parents are frustrated that the media and the public virtually ignore the fact that these forced separations and medical kidnappings happen here too. Hundreds of thousands of families are separated here, to the sound of crickets from the media.

This week, Richard Wexler, the executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, wrote a piece for Youth Today exposing the harsh reality that the media in Florida is responsible for escalating the numbers of families separated by the child welfare system.

More children, not fewer, have been placed into greater danger than they were in before by the very system purported to protect them. On his blog, he introduces the article thus:

Young children torn from their parents, sleeping in a different bed every night. Families torn apart needlessly – and illegally - over and over again.

But this time it's not the U.S.-Mexico border.  This time it's Florida.

Who says it's illegal? A report commissioned by the state itself.

Why is it happening? In part because caseworkers are terrified of “media consequences” if they leave a child in her or his own home and something goes wrong.

It has been a long-standing American principle of justice that we, as a society, would rather see a guilty man go free than an innocent man be punished for a crime he didn't commit.

The very foundation of justice states that citizens are “innocent until proven guilty.”

Yet when it comes to families, the prevailing logic of the child protective system is that children are separated from their families “just in case” the parents MIGHT harm them.

It's “for the children,” of course, and “in the best interest of the child,” they say, but how many children are destroyed as they are ripped out of the arms of loving parents and family members?

In the family court/child welfare system, parents are presumed guilty even when they have evidence of their innocence. They can be sentenced to the equivalent of the death penalty for a family – termination of parental rights – and that sometimes happens based on the societal fear that something might happen to the child in the future.

In the Tampa area of Florida, a peer review team appointed by the head of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCS), Mike Carroll, found that fear of media consequences has led to illegal seizures (we would call those “kidnappings”) of large numbers of children “needlessly.”

According to Richard Wexler's article, “Tampa Child Welfare Puts Too Many Kids in Foster Care Due to Media Fear, State Report Says,” social workers take children they shouldn't take and place them in harm's way out of fear of repercussions to themselves:

The peer review found that workers in Hillsborough County are so terrified of having one of their cases land them on the front page after a tragedy that they are illegally taking large numbers of children needlessly. According to the report:

Professionals in the system of care are often unnecessarily risk adverse due to the fear of child fatalities and media consequences. … [E]xtreme caution and risk aversion responses do not guarantee that tragic results will be avoided, and can cause unnecessary trauma to children.

Indeed, as WFLA documented in this tragic case, it can cause a child to die in foster care after being taken from a mother just because that mother is poor.

What “risk averse” really means is that child welfare investigators, supervisors and officials are increasing the risk to children in order to decrease the risk to themselves. (Emphasis added by HIN)

The report confirms what many families have reported to us at Health Impact News. The number of children taken by child protective services tends to increase drastically after a publicized tragic death of a child. In the effort to prevent such tragedy, innocent families are traumatized. It is much like comments made by doctors defending a high unnecessary cesarean section rate:

The only c-section I have been sued for is the one I didn't do.

How many innocent families are destroyed, how many children are subjected to the horrors of bad foster homes or group homes, how many children die in state custody, in order to prevent one tragedy at the hands of abusive parents?

Social Workers Take Children Unnecessarily

According to the article:

The report found that investigators in Hillsborough County rush to remove children “without sufficient exploration, consideration, or conversation around reasonable efforts to prevent removal …”

The report notes that violates state and federal law. Yes, such illegal behavior is routine across the country - what is unusual is when it gets so flagrant that a child welfare system's “peers” can't look the other way.

Wexler links to an article from 2016 citing a report from Alaska:

Yes, the reasonable efforts clause has lots of loopholes. But it does not say “make reasonable efforts unless you don't have time.”

Unfortunately, the federal government does almost nothing to enforce this law, so it's often ignored.

The penalty for ignoring the law is losing federal aid for that case. But to “prove” it has complied with the requirement a child welfare agency need merely show that a judge has checked a box on a form.

Wexler continues his analysis of the Tampa report:

The bias extends to extended families. The report found a disturbing “lack of effort” to place children with relatives even though kinship care is the least harmful form of foster care.

This finding is consistent with what our research has shown. We have had many cases where relatives are lined up to care for their family member, yet social workers lie to the courts saying that there are “no suitable kinship placements.”

The children are placed into the more profitable (for the state) stranger placement, bypassing even relatives who are caring for other foster or adopted children. The relatives were deemed acceptable by the system to take in other unrelated children, just not their own family members.

This is not the first official confirmation of needless removal of children in Hillsborough County. In December, 2017, a representative of the Florida Attorney General admitted that, as WFLA put it, some children in the county “are separated from their parents due to poverty and nothing else.”

Report – Social Workers Afraid of Media Attention

Wexler describes the “peer review team” appointed to conduct the investigation into failures by the Hillsborough County child protective services:

As the name suggests, the group was made up of people who are or were themselves key players in running various aspects of child welfare - in other words, a group likely to identify less with the victims of the mess than the perpetrators.

But even this highly sympathetic jury of system peers couldn't look away.

Their report indicts just about everyone involved in the child welfare system in Hillsborough County (metropolitan Tampa), Florida. By extension, it's also an indictment of the state's two most prestigious newspapers, the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, since their shoddy journalism set off the foster-care panic at the root of the problems and has kept that panic going.

The report found significant problems within the system as it honed in on the “why” of children being needlessly seized from their families:

As stunning as the findings is the candor with which the peer review team zeroed in on the real problem: the fear caused by misleading journalism from the state's two most prominent newspapers.

About a decade ago, Florida had been making impressive progress transforming what had been among the worst child welfare systems in the country. Needless removal of children had been curbed and independent evaluations found child safety improved.

Then the Miami Herald decided to scapegoat efforts to keep families together for deaths of children “known-to-the-system.” That effort began in 2011. My organization set up a website to respond. Those efforts reached a fever pitch with the publication of a series called “Innocents Lost” in 2014.

As we noted in our full rebuttal to “Innocents Lost,” the Herald distorted data, took information out of context, got time frames wrong and systematically left out facts that contradicted the reporters' point of view.

The stories had the intended effect. The number of children torn from their homes soared. That led to one tragedy after another. And, of course, children “known to the system” kept right on dying. The only people who benefitted from “Innocents Lost” were the reporters and editors at the Herald.

Then the Tampa Bay Times joined in, with editorials demanding that more children be taken away. So it's no wonder the peer review report found that everyone in Hillsborough County child welfare is scared of “media consequences.”

As the horrors caused by the foster care panic became more apparent in Hillsborough County, the Tampa Bay Times showed little interest in the suffering it caused. It was only the reporting of WFLA-TV that brought the crisis to light, and forced the state to name the peer review team.

As WFLA led, the Times usually would follow with a weaker version of the story the next day. And when the peer review team issued its report, the Times story left out entirely the findings about widespread needless removal of children, the violation of state and federal laws and workers' fear of “media consequences.”

The proposed solution to all this from the DCS head appears to be bureaucratic pretense. According to Wexler:

As for the DCF Secretary, Mike Carroll, he has responded to the peer review team report with decisive action! Nope, just kidding again.

He's demanding a “corrective action plan” from the private agency that's sort of in charge of child welfare in the region, Eckerd Connects. (I say “sort of” because one of the other report findings is that no one is really in charge of child welfare in Hillsborough County.)

So allow me to save everyone a lot of time and paperwork. Here's the corrective action plan: Stop letting two newspapers effectively run child welfare in Florida. Because they're running it into the ground.

Read the full article at Youth Today.

Comment on this article at Medical Kidnap.com.

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Turf Guy, Bama-OSU, and the Joys of Bowl Season: The Weekend in College Football

Welcome to the final Weekend in College Football of the season. This week, we'll take you through everything you missed on Saturday (or, God forbid, Friday night), tell you the things worth learning, and look ahead to the College Football Playoff field. Enjoy.

1st and 10

Oklahoma steamrolled TCU 41-17, a nearly note-perfect recreation of the Sooners’ 38-20 triumph over the Horned Frogs on November 11th. The consistency is notable for two reasons.

First, the Sooners once again flashed their trademark balance on offense. Baker Mayfield was his usual, soon-to-be Heisman-winning self, efficient and ably spreading the ball across his receiving corps. Rodney Anderson ground out 93 yards, with Mayfield and Trey Sermon combining for 128 more. The offensive line, one of the country’s best, turned back Gary Patterson’s defense in both phases. By now, we’ve come to expect nothing less from what is far and away the best offense among the playoff field.

But it’s a second strong defensive performance that provides more optimism for a possible national championship run. As Sooner fans are well aware, Oklahoma has all the talent necessary to field a plus defense. Some of the individual cogs, such as sophomore linebacker Caleb Kelly, have flourished, too. But the unit ranked 100th in the S&P+ rankings heading into Saturday, which is embarrassingly low no matter how potent Big 12 offenses generally are across the board.

The Horned Frogs’ offense checked in at 45th, so the Sooners didn’t quite lock down one of the conference’s scariest attacks. Nevertheless, it was enough of a statement to beget optimism that Oklahoma can deliver on defense almost as well as they do on offense. Point blank: Two more strong defensive efforts probably means they’re winning the national title.

2nd and 8

The Sooners are the upside play, but Clemson is the safe bet.

Some of this, of course, is because they won it all last year and a not insignificant amount of that national championship team is back. The Tigers also have much of the Sooners’ offensive balance, if not their explosiveness, and augment that with the nastiest front seven in the country. The talent, production, intangibles, and resume—their one loss came when quarterback Kelly Bryant left early with a concussion—make Clemson the prohibitive favorites.

Still, confidence in the Tigers is inextricably tied to a belief that Bryant can drive an offense through an elite defense when the chips are down. DeShaun Watson did it last year and even his brilliance was barely enough to carry Clemson past Alabama. Now Bryant will be tasked with doing the same thing and, despite Watson’s proclamations to the contrary, the junior is not yet on par with the greatest quarterback in program history.

Still, Bryant’s potential is abundant, and his performance in the Tigers’ 38-3 demolition of Miami—23 of 29 for 252 yards and a touchdown—is an extremely promising tune-up. But if Alabama takes away the run game, will Bryant be ready? It comes down to timing, and whether he can develop into what Clemson needs him to be before it costs the Tigers a game.

Clip of the Week

Bronze: The play itself—the mechanics of it—are fairly mundane. USC senior linebacker Uchenna Nwosu bursts around an edge and drags Stanford’s Cameron Scarlett down by his shoelaces. Impressive, but not spectacular. It’s the context that elevates it.

Nwosu makes this stop on 4th and goal from the USC 1-yard-line with eight minutes remaining in the game and Trojans bleeding momentum. A few more inches and Scarlett delivers the Cardinal a 28-24 lead. Instead, it’s a turnover on downs and the Trojans march 99 yards for a game-sealing touchdown and their first conference title since 2008. Sam Darnold and Ronald Jones get many of the plaudits, but Nwosu was the hero on Friday night.

Silver: Speaking of big plays at crucial moments, Georgia’s coup de grâce came from true freshman tailback D’Andre Swift, the heir to Nick Chubb and Sony Michel’s throne in Athens. Swift was similarly regarded coming out of high school, but he has the edge on the upperclassmen—and most everyone else—in top-end speed. Case in point, this 64-yard bolt of lightning down the left sideline that even had Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart running along with him. Georgia went up 28-10, walling off any hope of an Auburn comeback.

Gold: Given how TCU got flattened by Oklahoma, the Horned Frogs’ John Diarse can’t match these last two in dramatics. No, this is about pure aesthetics and degree of difficulty. Here’s why the last week of the regular season delivered one of the very best catches of the year:

3rd and 1

Georgia’s 28-7 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship Game was a clinic in what the Bulldogs do best: pounding opponents into submission, both with a deep, physical defense and a hydra of running backs on offense. There is no transcendent strength on par with Oklahoma’s offensive skill position talent or Clemson’s front four, but Georgia’s offense is far less of a question than the Sooners’ defense, and while true freshman Jake Fromm carries many of the same questions as Bryant, he also has a much stronger TD:INT ratio (19:5) and his running backs are far more established.

Think of the Bulldogs as a faster, more dynamic Wisconsin. Opposing teams know what’s coming but there’s still the matter of actually stopping it. Except, unlike the Badgers, Georgia dispatched more than enough opponents to verify that their strategy is the real deal.

As is the case with Clemson and Bryant, the best hope of beating the Bulldogs will be to take away the run and force Fromm to win with his arm, something Auburn achieved when they defeated Georgia in their first matchup back in November. Also like Bryant, Fromm boasts superstar potential—but while Bryant gets thrown into the fire against Alabama, Fromm has a date with the softest defense in the playoff field. If his play takes a jump against a vulnerable Sooners secondary, the Bulldogs could play for their first national title since 1980.

Punt

On dissecting the debate for the final playoff spot, because the anticlimactic truth is that Alabama and Ohio State each had a case making the field.

For Crimson Tide, it’s the fact that, for the overwhelming majority of the season, Alabama looked like the best team in the country, and their only loss came on the road against a top-ten team. They’ll also enter the postseason healthier than they’ve been since September, with Mack Wilson, Christian Miller, and Terrell Lewis set to bolster a decimated linebacking corps.

An Alabama–Clemson rubber match will also be catnip for television ratings, which almost certainly played a role in this outcome. But there’s ample reason to believe that the Tide offer the best hope of giving Clemson a really great game, not only on account of the last two season but because Alabama is the most balanced team in the field. Everything I said about taking away the Clemson run game and forcing Kelly Bryant to throw? Yeah, Alabama can do that.

But Auburn provided a blueprint for defeating Nick Saban just last week, and Clemson’s defensive front combined with Bryant’s efficiency—his 67.4 percent completion percentage ranked sixth nationally—give Dabo Swinney the tools to stem the Tide for a second straight season.

Player Who Deserves to Be Paid This Week

For the second week in a row, undefeated UCF needed quarterback McKenzie Milton to go blow for blow with another highly regarded signal caller. Once again, Milton led the Knights to victory. Memphis’ Riley Ferguson was nearly as good in Saturday’s frenetic 62-55 AAC Championship Game, but Milton was just a tad better, completing 28 of 40 passes for 494 yards and five touchdowns.

Soon after the game ended, UCF coach Scott Frost was announced as the new head man at Nebraska, where he’ll earn $5 million annually. It’s only fair he donates some of it to his now-former quarterback.

Coach Who Does Not Groundskeeper Who Does

There was no egregiously bad coaching performance on this week’s short slate, so let’s keep things light and pay homage to Eric Harlow, the humble groundskeeper at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Late in the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game, Wisconsin’s Chris James scored a one-yard touchdown so violent it literally ripped the turf off the ground. The game must go on, so in stepped Harlow, the Winston Wolf of faux horticulture, who proceeded to pour on rubber pellets and do field triage for the next ten or so minutes as a capacity crowd plus millions of people on television watched him work. You could argue that it’s the most high-pressure field-repair job in football history. (I do not have a list of other contenders, don’t @ me.)

If this does not merit a performance bonus, I don’t know what does.

Obscure College Football Team of Note

One of the chief casualties of the College Football Playoff’s hegemony is a tendency to downplay the significance of what a bowl game, any old bowl game, can mean. On Saturday, New Mexico State issued a heartwarming reminder.

The Aggies entered the week needing a win over South Alabama to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in 57 years. Here is an obligatory list of notable American events in 1960, the year they last made it:

John F. Kennedy announced his presidential campaign

Joanne Woodward received the first-ever star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The U.S. sent more troops to Vietnam

Ben-Hur won best picture at The Oscars

You get the picture. Consequently, you can empathize a bit when, following NMSU’s 22-17 win, the Aggie faithful stormed the field and head coach Doug Martin cried during his postgame interview. And, as fate would have it, NMSU’s opponent in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl is none other than another set of Aggies: Utah State, who remarkably enough was NMSU’s opponent all the way back in that last bowl appearance in 1960.

Bowl are great and don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise. Speaking of…

Something to Look Forward To

Bowl season. A month’s worth of football, in varying shapes and stakes and times. Some of them will be memorable; many more won’t be. There will be goofy sponsors and exotic matchups and at least a few memorable performances. Even in the low moments, bowl season is the best college football has to offer. Take a cue from New Mexico State and make sure to savor it.

Turf Guy, Bama-OSU, and the Joys of Bowl Season: The Weekend in College Football published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[amtushinfosolutionspage]

Turf Guy, Bama-OSU, and the Joys of Bowl Season: The Weekend in College Football

Welcome to the final Weekend in College Football of the season. This week, we’ll take you through everything you missed on Saturday (or, God forbid, Friday night), tell you the things worth learning, and look ahead to the College Football Playoff field. Enjoy.

1st and 10

Oklahoma steamrolled TCU 41-17, a nearly note-perfect recreation of the Sooners’ 38-20 triumph over the Horned Frogs on November 11th. The consistency is notable for two reasons.

First, the Sooners once again flashed their trademark balance on offense. Baker Mayfield was his usual, soon-to-be Heisman-winning self, efficient and ably spreading the ball across his receiving corps. Rodney Anderson ground out 93 yards, with Mayfield and Trey Sermon combining for 128 more. The offensive line, one of the country’s best, turned back Gary Patterson’s defense in both phases. By now, we’ve come to expect nothing less from what is far and away the best offense among the playoff field.

But it’s a second strong defensive performance that provides more optimism for a possible national championship run. As Sooner fans are well aware, Oklahoma has all the talent necessary to field a plus defense. Some of the individual cogs, such as sophomore linebacker Caleb Kelly, have flourished, too. But the unit ranked 100th in the S&P+ rankings heading into Saturday, which is embarrassingly low no matter how potent Big 12 offenses generally are across the board.

The Horned Frogs’ offense checked in at 45th, so the Sooners didn’t quite lock down one of the conference’s scariest attacks. Nevertheless, it was enough of a statement to beget optimism that Oklahoma can deliver on defense almost as well as they do on offense. Point blank: Two more strong defensive efforts probably means they’re winning the national title.

2nd and 8

The Sooners are the upside play, but Clemson is the safe bet.

Some of this, of course, is because they won it all last year and a not insignificant amount of that national championship team is back. The Tigers also have much of the Sooners’ offensive balance, if not their explosiveness, and augment that with the nastiest front seven in the country. The talent, production, intangibles, and resume—their one loss came when quarterback Kelly Bryant left early with a concussion—make Clemson the prohibitive favorites.

Still, confidence in the Tigers is inextricably tied to a belief that Bryant can drive an offense through an elite defense when the chips are down. DeShaun Watson did it last year and even his brilliance was barely enough to carry Clemson past Alabama. Now Bryant will be tasked with doing the same thing and, despite Watson’s proclamations to the contrary, the junior is not yet on par with the greatest quarterback in program history.

Still, Bryant’s potential is abundant, and his performance in the Tigers’ 38-3 demolition of Miami—23 of 29 for 252 yards and a touchdown—is an extremely promising tune-up. But if Alabama takes away the run game, will Bryant be ready? It comes down to timing, and whether he can develop into what Clemson needs him to be before it costs the Tigers a game.

Clip of the Week

Bronze: The play itself—the mechanics of it—are fairly mundane. USC senior linebacker Uchenna Nwosu bursts around an edge and drags Stanford’s Cameron Scarlett down by his shoelaces. Impressive, but not spectacular. It’s the context that elevates it.

Nwosu makes this stop on 4th and goal from the USC 1-yard-line with eight minutes remaining in the game and Trojans bleeding momentum. A few more inches and Scarlett delivers the Cardinal a 28-24 lead. Instead, it’s a turnover on downs and the Trojans march 99 yards for a game-sealing touchdown and their first conference title since 2008. Sam Darnold and Ronald Jones get many of the plaudits, but Nwosu was the hero on Friday night.

Silver: Speaking of big plays at crucial moments, Georgia’s coup de grâce came from true freshman tailback D’Andre Swift, the heir to Nick Chubb and Sony Michel’s throne in Athens. Swift was similarly regarded coming out of high school, but he has the edge on the upperclassmen—and most everyone else—in top-end speed. Case in point, this 64-yard bolt of lightning down the left sideline that even had Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart running along with him. Georgia went up 28-10, walling off any hope of an Auburn comeback.

Gold: Given how TCU got flattened by Oklahoma, the Horned Frogs’ John Diarse can’t match these last two in dramatics. No, this is about pure aesthetics and degree of difficulty. Here’s why the last week of the regular season delivered one of the very best catches of the year:

3rd and 1

Georgia’s 28-7 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship Game was a clinic in what the Bulldogs do best: pounding opponents into submission, both with a deep, physical defense and a hydra of running backs on offense. There is no transcendent strength on par with Oklahoma’s offensive skill position talent or Clemson’s front four, but Georgia’s offense is far less of a question than the Sooners’ defense, and while true freshman Jake Fromm carries many of the same questions as Bryant, he also has a much stronger TD:INT ratio (19:5) and his running backs are far more established.

Think of the Bulldogs as a faster, more dynamic Wisconsin. Opposing teams know what’s coming but there’s still the matter of actually stopping it. Except, unlike the Badgers, Georgia dispatched more than enough opponents to verify that their strategy is the real deal.

As is the case with Clemson and Bryant, the best hope of beating the Bulldogs will be to take away the run and force Fromm to win with his arm, something Auburn achieved when they defeated Georgia in their first matchup back in November. Also like Bryant, Fromm boasts superstar potential—but while Bryant gets thrown into the fire against Alabama, Fromm has a date with the softest defense in the playoff field. If his play takes a jump against a vulnerable Sooners secondary, the Bulldogs could play for their first national title since 1980.

Punt

On dissecting the debate for the final playoff spot, because the anticlimactic truth is that Alabama and Ohio State each had a case making the field.

For Crimson Tide, it’s the fact that, for the overwhelming majority of the season, Alabama looked like the best team in the country, and their only loss came on the road against a top-ten team. They’ll also enter the postseason healthier than they’ve been since September, with Mack Wilson, Christian Miller, and Terrell Lewis set to bolster a decimated linebacking corps.

An Alabama–Clemson rubber match will also be catnip for television ratings, which almost certainly played a role in this outcome. But there’s ample reason to believe that the Tide offer the best hope of giving Clemson a really great game, not only on account of the last two season but because Alabama is the most balanced team in the field. Everything I said about taking away the Clemson run game and forcing Kelly Bryant to throw? Yeah, Alabama can do that.

But Auburn provided a blueprint for defeating Nick Saban just last week, and Clemson’s defensive front combined with Bryant’s efficiency—his 67.4 percent completion percentage ranked sixth nationally—give Dabo Swinney the tools to stem the Tide for a second straight season.

Player Who Deserves to Be Paid This Week

For the second week in a row, undefeated UCF needed quarterback McKenzie Milton to go blow for blow with another highly regarded signal caller. Once again, Milton led the Knights to victory. Memphis’ Riley Ferguson was nearly as good in Saturday’s frenetic 62-55 AAC Championship Game, but Milton was just a tad better, completing 28 of 40 passes for 494 yards and five touchdowns.

Soon after the game ended, UCF coach Scott Frost was announced as the new head man at Nebraska, where he’ll earn $5 million annually. It’s only fair he donates some of it to his now-former quarterback.

Coach Who Does Not Groundskeeper Who Does

There was no egregiously bad coaching performance on this week’s short slate, so let’s keep things light and pay homage to Eric Harlow, the humble groundskeeper at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Late in the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game, Wisconsin’s Chris James scored a one-yard touchdown so violent it literally ripped the turf off the ground. The game must go on, so in stepped Harlow, the Winston Wolf of faux horticulture, who proceeded to pour on rubber pellets and do field triage for the next ten or so minutes as a capacity crowd plus millions of people on television watched him work. You could argue that it’s the most high-pressure field-repair job in football history. (I do not have a list of other contenders, don’t @ me.)

If this does not merit a performance bonus, I don’t know what does.

Obscure College Football Team of Note

One of the chief casualties of the College Football Playoff’s hegemony is a tendency to downplay the significance of what a bowl game, any old bowl game, can mean. On Saturday, New Mexico State issued a heartwarming reminder.

The Aggies entered the week needing a win over South Alabama to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in 57 years. Here is an obligatory list of notable American events in 1960, the year they last made it:

John F. Kennedy announced his presidential campaign

Joanne Woodward received the first-ever star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The U.S. sent more troops to Vietnam

Ben-Hur won best picture at The Oscars

You get the picture. Consequently, you can empathize a bit when, following NMSU’s 22-17 win, the Aggie faithful stormed the field and head coach Doug Martin cried during his postgame interview. And, as fate would have it, NMSU’s opponent in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl is none other than another set of Aggies: Utah State, who remarkably enough was NMSU’s opponent all the way back in that last bowl appearance in 1960.

Bowl are great and don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise. Speaking of…

Something to Look Forward To

Bowl season. A month’s worth of football, in varying shapes and stakes and times. Some of them will be memorable; many more won’t be. There will be goofy sponsors and exotic matchups and at least a few memorable performances. Even in the low moments, bowl season is the best college football has to offer. Take a cue from New Mexico State and make sure to savor it.

Turf Guy, Bama-OSU, and the Joys of Bowl Season: The Weekend in College Football syndicated from http://ift.tt/2ug2Ns6

[thepatriotsandwe]

Three Up, Three Down: Dolphins at Patriots, Week 12

The march towards a top seed continues in New England, as the Patriots lay waste to the Dolphins with a score of 35-17.

Three Up

Rob Gronkowski

Gronk had an underwhelming affair in Mexico last week, but he sure made up for it against the Dolphins. 

Mr. “Yo Soy Fiesta” nabbed two touchdowns which ties his effort in week 6 against the Jets. He continues to be one of Brady’s most trusted receiving options as he led the team in targets on the day. A stellar 16 yards per reception kept the Patriots moving down the field consistently and in big chunks at a time.

He ended with 82 receiving yards, but was just short of Brandin Cooks’ total of 83 yards. Honestly, I could have picked either player for this slot, but Gronkowski’s two touchdowns really put him over the top.

For now, you’ll just have to settle for one of the greatest celebrations in New England history:

The Pass Rush

Finally, oh finally, will I not have to hear legions of Patriots fans complain about the pass rush for a week.

Due to Jay Cutler being in concussion protocol, Matt Moore was the unfortunate subject of a totally locked in New England front seven unit. Moore was brought down seven times with Trey Flowers and Elandon Roberts leading the charge (two sacks each). 

The relentless attack all but crippled Miami’s balance. Dolphins’ running back Damien Williams had success in his limited opportunities, but the constant setbacks found via the passing game led to an overall limited outing for the running back (along with an injury that occurred late in the game). 

The Miami offensive line has been spotty in games this season, but it’s still a nice change of pace for a New England pass rush that has experienced hefty issues in reaching the quarterback.

Stephon Gilmore

I admit I’m somewhat biased in this selection, but Gilmore absolutely deserves a spot on the positive side of this list after an outstanding showing.

Matt Moore had a quarterback rating of just 2.8 when targeting Stephon Gilmore on the day. Gilmore’s primary man, DeVante Parker, was held to just 1 reception for 5 yards on 3 targets. 

Gilmore also effectively nabbed two interceptions in the contest. I say “effectively,” because Duron Harmon did all that he could to rip the ball out of Gilmore’s hands. Harmon ended up being the Patriot who came down with the ball, but it was Gilmore that initially secured possession. I believe Mr. Harmon should be writing Stephon a lengthy apology letter for the completely egregious act of greed and jealousy. 

Three Down

Pass Protection

The New England pass rushing unit wasn’t the only ones to find success in the week 12 affair. 

While Brady was only recorded once for a sack, the 40 year old quarterback was getting hit early and often. The Dolphins officially registered eight hits on Brady, but some appeared to be late much to Brady’s chagrin. Multiple attempts to sway the judgement of the officiating unit fell on deaf ears as Brady was forced to bear the brunt of a talented Miami front seven. 

In spite of a relatively poor effort by the squad, Nate Solder boasted one of his better games of the season registering a grade of 86.6 from Pro Football Reference. The injuries on the line seemed to have seriously affected the outing, but we’ll touch more on that in a moment.

Ball Security

A typically stingy New England team had issues at time with securing possession of the football. 

Brady’s early interception was an uncharacteristic failure, but it’s difficult to fully blame the future hall of famer’s decision. Once again, the pass protection was breaking down and did not allow Brady to fully step into the throw, allowing an easy interception for Bobby McCain on a crossing route. Regardless, these types of mistakes are often quite rare for Brady, but this makes the appearance of them more noticeable.

In addition, backup center Ted Karras, filling in for an injured David Andrews for the second straight week, seemed to have some miscommunication with Brady on the snap count. While this play goes as a fumble on Brady, it was clearly Karras’ fault, and it allowed a defensive touchdown for the Dolphins just as the game was appearing to get out of hand. Any play in which you are solely the reason the opposing team scores is a tough one to swallow, but especially when you’re the team currently in possession of the football.

Amendola also momentarily lost the football on a punt return, but it was covered up by Phillip Dorsett on a somewhat controversial call. The Dolphins actually had the ball in hand outside of the pile, but the officials ruled Dorsett down while attempting to recover the fumble. 

New England is lucky that Miami is a relatively poor unit overall and also happened to play a very dysfunctional game, or this lack of protection of the football could have spelled disaster on an otherwise great showing.

Injuries

The term “Pyrrhic Victory” is not exactly accurate now that we know the details of the injuries, but it sure felt that way in the moment.

It seemed like every other play a Patriot or Dolphin was being helped off the field by trainers. This mostly came on the defensive side of the ball for New England as Trey Flowers, Marquise Flowers, Kyle Van Noy, and Trevor Reilly all had to leave the field for stretches of time. 

In addition, special teamer Nate Ebner was hurt very early in the game on a fake punt play in which he reached the first down marker. It seems like, by all accounts, Ebner will be done for the season with a non-contact knee injury. LaAdrian Waddle also was hurt with an ankle injury, which stretches New England even thinner at the right tackle position. The Marcus Cannon injury seems serious due to him not appearing at a practice since week 8. 

As of now, it seems like the only truly serious injury is to Nate Ebner, but some information about other players has yet to come out. Trevor Reilly is a concern as it appears like he and Miami’s Senorise Perry were briefly knocked unconscious on a brutal collusion on a kickoff. 

Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy can likely be called the most critical members to remain healthy for this defensive unit, and New England is lucky enough to have both of these injuries be reported as relatively minor.

It’s sometimes difficult to limit these to just three, and I like to avoid throwing in broad strokes as much as I can (in this week’s instance, I went against that with “Injuries” and “The Pass Rush”), so that sometimes means outstanding performances go unmentioned. 

Dion Lewis should be spotlighted as an honorable mention. The running back has gone from speculation of pre-season trade talk, to undeniably the lead back in New England. His efficiency against the Dolphins was off the charts as he averaged almost 7 and a half yards per attempt on the day. This is Dion’s first 100 yard rushing effort of his career, and that should be celebrated as it appears more may very well be on the way.

Next week the Patriots will continue their AFC East tour on the road against the 6-5 Bills coming off a solid team win against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Until we meet again,

Go Pats.

[stmaartennews-blog]

‘We’ve lost all that money can buy’: Dominica PM reveals catastrophic destruction before he is rescued from his home as 160mph Hurricane Maria hits Caribbean island

Dominica PM reveals catastrophic destruction before he is rescued from his home as 160mph Hurricane Maria hits Caribbean island

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Hurricane Maria has unleashed its fury on the Caribbean island of Dominica, destroying the Prime Minister’s residence and forcing him to be rescued. Roosevelt Skerrit, who has led the country since 2004, updated his citizens on Facebook as the hurricane ripped the roof from his home. The 44-year-old said he was at the ‘complete mercy of the hurricane’ before announcing that he had been rescued. But he later warned Dominica has lost ‘all what money can buy’ after Maria intensified into a ‘potentially catastrophic’ category five storm moving towards British overseas territories already battered by Irma. Warning of ‘widespread devastation’, he wrote overnight: ‘My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains.’ Unconfirmed reports have suggested that Dominica’s main hospital has had its roof torn off, leaving patients vulnerable to the hurricane and local residents without access to medical care. Power has gone down across the majority of Dominica. The DBS radio station has stopped broadcasting on the island after reports that the building had been smashed by falling objects in 160mph winds. Forecasters warned it was likely to grow even stronger as it entered warmer waters. It’s still too early to know whether Maria poses any threat to the U.S. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm would likely intensify over the next 24 hours or longer, noting its eye had shrunk to a compact 10 miles across and warning: ‘Maria is developing the dreaded pinhole eye.’

That generally means an extremely strong hurricane will get even mightier, said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. He said it just like when a spinning ice skater brings in their arms and rotates faster. ‘You just don’t see those in weaker hurricanes,’ he said. Skerrit, writing on Facebook said: ‘Certainly no sleep for anyone in Dominica. I believe my residence may have sustained some damage,’ he wrote at first. He added: ‘We do not know what is happening outside. We do not dare look out. All we hear is the sound of galvanise (galvanised iron roofing) flying. The sound of the fury of the wind. As we pray for its end!’ An hour later, the Prime Minister posted dramatically: ‘Rough! Rough! Rough!’ He then added, ‘my roof is gone. I am at the complete mercy of the hurricane. House is flooding.’ As Dominican citizens and others around the world looked on, a few minutes later he concluded: ‘I have been rescued,’ before explaining that the loss of his roof ‘triggered an avalanche of torn away roofs in the city and the countryside’.

The Prime Minister then appealed to ‘friendly nations and organisations with helicopter services’ for help. In referring to the galvanised iron roofs, Mr Skerrit was identifying one of the worst hazards in a long list of dangers facing islanders. Flung into the air by hurricane-force winds, the tin sheeting becomes in effect flying blades. A woman from the island of Barbuda, told MailOnline last night that she had seen a horse cut in half by a sheet of the roofing when the island was flattened by Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Maria started as a tropical storm last week but steadily gained power as it approached the Caribbean islands. Last night it was finally upgraded to Category Five status; Hurricane Irma, which left a trail of destruction across the region 10 days ago, was assessed as ‘Category Five Plus’. Dominica lies directly in the path of the furious weather system, with its mountainous terrain and tendency to rain raising fears of mud slides. The island last suffered serious weather damage during Tropical Storm Erica in 2015, which dumped 33-inches of rain, triggering widespread mudslides. The entire town of Petite Savanne had to be evacuated and 30 people were killed. It is thought that Dominica has not seen such severe weather since Hurricane David, a Category Five storm, killed more than 2,000 people on the island in 1979. In 1930, Hurricane San Zenon also left thousands of Dominicans dead.

Heavy wind and rain continues to lash a number of islands in the Caribbean, with particular fears for Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico as well as Dominica. Barbuda and St Martin, both of which suffered the brunt of Hurricane Irma and were almost totally destroyed, are also suffering the onslaught of Maria tonight. Even though they do not lie directly in the path of the storm, the mountains of debris lying in the streets and the thousands of ruined buildings on the islands make the level of danger severe. Barbuda is understood to have been entirely evacuated yesterday for the first time in about 300 years, with many residents taken to nearby Antigua. The island is now guarded by Royal Marines. The storm is currently on a path that will take it near many of the islands already wrecked by Hurricane Irma and then on toward Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Maria could hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, said Ernesto Morales with the U.S. National Weather Service in San Juan. ‘This storm promises to be catastrophic for our island,’ he said. ‘All of Puerto Rico will experience hurricane force winds.’ The U.S. territory on Monday imposed rationing of basic supplies including water, milk, baby formula, canned foods, batteries, flashlights and other items. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Maria had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph Monday afternoon, and called the storm ‘extremely dangerous’.

Hurricane warnings were posted for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique and St. Lucia. A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Anguilla. Forecasters warned yesterday of storm surge raising water levels by 6 to 9 feet near the storm’s center. The storm was predicted to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain across the islands, with more in isolated areas. Officials in Dominica closed schools and government offices on Monday and urged people to evacuate and seek shelters. Officials in Guadeloupe said the French Caribbean island would experience extremely heavy flooding starting Monday afternoon, and they warned that many communities would be submerged overnight. In nearby Martinique, authorities ordered people to remain indoors and said they should be prepared for power cuts and disruption in the water supply. All schools and non-essential public services were closed. On Wednesday, Maria was expected to be near or over Puerto Rico, which was spared the full brunt of Irma, although much of the island had its power knocked out. Nearly 70,000 people remain without power, and Gov. Ricardo Rossello on Monday warned of another widespread outage.

‘We have an extremely weak infrastructure that has already been hit by one storm,’ he said. ‘This is going to be a catastrophic event.’ Forecasters said the storm would dump up to 18 inches of rain across Puerto Rico and whip the U.S. territory with heavy winds for 12 to 24 hours. Officials said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to bring drinking water and help restore power in Puerto Rico immediately after the storm. Rossello said officials had prepared about 450 shelters with a capacity for nearly 68,000 people – or even 125,000 in an emergency. There are still nearly 200 people in shelters from Hurricane Irma. Schools were cancelled for Monday and government employees would work only a half day. Officials in the Dominican Republic urged people to leave areas prone to flooding and said fishermen should remain in port. Farther north, long-lived Hurricane Jose continued to head northward off the U.S. East Coast, causing dangerous surf and rip currents. It wasn’t expected to make landfall but tropical storm watches were posted along the coast from Delaware to Massachusetts’ Cape Cod. Jose was centered about 265 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and was moving north at 9 mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The ocean washed over parts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks as Hurricane Jose passed well to the east, and five people were knocked off a coastal jetty in Rhode Island by high surf caused by the storm. Officials said rescuers had to fight through rough surf to load the injured onto stretchers and get them to shore. All five were taken to a hospital with minor and major injuries. In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Norma’s threat to Mexico’s Los Cabos resort area at the southern end of the Baja California Peninsula seemed to ease as forecasters said the storm’s center was likely to remain offshore. Norma had winds of about 50 mph and it was centered about 175 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas. The Baja California Sur state government prepared storm shelters and canceled classes for Monday. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lee weakened into a tropical depression far out in the Atlantic while Hurricane Otis weakened far out in the Pacific. Neither threatened land. Read More At The Daily Mail

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4898010/Dominica-PM-rescued-home-Hurricane-Maria-hits.html#ixzz4t6sOGLkr Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

New Photos Dominica PM reveals catastrophic destruction before he is rescued from his home as 160mph Hurricane Maria hits Caribbean island 'We've lost all that money can buy': Dominica PM reveals catastrophic destruction before he is rescued from his home as 160mph Hurricane Maria hits Caribbean island…

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Turf Guy, Bama-OSU, and the Joys of Bowl Season: The Weekend in College Football

Welcome to the final Weekend in College Football of the season. This week, we'll take you through everything you missed on Saturday (or, God forbid, Friday night), tell you the things worth learning, and look ahead to the College Football Playoff field. Enjoy.

1st and 10

Oklahoma steamrolled TCU 41-17, a nearly note-perfect recreation of the Sooners’ 38-20 triumph over the Horned Frogs on November 11th. The consistency is notable for two reasons.

First, the Sooners once again flashed their trademark balance on offense. Baker Mayfield was his usual, soon-to-be Heisman-winning self, efficient and ably spreading the ball across his receiving corps. Rodney Anderson ground out 93 yards, with Mayfield and Trey Sermon combining for 128 more. The offensive line, one of the country’s best, turned back Gary Patterson’s defense in both phases. By now, we’ve come to expect nothing less from what is far and away the best offense among the playoff field.

But it’s a second strong defensive performance that provides more optimism for a possible national championship run. As Sooner fans are well aware, Oklahoma has all the talent necessary to field a plus defense. Some of the individual cogs, such as sophomore linebacker Caleb Kelly, have flourished, too. But the unit ranked 100th in the S&P+ rankings heading into Saturday, which is embarrassingly low no matter how potent Big 12 offenses generally are across the board.

The Horned Frogs’ offense checked in at 45th, so the Sooners didn’t quite lock down one of the conference’s scariest attacks. Nevertheless, it was enough of a statement to beget optimism that Oklahoma can deliver on defense almost as well as they do on offense. Point blank: Two more strong defensive efforts probably means they’re winning the national title.

2nd and 8

The Sooners are the upside play, but Clemson is the safe bet.

Some of this, of course, is because they won it all last year and a not insignificant amount of that national championship team is back. The Tigers also have much of the Sooners’ offensive balance, if not their explosiveness, and augment that with the nastiest front seven in the country. The talent, production, intangibles, and resume—their one loss came when quarterback Kelly Bryant left early with a concussion—make Clemson the prohibitive favorites.

Still, confidence in the Tigers is inextricably tied to a belief that Bryant can drive an offense through an elite defense when the chips are down. DeShaun Watson did it last year and even his brilliance was barely enough to carry Clemson past Alabama. Now Bryant will be tasked with doing the same thing and, despite Watson’s proclamations to the contrary, the junior is not yet on par with the greatest quarterback in program history.

Still, Bryant’s potential is abundant, and his performance in the Tigers’ 38-3 demolition of Miami—23 of 29 for 252 yards and a touchdown—is an extremely promising tune-up. But if Alabama takes away the run game, will Bryant be ready? It comes down to timing, and whether he can develop into what Clemson needs him to be before it costs the Tigers a game.

Clip of the Week

Bronze: The play itself—the mechanics of it—are fairly mundane. USC senior linebacker Uchenna Nwosu bursts around an edge and drags Stanford’s Cameron Scarlett down by his shoelaces. Impressive, but not spectacular. It’s the context that elevates it.

Nwosu makes this stop on 4th and goal from the USC 1-yard-line with eight minutes remaining in the game and Trojans bleeding momentum. A few more inches and Scarlett delivers the Cardinal a 28-24 lead. Instead, it’s a turnover on downs and the Trojans march 99 yards for a game-sealing touchdown and their first conference title since 2008. Sam Darnold and Ronald Jones get many of the plaudits, but Nwosu was the hero on Friday night.

Silver: Speaking of big plays at crucial moments, Georgia’s coup de grâce came from true freshman tailback D’Andre Swift, the heir to Nick Chubb and Sony Michel’s throne in Athens. Swift was similarly regarded coming out of high school, but he has the edge on the upperclassmen—and most everyone else—in top-end speed. Case in point, this 64-yard bolt of lightning down the left sideline that even had Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart running along with him. Georgia went up 28-10, walling off any hope of an Auburn comeback.

Gold: Given how TCU got flattened by Oklahoma, the Horned Frogs’ John Diarse can’t match these last two in dramatics. No, this is about pure aesthetics and degree of difficulty. Here’s why the last week of the regular season delivered one of the very best catches of the year:

3rd and 1

Georgia’s 28-7 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship Game was a clinic in what the Bulldogs do best: pounding opponents into submission, both with a deep, physical defense and a hydra of running backs on offense. There is no transcendent strength on par with Oklahoma’s offensive skill position talent or Clemson’s front four, but Georgia’s offense is far less of a question than the Sooners’ defense, and while true freshman Jake Fromm carries many of the same questions as Bryant, he also has a much stronger TD:INT ratio (19:5) and his running backs are far more established.

Think of the Bulldogs as a faster, more dynamic Wisconsin. Opposing teams know what’s coming but there’s still the matter of actually stopping it. Except, unlike the Badgers, Georgia dispatched more than enough opponents to verify that their strategy is the real deal.

As is the case with Clemson and Bryant, the best hope of beating the Bulldogs will be to take away the run and force Fromm to win with his arm, something Auburn achieved when they defeated Georgia in their first matchup back in November. Also like Bryant, Fromm boasts superstar potential—but while Bryant gets thrown into the fire against Alabama, Fromm has a date with the softest defense in the playoff field. If his play takes a jump against a vulnerable Sooners secondary, the Bulldogs could play for their first national title since 1980.

Punt

On dissecting the debate for the final playoff spot, because the anticlimactic truth is that Alabama and Ohio State each had a case making the field.

For Crimson Tide, it’s the fact that, for the overwhelming majority of the season, Alabama looked like the best team in the country, and their only loss came on the road against a top-ten team. They’ll also enter the postseason healthier than they’ve been since September, with Mack Wilson, Christian Miller, and Terrell Lewis set to bolster a decimated linebacking corps.

An Alabama–Clemson rubber match will also be catnip for television ratings, which almost certainly played a role in this outcome. But there’s ample reason to believe that the Tide offer the best hope of giving Clemson a really great game, not only on account of the last two season but because Alabama is the most balanced team in the field. Everything I said about taking away the Clemson run game and forcing Kelly Bryant to throw? Yeah, Alabama can do that.

But Auburn provided a blueprint for defeating Nick Saban just last week, and Clemson’s defensive front combined with Bryant’s efficiency—his 67.4 percent completion percentage ranked sixth nationally—give Dabo Swinney the tools to stem the Tide for a second straight season.

Player Who Deserves to Be Paid This Week

For the second week in a row, undefeated UCF needed quarterback McKenzie Milton to go blow for blow with another highly regarded signal caller. Once again, Milton led the Knights to victory. Memphis’ Riley Ferguson was nearly as good in Saturday’s frenetic 62-55 AAC Championship Game, but Milton was just a tad better, completing 28 of 40 passes for 494 yards and five touchdowns.

Soon after the game ended, UCF coach Scott Frost was announced as the new head man at Nebraska, where he’ll earn $5 million annually. It’s only fair he donates some of it to his now-former quarterback.

Coach Who Does Not Groundskeeper Who Does

There was no egregiously bad coaching performance on this week’s short slate, so let’s keep things light and pay homage to Eric Harlow, the humble groundskeeper at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Late in the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game, Wisconsin’s Chris James scored a one-yard touchdown so violent it literally ripped the turf off the ground. The game must go on, so in stepped Harlow, the Winston Wolf of faux horticulture, who proceeded to pour on rubber pellets and do field triage for the next ten or so minutes as a capacity crowd plus millions of people on television watched him work. You could argue that it’s the most high-pressure field-repair job in football history. (I do not have a list of other contenders, don’t @ me.)

If this does not merit a performance bonus, I don’t know what does.

Obscure College Football Team of Note

One of the chief casualties of the College Football Playoff’s hegemony is a tendency to downplay the significance of what a bowl game, any old bowl game, can mean. On Saturday, New Mexico State issued a heartwarming reminder.

The Aggies entered the week needing a win over South Alabama to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in 57 years. Here is an obligatory list of notable American events in 1960, the year they last made it:

John F. Kennedy announced his presidential campaign

Joanne Woodward received the first-ever star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The U.S. sent more troops to Vietnam

Ben-Hur won best picture at The Oscars

You get the picture. Consequently, you can empathize a bit when, following NMSU’s 22-17 win, the Aggie faithful stormed the field and head coach Doug Martin cried during his postgame interview. And, as fate would have it, NMSU’s opponent in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl is none other than another set of Aggies: Utah State, who remarkably enough was NMSU’s opponent all the way back in that last bowl appearance in 1960.

Bowl are great and don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise. Speaking of…

Something to Look Forward To

Bowl season. A month’s worth of football, in varying shapes and stakes and times. Some of them will be memorable; many more won’t be. There will be goofy sponsors and exotic matchups and at least a few memorable performances. Even in the low moments, bowl season is the best college football has to offer. Take a cue from New Mexico State and make sure to savor it.

Turf Guy, Bama-OSU, and the Joys of Bowl Season: The Weekend in College Football published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv