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591,071 | thedailybeast--2019-01-30--Polar Vortex Trumps Got It Backwards Global Warming Is Actually Freezing the Midwest | 2019-01-30T00:00:00 | thedailybeast | Polar Vortex: Trump's Got It Backwards, Global Warming Is Actually Freezing the Midwest | Tuesday will bring record-shattering brutal Arctic temperatures across much of the Midwest, shutting down school and businesses. Temperatures will drop so low that the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa, warned that people should “avoid taking deep breaths, and minimize talking,” if they go outside, according to USA Today. Grand Forks Airport in North Dakota reported a wind chill of 61 degrees below zero on Tuesday, and the governors of Wisconsin and Illinois have put emergency plans in place to deal with what may be the deepest freeze in a generation. President Trump had a solution in a tweet on Tuesday morning: “What the hell is going on with global warming? Please come back fast, we need you!” What Trump misses is that the dangerous cold is actually because of global warming. “Mr. Trump's latest tweet demonstrates yet again his apparent willful lack of understanding about climate change,” Jennifer Francis, a senior Arctic climate scientist at Woods Hole Research Center, told the Daily Beast via email. “He [Trump] has the best climate scientists in the world working for the government he runs, and with one phone call could learn how this cold spell does not disprove global warming, and may even be caused by it.” Trump mixes up a few concepts in his tweet. Climate and weather aren’t synonyms. Climate refers to the average weather patterns in a region over a long period of time. For example, southern California and Seattle are known to have different climates based on a number of days that are hot and sunny versus cold and rainy. Weather encompasses the day-to-day fluctuations in precipitation and temperature, like the wind and snow in Chicago during the day on Tuesday and the flurries in New York at the same time. Trump also completely misses the difference between global warming and climate change. When oceanographer Wallace Smith Broecker popularized the term “global warming,” he and the scientific community were referring to greenhouse gases trapping heat in the atmosphere and raising the earth’s overall temperature. That doesn’t mean that winter will cease to exist though. Scientists have since shown that climate change will look like a rise in both hot and cold extremes, as well has an increase in natural disasters like hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires—and yes, Arctic blizzards. The polar vortex and the brutal weather are actually a result of climate change, something Trump is completely missing. Because of climate change, the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, according to the 2018 Arctic Report Card. “One of the factors—according to recent research—is the dramatic loss of sea ice in the region north of western Russia,” Francis said. The polar vortex is a freezing mass of cold air that lives above the North Pole, and is usually trapped there by westerly winds from the polar jet stream, which keeps it in place. But when the excess heat from the rapidly warming arctic hits the stratosphere, it can split the winds holding the true polar vortex in place. This causes the vortex to dip further south, moving the coldest air from the North Pole into Canada, Russia or the northern United States. “When this happens, instead of having this circular pool of cold air parked over the North Pole, it breaks it up into these smaller eddies, and these globs of cold air fly southward,” Francis said. “And we’ve got one of those globs of Arctic air over the Midwest right now.” | null | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thedailybeast/articles/~3/v7OQgU1SAL8/trumps-got-it-backwards-global-warming-is-actually-freezing-the-midwest | 2019-01-30 00:03:02+00:00 | 1,548,824,582 | 1,567,550,185 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
591,630 | thedailybeast--2019-02-15--Fox Friends Now Loves Trumps Emergency Declaration They Once Called a Disaster | 2019-02-15T00:00:00 | thedailybeast | ‘Fox & Friends’ Now Loves Trump’s Emergency Declaration They Once Called a ‘Disaster’ | President Trump’s favorite cable-news morning show hosts are pleased with his decision to declare a national emergency to fund his desired border wall. “This is one of the reasons people went to the polls to vote for him—for that wall, and if you ask Republicans who support him and support the wall, they say it’s common sense,” Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt said Friday morning. Trump on Friday morning announced he would sign a compromise funding deal to avert another shutdown but would also declaring a national emergency that would allow him to bypass Congress and reallocate more than $8 billion towards the wall. “This makes sense,” Hegseth said of the emergency declaration. “And the precedent argument? Listen, liberals and Democrats, if they had power, would do the same thing. There’s also plenty of precedent.” But Hegseth and the Fox & Friends co-hosts’ staunch support comes just one month after they slammed the national-emergency plans, calling the idea a “disaster in the big picture.” “[Declaring a national emergency] would just be a disaster in the big picture and just show us being inept and unable to govern around the world and set a terrible precedent,” co-host Brian Kilmeade said on Jan. 10. On Friday morning, however, Kilmeade seemingly forgot his previous reservations, and lamented that Trump’s decision to issue the third national emergency of his presidency came after multiple attempts to find a solution with Democrats. “After the 35-day holdout, after the negotiation with 17 bipartisan bicameral, after he sees what’s in front of him, after he only gets hours to read it knowing that the government is about to shut down in a matter of hours, he was going to throw this in the street,” he said. “So this is, ‘I tried. Now I’m going to use these powers.’ And the president sincerely believes it is an emergency.” | null | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thedailybeast/articles/~3/S9djG5j_4Zg/fox-and-friends-now-loves-trumps-emergency-declaration-they-once-called-a-disaster | 2019-02-15 15:59:17+00:00 | 1,550,264,357 | 1,567,548,360 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
595,214 | thedailybeast--2019-08-11--Mexico Citys Best Green Spaces | 2019-08-11T00:00:00 | thedailybeast | Mexico City’s Best Green Spaces | In May of this year, Mexico City registered some of the highest levels of air pollution in recent history. The particles that chilangos (as Mexico City residents are colloquially known) often feel in the air were actually visible. The city, ringed by pine and snow-covered mountains visible on clear days, felt like a bar at last call back in the day of indoor smoking. Smoke from wildfires across Mexico had conflated with the city’s status quo pollution (there’s at least 25 million people living in the metropolitan area, with millions of vehicles churning out exhaust and a number of factories emitting industrial waste) and low oxygen levels (its lowest elevation is 7,200 feet) making the city “unsafe” by World Health Organization standards for multiple days at a time. It’s been established that should the Valley of Mexico enter a serious drought, vulnerable populations in poorer neighborhoods would be the first to suffer. City officials called a state of emergency and went with their go-to air quality emergency plan of limiting which cars can circulate on certain days of the week (this does not pertain to buses and garbage trucks). The city’s Chief of Government, Claudia Sheinbaum, tossed blame for the air pollution problem on the previous administration while a 2017 pre-mayoral tweet resurfaced in which she accused the former city government of waiting for the annual appearance of the Mesoamerican rain deity Tlalóc (who was late to the party this year) to help with the dire situation. Now, it’s August and Tlalóc has arrived. The first storm didn’t do much other than prove how dirty the air really was. But now the capital is thriving with near-daily afternoon showers and clouds which have improved the mood of capitaleños, for the time being at least. And, to be fair, much has changed since 1992 when the United Nations named Mexico City the world’s most polluted city. It’s now not anywhere near the top of the list and ranks somewhere similar to Los Angeles in that realm. Fortunately, Mexico City has a green lining for these moments and any moment, that travelers and locals alike can take advantage of: some serious green spaces. And we’re not just talking quaint city parks or tree-lined neighborhoods. There are massive pine forests which lead up to 13,000-foot peaks within the city and volcanoes that loom in the distance. Take that, everywhere else. So, we’ve compiled a list to some of the best green spaces in and around the city. How to get there: Can be accessed by rideshare apps and taxis for about 250 pesos one way from most parts of the core city, whether you’re calling from Roma or Coyoacán. A return ride is more reliable in taxi due to limited cell service in the park. The trip takes about an hour by car. A bus marked “SANTA ROSA / DESIERTO” leaves frequently from outside the Viveros subway station and takes about an hour depending on traffic conditions. Hours: The park is open daily from 6 a.m.-5 p.m., though the former convent is closed on Mondays. This park on the city’s southwest side requires a bit of travel, with winding roads passing the outskirts of town and into an area where many chilangos have their vacation homes. The main attraction for most people is the 17th century ex-convent founded by Carmelite monks. The convent is open to tour, and wandering onto the surrounding hiking trails takes visitors through a thick forest where lesser kept remains of the convent can be found embraced by nature’s reclaim. Sit down for a game of chess if there’s a table set out—there often is—at the entrance where there’s no shortage of places to eat fresh quesadillas and prized wild mushroom soup, a staple of Central Mexico’s mountain cuisine. Bring a jacket as it’s much cooler here than in the city. How to get there: Best accessed by Chapultepec, Auditorio or Constituyentes subway stations, or by taxi or rideshare. Hours: The park consists of three sections, section 1 being the most visited and regulated, open from 5 a.m.-8 p.m, and closed on Mondays. Sections two and three are open 24 hours every day of the year. Near Mexico City’s bustling business district of Reforma Avenue, lies the Bosque de Chapultepec (a Nahuatl phrase meaning “grasshopper hill”). This impeccably manicured and lively space gives green life to the city’s center, where many trees were felled in order to make way for human progress. The park itself boasts two lakes which were created during the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship of the early 20th century, though the area has been the site of irrigation and aqueducts since the era of Tenochtitlán (the former capital of the Aztec empire on which Mexico City sits). In addition to being a sacred space for the Aztecs, and likely those who came before them, the park also boasts a curious mansion on said grasshopper hill which was built between 1785-1863 and housed an Austrian archduke and his Belgian princess wife during France’s invasion of Mexico. How to get there: Taxi or rideshare will take you all the way to Dínamos 4 in less than an hour from most parts of the core city, depending on traffic conditions. From the Taxqueña subway station, take a bus marked “Los Dínamos” which takes about an hour to arrive, depending on traffic conditions. Los Dínamos is the go-to spot for rock climbing fanatics, hikers and mountain bikers in CDMX. Similar to Desierto de los Leones, it’s on the city’s southwest side though easily accessible through the southwest borough of Magdalena Contreras, just a 30-45 minute drive from many places in the central city. The park is sectioned off into four locations, with Dínamos 4 being the most remote and flaunting the highest elevation (more than 10,000 feet). Like any good mountain send-off trail in Mexico, there are vendors selling local cuisine, cerveza, and even in this case pulque (slightly alcoholic fermented agave nectar) to replenish your energy sources after meandering through any of the 16 miles of rustic trails. How to get there: Rideshares and taxis are pretty easy to come by from within the city and to return, though the trip will likely take more than an hour. If you find yourself stuck after a hike, just ask around and you’ll find a taxi driver. From the Universidad metro, take the “San Miguel Ajusco” bus which takes about an hour to arrive, from there, ask for the “parque nacional” which can be another 20 minutes. Hours: Open hours, though recommended during daylight as trails can be difficult to navigate in the dark. Mexico City’s highest point is Ajusco mountain, which guards the southern edge of the city. At 12,894 feet, Ajusco is rugged and steep, but not a technically difficult mountain to climb. Cabins and of course quesadillas and birria (a hearty country soup made with goat or sheep meat) stands abound and the foothills are a popular place for family members to gather. Also part of the national park is the Volcán Xitle, a volcano that blew its top roughly 1,700 years ago and covered much of the city’s south side in volcanic rock. Rumored to have been used as a place for sacrifices and offerings to the Gods, it still draws visitors to its crater for hiking and to connect with the legends of its pre-Columbian past. How to get there: Rideshares and taxis make the roughly hour trip from the core city on a regular basis. To go by bus, go to the Observatorio subway station, exit and head across the road to the bus station and purchase a ticket to Toluca (make sure it’s an “intermedio” ticket) which will drop you right at La Marquesa in about 45 minutes. La Marquesa is a popular park which climbs into the highlands surrounding Mexico City, bordering the city limits and the neighboring State of Mexico. There are hiking trails, diversions (think go-karts and paintball) and horseback riding and is a great place to stop off on the way to or from the stunning Nevado de Toluca volcano or Valle de Bravo, a charming village-surrounding Avándaro lake valley now being touted by Mexico City real estate agents as “the Hamptons of Mexico City” (please don’t go there looking for that). La Marquesa sits at more than 10,000 feet and entices visitors with sampling a variety of Mexican delicacies such as rabbit, mixiote (a pit-barbecue dish) and cecina (dried beef). You can even fish for your own trout and have a restaurant grill it up for you. How to get there: The best way to arrive is to the Viveros subway station. Viveros is the Spanish term for plant nursery, and there is a large one on site at this park where you can buy anything from herbs to a palm tree. But the real draw and importance of the space is the surprisingly private forest that lies within the park’s walls. Most visitors to Viveros get their walk or run in on the more than one mile-wide loop that encircles the collection of neatly planted trees, including varieties of acacia and eucalyptus. The part plant nursery/part public park was founded as a space to reforest the city and was declared a national park in 1938. How to get there: For Bosque de Tlalpan: Take the Metrobus Line 1 south to Villa Olímpica and take a 10-minute taxi drive or walk 15-20 minutes. For Fuentes Brotantes, exit at the Ayuntamiento station and take a five-minute taxi drive or walk 10 minutes. Hours: Bosque de Tlalpan is open daily from 5:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and Fuentes Brotantes from 9 a.m-6 p.m. Right along Insurgentes Avenue, the main artery connecting the north and south of the city, lie two national parks in the southern delegation of Tlalpan. Bosque de Tlalpan is made up of steep inclines dotted with pines, oaks and cedars. It’s a popular place for people to hike, hold picnics and other events (including a weekly organic market) and to come with children to enjoy the massive jungle gym equipment. At the southern edge of the park with a separate entrance and hours is Fuentes Brotantes, where natural spring waters flow into a large pond enjoyed by passersby and plenty of ducks. Both parks are often tapped for their natural and tranquil atmosphere to host activities such as yoga and dance classes. How to get there: Take the subway to Universidad, and take a short walk into the UNAM campus. Small, sweet, and complete is the UNAM Botanical Garden, part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s massive campus that is home to more than 300,000 students. UNAM has a great deal of outdoor spaces to enjoy, such as the Sculpture Park and its central Las Islas common area, but the Botanical Garden is one of the most relaxed areas on campus, featuring plants and trees endemic to Mexico, including a wide variety of cacti. There’s even a gift shop where you can adopt a native, endangered cactus (for a small fee) and care for it in your own home. The space is popular for students and cityfolk alike, with plenty of space to stretch out and take in the sun and the oxygen that it provides. How to get there: The best bet is to rent a car so you can explore the park at your leisure. Otherwise, buses make the hour-and-a-half trip regularly for Amecameca, from the city’s TAPO bus station, from there you can hire a taxi to take you into the park. Hours: 7 a.m.- 9 p.m., with special backcountry permits required to hike Iztaccíhuatl (it’s at least a 14-hour out-and-back hike). While not technically part of Mexico City, this massive national park is home to two of Mexico’s largest volcanoes which play a major role of the valley’s indigenous legends. On a day with moderate traffic, the park is between one and two hours to the east. On clear days (mostly in the late fall and early winter), the snow-capped mountains can be seen from the city itself. Iztaccíhuatl, at more than 17,100 feet, last erupted in 1868 and is now considered dormant; known colloquially as The Sleeping Woman or The White Woman for its year-round snowpack, and its form of a woman resting on her side. As Aztec legend goes, she was the true love of warrior Popocatepetl (17,800 feet), which is still active to this day, dousing dust on surrounding communities in his mourning of her death. It erupts at small levels regularly, and its habit of spitting out ash contributed in part to the poor air quality the city experienced this spring. How to get there: Rideshares and taxis are abundant in the area, though congestion is high in Xochimilco due to two-lane roads and travel from central areas of the city can take an hour or more. The park sits right off of the Periférico highway which circles the city. On Metrobus line 1 or Tren Ligero, get off at the Periférico station and take a bus east asking for Parque Ecológico de Xochimilco. Xochimilco is one of Mexico City’s most important neighborhoods in terms of its food production on floating islands known as chinampas (an ingenious creation of the Aztecs) and the canals built from now mostly dry Lake Texcoco, making up for about 60 miles of waterways. The delegation’s water and trees function as lungs as well as a popular recreation area and home to the endangered axolotl (cuteness level: red alert). So popular, in fact, that water in the canals is pumped out and treated and also diverted from other areas of the city for the popular Xochimilco boat rides. The Xochimilco Ecological Park is home to migrating birds as well as native flora and fauna that has managed to stand up to the tests of Mexico City’s rapid urbanization of this not-long-ago rural delegation. How to get there: Take the subway to the Cerro de al Estrella National Park station and have a taxi take you to the park. Hours: Open daily 5 a.m.-7 p.m.Overlooking the densely populated Iztapalapa borough, Cerro de la Estrella sits at more than 8,000 feet (more than 700 feet above the city) and is covered in pines, eucalyptus and white cedar. It's popular for trail running and offers an excellent view of the city on a clear day. Though the cherry on top is really a pyramid. Other visitors go for the pre-Columbian sites including a pyramid and petroglyphs, the work of various indigenous groups (namely the Chichimecas) dating as far back as 1500 BCE. How to get there: Take the Metrobus to the Villa Olímpica station, Cuicuilco sits alongside northbound Insurgentes Avenue. The largest archaeological site in Mexico City is also one of its oldest and greenest. Long before the Mexica (also known as the Aztecs) took hold of the valley, this pyramid was built by the Cuicuilca people (of whom not much is known) in honor of a fire deity, possibly referencing nearby Xitle volcano which erupted between 245 and 315 CE and ultimately lead to the abandonment of Cuicuilco. Much of the pyramid still lies beneath more than 30 feet of volcanic rock from that eruption. Agaves, eucalyptus, grasses and many endemic flowers make up the ecological aspect of this ancient part of the city. An onsite museum boasts what is arguably the best depiction of the now-dry Lake Texcoco on which Mexico City was formed as an island. How to get there: Take the subway to the Refinería station which sits on its eastern border. Providing respite on the city's north side, Parque Bicentenario is home to five gardens, an orchid house and a conservatory. The park has undergone a number of recent reforestation programs providing shade for chilangos to rest under in between soccer matches. With sports fields and a lake, it's provides this side of town with a tranquil and family friendly place to spend time. While it's often quiet on weekdays, the weekends welcome hordes of people to celebrate everything from having a day off to birthdays and weddings in the wide green areas. The park is even adapted from time to time to host major concerts featuring national and international acts such as Hello Seahorse! and Björk. Megan Frye is an independent journalist and translator living in Mexico City. She has a history of newsroom journalism as well as nonprofit administration and works with international and Mexican publications. | null | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thedailybeast/articles/~3/TlbcvD4shu8/mexico-citys-best-green-spaces | 2019-08-11 09:48:40+00:00 | 1,565,531,320 | 1,567,534,393 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
597,144 | thedailycaller--2019-01-08--Thats NOT Happening Meteorologist Fact-Checks Claim The Shutdown Is Making Weather Forecasts Wor | 2019-01-08T00:00:00 | thedailycaller | ‘That’s NOT Happening’: Meteorologist Fact-Checks Claim The Shutdown Is Making Weather Forecasts Worse | Meteorologist and Cato Institute adjunct scholar Ryan Maue says he sees no evidence the government shutdown is crippling the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) premier weather model. “I do not find evidence (as of yet) for this claim in my verification statistics for the NOAA global weather model,” Maue tweeted Monday, referring to a Washington Post story claiming “your forecast is worse because of the shutdown.” The Post’s Capital Weather Gang reported Monday the government shutdown over border wall funding is impacting the National Weather Service (NWS), including the forecasting ability of the federal government’s flagship weather model. The “current Global Forecast System — or the GFS — the United States’ premier weather model, is running poorly, and there’s no one on duty to fix it,” the Post reported. GFS model accuracy dropped out around Christmas and hasn’t kept pace with other weather models, the paper claimed. “There was a dropout in the scores for all of the systems on Dec. 25,” Suru Saha with the Environmental Modeling Center told The Post. “All of the models recovered, except for the GFS, which is still running at the bottom of the pack.” This isn’t the first time The Post targeted the Trump administration’s handling of NWS. The paper, without evidence, ran a 2017 article claiming the administration’s hiring freeze “shrunk National Weather Service staff before hurricanes hit.” An NWS spokesperson told The Post that essential “staff continue mission-essential functions,” but Saha said model deterioration could hamper transportation, emergency planning and even national security. (RELATED: US Supreme Court Rejects Exxon’s Plea To Hear Global Warming Case) “Once the GFS scores start to go bad, it impacts everything,” Saha said. “Things are going to break, and that really worries me because this is our job. We are supposed to improve our weather forecasts, not deteriorate them.” However, Maue examined the data and came to the opposite conclusion — there’s no evidence GFS is doing any worse because of the government shutdown. Weather forecasters have long considered it second-rate compared to the European weather model. For example, the European model was much more accurate in predicting Hurricane Matthew and a Seattle-area windstorm in 2016. “So far, the NOAA weather model seems to be humming along as normal – that means ‘second rate’ and in third place behind the world’s best weather models,” Maue tweeted. “While problems could arise at any time — the model breaking — so far, that’s NOT happening.” Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]. | Michael Bastasch | https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/07/meteorologist-fact-check-shutdown/ | 2019-01-08 01:01:38+00:00 | 1,546,927,298 | 1,567,553,521 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
606,770 | thedailycaller--2019-10-10--Tickets For The Wisconsin/Nebraska Game Are Officially Booked. I’ll Be Seeing Lincoln Real Soon | 2019-10-10T00:00:00 | thedailycaller | Tickets For The Wisconsin/Nebraska Game Are Officially Booked. I’ll Be Seeing Lincoln Real Soon | Ladies and gentlemen, the trip to Lincoln, Nebraska for the big game between the Badgers and Cornhuskers is officially a go. After months of planning, countless hours examining any potential outcomes and preparing for what could happen on the ground, the green light for the trip to Nebraska was finally given today, Thursday. In what could only be described as a scene out of a military movie, everything hung in the balance as some of the most powerful people in Wisconsin sports discussed if we were going to invade Lincoln, and show them what we’re all about. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football) After some tense moments of silence, a voice spoke to me over the phone and said, “This is a no brainer. It’s a go.” Within a matter of minutes, the trip was finalized, travel plans were confirmed and an emergency plan was formalized just in case fans of the Cornhuskers do something stupid down by 50 or 60 in the second quarter. After months and months of nonstop trash talk from Nebraska fans, I’m finally showing up to your city. They said I’d never do it. The Nebraska faithful said I’d never show my face in Lincoln. What they didn’t know was this had been in motions for months, if not a lifetime. You see, I knew Nebraska wouldn’t be any good. Call it my gift. I can see things that most football fans don’t notice until it’s too late. I see the writing on the wall before the spray paint has even been bought at the store. Now, it’s a time for reckoning. It’s time for Nebraska fans to face the music and dance. You asked for David Hookstead, and you’re going to get everything I’ve got. Welcome to hell, gentlemen. It only gets worse from here. P.S.: I’ve never been to Lincoln before. If anybody has any great bar recommendations, please hit me with them. | David Hookstead | https://dailycaller.com/2019/10/10/david-hookstead-nebraska-wisconsin-tickets-booked-lincoln/ | Thu, 10 Oct 2019 19:47:30 +0000 | 1,570,751,250 | 1,570,746,462 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
631,530 | thedailymirror--2019-04-20--Chemical leak at leisure centre swimming pool sees up to 50 children taken ill | 2019-04-20T00:00:00 | thedailymirror | Chemical leak at leisure centre swimming pool sees 'up to 50 children taken ill' | A chemical leak at a swimming pool has seen up to 50 children taken ill. A large number of people have had a reaction to the water, according to local reports. A number of ambulances and other emergency services are on the scene at the Aura Leisure Centre in Letterkenny, Donegal. RTE reports that the children became unwell during a swimming lesson this morning. Letterkenny hospital has put its emergency plan in place. Have you been affected by this story? Email [email protected] Emergency services say there are no life-threatening injuries but the incident has been described as 'very serious'. The leisure centre has been evacuated with the Donegal Daily reporting that "a large number of children were in the swimming pool at the time". A number of ambulances and fire brigades attended the scene. Doctors and nurses are also on site at the centre where they have been treating the children for injuries which are not believed to be serious. | Tom Davidson | https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-chemical-leak-leisure-centre-14437092 | 2019-04-20 11:34:50+00:00 | 1,555,774,490 | 1,567,542,339 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
664,414 | thedenverpost--2019-09-04--Diana Bray We must deal with the trauma of these mass shootings too | 2019-09-04T00:00:00 | thedenverpost | Diana Bray: We must deal with the trauma of these mass shootings, too | Gun violence has turned the U.S. into a society dominated by trauma and fear, where children are scared to go to school and their parents are scared for them. With the return of the school year, it’s time to reassess how our community deals with the threat. We know the terrible statistics — two deadly mass shootings a month thus far in 2019 — with the interval between such shocking events steadily decreasing over recent years. On average, one hundred people a day die by firearms. That’s more than 36,000 deaths a year. More than 22,000 suicides. By guns. But death by firearm is one of the top three leading causes of death of children. Too many of our kids not only feel unsafe in schools, but they also fear that they might be a victim of random violence in any place they frequent. Backpacks are now being sold with gun protection built-in. “What are your facility’s emergency plans?” is a frequent question from parents to school representatives. Children worry that they will be victims of a school massacre, and parents want to know how their children will be safe in the event of an attack. In the case of a lockdown, “I would have to hide too,” a school nurse confessed to a Denver mother of a kindergartner with Type 1 diabetes. Parents are afraid to be out in public places, and they are nervous about sending their kids to schools where their kids participate in mandatory lockdown drills. The lockdown drills themselves are traumatic. Children experience debilitating fear, anxiety, and depression around anticipatory terror. And for every shooting, others suffer lifelong trauma and loss. And what about the survivors? Studies show the experience of trauma affects the architecture of the developing brain. Loss delivers up the kind of toxic stress that can lead to later life ailments like heart disease, alcoholism, depression, and debilitating anxiety. It is not unusual for victims of trauma to cut themselves off from the world as a sort of protection, a defense. With the shooting at STEM School in Colorado in May, and with the recent shootings in Odessa, Dayton, El Paso and at the Gilroy Festival, I’ve been thinking a lot about loss and trauma. As a candidate for U.S. Senate, I am advocating for the use of every available measure to reduce gun violence. It is time to assure our children and our families that we know how to protect them. We just need the political will to follow through. The National Rifle Association, the Trump administration, and other elected representatives, like Cory Gardner, have failed to take reasonable steps to reduce violence. Conservatives give a false narrative that the issue relates to mental health. This is simply wrong and it gives people with mental health issues a bad rap. This administration, along with its abettors, have encouraged and promoted an environment of hostility and division and our children are often the victims. How do we restore a sense of safety and sanity in this climate of fear and violence? As a psychologist, a mom of four kids and as a climate and social justice advocate, I have observed many different types of trauma. Particularly as a mom, I know that our kids can only withstand so much. Terror from gun violence is perpetuating a serious mental health crisis in our country today. In addition to gun safety legislation, it is time to give our children the coping skills to emotionally survive. Stronger laws will make us safer and more counseling and compassion can assist. Classrooms can be made safer by teaching kids and administrators to reach out to those who are vulnerable and isolated. Teaching compassion will bolster communities, and kids who are actively engaged in their community will feel less helpless and more resilient. So let’s do it — let’s arm our kids with compassion, let’s enact serious gun safety legislation, let’s stop blaming and scapegoating those with mental health challenges, and let’s engage with one another to end the senseless and preventable violence. Diana Bray, a psychologist, mother and climate advocate, is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Colorado. To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail. | Diana Bray | https://www.denverpost.com/2019/09/04/diana-bray-we-must-deal-with-the-trauma-of-these-mass-shootings-too/ | 2019-09-04 17:36:44+00:00 | 1,567,633,004 | 1,569,331,365 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
664,982 | thedenverpost--2019-11-01--Kelsey Berreth murder case: Small town, 115-year-old courthouse brace for high-profile trial of Patr | 2019-11-01T00:00:00 | thedenverpost | Kelsey Berreth murder case: Small town, 115-year-old courthouse brace for high-profile trial of Patrick Frazee | CRIPPLE CREEK — For the past five months, staff at the 115-year-old Teller County courthouse have prepared for chaos and unprecedented crowds that a high-profile trial would bring to the historic building in this small casino mountain town. The trial of Patrick Frazee — deemed the “trial of the century” by the local Mountain Jackpot newspaper — has drawn national media attention. Reporters from CNN, NBC News as well as staff from shows like 20/20 and Dr. Phil are expected to attend. Teller County court staff said they’ve received calls from people of neighboring states who just want to come watch. The trial will cap off nearly a year of investigation and hearings for Frazee, who faces two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of solicitation to commit murder, in the disappearance and death of his fiancee, Kelsey Berreth. Berreth, was reported missing in December. The 29-year-old flight instructor was last seen on Thanksgiving Day shopping in Woodland Park with the couple’s daughter, who was 1 year old at the time. For days, law enforcement searched for the young mom and just before Christmas police arrested Frazee in her murder. Over the following months, a secret girlfriend of Frazee testified that she helped him clean up after he bludgeoned Berreth to death and helped him burn her body. Despite a months-long search of a local landfill and of Frazee’s ranch in Florissant, Berreth’s body has not been recovered. Finding jurors in Teller County that haven’t already steeped themselves in the details of the case has proved a challenge. Over three days this week, nearly 300 potential jurors reported to the courthouse for the trial, said Sheila Griffin, Teller County’s court clerk. A total of 1,750 Teller county residents received notice for jury duty — approximately 7% of the entire county of 25,083. Even more jurors were expected to report to the courthouse, but heavy snowstorms made roads in the rural county impassable for many. The storms that caused courthouses and government offices across a large swath of Colorado to close earlier this week did not prompt any change to the Teller County courthouse schedule. Court clerk’s office workers stayed in hotels in town Sunday night to make sure they’d be able to get to work Monday morning, Griffin said. Every night since, courthouse employees have held a nightly debriefing to talk about how they handled the crowds and what they can do better the following day, said Connie Telfer, a Teller County sheriff’s deputy who works the courthouse security. “We’ve planned and planned and planned and planned,” Griffin said. Ninety jurors are scheduled to report Friday morning for final jury selection, Griffin said. After 12 jurors and four alternates are seated, prosecutors and Frazee’s defense attorneys are expected to give opening statements Friday afternoon. The opening statements will allow both sides to outline their cases to the jury before plunging into witness testimony. Court staff hauled in extra porta-potties to accommodate crowds and called in volunteers from the sheriff’s posse to help run security. Renovations to the 1904 courthouse’s electrical system, internet connection and the courtroom’s sound system were all sped up to be ready in time for Frazee’s trial, Griffin said. And while Teller Court District Court Judge Scott Sells is busy for the next weeks with trial, the court’s normal docket had to be moved to the only other courtroom in the building and retired judges will be called to handle the caseload. The preparations have required teamwork from the county court’s staff, the sheriff’s office, the city government, the office of emergency planning and many other groups, Griffin said. “I love how the community has come together for this,” she said. “I couldn’t have done this by myself.” The courtroom where the trial is taking place seems like a relic from another era. The wooden floors squeak with every footstep, and a sign in the clerk’s office forbids claim jumping and mandates people “respect women – mules – the law.” Trial spectators will sit in the rows of stationary wooden folding chairs, the courthouse’s originals. Each chair still has a wire rack on the bottom of its seat designed to hold cowboy hats. The size of the courthouse — which also hosts other county departments like the treasurer’s and assessor’s offices — prompted the presiding judge to block all news cameras from the building and surrounding property. Once inside the courtroom, reporters will not be able to send news to the outside until official breaks. Anybody who leaves the courtroom during the trial, like to use the bathroom, will be barred from returning until the court is in recess. Sells even blocked a request by NBC News to have a sketch artist sit in the courtroom to draw pictures of proceedings. Frazee’s trial won’t be the first time a high-profile crime has centered national attention on Teller County, however. In 2001, reporters swarmed the area after members of the Texas Seven — criminals accused of escaping from a Texas prison and killing a police officer — were found hiding in a Woodland Park RV campground. And the year prior, a Teller County campground became the site of the horrific rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl by Anthony Jimenez. Cripple Creek City Administrator Mark Campbell said he hopes Frazee’s trial won’t make people think the tourism-reliant town is unsafe. He wanted people to know that the alleged crime happened more than 20 miles away. “We’re a little casino town in Colorado here and it’s a safe place to come play and enjoy yourself,” he said. “We are happy to see the journalists here and the people here, but we’re hoping it will be over quickly and we can go back to normal.” For some Cripple Creek locals, however, the trial has not yet affected daily life. Brent Kennedy, who works for Pikes Peak Workforce Center in town, said the biggest impact he’s seen has been trouble parking when Frazee’s case is in court. Another local said he was surprised when video of him walking down the street appeared on CNN, but hadn’t thought too much about the case otherwise. Scott Porter, director of operations for Triple Crown Casinos, said he had a number of employees who were called for jury duty and added more staff to the casino’s restaurants in preparation for an influx of customers coming from the courthouse. But so far, the change has only been minimal, he said. “It’s kind of been uneventful, really,” Porter said. | Elise Schmelzer | https://www.denverpost.com/2019/11/01/kelsey-berreth-murder-patrick-frazees-trial-preview/ | Fri, 01 Nov 2019 12:00:14 +0000 | 1,572,624,014 | 1,572,611,014 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
670,574 | theepochtimes--2019-10-11--Fall Nor’easter Becomes Subtropical Storm Melissa, Located Near New England | 2019-10-11T00:00:00 | theepochtimes | Fall Nor’easter Becomes Subtropical Storm Melissa, Located Near New England | The fall nor'easter spinning southeast of New England strengthened into Subtropical Storm Melissa on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. (CNN) Fall Nor’easter Becomes Subtropical Storm Melissa, Located Near New England The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that a nor’easter located off the northeastern United States has become Subtropical Storm Melissa. The “change in storm status does not change” the expected impacts that the storm may bring, including coastal flooding and wind, the agency wrote at 11 a.m. Those impacts are expected around portions of the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England. The storm is about 190 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and it has winds of 65 mph and higher gusts. “There are no coastal tropical cyclone watches or warnings in effect,” the agency wrote. The center of Melissa is moving toward the south-southwest near 3 mph, “but little net motion is expected today,” it added. A turn toward the east-northeast with an increase in speed is forecast on Friday night and will keep up through the weekend. The storm’s center will move away from the east coast of the United States after that, it said. In terms of impacts, according to the center, “Wind gusts to 50 mph are likely to continue over portions of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket through much of today,” USA Today reported. Coastal flood warnings have been issued along much of the Mid-Atlantic to New England. “Inundation above ground level could reach 2 to 3 feet at high tide on the Atlantic coast of western Long Island. Coastal inundation of up to 2 to 4 feet can be expected in parts of the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina. Elsewhere, coastal inundations of 1 to 2 feet are expected from the mid-Atlantic coast to southeastern New England,” the Weather Channel wrote. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Friday activated the state’s emergency plan due to what he called a crippling snowstorm that closed major highways and had farmers and ranchers bracing for huge crop and livestock losses. “The extraordinary intensity of this early winter storm threatens to test the limits of local response capabilities across a large portion of our state,” Burgum said of the plan that places on standby all agency resources, including the National Guard, to respond to weather-related emergencies. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for northern North Dakota and winter storm warnings and watches elsewhere in the state and into parts of South Dakota and Minnesota through Saturday afternoon. One to 2 feet of snow was expected to accumulate Friday in parts of North Dakota with winds gusting up to 65 mph. The Associated Press contributed to this report. | Jack Phillips | https://www.theepochtimes.com/fall-noreaster-becomes-subtropical-storm-melissa-located-near-new-england_3114015.html | Fri, 11 Oct 2019 19:30:02 +0000 | 1,570,836,602 | 1,570,831,280 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
686,794 | theguardianuk--2019-01-24--Irish police deny emergency plan to send officers to border | 2019-01-24T00:00:00 | theguardianuk | Irish police deny emergency plan to send officers to border | Ireland’s police chiefs have denied reports that they are drafting emergency plans to make hundreds of uniformed gardaí available on the Irish border in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The reports came as Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said the UK would be obliged to keep the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland invisible whatever the Brexit outcome because of the commitments in the 1998 Good Friday agreement. Citing a meeting the police commissioner, Drew Harris, held with senior staff on Wednesday, the Irish Independent newspaper claimed the emergency border plans were being drafted as part of discussions on a “worst-case scenario”. The discussions, on Wednesday night, come after tax authorities revealed they had already recruited 400 new customs staff to work at ports and airports by the end of March as part of the country’s no-deal preparations. On Thursday Harris issued a strongly worded statement. “Reports of 600 gardaí to be moved to the border are entirely incorrect. I have not discussed this matter, neither have I considered this proposal,” Harris said. “The increasing deployment of gardaí to all policing regions including the northern region is commensurate with a growing organisation. We continue to prepare for Brexit in line with government policy,” he said. The reports of police plans emerged as Varadkar said no deal did not equate to border checks of the past. “The United Kingdom would have a responsibility to abide by WTO [World Trade Organization] rules and both the UK and Ireland would have responsibilities to honour the Good Friday agreement and the peace process. “So I think we would end up in a situation where EU and Ireland, and the UK would have to come together. And in order to honour our commitment to the people of Ireland that there be no hard border, we would have to agree on full alignment on customs and regulations,” he said, adding that “after a period of chaos we would perhaps end up where we are now, with a very similar deal”. Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s leader in the Commons, said that Varadkar’s latest comments were “not constructive”. He said that while the taoiseach was “understandably concerned” he needed to “tone down the rhetoric”. The reports of garda planning will heighten concerns about the impact a no-deal Brexit will have in the border regions, where previously warring communities have enjoyed peaceful co-existence for the past 20 years. Last week a car bomb in Derry city was a reminder of the fragility of that peace, local politicians and campaigners warned and other newspapers reported that Brexit concerns had been raised by gardai on border counties including Donegal. A meeting between officials from the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) and senior commissioners is expected to take place next week in relation to border issues. The Derry car bomb and potential for further violence post-Brexit along the Donegal-Derry and Donegal-Fermanagh border were discussed at a meeting of police in the Irish county last week, the Irish Examiner reported on Thursday. Both the Irish government and the UK have avoided discussing no-deal plans for the border, with neither side publishing contingency plans for operations in the event the UK crashes out of the EU on 29 March. Earlier this month Simon Coveney, the deputy prime minister, was caught on a microphone warning a colleague not to “start delving” into the issues if asked by reporters because “all of a sudden we’ll be the government that reintroduced a physical border on the island of Ireland”. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has also highlighted the need for significant extra resources throughout the border counties in the event of a hard border, which poses the potential for smuggling, civil disobedience or violence as well as immigration issues for non-Irish nationals. Last year the PSNI chief constable, George Hamilton, rejected claims that the threat of violence at the Irish border after Brexit was being exaggerated. He said those who said the PSNI was “overplaying the border and Brexit in policing terms” were “simply wrong”. Sources say the PSNI is concerned not just about civil disorder, but the inability to police the border as they do now in close cooperation with the Garda in Ireland. They are also concerned that the European arrest warrant system will fall away in a no-deal scenario, making it easier for criminals to cross a border and return to another jurisdiction, and out of the reach of the law. Last year it was revealed the PSNI was putting more than 100 extra officers in place in the event of no deal. And earlier this month it emerged that another 1,000 police officers from England and Scotland were being training for deployment in Northern Ireland in case of disorder from a no-deal Brexit. The plans were put in place after PSNI chiefs asked for reinforcements to deal with any trouble that arises from a hard border. The training for officers from English forces and Police Scotland is expected to begin this month. | Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/24/irish-police-deny-emergency-plan-to-send-officers-to-border | 2019-01-24 15:43:18+00:00 | 1,548,362,598 | 1,567,551,072 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
718,293 | theguardianuk--2019-12-17--Too hot for humans? First Nations people fear becoming Australia's first climate refugees | 2019-12-17T00:00:00 | theguardianuk | Too hot for humans? First Nations people fear becoming Australia's first climate refugees | Josie Douglas sits on a verandah overlooking a ridge of red rocks and earth, scrubby with saltbush and spinifex near the centre of Alice Springs. It’s late afternoon and only 31C – a reprieve from a run of days in the high 30s and 40s. But Douglas knows that from now on it will only get hotter. Last summer was the hottest on record, and the driest in 27 years in central Australia. Five per cent of the town’s street trees died. A heat monitoring study showed that on some unshaded streets the surface temperature was between 61C and 68C. “We can’t keep going on the way we’re going,” says Douglas, who is manager of policy and research at the Central Land Council. “Central Australian Aboriginal people are very resilient. They have evolved to cope with the harsh and variable desert climate, but there are limits. “Without action to stop climate change, people will be forced to leave their country and leave behind much of what makes them Aboriginal. Climate change is a clear and present threat to the survival of our people and their culture.” Across central Australia, people are bracing themselves for another scorching summer of drought. At least nine remote communities and outstations are running out of water. A further 12 have reported poor quality drinking water as aquifers run low and the remaining supply is saline. Temperature records have already been broken. In the year to July 2019, Alice Springs had 129 days over 35C, and 55 days over 40C. It wasn’t meant to be like this – at least, not yet. The national science agency, the CSIRO, predictedthat these temperatures would not arrive until 2030. As the Northern Territory’s environment minister, Eva Lawler, said last September: “If we don’t do anything, the NT will become unliveable.” The problem is where to start. In Alice Springs opinion is divided among local politicians about the impact climate change is having on life in the desert. Sitting on the grassy lawn outside the council, Jimmy Cocking of the Arid Lands Environment Centre talks openly about climate refugees: those who have already come into town, and those who will have to come in the near future. “We’re going to end up with a whole bunch of internally displaced people within the Northern Territory in remote Australia, if we’re not planning for that,” he says. “If regional centres like Alice Springs and others aren’t planning to be able to deal with the influx of climate refugees internally within our region, we’re going to be left flatfooted and unable to deal with any of the challenges and social consequences that will come from that.” Cocking is on the town council and has sought to pass motions to declare a climate emergency. But the mayor, Damien Ryan, is reluctant to sound the climate alarm. “In local government speak, when you have an emergency, you close it down,” Ryan says. “I have not had any of the people who talk about an emergency say what is the next step. So you declare an emergency, what do you do then the next day? That’s never been made clear to me.” At its October meeting, the council did not agree on the word “emergency” but voted unanimously to say there was an “escalating urgency for climate action”. Douglas and the CLC say Aboriginal communities are doing what they can. “People are already mitigating climate change through traditional burning and they are investing their income from land use agreements to install solar power, plant bush tucker gardens in communities and operate swimming pools, but all that counts for little in the face of the lack of climate leadership from the government,” she says. The NT government says it has allocated $15m to “revitalising” the Alice Springs city centre. Some of those funds will go towards shade and landscaping to help cool the streets, and to public water stations. Ryan says the council is encouraging local schools to plant more trees. The Territory government says it has a climate change response strategy and is working with other governments and the Bureau of Meteorology to “develop national guidelines for the development of a warning system for extreme heat events”. In the meantime, Douglas says, people are living in houses that are “unbearable”. “During our summers you can sometimes see people in communities hosing the outside of their Besser brick walls with garden hoses to keep cool despite the water shortages – that’s how desperate they are.” About 3ookm north-west of Alice Springs is Yuendumu, the largest remote community in central Australia. Its 900 or so residents are facing summer without a reliable supply of adequate drinking water. The NT government has stopped building new housing because there isn’t enough water in the dwindling aquifer to accommodate more people. Yuendumu is not alone. The Central Land Council’s chief executive, Joe Martin-Jard, says that at every regional meeting, water security is top of the agenda. “Between Alice Springs and Mount Isa, there’s probably only one major community with a decent water supply,” Martin-Jard says. “We’re not getting the rain we used to, to recharge the aquifers. So as water is drawn out of the aquifers it becomes more saline and less potable [drinkable]. The NT’s Power and Water Corporation, which is responsible for essential services in 72 remote communities and outstations, says most communities in the arid region are “faced with some level of water stress” and emergency planning is under way, but there are “rarely any simple solutions”. “The difficult reality is that many communities originally developed historically in locations where there was never any secure, reliable, high quality water resources in close proximity,” a spokesperson said. “As those communities have grown … and expectations of improved levels of service have appropriately increased, the challenges also continue to increase.” Power and Water says more drilling programs are planned but “finding new water sources is very challenging and often these drilling programs have moderate prospects for success”. “Without large or extended rainfall … the water security risks will progressively increase in some centres, with an increased likelihood that source supply capacity at some could fail.” At least 12 communities have reported poor quality drinking water. At Laramba, Willowra and Wilora, nitrates and uranium are at levels exceeding health guidelines. NT Power and Water says it is “investigating alternative technology options”. It has already installed treatment plants at Kintore, Ali Curung and Yuelamu to reduce high levels of nitrates, uranium and fluoride. ‘Air conditioning is essential in the desert’ In Alice Springs’ 18 town camps, where people from out bush often end up, houses are commonly built from Besser bricks – hollow concrete blocks which are cheap, but which trap the heat. There’s a lack of tree cover or other kinds of shade. Houses bake in the sun and, while the majority have solar panels, they often have only an evaporative air conditioning unit, known locally as a “swampy”, to cool the house. A “swampy” uses a lot of water and can struggle on hot days, especially when there are a lot of people sharing a house, which is common in town camps with big families and fluctuating populations. “Air conditioning is an essential item in the desert, not a luxury,” the CLC’s Josie Douglas says, “but it does not come standard.” When remote community and town camp tenants are offered housing, there is “a hole where the aircon unit should be and they are told to buy it themselves”. “Many can only afford to ‘close the gap’ with a piece of wood, or run expensive reverse-cycle aircon very sparingly,” she says. “Some places don’t have enough water to use a cheaper swampy.” Houses that don’t cool down overnight create big health and social problems. “People resort to sleeping outside, or cramming everybody into the coolest room of the house, with all the well-known consequences for the spread of diseases that whitefellas only know from medical textbooks. “It’s also common for people to sleep in shifts, with young people roaming the streets at night where they get into trouble, and sleeping during the day when they should be at school.” This is at odds with the NT government’s view of the quality of town camp and remote community housing. A government spokesperson tells Guardian Australia that homes are designed with weather conditions and regional climate in mind, and they include external shading, natural ventilation and insulation. “Investment into housing in town camps has included the installation of louvres, sunscreens, verandas and insulation,” the spokesperson said. “The Department of Housing and Community Development has also upgraded some key community infrastructure including improved shading and the installation of fans.” Douglas is calling on the government to “stop building concrete hotboxes”. “More than a decade ago, the government and the CLC were partners [in research] that came up with really solid recommendations about how to make desert houses more energy-efficient and communities more resilient. “Some measures, such as making sure houses are built with the right orientation … and have passive cooling and a white roof, cost almost nothing. We would like to know how many of these expensive research findings have been implemented in our region.” Shirleen Campbell is a Warlpiri and Arrernte woman who grew up at Hoppy’s Camp, or Lhenpe Artnwe. She told the Alice Springs climate rally in October that town campers were very worried about climate change. “This is our place,” she said. “If it gets too hot, if we suffer through endless droughts or we spoil our water, then we don’t have another place to go. “We want houses that are right for this place and right for our people. We want to invest in renewable energy, like solar.” Campbell is a co-coordinator of the women’s family safety group at Tangentyere council, which delivers services to and advocates on behalf of town camp residents. “Most of all we want people to treat this place as a legacy to be handed down to our children and grandchildren. It is not a speculative commodity and it is not something to be sold or exported. “We have been here for a long time and want to look after this place for those that come after.” There are few public places in Alice Springs to cool off. The Yeperenye shopping centre has security guards at the doors and, according to Douglas and Campbell, Aboriginal people are regularly moved on. The library is a popular, free cool space. There’s a widescreen TV rigged up with headphones, showing movies. Westerns are popular, as are replays of AFL grand finals. The Saltbush room down the hall is a haven for older folk, while little mobs of kids hang out among the young adult stacks or cluster around the phone-charging station. “We found there’s a gap in after-school care services from about 2.30 to 4.30, the hottest time of the day,” says the head librarian, Clare Fisher. “The kids can come to the library, cool off, have fruit and sandwiches.” “Libraries are for connection and relaxation as well as knowledge. We make everyone welcome – but we explain how to use the library and how to behave as well. We very much believe in come and be who you are.” In January footage of dead and dying horses in a dry creek bed at Ltyentye Apurte, 80km south-east of Alice Springs, flashed around the world. The Ltyentye Apurte rangers had the unenviable task of dragging more than 100 dead horses from the creek bed and disposing of their bodies. In June the CLC conducted an emergency cull of more than 1,400 feral horses, donkeys, camels and cattle from a waterhole near Lajamanu. The animals were thirsty and dying, congregating around the last remaining springs and water sites. The CLC has eradicated 6,279 feral animals in preparation for summer. Traditional owners don’t usually support animal culls, the CLC says, but there were no alternatives, with so many animals dying or in poor condition. Feral animals damage community infrastructure and housing. Thirsty camels, for example, will attack air conditioning units because they smell water, and lay waste to water tanks, bores, fences, pipes and taps. How hot is too hot? Heat, health and housing hotboxes In town, Tangentyere council wants to measure exactly how well houses are functioning. Tangentyere’s social policy and research manager, Michael Klerk, is in discussions with the CSIRO to install temperature data loggers in people’s houses, to build a case for improvements that are taken for granted elsewhere: solar power, insulation, better air conditioning, wide awnings, more shade. “Last summer – which was a very hot summer, soon to be repeated – a lot of anecdotal feedback was that people’s evaporative air conditioners weren’t cooling the houses sufficiently,” Klerk says. “This probably reflects the reality that evaporative air conditioners are not good at cooling houses when the external temperatures are in the mid-40s. “You might drop the temperature of a house to mid-30s, but that’s not an optimal internal ambient temperature for comfort or for health.” Most people living in town camps and remote communities, and some in suburban public housing, have pre-paid electricity meters. Residents are issued a power card, which they top up with their welfare payments or income. Once the credit is spent, they have to top it up again, or go without electricity. Klerk says that happened a lot in the last quarter of 2018. In Alice Springs, 420 of 570 households with prepaid electricity meters had at least one self-disconnection, which lasted, on average, 7.5 hours. Of the 570 Alice Springs meters, 285 are in town camp dwellings. In effect, more than half the town campers ran out of money to pay for electricity. “When the power goes off, it is bad for our health, the food gets spoiled, we can’t wash our clothes and we can’t wash our kids,” Shirleen Campbell told the rally. “In summer, when our houses are hot or when we don’t have electricity, our people look for comfort in air-conditioned public places. We are not always welcome in these places and sometimes there are problems. We are thankful for places like the library and the pool.” Klerk says low-income residents shouldn’t have to go broke trying to keep their houses cool. “It’s not acceptable that people’s houses are making them sick, and something really needs to be done about it. It shouldn’t all be passed on to the consumer. “If it’s the case of people having to spend more money to keep the houses at a temperature that delivers health outcomes, then we have to rethink the levels of income support that are available to people, particularly in these regions where it’s so hot.” Predictions by the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress for the health impacts of heat are dire. In its submission to the NT government’s climate change policy discussion paper, it outlined some of them: “Increased sickness and mortality due to heat stress, increased food insecurity and malnutrition, increased risk from infectious disease, poorer mental health and an increased potential for social conflict.” The Pintupi-Luritja artist Irene Nangala was among the first to return to her home country at Kintore in the western desert, near the border with Western Australia, in the early 1980s. Until then, Pintupi people had been living a long way from home at the mission at Papunya, and they were homesick. Nangala helped set up the Kintore school. It was a “windbreak school” at first, she says: just a tarp to keep the sun and the rain water out. “Then we got a few teachers. It was hard work. We’ve got a proper good school now, proper shop. Nice clinic and aged care, child care.” Nangala says she doesn’t have an air-conditioner. On hot days the family puts blankets on the windows. Other elders whose aircon units break down have to wait for a repairer to come from Alice Springs, more than 10 hours’ drive away. “It’s really hot in Kintore. We can’t go and sit outside. We have to go at night to sit down with the families.” Nevertheless, Nangala says she does not want to leave. “We built up Kintore,’ she says. “People are really enjoying going back to their grandfather’s land. That’s the right thing to do. And it’s good for them to go back, the old people, good for the heart and the spirit. “When they went first, they cried, they missed that place for a long time.” Nangala says people don’t want to come into town, where life might be worse. “Climate change is true,” Nangala says. “They [politicians] got the map and weather things, they should see the temperature what is happening around Australia, it’s so hot.” Jimmy Cocking says: “We are walking blindly into the new climate reality. We’ve moved beyond hope, and we can’t be running on hope alone. “The only thing that is going to get us over the line is action. And the antidote to despair is action. “So there’s a lot of things that we need to be looking to change so that we aren’t going to be putting people’s lives at risk.” | Lorena Allam and Nick Evershed with photographs by Mike Bowers | https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/18/too-hot-for-humans-first-nations-people-fear-becoming-australias-first-climate-refugees | Tue, 17 Dec 2019 17:00:55 GMT | 1,576,620,055 | 1,576,628,634 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
800,576 | themanchestereveningnews--2019-05-15--Lets make Manchester the safest city in the country Mum of Arena victim urges leaders to back he | 2019-05-15T00:00:00 | themanchestereveningnews | 'Let's make Manchester the safest city in the country': Mum of Arena victim urges leaders to back her fight for 'Martyn's Law' | Manchester’s leaders have been urged to further honour the 22 victims of the Arena attack by introducing mandatory bag searches at all public venues. Campaigner Figen Murray, who lost her son Martyn Hett in the 2017 bombings, this morning (Wednesday) told councillors why the move was so urgently needed. The town hall's response in the wake of the atrocity had already been 'like angel's wings' for grieving relatives, she said, but said Manchester should now 'lead the way' in also backing her call for stricter security rules. This morning, the Manchester Evening News publicly backed Figen's campaign, urging people across the region - and the country - to sign her petition to the government. It has so far amassed 16,600 signatures. Figen spoke at the latest meeting of Manchester councillors, at which M.E.N. editor-in-chief Darren Thwaites also presented a special award honouring the city’s response to the bombings. Ahead of next week’s anniversary, he said the gong - originally unveiled at last week’s inaugural Pride of Manchester awards - was in tribute to the bravery and spirit with which Greater Manchester responded to the bombing. Next week will mark two years since the horrific attack at Manchester Arena, which claimed the lives of 22 people and left many others seriously physically and psychologically injured. Figen’s son Martyn, 29, was one of them. She now hopes her campaign can become his legacy. “We lost our son Martyn at the concert in May 2017,” she told councillors. “So I naively assumed, since the attack, that public venues would be really keen to put additional security measures in place. “To my complete and utter surprise, I realised this was not necessarily the case. I was totally horrified, frankly.” She and her husband had been particularly struck, during a trip to a Manchester theatre, to find very lax security, she added. Since then she has discovered ‘huge discrepancies' in safety standards at major venues up and down the country. “As a result of this I decided to launch a government petition for Martyn’s law to be introduced,” she said. “I’m asking the government introduce mandatory bag searches - and I mean proper ones not just checking if there’s crisps and water in the back - and metal detectors to make sure public safety can be improved.” Figen has been meeting with counter-terror experts and other relevant organisations, learning about the subject, to ensure her petition is well thought-out. Martyn’s Law would be the family’s ‘legacy’ to her son, she said, although she has also spoken to other bereaved relatives to ensure they support the idea. Describing the support provided by the council immediately after the bombing, through its emergency planning for the city, as being like ‘angel’s wings’, she added: “I feel Manchester could significantly honour the 22 people who were murdered by leading the way and setting an excellent example by initiating Martyn’s Law here on its own doorstep. “Manchester’s response has already been hailed a success - and quite rightly so - in terms of supporting people. “If we could turn Manchester into one of the safest cities in the UK, particularly in view of what happened. Hopefully other cities will follow suit and put measures in place which reflect the changing threats which we all now face.” Council leader Sir Richard Leese thanked Figen for addressing councillors and said they would now sit down to talk discuss the issue with her - and other families and victims - in more detail. He stressed the town hall took public safety ‘very seriously’, pointing to the barriers installed around public spaces such as Albert Square in recent years, before adding: “Thank you very much for raising this with us.” It is understood that the council will need to consider how far it can go under existing licensing laws without the government changing legislation. Figen’s petition calls directly on the government to do so. More than 4,000 people have added their signatures over the last 24 hours. You can sign it here. M.E.N. editor-in-chief Darren Thwaites also officially presented the city’s Spirit of Manchester award to the town hall, a gong in honour of the millions here who responded with bravery, compassion and humanity following the attack. Describing it as a ‘great privilege’ to present, he added: “This award is shared by the 2.5m people who call Greater Manchester home and all did their bit to ensure that the unique spirit that makes this the finest city on earth was not extinguished by the bomb, but shines brighter than ever in spite of it. "This award is for the spirit of Manchester.” After expressing thanks for the award, Sir Richard said it would eventually be displayed in a refurbished town hall, but in the meantime will rotate around libraries and community centres across Greater Manchestser. | Jennifer Williams | https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/figen-murray-martyn-hett-petition-16279652 | 2019-05-15 13:39:09+00:00 | 1,557,941,949 | 1,567,540,605 | disaster, accident and emergency incident | emergency planning |
1,045,261 | thinkprogress--2019-07-03--Heather Nauert says she did not receive a salary from 21st Century Fox while with State Department | 2019-07-03T00:00:00 | thinkprogress | Heather Nauert says she did not receive a ‘salary’ from 21st Century Fox while with State Department | Heather Nauert, President Donald Trump’s previous pick to replace Nikki Haley as United Nations ambassador, has disputed a report by the government watchdog CREW on Wednesday which showed she had reported receiving $167,000 in “salary” from 21st Century Fox while working as a spokesperson for the State Department. According to Nauert, the filing was a draft version that included a clerical error. CREW has maintained that at the time of its report, the erroneous filing was the only publicly available version of the document. “This is false,” Nauert said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “I NEVER received salary from 21st Century Fox while employed by State Dept. This story is based on a preliminary draft with a clerical error.” Nauert noted that the “FINAL CERTIFIED report, available to anyone,” made it clear she had not received a Fox salary while working for the Trump administration. Fox News also issued a statement on the matter, telling ThinkProgress, “Heather Nauert was not paid a salary in 2018 or 2019 and left the network in early 2017, which is the last time she was paid.” The CREW report, which has since been removed from group’s site, claimed Nauert had included the information in her termination financial disclosure report. The payment was listed in Part 2 of the document, which covered the time period between January 1, 2018, and her last day on the job, March 31, 2019. “Nauert was an anchor and correspondent on Fox News from August 2007 until April 2017, when she joined the State Department as a spokesperson. She reported receiving $167,000 from 21st Century Fox, which she characterized as ‘Salary,’ in Part 2 of her termination report,” CREW noted on Wednesday. “If Nauert’s termination financial disclosure report is correct,” the report claimed, “the salary payments are problematic because the White House gave her an ethics waiver that authorized her to meet, interview, and communicate with 21st Century Fox employees.” That waiver, signed by former White House counsel Don McGahn, did not allow her to maintain any “continuing relationship” with her former employer outside of communications between herself and the press. “[She] will not have a continuing relationship with 21st Century Fox. Nor will she have a financial interest in 21st Century Fox,” the waiver read. CREW explained that the “salary” listed on Nauert’s termination report may have constituted such a “continuing relationship.” CREW has since responded to Nauert’s comments, stating its decision to remove the blog post about the erroneous filing and noting the draft version cited in the post was the only publicly available one at the time. “[The post] was written based on publicly available financial disclosure documents certified by Ms. Nauert,” the group stated. “CREW followed up with State to request any revisions or final certifications of the document and State indicated, ‘with respect to Ms. [Nauert], the termination report was her final report.'” “At the time of publication,” the group added, “there was no other publicly available document. Following publication, Ms. Nauert has made an amended version public. With the information provided in the new version, we have pulled down the post as it no longer reflects the information contained in the newest version of the report.” Nauert told ThinkProgress Wednesday night that final certified version of the report was released on June 28. “I can’t make these documents public. The government does,” she added. In its since-deleted blog post, CREW said that it was possible the disclosure was a mistake, although it noted Nauert had listed a similar “salary” from 21st Century Fox in two earlier financial disclosure forms as well, including $160,000 “during calendar year 2017.” Nauert was originally appointed to the role of State Department spokesperson in April 2017, having previously worked as a host on Fox & Friends, the president’s preferred morning news program. She is one of several Fox News personalities to be hired to work in the Trump administration, alongside former Fox News executive Bill Shine, who served as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for communications, and former Fox News national security contributor K.T. McFarland, who served as deputy national security adviser under Michael Flynn. Trump selected Nauert to replace Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, in December. “She’s very talented, very smart, very quick, and I think she’s going to be respected by all,” he said at the time. However, Nauert later withdrew from consideration in February, following reports that she had previously employed a nanny who was not legally allowed to work in the United States. Nauert had mentioned the nanny in her initial paperwork for the U.N. position and stepped down from consideration after it became evident the disclosure would complicate things. “I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary [Mike] Pompeo for the trust they placed in me for considering me for the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations. However, the past two months have been grueling for my family and therefore it is in the best interest of my family that I withdraw my name from consideration,” she said at the time. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article cited outdated information first reported by CREW, based on publicly available government documents. It has since been updated to reflect Nauert’s comments, and those of Fox News, as well as the newly public, corrected documents. | Melanie Schmitz | https://thinkprogress.org/heather-nauert-disputes-salary-21st-century-fox-working-for-trump-administration-89119e9f6b7b/ | 2019-07-03 17:41:54+00:00 | 1,562,190,114 | 1,567,537,096 | labour | labour relations |
213,874 | france24--2019-01-05--Thousands protest against Hungarys slave labour law | 2019-01-05T00:00:00 | france24 | Thousands protest against Hungary's 'slave' labour law | Attila Kisbenedek, AFP | Protesters take part in a demonstration against the government's new labour reform, dubbed the "slave law" by the opposition on January 5, 2019 in Budapest. Thousands marched through Budapest’s city centre on Saturday to protest against a new law that allows employers to ask staff to work up to 400 hours per year of overtime. Opposition groups have staged several rallies in the past weeks in the Hungarian capital and other cities against what they said was an authoritarian rule of conservative nationalist Viktor Orban. Saturday’s rally, organized by opposition parties, trade unions and civic groups, mainly targeted the new labour law dubbed by critics as “slave law”. The protesters marched in snowfall from the historic Heroes Square to the parliament building on the bank of the Danube river, carrying banners such as “Sweep away the regime”. “We disagree with almost everything that is going on since this government got into power (in 2010), from corruption to pseudo-democracy,” said 50-year old housewife Eva Demeter. She said more Hungarians were pouring onto the streets because the slave law “affects a bigger crowd”. Some of the protesters posted on social media or carried banners calling for a “national strike”. The modification to the labour code passed by parliament last month has faced intense criticism and sparked the biggest street protest in over a year. Potentially, it could add two extra hours to an average work day, or the equivalent of an extra workday per week. Zoltan Mucsi, the head of steelmaker Dunaferr’s Vasas trade union, said it was undemocratic that the government did not discuss the labour code changes with the unions. Some of the main trade union groups may resort to a strike if the government does not sit down with them to negotiate, he told Reuters. Trade union membership in Hungary is estimated at below a tenth of the workforce, about half the level in Germany, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The past weeks’ anti-government rallies were also against a law that sets up new courts which critics say could be politically manipulated, and against bias in state-controlled media. The earlier protests have been mostly peaceful, though there were some clashes with police who used tear gas. The ruling Fidesz party reiterated in a statement on Thursday that the protests were part of a campaign for the European Parliament elections in May to help those who support mass migration into the European Union. Fidesz won Hungarian elections with a landslide last year, with the ticket of resisting mass immigration into the EU. | NEWS WIRES | https://www.france24.com/en/20190105-thousands-protest-against-hungarys-slave-labour-law | 2019-01-05 18:01:03+00:00 | 1,546,729,263 | 1,567,553,864 | labour | employment legislation |
216,680 | france24--2019-08-27--Protests erupt after French supermarket uses automation to evade labour laws | 2019-08-27T00:00:00 | france24 | Protests erupt after French supermarket uses automation to evade labour laws | A French hypermarket used self-service checkout stations to circumvent the country’s strict limits on working on Sundays, and many people were none too happy. For the first time in French history, a hypermarket was open on a Sunday afternoon. French labor law prohibits the employees of hypermarkets and large supermarkets from working after 1pm on Sundays. But last Sunday, the Géant Casino de la Roseraie in Angers, in northwestern France, was open to customers until 9pm. So how did they do it? Self-checkout stations and security guards employed by an external company. The workaround at the 5,000-square-metre store didn’t technically break any laws, but it did vex local officials. “I find this manner of circumventing the law fairly dishonest,” said Karine Engel, deputy mayor overseeing commerce in Angers. But because no laws were broken, there is nothing the municipality can do to prevent the extension of Sunday hours, either. Trade unions and protestors were also displeased. Nearly 200 protesters, including some Yellow Vest demonstrators, disrupted business by tipping over shopping carts in the store and blocking the entrances. While Sunday’s opening was the first of its kind for a hypermarket, Casino has been using the automated checkout system to keep smaller stores open on Sundays for some time. Three of its stores one in Lyon, one in Marseille and one in Montpellier are open 24/7. Other supermarket chains in France have also been experimenting with self-checkout and extended Sunday hours. Officials and unions acknowledge that the technology allows employees to have Sundays off, but union officials worry that over time the automated systems will lead to layoffs. And the additional hours simply aren’t necessary, they argue. “People don’t need an extra half day of shopping," Jean Pastor, a local union representative told AFP. “There are already sufficient opening hours as it is.” Part of what worries unions is that the Angers hypermarket is not in a large city, said Olivier Dauvers, a retail sector specialist. “We’ve gone from the small shop in Paris where there is objectively a flow of clients day and night [...] to a hypermarket in a seemingly 'ordinary-looking' town where people would think they could wait until Monday morning to do their shopping,” he said. “This is on a different scale, we've taken a symbolic step and that’s what shocks unions and staff. If Casino manages to do this in Angers in a hypermarket, we’re opening the door to something that could, if the consumer wants, become fairly widespread.” A significant number of supermarkets in France already have automated checkout points in addition to cashiers. And while reducing employee costs is certainly a motivating factor, it is not the only benefit to companies. Automated checkout allows stores to increase capacity as well, Dauvers explained. “In the past supermarkets did this by opening bigger and bigger stores," he says, "but you can scarcely open more in France because there are already so many. So what do we do? We extend opening hours." The hyperstore is expected to be open late again this Sunday, but Engel isn’t convinced the experiment will be successful in the long run. “It’s bad publicity for the company,” she said. | FRANCE 24 | https://www.france24.com/en/20190827-protests-erupt-french-supermarket-automation-labour-laws-sunday-laws | 2019-08-27 16:23:44+00:00 | 1,566,937,424 | 1,567,543,678 | labour | employment legislation |
1,003,277 | thetelegraph--2019-04-02--New labour law puts limits on Japans overworking culture | 2019-04-02T00:00:00 | thetelegraph | New labour law puts limits on Japan's overworking culture | A new law capping overtime has come into effect in Japan in an attempt to tackle the nation’s notorious culture of long working hours. The new law limits legal overtime work to 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year, with potential fines of £2,068 (300,000 yen) for companies that violate the new rules, according to Kyodo news agency. The labour reform law, which initially targets only major companies, permits an extension of up to 100 hours a month and 720 hours a year in busy periods for a maximum of six months a year. It will reportedly be expanded to include legal overtime caps for small and medium businesses in Japan from April next year. Critics remain sceptical as to whether the new legal cap will manage to genuinely transform the deeply rooted culture of overworking in Japanese companies. The pressures of Japanese corporate life are well documented, with many companies governed by hierarchical structures, strict protocol and widespread pressure for staff to work longer hours than their superiors. Japan’s culture of working long hours has increasingly come into the spotlight because of a growing number of deaths from overworking, known as “karoshi”. | Danielle Demetriou | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/02/new-labour-law-puts-limits-japans-overworking-culture/ | 2019-04-02 13:59:13+00:00 | 1,554,227,953 | 1,567,544,327 | labour | employment legislation |
72,586 | breitbart--2019-09-02--Trumps Tightened Labor Market Wins Dream Jobs for Disabled Americans | 2019-09-02T00:00:00 | breitbart | Trump's Tightened Labor Market Wins 'Dream Jobs' for Disabled Americans | The economy’s tightened labor market, which has handed transferred power back to American workers from businesses, has been a benefit to disabled Americans who, as Reuters reports, are winning their dream jobs: Megan Helsel, a kayaking wildlife specialist, has her dream job, and T’angelo Magee is making headway toward his, a commercial pilot. Both say work is central to their identity. Both are disabled. [Emphasis added] Americans with disabilities, physical and cognitive, in recent months have been joining the workforce at a faster pace than those without disabilities, according to data collected by organizations that work with the disabled. [Emphasis added] Workforce data collected by the Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability, and published by Reuters, reveals that disabled Americans have been reintegrating into the workforce at increased rates over the last two years after being hit hard by 2008’s Great Recession. For example, the labor force participating rate for working-age disabled Americans increased 6.5 percent in July compared to a year before. This is far above the 0.3 percent increase that working-age Americans without a disability enjoyed in their labor force participation rate year-t0-year. Trump has sought to decrease the enormous foreign competition that working-age Americans have been subjected to for decades through the country’s mass illegal and legal immigration policy. The Washington, D.C.-imposed policy brings millions of foreign workers, often willing to work for minimum wage or less, to the U.S. against whom America’s working and middle class are forced to compete for jobs. John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. | John Binder | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/KURdqNy33vw/ | 2019-09-02 20:27:59+00:00 | 1,567,470,479 | 1,569,331,618 | labour | labour market |
203,996 | fortune--2019-05-20--The Job Market for Doctors Is Booming Heres What It Means for You | 2019-05-20T00:00:00 | fortune | The Job Market for Doctors Is Booming. Here’s What It Means for You | America is benefiting from an historic bull market in employment, and no group is benefiting more than doctors. Newly-minted physicians are choosing from multiple job offers, getting paid more sumptuously than ever, and can practice pretty much wherever they want. At the same time, the way they practice is shifting radically, as more and more physicians choose salaried positions with hospital chains and group practices encompassing thousands of MDs. But the new corporate model is so hamstrung by the trickle of newly-minted doctors entering practice each year that it can’t come close to meeting the needs of an America whose senior ranks will swell by 46% over the next two decades. The magic of the market is circumventing that roadblock by creating loads of fresh capacity in the form of walk-in clinics, dialysis centers, and other neighborhood venues, staffed by increasing ranks of nurse practitioners, that can provide the care and wellness for patients with chronic conditions who’d otherwise wait weeks to see a primary care doctor, or don’t even have one. A new study by Merritt Hawkins, America’s largest physician search firm, points to seven trends that are reshaping the how healthcare is delivered. “2019 Survey: Final-Year Medical Residents,” polled doctors months from finishing their residencies and entering the job market. Here’s what they found–and what it means for you. Merritt Hawkins found that two-thirds of the final-year residents received 51 or more solicitations from recruiters, hospitals, medical groups and others, and that 45% were presented 100 or more job opportunities. How much did the residents expect their first jobs to pay, based on their conversations with potential employers? A lot. Eight-one percent expected to start at over $201,000, and 21% said they were looking at $326,000 or more. It was the specialists, including surgeons, who anticipated the richest packages, with more than half anticipating comp above $325,000. By contrast, only 24% of primary care residents, a category consisting of internists, pediatricians and family doctors, reckoned they’d make over $250,000. Based on Merritt Hawkins’ surveys of actual first year pay, both groups may be underestimating their initial pay. On average, Merritt Hawkins found, the three primary care groups earn an average of $250,000, while beginning pay is $386,000 in urology, $405,000 for otolaryngology, and $533,000 for orthopedic surgery. It’s a famous failing of our medical system that rural communities struggle to recruit physicians. The survey provides cold comfort for America’s small towns. It found that where they work is the residents’ biggest single concern, and that 83% want to practice in cities with over 100,000 people; 60% of the primary care doctors are seeking destinations of 250,000 or more. Given that tremendous demand, new doctors can go where they want, and it’s seldom the heartland where the need is greatest. The wealth of choices also leads to lots of turnover. Merritt Hawkins finds that one in eight primary care practitioners changes jobs each year, and that the number is probably far higher for those in the first or second year out of residency. A big reason that doctors change jobs so readily is the “corporatization” of healthcare. Small “Marcus Welby, M.D.”-style practices have mostly disappeared, and the market is now dominated by big group practices, many of them owned by hospitals. A notable example is Baylor, Scott & White in Dallas, combining a hospital chain and group network of 7,800 physicians. Eighty-three percent of the residents aspired to work for a hospital or group practice, compared with 61% in 2008, with all of the increase coming from preference to join a hospital. Only 9% sought to open an independent practice, versus one-quarter a decade ago. Doctors are big revenue producers for hospitals. In another study, “2019 Physician Inpatient/Outpatient Revenue Survey,” Merritt Hawkins found that primary care doctors generated $2.1 million a year on average for their hospital-employers, and specialists did even better at $2.46 million, with cardiac and orthopedic surgeons contributing well over $3 million. On average, the revenue per doctor jumped 52% since 2016. That’s because costs per admission are rising, and since hospitals are merging, doctors on average work for bigger and bigger organizations, so they generate increasing income by referring patients to the chains that own their practices, and ordering tests at hospital-run labs. The Merritt Hawkins report contains a succinct summary of the factors explaining the penury of physicians, and a study from the Association of American Medical Colleges (“The Complexities of Supply and Demand: Projections from 2017 to 2032”), offers a detailed analysis. All the doctors who enter the job market each year must all pass through a narrow opening, the number of positions offered by U.S. residency programs. Those programs are funded chiefly by federal grants from Medicare and Medicaid. In 1997, Congress froze that that funding at $14.5 billion a year, and it’s that cap that’s nearly frozen annual additions to the doctor supply. Hospitals and other programs now offer 32,194 residency positions. That’s up 15% from 2006 due to funding from states and private providers, but over those 12 years, medical spending has jumped 63% to $3.5 trillion. The AAMC forecasts that today’s shortfall of 20,000 physicians will expand to a deficit of as many as 121,000 by 2032. By that year, the U.S. would likely have around 850,000 patient-care physicians––and need 14% more. For years, this writer has remarked that the official predictions have underestimated future shortages, and therefore, it’s highly possible that the future scenario could be far worse. For example, the AAMC observes that if the current trends toward early retirement continue, the doctor supply would barely rise at all over the next 13 years. It’s often wrongly stated that the U.S. has a shortage of primary care doctors, and too many specialists. Not so. The AAMC study predicts that the specialist shortfall will be even worse than lack of primary care practitioners in the future. The reason is obvious: A rapidly aging, and longer-surviving, population that needs cardiac surgery, angioplasties, prostate operations and hip replacements. The chronic doctor shortage is placing a predictable burden on patients: long wait times. In a 2017 study (“Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times”), Merritt Hawkins examined the problem in fifteen major metros and fifteen mid-sized markets. In the big cities, the average time to see a doctor rose 30% in just three years, from 15 to 21 days, and in the smaller cities, the waiting period expanded 33% to 32 days. It takes 109 days to see a family doctor in Boston, and in Portland, the interlude has grown 8 to 39 days since 2009. In Albany, If you sign up in May for an appointment with a family doctor, you’ll be examined in September. Seeing an orthopedic surgeon takes 43 days in L.A. and 42 days in Atlanta. It’s obvious that if America is to avoid rationing and price controls, its medical universe will need a lot more capacity. And capitalist ingenuity is now starting to fill the void. Retail clinics are sprouting in drugstores and as free-standing outlets in neighborhood malls. Although the scope of work they’re allowed to perform varies from state to state, nurse practitioners and physician assistants now provide much of the basic care once furnished only by those overbooked doctors. AAMC predicts that the ranks of the NPs and PAs. will swell from 400,000 today to 800,000 by 2032, growing from half the number of today’s patient care doctors to an almost equal size. The leading pioneer is CVS Health, which has 1100 MinuteClinics in its drugstores from coast-to-coast, and plans a big network of outlets called HealthHUBs that specialize in managing patients with such chronic conditions as diabetes and asthma. It’s a widespread misperception that healthcare isn’t really a market, and defies the laws of supply and demand. Quite the contrary, it obeys them completely, and that’s the problem. Demand is artificially inflated by subsidies that leave consumers spending just 20 cents for every dollar they consume from take-home pay and savings, and supply that’s artificially restrained by such practices as the vice grip on new physicians. Those practices have left a giant void––and created a retail revolution aiming to fill it. —Warren Buffett’s best stock picks over the past year —Subscribe to the new Fortune 500 Daily audio briefing —“Staggered” boards are paying off for stock investors —CVS Wants Your Drugstore to be Your Doctor Don’t miss the daily Term Sheet, Fortune‘s newsletter on deals and dealmakers. | Shawn Tully | http://fortune.com/2019/05/20/doctors-job-market-shortage/ | 2019-05-20 18:56:39+00:00 | 1,558,392,999 | 1,567,540,421 | labour | labour market |
203,996 | fortune--2019-05-20--The Job Market for Doctors Is Booming Heres What It Means for You | 2019-05-20T00:00:00 | fortune | The Job Market for Doctors Is Booming. Here’s What It Means for You | America is benefiting from an historic bull market in employment, and no group is benefiting more than doctors. Newly-minted physicians are choosing from multiple job offers, getting paid more sumptuously than ever, and can practice pretty much wherever they want. At the same time, the way they practice is shifting radically, as more and more physicians choose salaried positions with hospital chains and group practices encompassing thousands of MDs. But the new corporate model is so hamstrung by the trickle of newly-minted doctors entering practice each year that it can’t come close to meeting the needs of an America whose senior ranks will swell by 46% over the next two decades. The magic of the market is circumventing that roadblock by creating loads of fresh capacity in the form of walk-in clinics, dialysis centers, and other neighborhood venues, staffed by increasing ranks of nurse practitioners, that can provide the care and wellness for patients with chronic conditions who’d otherwise wait weeks to see a primary care doctor, or don’t even have one. A new study by Merritt Hawkins, America’s largest physician search firm, points to seven trends that are reshaping the how healthcare is delivered. “2019 Survey: Final-Year Medical Residents,” polled doctors months from finishing their residencies and entering the job market. Here’s what they found–and what it means for you. Merritt Hawkins found that two-thirds of the final-year residents received 51 or more solicitations from recruiters, hospitals, medical groups and others, and that 45% were presented 100 or more job opportunities. How much did the residents expect their first jobs to pay, based on their conversations with potential employers? A lot. Eight-one percent expected to start at over $201,000, and 21% said they were looking at $326,000 or more. It was the specialists, including surgeons, who anticipated the richest packages, with more than half anticipating comp above $325,000. By contrast, only 24% of primary care residents, a category consisting of internists, pediatricians and family doctors, reckoned they’d make over $250,000. Based on Merritt Hawkins’ surveys of actual first year pay, both groups may be underestimating their initial pay. On average, Merritt Hawkins found, the three primary care groups earn an average of $250,000, while beginning pay is $386,000 in urology, $405,000 for otolaryngology, and $533,000 for orthopedic surgery. It’s a famous failing of our medical system that rural communities struggle to recruit physicians. The survey provides cold comfort for America’s small towns. It found that where they work is the residents’ biggest single concern, and that 83% want to practice in cities with over 100,000 people; 60% of the primary care doctors are seeking destinations of 250,000 or more. Given that tremendous demand, new doctors can go where they want, and it’s seldom the heartland where the need is greatest. The wealth of choices also leads to lots of turnover. Merritt Hawkins finds that one in eight primary care practitioners changes jobs each year, and that the number is probably far higher for those in the first or second year out of residency. A big reason that doctors change jobs so readily is the “corporatization” of healthcare. Small “Marcus Welby, M.D.”-style practices have mostly disappeared, and the market is now dominated by big group practices, many of them owned by hospitals. A notable example is Baylor, Scott & White in Dallas, combining a hospital chain and group network of 7,800 physicians. Eighty-three percent of the residents aspired to work for a hospital or group practice, compared with 61% in 2008, with all of the increase coming from preference to join a hospital. Only 9% sought to open an independent practice, versus one-quarter a decade ago. Doctors are big revenue producers for hospitals. In another study, “2019 Physician Inpatient/Outpatient Revenue Survey,” Merritt Hawkins found that primary care doctors generated $2.1 million a year on average for their hospital-employers, and specialists did even better at $2.46 million, with cardiac and orthopedic surgeons contributing well over $3 million. On average, the revenue per doctor jumped 52% since 2016. That’s because costs per admission are rising, and since hospitals are merging, doctors on average work for bigger and bigger organizations, so they generate increasing income by referring patients to the chains that own their practices, and ordering tests at hospital-run labs. The Merritt Hawkins report contains a succinct summary of the factors explaining the penury of physicians, and a study from the Association of American Medical Colleges (“The Complexities of Supply and Demand: Projections from 2017 to 2032”), offers a detailed analysis. All the doctors who enter the job market each year must all pass through a narrow opening, the number of positions offered by U.S. residency programs. Those programs are funded chiefly by federal grants from Medicare and Medicaid. In 1997, Congress froze that that funding at $14.5 billion a year, and it’s that cap that’s nearly frozen annual additions to the doctor supply. Hospitals and other programs now offer 32,194 residency positions. That’s up 15% from 2006 due to funding from states and private providers, but over those 12 years, medical spending has jumped 63% to $3.5 trillion. The AAMC forecasts that today’s shortfall of 20,000 physicians will expand to a deficit of as many as 121,000 by 2032. By that year, the U.S. would likely have around 850,000 patient-care physicians––and need 14% more. For years, this writer has remarked that the official predictions have underestimated future shortages, and therefore, it’s highly possible that the future scenario could be far worse. For example, the AAMC observes that if the current trends toward early retirement continue, the doctor supply would barely rise at all over the next 13 years. It’s often wrongly stated that the U.S. has a shortage of primary care doctors, and too many specialists. Not so. The AAMC study predicts that the specialist shortfall will be even worse than lack of primary care practitioners in the future. The reason is obvious: A rapidly aging, and longer-surviving, population that needs cardiac surgery, angioplasties, prostate operations and hip replacements. The chronic doctor shortage is placing a predictable burden on patients: long wait times. In a 2017 study (“Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times”), Merritt Hawkins examined the problem in fifteen major metros and fifteen mid-sized markets. In the big cities, the average time to see a doctor rose 30% in just three years, from 15 to 21 days, and in the smaller cities, the waiting period expanded 33% to 32 days. It takes 109 days to see a family doctor in Boston, and in Portland, the interlude has grown 8 to 39 days since 2009. In Albany, If you sign up in May for an appointment with a family doctor, you’ll be examined in September. Seeing an orthopedic surgeon takes 43 days in L.A. and 42 days in Atlanta. It’s obvious that if America is to avoid rationing and price controls, its medical universe will need a lot more capacity. And capitalist ingenuity is now starting to fill the void. Retail clinics are sprouting in drugstores and as free-standing outlets in neighborhood malls. Although the scope of work they’re allowed to perform varies from state to state, nurse practitioners and physician assistants now provide much of the basic care once furnished only by those overbooked doctors. AAMC predicts that the ranks of the NPs and PAs. will swell from 400,000 today to 800,000 by 2032, growing from half the number of today’s patient care doctors to an almost equal size. The leading pioneer is CVS Health, which has 1100 MinuteClinics in its drugstores from coast-to-coast, and plans a big network of outlets called HealthHUBs that specialize in managing patients with such chronic conditions as diabetes and asthma. It’s a widespread misperception that healthcare isn’t really a market, and defies the laws of supply and demand. Quite the contrary, it obeys them completely, and that’s the problem. Demand is artificially inflated by subsidies that leave consumers spending just 20 cents for every dollar they consume from take-home pay and savings, and supply that’s artificially restrained by such practices as the vice grip on new physicians. Those practices have left a giant void––and created a retail revolution aiming to fill it. —Warren Buffett’s best stock picks over the past year —Subscribe to the new Fortune 500 Daily audio briefing —“Staggered” boards are paying off for stock investors —CVS Wants Your Drugstore to be Your Doctor Don’t miss the daily Term Sheet, Fortune‘s newsletter on deals and dealmakers. | Shawn Tully | http://fortune.com/2019/05/20/doctors-job-market-shortage/ | 2019-05-20 18:56:39+00:00 | 1,558,392,999 | 1,567,540,421 | labour | employment |
1,102,823 | westernjournal--2019-05-01--Job Market Erupts in April Grows Well Beyond What Economists Expected | 2019-05-01T00:00:00 | westernjournal | Job Market Erupts in April, Grows Well Beyond What Economists Expected | The U.S. job market smashed expectations in April, according to a new report that said private payrolls grew by 275,000 jobs. Figures released Wednesday by ADP and Moody’s Analytics showed the strongest growth since July, when jobs increased 284,000. Prior to the report being released, economists expected private payrolls to grow by 177,000 jobs, CNBC reported. “April posted an uptick in growth after the first quarter appeared to signal a moderation following a strong 2018,” Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president of the ADP Research Institute, said in a statement. “The bulk of the overall growth is with service providers, adding the strongest gain in more than two years,” he said, according to Fox Business Network. TRENDING: Former ICE Director Sounds Off on Border Crisis: ‘Forget About Congress’ Jobs in the service sector rose by 223,000 last month, the report said. Goods-producing jobs in construction, manufacturing and mining increased by 52,000, with 49,000 of those jobs in the construction sector. Medium-size and small businesses led the way in adding new jobs, the report said. “The job market is holding firm, as businesses work hard to fill open positions,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in a statement. “The economic soft patch at the start of the year has not materially impacted hiring. April’s job gains overstate the economy’s strength, but they make the case that expansion continues on,” he said. Zandi said the private data might paint a rosier picture than will official Labor Department figures that will be unveiled Friday. President Donald Trump has been given widespread credit for the economic revival during his administration. A new NBC poll found 58 percent of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. Meanwhile, a Gallup found only 13 percent of Americans polled this spring listed the economy as the nation’s biggest problem. Those who said it was a top problem reached as high as 40 percent in 2016, the year Trump was elected to the White House. The president recently tweeted that the economy can do even better if the right Federal Reserve policies are pursued. Job growth during the Trump administration is a powerful force in his bid for re-election, Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said Monday on Fox News. Speaking on “Outnumbered,” McEnany called the president a “savior” for blue-collar workers in contrast to former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. “For Joe Biden, for his job, we might as well call him Job-killing Joe,” McEnany said. “He oversaw and voted for NAFTA — it killed a million jobs. He wanted TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) — it would’ve killed half a million jobs.” She said Trump will have a big advantage over Biden on the jobs front. “When you lose 211,000 manufacturing jobs under Biden, and President Trump in two short years has brought back nearly half a million — Job-killing Joe, best of luck going into Pennsylvania,” she said. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. | Jack Davis | https://www.westernjournal.com/job-market-erupts-april-grows-beyond-economists-expected/ | 2019-05-01 17:34:14+00:00 | 1,556,746,454 | 1,567,541,567 | labour | labour market |
1,116,979 | zerohedge--2019-12-21--Class 8 Market Continues Collapse As Navistar Cuts 1,300 More Jobs | 2019-12-21T00:00:00 | zerohedge | Class 8 Market Continues Collapse As Navistar Cuts 1,300 More Jobs | Job cuts and bankruptcies in the world of heavy duty trucking have been a way of life over the last 18 months, as we have documented, with the industry steeped in recession as it reflects a larger, global slowdown in manufacturing. That trend looks to be well in tact, with major transportation company Navistar reporting this week that it was going to be eliminating more than 1,300 jobs in North American production. The company reported lower net income and revenue during Q4 as the industry's falling demand for trucks continued. Net income also fell for the year. The maker of international trucks said it would lay off 10% of its workforce and slashed its forecast for 2020 revenue to below the lowest estimate among analysts, which sent its share down more than 10%. It was the biggest drop for the company's shares since October 2018. Troy Clarke, Navistar chairman, president and CEO, said: “We are taking actions to adjust our business to current market conditions, including reducing production rates and selling, general and administrative expenses while restructuring our global and export operations. Building on the strong gains achieved over the last several years, Navistar has a clear roadmap in place for sustained growth that will set it apart from the industry.” Profits in the company's truck segment fell to $86 million in the fourth quarter, down from $197 million a year earlier. For the year, it posted net income of $221 million, down 58% from the $340 million it posted last year. Recall, we noted at the beginning of the month that November's Class 8 order numbers across the industry were collapsing. November culminated a dismal year that some thought had seen a reprive with October's improved bookings. But data from FreightWaves showed that the collapse had continued its trend, indicating that the sluggish economy is to blame for lackluster replacement demand. Orders totaled 17,300 units for November, which marked the slowest November since 2015 and a 39% collapse from November 2018. The slowdown in orders is also prompting layoffs by companies like Daimler Trucks North America, Volvo Trucks North America and Paccar Inc. Other names in the Class 8 supply chain are also dealing with these negative trends. For instance, engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. is "laying off 2,000 white-collar employees globally in the first quarter of 2020". Meanwhile, November used to be a month when fleets would be busy placing orders for the upcoming year. After October's slight tick up in orders, many analysts thought November could follow suit. That didn't happen, and sequentially November's order book was down 21% from October. Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles commented: "The stalling of freight growth is causing fleets to exercise caution in placing orders for 2020. There will still be plenty of freight to haul, so we expect fleets will continue to be profitable and to replace older equipment. However, there won’t be a need for much additional equipment on the roads.” “The industry thrives on stability, but we are now on a rocky road,” Ake concluded. | Tyler Durden | https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/class-8-market-continues-collapse-navistar-cuts-1300-more-jobs | Sat, 21 Dec 2019 03:05:00 +0000 | 1,576,915,500 | 1,576,932,069 | labour | labour market |
816,503 | thenewyorktimes--2019-11-01--Job Market Shows Resilience, Quieting Recession Fears | 2019-11-01T00:00:00 | thenewyorktimes | Job Market Shows Resilience, Quieting Recession Fears | The American jobs engine has been beaten and battered, but it just keeps chugging along. Employers added 128,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said Friday, and revisions to prior months’ data tacked on another 95,000. The figures for October would have been stronger had it not been for the strike at General Motors, which shaved close to 50,000 workers from the employment rolls, and for the layoff of some 20,000 temporary census workers. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6 percent, still near a half-century low. Stocks rose Friday after the report reassured investors about the health of the economy, with the S&P 500 reaching a record high. All told, the report and other recent data paint a picture of a job market that is weathering the storm of trade tensions and a cooling global economy. The manufacturing sector is in a slump, business investment is falling, and overall economic growth has slowed this year. But consumers are still spending, employers are still hiring, and fears of an imminent recession, which reached a fever pitch over the summer, have quieted for now. “It helps reduce the concern that the slowdown was becoming more broad-based and recession risks were right around the corner,” said Michael Gapen, chief United States economist for Barclays . “I think most people have a slightly more positive view of the U.S. economy now than even two or three weeks ago.” | Ben Casselman | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/01/business/economy/jobs-report.html?emc=rss&partner=rss | Fri, 01 Nov 2019 21:54:57 +0000 | 1,572,659,697 | 1,572,646,516 | labour | labour market |
758,407 | theindependent--2019-04-30--Supermarkets with no tills will they be the death knell for 200000 cashier jobs | 2019-04-30T00:00:00 | theindependent | Supermarkets with no tills: will they be the death knell for 200,000 cashier jobs? | At a small, central London branch of Sainsbury’s, one mainstay of the traditional supermarket is notable by its absence: checkouts. Starting this week, shoppers in the High Holborn branch will simply scan their own items using an app and then walk out. The supermarket giant plans to use the trial to develop the app which it says will make grocery shopping quicker and more convenient. But it highlights a deepening trend towards fewer tills and ultimately fewer staff. So what might a new till-less future mean for British supermarkets and, more specifically, for the 2.7 million people who work in the retail industry? There’s little doubt stripping out tills from supermarkets will mean fewer jobs in retail, a sector that employs more than any other in the UK, comfortably ahead of the next largest employer, construction, with 1.8 million. Sainsbury’s has said the new setup merely frees up staff to spend time on the shop floor helping out customers and stocking shelves. But it would defy business logic to think retailers will keep on all of the 200,000 cashiers estimated to work in the UK when the need for them disappears. Alongside rent, labour is one of supermarkets’ biggest costs and one which they need to cut if they are to face up to the looming challenge of online retailers, including the mighty Amazon. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that around two-thirds of cashier jobs are at high risk of being replaced by technology. That would mean around 135,000 jobs disappearing. The new store format is more evolution than revolution. Sainsbury’s has already trialled its self-service app in other convenience stores and rivals including Marks & Spencer and the Co-op have piloted their own equivalents. Meanwhile, thousands of supermarket jobs have already gone at all of the big players as they battle discount chains like Lidl and Aldi which employ fewer checkout staff. It won’t have escaped anyone’s notice that supermarkets increasingly rely on self-service checkouts. The self-scan app is the next step on that trend. Why shell out on expensive till technology when most shoppers now have a portable barcode scanner in their pocket in the form of their smartphone? So the trend towards automation is well established, but it still has a long way to go. Large parts of the supply chain that brings food (and other products) to our doors could also be automated within the next decade or so. With artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles and robots, the technology to replace lorry drivers, warehouse workers and administrative staff is already here. Perhaps half of jobs related to retail could be automated as that technology improves and costs comes down, according to some estimates. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Improving the efficiency of one of the most important parts of the economy should be welcomed and new jobs will be created as old ones disappear. But the impact of these changes depends hugely on how the process is managed. Automation is frequently referred to as the “fourth industrial revolution”. The government must play a much more proactive role than in previous upheavals, actively forecasting the changes and proactively helping those affected into training and alternative employment rather than hiding behind the excuse that “market forces” will work their magic. It seems likely that they will, but that shop floor workers will still have a significant, if reduced, part to play. Ultimately it will come down to shoppers’ preferences. After all, supermarkets introduced (non-smartphone-based) self-scan apps in the 1990s but the idea never really took off. Will we be willing to pay a little extra to go to a shop that has a few more staff that we can ask for assistance or will we go for the cheapest option? There’s almost certainly room for both. As many retailers well know, price is an important determinant of consumer behaviour but it is far from being the only one. Therefore, there will be room for a no-frills, no-tills shopping experience alongside more traditional offerings, perhaps with a relatively small number of highly knowledgeable retail assistants that online rivals can’t offer. Traditional retailers are increasingly switching on to the fact that our experiences of shopping in a real-life store – the sights, sounds, textures and personal interactions – are their key advantage. So a future where we glide in solitary fashion through the aisles filling up our baskets without ever interacting with anyone seems – thankfully – a little way off yet. | Ben Chapman | https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/sainsburys-self-service-supermarket-retail-jobs-automation-impact-a8893491.html | 2019-04-30 19:14:26+00:00 | 1,556,666,066 | 1,567,541,614 | labour | labour market |
61,786 | birminghammail--2019-05-04--MI5 and MI6 are hiring for these job vacancies RIGHT NOW | 2019-05-04T00:00:00 | birminghammail | MI5 and MI6 are hiring for these job vacancies RIGHT NOW | MI5 and MI6 are currently recruiting - and you can apply for a string of roles RIGHT NOW. The Security Service, also known as MI5, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service, Government Communications Headquarters and Defence Intelligence. Its headquarters is at Thames Bank in Central London but the service recruits nationwide. Currently, they want a linguist, software engineer, project managers and intelligence cops. They also have internships, to boot. The service is directed to protect British parliamentary democracy and economic interests, and counter terrorism and espionage within the UK. Our sister title the Manchester Evening News is reporting some of the jobs currently advertised online. "Your language skills could open a fascinating role in intelligence," the agency says. "The UK Intelligence Agencies are looking to recruit flexible hours linguists on a contract basis to use rare language skills to provide intelligence insights, working alongside our operational teams. "You'll work as an integral part of an operational team, sifting language materials against requirements to identify reportable intelligence that will be forwarded to analysts to help shape and influence their operational decision-making. "You'll also have the opportunity to verbally brief colleagues across the intelligence agencies." "These are openings for language skills to support MI5, SIS and GCHQ." "Technology sits at the heart of everything we do at MI5, enabling us to disrupt serious threats to UK security. "Engineering is the heart of MI5, developing and maintaining tools and capabilities that support all aspects of our business. "We solve problems that you don’t see elsewhere, in a unique context that comes with a satisfaction nobody else can offer you. "We’re looking for engineers with fresh skills to build, maintain and enhance a wide variety of software products. "You will work as part of a team, engineering new and existing products that drive our investigations, analysis and corporate functions." £25,240 per annum which will then be pro-rated over the course of the 11-week programme "We offer penultimate year students studying a STEM related degree a unique opportunity to improve their technical and analytical skills through our 11 week paid summer internship. "Supported by experienced, professional and innovative colleagues in technical teams, you will have the opportunity to work on live projects you won’t find anywhere else and make a direct impact on how we use technology to protect the UK from serious security threats, such as terrorism and espionage. "Combining problem-solving skills with a proficiency for working with technology, you’ll be a confident communicator with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to different audiences. "In some areas you’ll need basic coding skills, while in others your logical approach, interest in data flows or knowledge of computer security or computer forensics, will be more important. "With basic computer skills, you’ll be comfortable working at a computer for long periods and handling a range of written, numerical, image-based and audio data." "Intelligence is at the heart of what MI6 does. "It is the secret information that the British government requires to keep the country safe and prosperous. "As an intelligence officer your focus will be gathering, delivering and utilising intelligence. "These are fascinating and unique roles. "As your career develops, you will have ample opportunity to broaden your skills and to move into management and operational leadership positions." "Project Management sits at the heart of everything we do here at MI6 – or as we’re more formally called, the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). "It is the enabler for changing the way we work to make us more effective and efficient and to keep us ahead of those who seek to do harm to our country and our citizens, wherever they are in the world. "Our Project Managers take responsibility for translating business needs into credible, achievable plans, with a focus on incorporating the appropriate standards of performance, reliability and security whilst looking for novel and creative solutions." | Matthew Cooper, James Rodger | https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/mi5-mi6-hiring-job-vacancies-16225326 | 2019-05-04 09:42:22+00:00 | 1,556,977,342 | 1,567,541,163 | labour | employment |
66,957 | birminghammail--2019-10-09--These are your rights if you're working a night shift when the clocks go back | 2019-10-09T00:00:00 | birminghammail | These are your rights if you're working a night shift when the clocks go back | British Summer Time is coming to an end this month as we are all forced to alter the clocks once more. Then we are back on standard Greenwich Mean Time. Many people will be tucked up in bed at 2am when the clocks go back an hour, so they'll have to remember to make the adjustments before they go to sleep. But others will be working in nightclubs or late-opening bars; doing a night shift in a factory, hospital, fire station, ambulance depot or elsewhere; or scheduled to work on Sunday morning. So what does this mean for staff who are working through the period when the clocks go back ? Should they be paid for working an extra hour? Or can they go home when they’ve worked their usual number of hours, even when the clock says they have an hour to go? Alan Price, CEO and HR expert at BrightHR, explains your rights on the night: "The first thing you should be aware of is how the clocks going back affects working hours. You need to check your employees’ contracts to see how their working hours are detailed. "A contract which states the employees’ shift starts at midnight and finishes at 8 am will require the employee to work a shift of nine hours. "In contrast, a contract which says the shift lasts eight hours starting from midnight will allow the employee to leave at 7 am as they will have technically worked eight hours. In this situation, you may wish to agree with the employee that they will work an extra hour and leave at their standard finishing time." So the bottom line is to check your contract, especially if you're new to your job and haven't had to think about this situation in the past. He adds: "In relation to paying staff, a contract that states an individual is entitled to hourly pay will mean that they should be paid extra if they work the additional hour. "Generally, salaried workers will receive their normal salary regardless if they work extra, although you should consider if your company’s overtime rules would be applied here. "Salaried workers still need to receive the legal minimum wage for this period so, if they are paid National Minimum Wage or just above, they may have to be paid the extra hour to receive their legal minimum entitlement. "Organisations can choose how they treat the extra hour, subject to any contractual entitlements, but should act consistently and fairly. "One option to consider is allowing employees to go home an hour later when the clocks go forward in the spring, cancelling out the extra hour worked now in the autumn." He further advises: "The extra hour has the potential to affect the working time rights of night shift workers. "Night workers must not work, on average, more than eight hours in any 24 hours and are entitled to a 20-minute rest break when working more than six hours a day. "Adult workers must also be allowed a minimum rest period of 11 consecutive hours in any 24 hours. If you require staff to work the extra hour, you should consider these rights to ensure there is no breach of any legal requirements." And he urges bosses: "Finally, you should pre-warn workers who are on the rota to come in on Sunday about the clocks going back to ensure they are attending work on time." | [email protected] (David Bentley) | https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/employment-rights-clocks-go-back-17060873 | Wed, 9 Oct 2019 21:09:20 +0000 | 1,570,669,760 | 1,570,665,323 | labour | labour relations |
66,957 | birminghammail--2019-10-09--These are your rights if you're working a night shift when the clocks go back | 2019-10-09T00:00:00 | birminghammail | These are your rights if you're working a night shift when the clocks go back | British Summer Time is coming to an end this month as we are all forced to alter the clocks once more. Then we are back on standard Greenwich Mean Time. Many people will be tucked up in bed at 2am when the clocks go back an hour, so they'll have to remember to make the adjustments before they go to sleep. But others will be working in nightclubs or late-opening bars; doing a night shift in a factory, hospital, fire station, ambulance depot or elsewhere; or scheduled to work on Sunday morning. So what does this mean for staff who are working through the period when the clocks go back ? Should they be paid for working an extra hour? Or can they go home when they’ve worked their usual number of hours, even when the clock says they have an hour to go? Alan Price, CEO and HR expert at BrightHR, explains your rights on the night: "The first thing you should be aware of is how the clocks going back affects working hours. You need to check your employees’ contracts to see how their working hours are detailed. "A contract which states the employees’ shift starts at midnight and finishes at 8 am will require the employee to work a shift of nine hours. "In contrast, a contract which says the shift lasts eight hours starting from midnight will allow the employee to leave at 7 am as they will have technically worked eight hours. In this situation, you may wish to agree with the employee that they will work an extra hour and leave at their standard finishing time." So the bottom line is to check your contract, especially if you're new to your job and haven't had to think about this situation in the past. He adds: "In relation to paying staff, a contract that states an individual is entitled to hourly pay will mean that they should be paid extra if they work the additional hour. "Generally, salaried workers will receive their normal salary regardless if they work extra, although you should consider if your company’s overtime rules would be applied here. "Salaried workers still need to receive the legal minimum wage for this period so, if they are paid National Minimum Wage or just above, they may have to be paid the extra hour to receive their legal minimum entitlement. "Organisations can choose how they treat the extra hour, subject to any contractual entitlements, but should act consistently and fairly. "One option to consider is allowing employees to go home an hour later when the clocks go forward in the spring, cancelling out the extra hour worked now in the autumn." He further advises: "The extra hour has the potential to affect the working time rights of night shift workers. "Night workers must not work, on average, more than eight hours in any 24 hours and are entitled to a 20-minute rest break when working more than six hours a day. "Adult workers must also be allowed a minimum rest period of 11 consecutive hours in any 24 hours. If you require staff to work the extra hour, you should consider these rights to ensure there is no breach of any legal requirements." And he urges bosses: "Finally, you should pre-warn workers who are on the rota to come in on Sunday about the clocks going back to ensure they are attending work on time." | [email protected] (David Bentley) | https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/employment-rights-clocks-go-back-17060873 | Wed, 9 Oct 2019 21:09:20 +0000 | 1,570,669,760 | 1,570,665,323 | labour | employment legislation |
25,852 | bbc--2019-04-16--EU law fixes minimum rights for gig economy workers | 2019-04-16T00:00:00 | bbc | EU law fixes minimum rights for 'gig economy' workers | The European Parliament has approved new EU rules to protect workers in the so-called "gig economy". The law sets minimum rights and demands increased transparency for those in "on-demand" jobs, such as at Uber or Deliveroo. It proposes more predictable hours and compensation for cancelled work, and an end to "abusive practices" around casual contracts. Member states will now have at most three years to enforce the new rules. The European Parliament says the new legislation will apply to "the most vulnerable employees on atypical contracts and in non-standard jobs" - including those on zero-hour contracts. Employees in EU member states already enjoy a wide range of protections to working hours, minimum breaks and holiday entitlement. But casual employees in the "gig economy" - who may work multiple jobs on a flexible basis, or on erratic hours - have fallen into a grey area. The UK will only be obliged to implement the law if it is still a member state of the EU three years after the new regulation enters into force. But it has already introduced similar legislation at a national level. The EU law will require employers to inform all workers about "essential aspects" of their employment on their first day, including: The new rules should apply to all those who work at least three hours a week, averaged over four weeks - at least three million people, though it is a growing category of workers. The rules will also apply to trainees and apprentices in similar circumstances. Enrique Calvet Chambon, the MEP responsible for seeing the law through, said it was the first EU legislation setting minimum workers' rights in 20 years. "All workers who have been in limbo will now be granted minimum rights thanks to this directive... from now on no employer will be able to abuse the flexibility in the labour market," he said. EU officials say the new rules will not apply to "genuinely self-employed" people who work for themselves. | null | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47947220 | 2019-04-16 11:20:15+00:00 | 1,555,428,015 | 1,567,542,822 | labour | employment legislation |
30,985 | bbc--2019-09-19--World Cup 2022 Qatar still failing to protect workers rights says Amnesty International | 2019-09-19T00:00:00 | bbc | World Cup 2022: Qatar still failing to protect workers' rights, says Amnesty International | Workers in Qatar continue to be mistreated despite promises to improve rights ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Amnesty International says. A new report from the human rights group says thousands of workers are going unpaid. It adds that a new commission set up to help improve workers' rights is failing to protect them. Amnesty has urged Qatari authorities to "end the shameful reality of labour exploitation". "Despite the significant promises of reform which Qatar has made ahead of the 2022 World Cup, it remains a playground for unscrupulous employers," said Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International's deputy director of global issues. "Migrant workers often go to Qatar in the hope of giving their families a better life - instead many people return home penniless after spending months chasing their wages, with too little help from the systems that are supposed to protect them." The report, All work, no pay: The struggle of Qatar's migrant workers for justice, cites the example of "several hundred" contractors who were forced to "return home penniless" after the companies employing them first stopped paying them then ceased to operate. Amnesty's research focused on firms not directly related to the World Cup. Qatari authorities passed new laws to improve workers' rights after signing an agreement with the United Nations' International Labour Organisation in November 2017. Those changes included ending the labour sponsorship system that forced foreign workers to seek their employer's permission to change jobs or leave the country. New legislation also introduced a temporary minimum wage, created a workers' insurance fund and set up committees to address disputes. However, Amnesty's latest report states that several hundred migrant workers employed by three construction and cleaning companies were forced to return home without being paid. The BBC has contacted the Qatari government for a response but following a similar report into workers' rights in February, it said it "welcomes" the "continued interest and scrutiny" of its systems from Amnesty and claimed it penalised or banned 11,994 companies in 2018 for violating labour laws. | null | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49747688 | 2019-09-19 00:01:58+00:00 | 1,568,865,718 | 1,569,329,844 | labour | labour relations |
30,985 | bbc--2019-09-19--World Cup 2022 Qatar still failing to protect workers rights says Amnesty International | 2019-09-19T00:00:00 | bbc | World Cup 2022: Qatar still failing to protect workers' rights, says Amnesty International | Workers in Qatar continue to be mistreated despite promises to improve rights ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Amnesty International says. A new report from the human rights group says thousands of workers are going unpaid. It adds that a new commission set up to help improve workers' rights is failing to protect them. Amnesty has urged Qatari authorities to "end the shameful reality of labour exploitation". "Despite the significant promises of reform which Qatar has made ahead of the 2022 World Cup, it remains a playground for unscrupulous employers," said Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International's deputy director of global issues. "Migrant workers often go to Qatar in the hope of giving their families a better life - instead many people return home penniless after spending months chasing their wages, with too little help from the systems that are supposed to protect them." The report, All work, no pay: The struggle of Qatar's migrant workers for justice, cites the example of "several hundred" contractors who were forced to "return home penniless" after the companies employing them first stopped paying them then ceased to operate. Amnesty's research focused on firms not directly related to the World Cup. Qatari authorities passed new laws to improve workers' rights after signing an agreement with the United Nations' International Labour Organisation in November 2017. Those changes included ending the labour sponsorship system that forced foreign workers to seek their employer's permission to change jobs or leave the country. New legislation also introduced a temporary minimum wage, created a workers' insurance fund and set up committees to address disputes. However, Amnesty's latest report states that several hundred migrant workers employed by three construction and cleaning companies were forced to return home without being paid. The BBC has contacted the Qatari government for a response but following a similar report into workers' rights in February, it said it "welcomes" the "continued interest and scrutiny" of its systems from Amnesty and claimed it penalised or banned 11,994 companies in 2018 for violating labour laws. | null | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49747688 | 2019-09-19 00:01:58+00:00 | 1,568,865,718 | 1,569,329,844 | labour | employment legislation |
74,818 | breitbart--2019-10-18--Right to Work Legal: Chicago Teachers Have 'Right to Rebuff' Union Demands | 2019-10-18T00:00:00 | breitbart | Right to Work Legal: Chicago Teachers Have 'Right to Rebuff' Union Demands | The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) has issued a special legal notice to the more than 20,000 teachers affected by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike order. The notice informs Chicago teachers they have a right to refuse to leave their students and to continue to provide for their families during the planned strike. Additionally, the notice offers teachers links to resources to help them exercise their rights without fear of retaliation from union leaders. “This strike raises serious concerns for employees who believe there is much to lose from a union-ordered strike,” the notice reads. “Employees have the legal right to rebuff union officials’ strike demands, but it is important for them to be fully informed before they do so.” NRTW says recent cases their staff attorneys have brought show union bosses often deceive workers about their rights during a union-ordered strike. The NRTW legal notice informs Chicago teachers they should be aware they have the following rights: A union has no disciplinary power over nonmembers and cannot discipline them for crossing a picket line and working during a strike. If you are currently a union member, you have the right to resign your union membership. Union officials can (and often do) levy large fines against union members who work during a strike. If you are now a union member and want to work during a strike, you should seriously consider resigning your union membership at least one day BEFORE you return to work. That is the only way to avoid possible ruinous union fines and other discipline. To have the best legal defense possible against fines the union may try to impose, you should give the union notice of your resignation BEFORE you cross the picket line so that when you return to work you are not a union member. If you encounter any difficulties in exercising your right to work during a strike, you can contact the Foundation to request free legal aid at www.nrtw.org/free-legal-aid. NRTW reminds Chicago teachers the Supreme Court ruled last year in Janus v. AFSCME that nonmembers of a public sector union have a First Amendment right not to pay any union fees or dues — unless they have waived that right. The Foundation warns of the need for workers to fully understand the waiver process: A union has the burden of proving employees waived their First Amendment rights by “clear and compelling” evidence. Some unions claim that employees who authorized their employer to deduct union dues and fees in the past have waived their First Amendment rights. Whether a dues deduction authorization is an effective waiver depends on when it was signed and how it was worded. Chicago teachers who encounter difficulties in ending the collection of union fees or dues from their paychecks are invited to contact NRTW. “CTU bosses appear intent on attempting to shut down Chicago schools with a strike in order to flex their political muscle, even if leaving children out in the cold achieves nothing for the rank-and-file teachers,” said NRTW President Mark Mix. “Chicago teachers must decide for themselves whether abandoning their students at the behest of CTU officials is really what is best for them, and Foundation staff attorneys stand by to assist those teachers want to [sic] continue teaching their students and provide for their families.” Teachers can obtain more information by visiting the NRTW website. | Dr. Susan Berry | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/xnmQ6zcjtC8/ | Fri, 18 Oct 2019 03:15:55 +0000 | 1,571,382,955 | 1,571,413,014 | labour | employment legislation |
80,094 | buzzfeed--2019-07-23--Opinion Working People Need A New Bill Of Rights As President Ill Make One | 2019-07-23T00:00:00 | buzzfeed | Opinion: Working People Need A New Bill Of Rights. As President, I'll Make One. | Let’s cut to the chase: Working people are having their fundamental rights stripped away, and we’re running out of time to get them back. For decades now, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans have counted on both parties to ram through an agenda that prevents the middle class from sharing in the fruits of their work. They’ve benefited from Reaganomics and the Trump Tax Giveaway, the bailout for the big banks, and Wall Street “reform” that let too many off easily. While the 1 percent thrive, working people are going backward. A single full-time job used to be enough to support a family; now two parents both working multiple part-time jobs can struggle to put food on the table. They can lose their job if they get ill or their car needs repairs, trapping them permanently in the cycle of poverty. These people power the economy, but the rewards have gone to those who often don’t know the meaning of hard work. After all, there’s plenty of money in this country – it’s just in the wrong hands. We’ll need bold reforms to change that: a 21st Century Working People’s Bill of Rights. That’s what I’m introducing today, a comprehensive set of pro-worker policies that will ensure we restore the rights of working Americans. You can look at the full set of proposals on my website, but I wanted to share several with you today. We’re beginning with the Right to Due Process at Work, which will end at-will employment, and guarantee that no employee can be fired without just cause. It’s shameful that employees can be fired at any time and for almost any reason — even if their boss is just in bad mood. With this new right, employees couldn’t be fired unless they’ve failed to do their job, and they’d have due process protections afterward to ensure that’s the case. Every working American will also have the Right to Paid Time Off, thanks to the farthest-reaching paid leave policy of any 2020 candidate. It mandates paid family and medical leave, as well as paid sick days for all. It’s also the only proposal in the field to mandate two weeks of paid vacation time for every worker, a fundamental right enjoyed by every other developed country on earth. Americans work hard; they deserve to take a break. One more right I’m particularly proud of: the Right to a Fair Job in the Gig Economy. Too often, companies like Uber care more about their profits than the people who do the work. It’s time to ensure the people who create the wealth for these apps share in it, by providing minimum pay and benefits standards for freelance workers. These companies need to treat their workers like employees when they are — not independent contractors for whom they can cut corners on pay and benefits. We’re also creating universal, transferable benefits systems for gig workers. They should be able to earn health and retirement benefits like anyone else, and they shouldn’t have to be tied to a single app to do so. These are just some of the steps I’ll take as president to put power back in the hands of those who deserve it. Every Democratic candidate claims they’re for working people. But too few have spelled out concrete steps they’d take to help them, and fewer still have shown the leadership and know-how to make it happen. As the mayor of our nation’s largest city, I've established many of these rights already, and they’re making a difference in the lives of 8.6 million Americans. We’ve led the way in the fight for a $15 minimum wage and enacted paid sick leave so that New Yorkers don’t have to worry about losing their livelihoods if they go to the hospital. We’ve already had fair scheduling on the books for two years. Ensuring these rights for workers has helped make New York City the fairest big city in America. We’re putting money back in the right hands. It’s time for our country — and our party — to do the same. | Bill de Blasio | https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/billdeblasio/bill-de-blasio-working-peoples-bill-of-rights | 2019-07-23 20:04:19+00:00 | 1,563,926,659 | 1,567,536,101 | labour | employment legislation |
93,320 | chicagosuntimes--2019-04-04--Illinois House advances bill to bar local right-to-work laws | 2019-04-04T00:00:00 | chicagosuntimes | Illinois House advances bill to bar local ‘right-to-work’ laws | SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would bar municipalities in Illinois from enacting local “right-to-work” laws like one the village of Lincolnshire enacted in 2015 is one step closer to going to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Those are laws that prohibit employers from requiring a worker to join a labor union as a condition of employment. The Illinois House on Wednesday gave final passage to a bill that has already cleared the Senate that would clarify that state government has exclusive authority to enact laws governing what are known as union security agreements — agreements between employers and unions that spell out the extent to which workers can be compelled to belong to a union, as well as whether the employer will collect dues and fees on behalf of the union. Rep. Lance Yednock, an Ottawa Democrat and chief sponsor of the House version of the bill, said it would only reiterate what Congress intended when it passed the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which gave states authority to enact right-to-work laws. “In doing so, Congress decided to avoid the confusion that having 7,000 units of local government in Illinois with thousands of different laws would create,” Yednock said in arguing for the bill. In recent years, however, federal courts have interpreted the law in different ways. In Illinois, the issue came to a head in 2015 when the village of Lincolnshire passed an ordinance that prohibited the use of union-security agreements. It also prohibited the use of “hiring halls,” which are union-based organizations that supply new recruits to employers with collective bargaining agreements. And it prohibited the use of dues “checkoff” arrangements in which employers collect union dues through payroll deductions on behalf of unions. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399 challenged that law in federal court, arguing that the Taft-Hartley Act gives only states the authority to enact such laws. Lincolnshire, however, argued that as a political subdivision of the state, it had the right to exercise the state’s authority. In January 2017, a federal district court struck down the ordinance, and in September 2018, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision. However, the appellate court also noted that other courts of appeals have ruled differently – specifically the 6th Circuit, which in 2016 upheld a similar law enacted by Hardin County, Kentucky. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the Kentucky case. But now that the 7th Circuit has reached a different conclusion in the Lincolnshire case, some lawmakers said they believe the nation’s high court will be forced to weigh in. “My impression is that if (some) other district goes up to the Supreme Court and they somehow rule that something similar to Lincolnshire is allowed, this ban would be stricken, and I think it would no longer be constitutional and enforceable on the books of Illinois,” House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs, said during debate. The bill, Senate Bill 1474, passed by a 101-8 vote. It previously passed the Senate, 42-12, on March 7. But the House deleted a provision in the original Senate bill that would have made it a misdemeanor for any local government official to violate the act. That means the bill now must return to the Senate to either agree or disagree with the House change. | Peter Hancock | Capitol News Illinois | [email protected] | https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/house-advances-bill-bar-local-right-to-work-laws-lincolnshire/ | 2019-04-04 00:23:53+00:00 | 1,554,351,833 | 1,567,543,984 | labour | employment legislation |
100,121 | cnbc--2019-10-07--LGBT workers head to Supreme Court for blockbuster rights cases: 'I'll be that person to stand up' | 2019-10-07T00:00:00 | cnbc | LGBT workers head to Supreme Court for blockbuster rights cases: 'I'll be that person to stand up' | Gerald Bostock was devastated when he learned he had been fired from his job overseeing child welfare services for the Clayton County, Georgia juvenile court system. The role, he says now, was his dream job. He believed working with children was his calling, and that he was good at it. In 2010, his county became the first in Atlanta to supply a volunteer to every neglected or abused child in the system. Bostock believes he was fired for being gay. His termination came in 2013, months after he joined a gay softball league, after a history positive performance reviews. When he lost his job, he also lost friends, his home and his health insurance, he said. Now Bostock's firing is at the center of a blockbuster set of Supreme Court cases that will determine whether LGBT workers may be fired on the basis of their identities. Arguments are set for Tuesday morning. "Somebody needed to stand up," Bostock said in a recent interview. "I'll be that person to stand up so that nobody has to go to work fearful of losing their job." The Supreme Court cases are the first to squarely address the question of whether federal anti-discrimination law protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers. While the court has expanded the rights of LGBT individuals in recent years, holding that same-sex marriage is protected by the Constitution, for instance, it has yet to apply protections to the workplace. In about half the country, states and localities have passed laws forbidding such discrimination. In the other half, including Clayton County, workers are without protection. "In an era where people want to believe that gay marriage solved everything, this shows that it clearly didn't. There are many battles left," said Brian Riedel, a professor at Rice University who studies LGBT social movements. The justices will hear the cases of three LGBT workers who were fired, including Bostock. The other two individuals are Donald Zarda, a gay man who was fired from his job as a skydiving instructor after remarking on his sexual orientation to a female client, and Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman fired from her job as a funeral director after she announced her intention to present as a woman. Ahead of arguments, it is not clear how the justices may come down on the issue. The case is the first major LGBT case to come before the justices since the departure of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who had long been a champion for gay rights from the court. In focus will be Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Kennedy's replacement, who is believed to be more conservative. "I think that it is actually a case that is pretty hard to predict," said David Cole, the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Zarda and Stephens. Asked which justices he is hoping to corral into a majority, Cole said: "I'll take any five." The decisions in the cases are expected by the end of June, in the middle of the 2020 presidential election. The legal question comes down to the language of Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination because of "sex" but does not specifically mention sexual orientation or gender identity. Both the workers and the employers agree that the lawmakers who passed the law did not envision that it would protect gay or transgender workers. But in legal briefs, the workers have noted that the Supreme Court has applied the Civil Rights Act to unforeseen territory before. In the 1989 case Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the court ruled that the law also barred discrimination against workers on the basis that they do not conform to gender stereotypes. Years later, the court ruled in the 1998 case Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services that the law protected workers against discrimination by members of the same sex. Federal appeals courts have split on the issue. The Eleventh Circuit, which reviewed Bostock's case, dismissed his complaint. Under the court's precedent, "discharge for homosexuality is not prohibited by Title VII," a three-judge panel said in an unsigned opinion. The appeals courts which reviewed Zarda and Stephens's cases came down differently. The Second Circuit, which heard Zarda's case, also had precedents on the books which held that Title 7 did not apply to LGBT workers. But after the full court heard the case, it reversed those precedents. "Looking first to the text of Title VII, the most natural reading of the statute's prohibition on discrimination 'because of . . . sex' is that it extends to sexual orientation discrimination because sex is necessarily a factor in sexual orientation," Chief Judge Robert Katzmann wrote. He added that "sexual orientation discrimination is predicated on assumptions about how persons of a certain sex can or should be, which is an impermissible basis for adverse employment actions." Likewise, in Stephens's case, the Sixth Circuit held that firing someone based on their transitioning status is by definition discrimination based on sex stereotypes. "There is no way to disaggregate discrimination on the basis of transgender status from discrimination on the basis of gender non-conformity, and we see no reason to try," Circuit Judge Karen Moore wrote. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency, has also said that Title 7 forbids gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination, though the Trump administration, via the Department of Justice, has taken the opposite view. "Even if sexual orientation were a 'function' of sex, that would be insufficient, standing alone, to violate Title VII; otherwise, all sex-specific practices, including bathrooms, dress codes, and physical fitness standards, would be unlawful," Solicitor General Noel Francisco wrote in a brief with the top court. Francisco argued that the top court's prohibition on discriminating based on sex stereotypes likewise does not forbid discriminating based on gender identity or sexual orientation. While Title 7 protects men from being fired for being effeminate, that protection applies equally to straight and gay employees, he wrote. Sunu Chandy, the legal director for the National Women's Law Center, which filed a brief in support of the employees, said she will be looking at whether the justices ask questions about the practicality of such distinctions during arguments. Adopting such a standard, she said, would "throw into havoc civil rights protections that have been precedent for decades." "What I'm really interested in is how you could practically exclude LGBT workers from these civil rights protections that we all enjoy?" she said. "If there is someone who does not comply with sex stereotypes, the employer could then say, '[you were fired] because I thought you were gay,' and get a free pass." The cases have attracted a flurry of legal arguments from both sides of the debate. Somewhat unusually, many major businesses have come out in favor of the workers, effectively asking the court for more stringent regulations. In one particularly strong show of force, more than 200 businesses, including Apple, Google and CNBC parent NBCUniversal signed onto a brief supporting the workers in the case. "The failure to recognize that Title VII protects LGBT workers would hinder the ability of businesses to compete in all corners of the nation, and would harm the U.S. economy as a whole," the firms wrote. Bostock's attorney, Brian Sutherland, made a similar argument in a recent interview, noting that discrimination can have adverse consequences for those who are not directly discriminated against. "Discrimination against LGBTQ folks does not only hurt them. It hurts the people that they serve," he said. That point weighed on Bostock, too. "I'm very proud of who I am. And I'm proud of the man who I've become," he said. "And I am very proud of the hard work and success that I had in Clayton County, especially because it impacted the lives of so many children who suffered from abuse and neglect." Bostock said that the last six years for him have been draining, both financially and personally. But he said that he's been energized by the prospect of changing the way the law is applied to millions of people "who are fearful of losing their job because of who they are, who they love, and how they identify." "I absolutely would not change a single thing," he said. The cases are Gerald Lynn Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia; Altitude Express v. Melissa Zarda; and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. | null | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/supreme-court-lgbt-worker-rights-kavanaugh.html | Mon, 07 Oct 2019 20:27 GMT | 1,570,494,420 | 1,570,536,553 | labour | employment legislation |
100,121 | cnbc--2019-10-07--LGBT workers head to Supreme Court for blockbuster rights cases: 'I'll be that person to stand up' | 2019-10-07T00:00:00 | cnbc | LGBT workers head to Supreme Court for blockbuster rights cases: 'I'll be that person to stand up' | Gerald Bostock was devastated when he learned he had been fired from his job overseeing child welfare services for the Clayton County, Georgia juvenile court system. The role, he says now, was his dream job. He believed working with children was his calling, and that he was good at it. In 2010, his county became the first in Atlanta to supply a volunteer to every neglected or abused child in the system. Bostock believes he was fired for being gay. His termination came in 2013, months after he joined a gay softball league, after a history positive performance reviews. When he lost his job, he also lost friends, his home and his health insurance, he said. Now Bostock's firing is at the center of a blockbuster set of Supreme Court cases that will determine whether LGBT workers may be fired on the basis of their identities. Arguments are set for Tuesday morning. "Somebody needed to stand up," Bostock said in a recent interview. "I'll be that person to stand up so that nobody has to go to work fearful of losing their job." The Supreme Court cases are the first to squarely address the question of whether federal anti-discrimination law protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers. While the court has expanded the rights of LGBT individuals in recent years, holding that same-sex marriage is protected by the Constitution, for instance, it has yet to apply protections to the workplace. In about half the country, states and localities have passed laws forbidding such discrimination. In the other half, including Clayton County, workers are without protection. "In an era where people want to believe that gay marriage solved everything, this shows that it clearly didn't. There are many battles left," said Brian Riedel, a professor at Rice University who studies LGBT social movements. The justices will hear the cases of three LGBT workers who were fired, including Bostock. The other two individuals are Donald Zarda, a gay man who was fired from his job as a skydiving instructor after remarking on his sexual orientation to a female client, and Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman fired from her job as a funeral director after she announced her intention to present as a woman. Ahead of arguments, it is not clear how the justices may come down on the issue. The case is the first major LGBT case to come before the justices since the departure of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who had long been a champion for gay rights from the court. In focus will be Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Kennedy's replacement, who is believed to be more conservative. "I think that it is actually a case that is pretty hard to predict," said David Cole, the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Zarda and Stephens. Asked which justices he is hoping to corral into a majority, Cole said: "I'll take any five." The decisions in the cases are expected by the end of June, in the middle of the 2020 presidential election. The legal question comes down to the language of Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination because of "sex" but does not specifically mention sexual orientation or gender identity. Both the workers and the employers agree that the lawmakers who passed the law did not envision that it would protect gay or transgender workers. But in legal briefs, the workers have noted that the Supreme Court has applied the Civil Rights Act to unforeseen territory before. In the 1989 case Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the court ruled that the law also barred discrimination against workers on the basis that they do not conform to gender stereotypes. Years later, the court ruled in the 1998 case Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services that the law protected workers against discrimination by members of the same sex. Federal appeals courts have split on the issue. The Eleventh Circuit, which reviewed Bostock's case, dismissed his complaint. Under the court's precedent, "discharge for homosexuality is not prohibited by Title VII," a three-judge panel said in an unsigned opinion. The appeals courts which reviewed Zarda and Stephens's cases came down differently. The Second Circuit, which heard Zarda's case, also had precedents on the books which held that Title 7 did not apply to LGBT workers. But after the full court heard the case, it reversed those precedents. "Looking first to the text of Title VII, the most natural reading of the statute's prohibition on discrimination 'because of . . . sex' is that it extends to sexual orientation discrimination because sex is necessarily a factor in sexual orientation," Chief Judge Robert Katzmann wrote. He added that "sexual orientation discrimination is predicated on assumptions about how persons of a certain sex can or should be, which is an impermissible basis for adverse employment actions." Likewise, in Stephens's case, the Sixth Circuit held that firing someone based on their transitioning status is by definition discrimination based on sex stereotypes. "There is no way to disaggregate discrimination on the basis of transgender status from discrimination on the basis of gender non-conformity, and we see no reason to try," Circuit Judge Karen Moore wrote. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency, has also said that Title 7 forbids gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination, though the Trump administration, via the Department of Justice, has taken the opposite view. "Even if sexual orientation were a 'function' of sex, that would be insufficient, standing alone, to violate Title VII; otherwise, all sex-specific practices, including bathrooms, dress codes, and physical fitness standards, would be unlawful," Solicitor General Noel Francisco wrote in a brief with the top court. Francisco argued that the top court's prohibition on discriminating based on sex stereotypes likewise does not forbid discriminating based on gender identity or sexual orientation. While Title 7 protects men from being fired for being effeminate, that protection applies equally to straight and gay employees, he wrote. Sunu Chandy, the legal director for the National Women's Law Center, which filed a brief in support of the employees, said she will be looking at whether the justices ask questions about the practicality of such distinctions during arguments. Adopting such a standard, she said, would "throw into havoc civil rights protections that have been precedent for decades." "What I'm really interested in is how you could practically exclude LGBT workers from these civil rights protections that we all enjoy?" she said. "If there is someone who does not comply with sex stereotypes, the employer could then say, '[you were fired] because I thought you were gay,' and get a free pass." The cases have attracted a flurry of legal arguments from both sides of the debate. Somewhat unusually, many major businesses have come out in favor of the workers, effectively asking the court for more stringent regulations. In one particularly strong show of force, more than 200 businesses, including Apple, Google and CNBC parent NBCUniversal signed onto a brief supporting the workers in the case. "The failure to recognize that Title VII protects LGBT workers would hinder the ability of businesses to compete in all corners of the nation, and would harm the U.S. economy as a whole," the firms wrote. Bostock's attorney, Brian Sutherland, made a similar argument in a recent interview, noting that discrimination can have adverse consequences for those who are not directly discriminated against. "Discrimination against LGBTQ folks does not only hurt them. It hurts the people that they serve," he said. That point weighed on Bostock, too. "I'm very proud of who I am. And I'm proud of the man who I've become," he said. "And I am very proud of the hard work and success that I had in Clayton County, especially because it impacted the lives of so many children who suffered from abuse and neglect." Bostock said that the last six years for him have been draining, both financially and personally. But he said that he's been energized by the prospect of changing the way the law is applied to millions of people "who are fearful of losing their job because of who they are, who they love, and how they identify." "I absolutely would not change a single thing," he said. The cases are Gerald Lynn Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia; Altitude Express v. Melissa Zarda; and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. | null | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/supreme-court-lgbt-worker-rights-kavanaugh.html | Mon, 07 Oct 2019 20:27 GMT | 1,570,494,420 | 1,570,536,553 | labour | labour relations |
105,968 | cnn--2019-07-26--Buttigieg calls out tech companies for failing to recognize worker rights in new economic proposal | 2019-07-26T00:00:00 | cnn | Buttigieg calls out tech companies for failing to recognize worker rights in new economic proposal | The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, titled his plan "The New Rising Tide: Empowering Workers in a Changing Economy," a reference to the economic saying "a rising tide lifts all boats." "We got the rising tide -- GDP went up, productivity went up -- but our paychecks didn't show it," Buttigieg writes in the proposal. The plan calls out companies like Google, Lyft and Uber for outsourcing their employees and labeling them contractors, limiting benefits workers can receive from the companies. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Buttigieg said he is willing to go up against big tech. "I think they need to recognize the consequences if we continue moving into an economic reality where workers are eviscerated," Buttigieg told CNN. "I have nothing against these companies succeeding when workers are doing well, but they can't have it both ways." In details of the plan, Buttigieg would guarantee the right to join a union for all American workers including gig economy workers -- like Uber and Lyft drivers who are considered independent contractors and not employees of the companies. Buttigieg would support codifying the "ABC test," a more strict definition of independent contractor that would label many more workers as employees. His plan also calls for a strong "joint employer standard," which would allow workers to collectively bargain with the companies that control their hours and working conditions rather than the company that contracts them out. "Companies like Google should not be able to hire contractors -- from janitors and food service workers to managers and software engineers -- that look like employees, but who cannot bargain with Google because they technically work for a staffing firm or other intermediaries," the plan states. Labor unions are front and center in the plan which would "introduce multimillion dollar penalties for employer interference in union elections and workers' rights" and "gives working people the right to demand access to multi-employer bargaining." For example, workers at three unionized retail stores could decide collectively to bring their three employers to one bargaining table and negotiate one pay package for all three retail stores. This model still exists in America's construction trades, but has waned in recent decades, and remains much more common in Europe. President Donald Trump has garnered support from labor unions -- especially in Midwestern states where steel and coal unions still have power, many of which helped him get elected. Buttigieg said this part of his economic plan is aimed at bringing back union support to the Democratic Party and to his campaign. "It's part of it," he told CNN. "I want workers to understand how their lives are better, how they will be better off with me or compared to this President, or our competitors and folks need to hear how this is going to impact their lives." The plan also calls for legislation that would immediately make public pay gaps at every large company -- citing that women make 80% of what men get paid. Buttigieg would also set up a national paid sick leave system for workers who do not get at least seven paid sick days. "Employers would be required to pay in the equivalent of one hour of pay for every 30 hours they work, up to a total of 56 hours, into a state fund that these workers could draw from," the plan states. While this plan is one of the most comprehensive labor policies released by one of the current Democratic candidates to date, much of it is embodied in bills that progressive Democratic lawmakers have been introducing in Congress. With no congressional record, Buttigieg is able to voice his support for these policies while other candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker have been advocating for similar platforms for years. Buttigieg renewed his call for a federal minimum wage in the plan of $15 an hour, taking it a step further by indexing "the federal minimum wage to median wage growth so that moving forward, both workers and employers know with certainty what it will be in the years to come." A similar minimum wage bill, the Raise Wage Act, passed in the House of Representatives last week. | Vanessa Yurkevich | http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/Hcg-nPLS5OI/index.html | 2019-07-26 11:02:45+00:00 | 1,564,153,365 | 1,567,535,744 | labour | employment legislation |
106,355 | cnn--2019-08-22--Beto ORourke rolls out new plan to protect workers rights | 2019-08-22T00:00:00 | cnn | Beto O'Rourke rolls out new plan to protect workers' rights | "We need to be there for workers across this country who have always been the engine of our economy," the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said, a day after speaking at the Iowa AFL-CIO Convention. "We need to keep up the fight for $15 an hour to ensure that one job is enough -- and no one needs to work a second or third job to support themselves and their families. Only then can we build an economy that finally works for everyone in this country." Under O'Rourke's "21st Century Labor Contract," workers will be able to join a union if they so wish, get paid a living wage no matter the industry, will not need to work a second or third job to provide for a family, will not be face discrimination in the job search process, will have access to job training and will have access to a fair labor market. In a Medium post from O'Rourke's campaign , this plan is highlighted as "a new contract between workers, employers, and the federal government," ensuring that any worker who wants can form a union and those who are not members will experience many of the same protections a union provides such as overtime and paid sick days. O'Rourke has made raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour a staple of his stump speech on the trail throughout the duration of his campaign and he includes this policy proposal in this plan, as well as signing the Paycheck Fairness Act, which passed the House of Representatives this year. He also issuing his plan to call for free community college so students, including undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children, can receive occupation training to enter the workforce. Additionally, the plan laid out by O'Rourke calls for protecting LGBTQ workers from discrimination, protecting workers lacking immigration status from retaliation and threats by employers, ensuring seven days of sick leave per year, banning non-compete agreements and using federal health care spending as a lever to raise wages for health and long-term care workers. O'Rourke's trip to Iowa this week was his first since rebooting his campaign after the mass shooting on August 3 in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, where a gunman who police say posted a screed online that warned of a "Hispanic invasion" killed 22 people at a Walmart. Since the shooting, O'Rourke has rolled out a new plan to combat gun violence and white nationalism in America, and has visited towns in southern states affected by the Trump administration's policies, including two stops in Mississippi to offer support to immigrant families affected by ICE raids at several processing plants in the state. | Caroline Kenny | http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/EdlGobFA3Y8/index.html | 2019-08-22 14:38:45+00:00 | 1,566,499,125 | 1,567,533,747 | labour | employment legislation |
113,887 | cnsnews--2019-07-26--Hector Barreto Slams NYC Mayor Bill de Blasios Workers Bill of Rights As Small Business Killer | 2019-07-26T00:00:00 | cnsnews | Hector Barreto Slams NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio's 'Worker's Bill of Rights' As Small Business 'Killer' | July 26, 2019 | 11:28 AM EDT #### Sponsored Links | null | https://www.cnsnews.com/video/hector-barreto-slams-nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasios-workers-bill-rights-small-business-killer | 2019-07-26 15:28:00+00:00 | 1,564,169,280 | 1,567,535,690 | labour | employment legislation |
162,253 | eveningstandard--2019-01-30--Snow and work rights Are you legally entitled to time off Whataposs the snow day policy for empl | 2019-01-30T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | Snow and work rights: Are you legally entitled to time off? What's the snow day policy for employees in the UK? | Brits have been warned to expect "very significant snowfall" this week with yellow weather warnings covering the majority of the UK. Temperatures are expected to plunge to minus 10 degrees in parts as a bitterly cold snap grips vast swathes of the country, the Met Office has warned. And a weather system forecast to arrive on Thursday could break this winter's current record low, meaning you could struggle to get into work. The freezing weather could also even force your place of work to close, while schools up and down the country have had to shut due to the harsh conditions. So what are your rights as an employee if you find yourself unable to get into work this week? The Standard takes a look. According to Gov.co.uk: “If the workplace is closed because of disruption and the employee doesn’t usually work from home, employers can’t usually deduct pay.” However your company could ask you to work from another work place, or ask you to work from home instead. You must also check to see if your contract has a provision for unpaid lay-off while if you are on a zero hours contract your employee may not have to pay you. If your office is open but your child’s school is closed, or your childcare arrangement are otherwise disrupted due to snow, then you are legally entitled to take time off. This is because is is considered an official emergency by the government, although it will be up to your employer as to whether you get paid or not. The website states that an employee "could have the right for time off" to look after their child but this needs to be agreed with their employer. Because it's your responsibility to get into work, employees are not automatically entitled to pay if they’re unable to get to work because of bad weather. This means your employer has the right to view this as an unauthorised absence, ask you to work from home or even take it as annual leave. Acas says that all employers will be different and offer alternative suggestions such as swapping shifts, flexible working hours or allowing employees to come in a bit later. So who knows, a snow day could be right around the corner... if this weather continues, of course. | Laura Hampson, Tom Herbert | https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/snow-day-work-rights-time-off-employees-uk-weather-forecast-a4052786.html | 2019-01-30 12:24:00+00:00 | 1,548,869,040 | 1,567,550,220 | labour | employment legislation |
162,253 | eveningstandard--2019-01-30--Snow and work rights Are you legally entitled to time off Whataposs the snow day policy for empl | 2019-01-30T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | Snow and work rights: Are you legally entitled to time off? What's the snow day policy for employees in the UK? | Brits have been warned to expect "very significant snowfall" this week with yellow weather warnings covering the majority of the UK. Temperatures are expected to plunge to minus 10 degrees in parts as a bitterly cold snap grips vast swathes of the country, the Met Office has warned. And a weather system forecast to arrive on Thursday could break this winter's current record low, meaning you could struggle to get into work. The freezing weather could also even force your place of work to close, while schools up and down the country have had to shut due to the harsh conditions. So what are your rights as an employee if you find yourself unable to get into work this week? The Standard takes a look. According to Gov.co.uk: “If the workplace is closed because of disruption and the employee doesn’t usually work from home, employers can’t usually deduct pay.” However your company could ask you to work from another work place, or ask you to work from home instead. You must also check to see if your contract has a provision for unpaid lay-off while if you are on a zero hours contract your employee may not have to pay you. If your office is open but your child’s school is closed, or your childcare arrangement are otherwise disrupted due to snow, then you are legally entitled to take time off. This is because is is considered an official emergency by the government, although it will be up to your employer as to whether you get paid or not. The website states that an employee "could have the right for time off" to look after their child but this needs to be agreed with their employer. Because it's your responsibility to get into work, employees are not automatically entitled to pay if they’re unable to get to work because of bad weather. This means your employer has the right to view this as an unauthorised absence, ask you to work from home or even take it as annual leave. Acas says that all employers will be different and offer alternative suggestions such as swapping shifts, flexible working hours or allowing employees to come in a bit later. So who knows, a snow day could be right around the corner... if this weather continues, of course. | Laura Hampson, Tom Herbert | https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/snow-day-work-rights-time-off-employees-uk-weather-forecast-a4052786.html | 2019-01-30 12:24:00+00:00 | 1,548,869,040 | 1,567,550,220 | labour | labour relations |
184,291 | eveningstandard--2019-09-10--Jeremy Corbyn promises aposbiggest workersapos rights extension in the UK everapos | 2019-09-10T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | Jeremy Corbyn promises 'biggest workers' rights extension in the UK ever' | Jeremy Corbyn today alarmed business leaders by promising the biggest boost to trade union powers since the Seventies. Addressing the Trades Union Congress in Brighton, Labour’s leader announced plans to scrap anti-strike laws, hand unions more say over pay and conditions, plus set up a new agency to inspect and prosecute firms accused of undermining workplace standards. “The next Labour government will bring about the biggest extension of rights for workers that our country has ever seen,” he declared. In language redolent of class warfare, Mr Corbyn promised to lead a “real battle against the born-to-rule establishment that [Boris] Johnson represents”. The union wishlist comes as Labour is forced to rely more heavily on trade union donations to raise money to fight the looming general election, such as £488,000 from the Unite union in the second quarter of 2019. Mr Corbyn also confirmed plans to ban unpaid internships, raise agency staff pay to the same as full-timers, extend rights to people currently counted as self-employed and bring in a £10-an-hour living wage. | JOE MURPHY | https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy-corbyn-promises-biggest-workers-rights-extension-in-the-uk-ever-a4233121.html | 2019-09-10 09:41:00+00:00 | 1,568,122,860 | 1,569,330,535 | labour | employment legislation |
204,777 | fortune--2019-07-19--A New Bill of Rights for Domestic Workers Will Let Them Finally Bargain Collectively | 2019-07-19T00:00:00 | fortune | A New ‘Bill of Rights’ for Domestic Workers Will Let Them Finally Bargain Collectively | Domestic workers—including house cleaners, nannies, and homecare workers—are among the lowest paid in the country. Most earn median wages of around $10 per hour, and only 12% receive health benefits. They also commonly navigate employment with unstable schedules, variable hours, and little job security. Not only is this a problem for the domestic workers themselves, who are overwhelmingly women of color, but also for those in need of their services—such difficult working conditions will only contribute to the significant workforce shortage as the country ages. A recently introduced bill, however, would take major steps to improve conditions for domestic workers and address these shortcomings. The National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, introduced by Sen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, is noteworthy for a number of reasons. First, it would end the unfair—not to mention historically racist—exclusion of domestic workers from federal laws, ensuring these workers are protected from discrimination and have a safe workplace. Second, and as importantly, the legislation takes an innovative approach to raising standards that is well-suited to domestic work and may also provide a model for other types of jobs that increasingly resemble domestic work. The bill includes more modern workplace protections, such as requiring fair scheduling practices that ensure workers don’t lose pay due to last minute cancellations, and critically, creates a wage and standards board where workers, employers, and the public come together to discuss wages, benefits, and working conditions. In an industry like domestic work, workers have a hard time engaging in traditional collective bargaining—a task made even more difficult because their work is often solitary. This is further complicated because rather than a traditional worksite, the primary place of work is a home, with each worker laboring for a different employer at a different worksite, and often for multiple employers throughout the week. This also means that the employers are fundamentally different from traditional employers: they are households that employ someone not as part of a typical business but rather in addition to their regular jobs and are not accustomed to evaluating labor market conditions and bargaining with a group of workers. What’s more, domestic workers are often quite vulnerable, with few other options in the labor market, and thus particularly fear retaliation if they try to organize or bargain for better working conditions. And because most domestic workers have long been excluded from the National Labor Relations Act, the keystone of modern labor law that legally protects workers’ right to form a union, they don’t have much of a history of collective bargaining upon which to build. Taken together, this means that a different type of structure for bargaining is needed. That’s why the wage and standards board introduced by the bill would be a major advancement. Such a board would create a forum to recommend standards for the industry—which can help improve job quality and help ensure that consumers are able to receive the kind of stable, quality care that they need by ensuring that enough workers want to work in the industry. The wage and standards board will help lift domestic work above the bare minimum and make it a career that workers want because it provides a centralized location to discuss recommendations for higher standards, thus promoting the health, safety, financial security, and well-being of domestic workers. Without the board, these negotiations would not happen. The board would also be able to tailor its recommendations to the specific and sometimes changing needs of employers and workers in the industry—and thus can produce better solutions than a pure mandate would. Such a board can also provide a model for other industries where traditional collective bargaining is particularly difficult, especially with the rise of the gig economy. Indeed, domestic work can be considered the “original” gig work as workers often need to piece together full-time employment from multiple poorly-paid jobs to make ends meet, each with minimal benefits or job security. As the U.S. continues down a path of rapidly rising income inequality in the labor market, the trend of insecure employment for domestic workers may just be a prologue for what awaits many more workers in other industries. That’s why the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is an essential step forward. It presents a historic opportunity to improve the working conditions for millions of workers in an industry that may be a bellwether for millions more in the casualized labor market. David Madland is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Adam Stromme is an assistant at the Center. —Bernie Sanders: America is drowning in student debt. Here’s my plan to end it —Ex-Apple CEO John Sculley: Why sensors are the future of health care tech Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily | tamaraelwaylly | https://fortune.com/2019/07/19/domestic-workers-bill-of-rights/ | 2019-07-19 15:12:29+00:00 | 1,563,563,549 | 1,567,536,404 | labour | employment legislation |
226,182 | fusion--2019-01-30--Interview Emmanuel Leal discusses immigrant low wage workers rights in New Mexico | 2019-01-30T00:00:00 | fusion | Interview: Emmanuel Leal discusses immigrant low wage workers rights in New Mexico | Emmanuel Leal, Communications Coordinator of “Somos un Pueblo Unido” discusses low wage immigrant worries, such as ICE informants, access to State IDs, and raising the state’s minimum wage. | Fusion | https://fusion.tv/video/591801/interview-emmanuel-leal-discusses-immigrant-low-wage-workers-rights-in-new-mexico/ | 2019-01-30 00:15:04+00:00 | 1,548,825,304 | 1,567,550,249 | labour | employment legislation |
230,808 | globalresearch--2019-09-03--Workers Need More Rights and Economic Democracy | 2019-09-03T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Workers Need More Rights and Economic Democracy | It is good to see labor rising with teacher and other strikes increasing across the country and with the US public showing its highest support for unions in decades. The next president should harness the energy of working people and build political power for a transformation agenda for working people who have not gotten a real raise in decades, while executives and investors have been getting rich off of higher rates of exploitation with increased productivity and globalized markets and corporate-managed trade deals that enable global corporations to pit the working classes of different countries against each other in a race to the bottom. The centerpiece of my campaign for president is an ecosocialist Green New Deal. Responding to the climate crisis is going to require changes to many sectors of the economy. We need to create a new democratic and ecological economy. We must define this economy with the rights of workers in mind, not only their right to collective bargaining but the need to make workers into owners to end the capitalist crisis highlighted by the reality that three people have wealth equal to 50 percent of the population. We need social and cooperative ownership where workers receive the full value of their labor. Now we are exploited. We get a fixed wage and all the surplus value we create with our work in taken by capitalists as profits simply because they own the company, not because they did any work. The Green New Deal requires the United States to reconstruct all economic sectors for ecological sustainability, from agriculture and manufacturing to housing and transportation. This means millions of new jobs in a democratized economy where some sectors are nationalized, others are controlled by state and municipal government and more are re-made into cooperatives that are worker-owned. A Green New Deal must include a Just Transition, which means income to compensate all workers whose jobs are eliminated by steps taken to protect the environment. Displaced workers should be guaranteed up to five years of their previous income and benefits as they make the transition to alternative work. As part of the Green New Deal, I am calling for an Economic Bill of Rights, which includes a job guarantee and a guaranteed minimum income above poverty for all. The housing crisis will be alleviated with the institution of universal rent control and expansion of public housing in walkable communities with access to regional mass transit. Air and water pollution will be relieved by putting in place a 100% electrified transportation system emphasizing freight rails, high-speed inter-city rails, and urban light-rail mass transit, with electric powered cars and trucks where they are still needed. A crash program of federal government investment and public enterprises to rebuild our economy for zero greenhouse gas emissions and 100% clean energy by 2030 will create will create full employment and shared prosperity. But not everyone is able to work. And some things should by human rights, not commodities you can only get if you have enough money. That’s why we need a social safety net of social services funded publicly, not privately out of pocket. That means a national health service for universal health care, lifelong free public education, student debt relief, and a secure retirement by doubling Social Security benefits. The ecosocialist Green New Deal is a plan to remake the economy so that it serves the people and protects the ecology and the climate. Those objectives require a socialist economic democracy so that we the people–not big business interests–have the power to choose economic justice and ecological sanity. In addition to changes coming as a result of putting in place an ecosocialist Green New Deal, we need are immediate labor law reforms. Repeal Repressive Labor Laws: Repeal the sections of the Taft-Hartley Act, the Landrum-Griffin Act, the Hatch Act, and state “Right-To-Work” laws that have crippled labor’s ability to organize by outlawing or severely restricting labor’s basic organizing tools: strikes, boycotts, pickets, and political action. This should include putting in place Card Check which extends union bargaining status to majority sign-up or card-check recognition. A Workers’ Bill of Rights: Enact a set of legally enforceable civil rights, independent of collective bargaining. This should include: (1) Extending the Bill of Rights protections of free speech, association, and assembly into all workplaces. (2) Establishes workers’ rights to living wages, portable pensions, information about chemicals used, report labor and environmental violations, refuse unsafe work, and participate in enterprise governance. OSHA must be funded adequately to protest workers and communities and workers empowered to enforce safety and health regulations. Retirement should include a mandatory system of Guaranteed Retirement Accounts that provide a return of at least 3 percent above inflation guaranteed by the federal government. (3) Establishes workers’ rights to freedom from discharge at will, employer search and seizure in the workplace, sexual harassment, and unequal pay for work of comparable worth. These rights should ensure that workers can take legal action to stop wage theft. In addition to a living wage, workers should have subsidized, high quality child care and elder care. Workers should receive six week of paid vacation annually in addition to federal holidays. For every seven years worked, they should receive one year of paid educational leave and one year of parental leave for each child with no loss of seniority. Employer Accountability: There must be strong and speedy penalties for employers who break labor laws. In addition, federal law needs to ban striker replacements provide, triple back pay for illegally locked-out workers, and there must be unemployment compensation for striking and locked-out workers. Labor Law Protections for Farmworkers: Extend to farmworkers the same rights under labor law as other workers, including A Day of Rest, Overtime Pay, Collective Bargaining Protections, Disability Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, Child Labor Protections, and Occupational Safety and Health Standards. Labor Law Protections for Prisoners: Enact legislation to end the super-exploitation of prison labor at pennies per hour, which undercuts the wages of workers outside the prison system. The prison labor system as it exists now is akin to slavery and the prison labor camps in other authoritarian countries. Work done by prisoners can be part of rehabilitation and enable prisoners to acquire job skills, support their families, and have savings upon release. Work done by prisoners for private contractors and for public works and services should be paid prevailing wages. Prison workers should have all the protections of labor law, including the right to organize unions. Fair Trade. Trade deals should be rewritten to uplift labor and environmental standards across borders. Fair trade pacts should eliminate secretive trade tribunals to which only governments and corporations have access. Trade disputes should be adjudicated in public courts to which workers, unions, and public have access. It is time to correct the decades of diminishing worker rights and shrinking unions as well as low-pay. The United States is about to begin a transformation to a clean, sustainable energy future. The new economy we create must prioritize the rights of workers to create an economy that works for the 99 percent, not just the 1 percent. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. | Howie Hawkins | https://www.globalresearch.ca/workers-need-more-rights-economic-democracy/5687821 | 2019-09-03 03:44:52+00:00 | 1,567,496,692 | 1,569,331,557 | labour | employment legislation |
234,444 | hitandrun--2019-04-29--Harris Wants to Ban Right-to-Work Laws Chooses Union Endorsements Over Worker Well-Being Reason Ro | 2019-04-29T00:00:00 | hitandrun | Harris Wants to Ban Right-to-Work Laws, Chooses Union Endorsements Over Worker Well-Being: Reason Roundup | Kamala Harris wants to make absolutely sure that we know she's an authoritarian. Fresh off announcing that as president she would override Congress to get her way on gun policy, the Democratic senator from California and 2020 presidential hopeful said she would use executive power to push for bans on state laws she opposes, too. Speaking to a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) gathering on Saturday, Harris spoke of the need for "banning right-to-work laws" that nearly half of states have enacted and how, as president, she would use both her "bully pulpit" and "executive authority" to accomplish that. Right-to-work laws are often framed by Democrats as an anti-worker policy. In fact, all they say is that employees can't be told to join a union or pay union fees as a condition of employment. They're still welcome to do so; they just have to make that choice for themselves. In the topsy-turvy world of Harris and other Democrats, however, giving workers options is no good. If elite forces in Washington think workers would be better off joining unions, then they're just going to override the will of individual employees and state governments across the country. Do as they say! Or else! For your own good. Sure, some low-income workers might think their hard-earned dollars are better spent on securing immediate material well-being for them and their families. But Harris thinks their dollars would be better off with a massive and bloated international organization that can help her presidential campaign. I mean, have you seen SEIU's massive mansion across the street from the White House? How could any group so swampy be wrong? Right to work is a bugbear to union leaders because it crimps their finances for political spending, and Ms. Harris is eager to get the endorsement of the SEIU and other major unions. Her first big policy proposal, unveiled in March, would have the feds give teachers across the country an average pay raise of $13,500 a year. That payoff to the teachers unions would cost federal taxpayers some $315 billion over 10 years, not including what states would have to contribute to qualify for these Harris Grants. The big story of the 2020 campaign so far is the Democratic Party's lurch to the left, and Ms. Harris's pitch against right to work is evidence that her goal is entrenching union power rather than assisting workers. Several years ago, Reason ran a series of articles on whether libertarians should support right-to-work laws. Here's Shikha Dalmia making that case that yes, "right to work laws are indeed libertarian." Meanwhile, contributors Sheldon Richman and J.D. Tuccille make a libertarian case against right-to-work laws, arguing that they interfere with freedom of contract, here and here. The state's presence was minimal, and villagers sustained themselves through farming and remittances from relatives working in the Persian Gulf. Even in retrospect, nothing in those days indicated that my home province would become the main transit hub for jihadists moving from Syria into Iraq after the 2003 invasion, or the site of the Islamic State's final battle as a caliphate. Now Hassan struggles "to connect images from my past with the reality of today," he writes in The Atlantic. Read the whole thing here. | Elizabeth Nolan Brown ([email protected]) | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reason/HitandRun/~3/WKFsjxh4_Kk/ | 2019-04-29 13:30:39+00:00 | 1,556,559,039 | 1,567,541,738 | labour | employment legislation |
234,444 | hitandrun--2019-04-29--Harris Wants to Ban Right-to-Work Laws Chooses Union Endorsements Over Worker Well-Being Reason Ro | 2019-04-29T00:00:00 | hitandrun | Harris Wants to Ban Right-to-Work Laws, Chooses Union Endorsements Over Worker Well-Being: Reason Roundup | Kamala Harris wants to make absolutely sure that we know she's an authoritarian. Fresh off announcing that as president she would override Congress to get her way on gun policy, the Democratic senator from California and 2020 presidential hopeful said she would use executive power to push for bans on state laws she opposes, too. Speaking to a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) gathering on Saturday, Harris spoke of the need for "banning right-to-work laws" that nearly half of states have enacted and how, as president, she would use both her "bully pulpit" and "executive authority" to accomplish that. Right-to-work laws are often framed by Democrats as an anti-worker policy. In fact, all they say is that employees can't be told to join a union or pay union fees as a condition of employment. They're still welcome to do so; they just have to make that choice for themselves. In the topsy-turvy world of Harris and other Democrats, however, giving workers options is no good. If elite forces in Washington think workers would be better off joining unions, then they're just going to override the will of individual employees and state governments across the country. Do as they say! Or else! For your own good. Sure, some low-income workers might think their hard-earned dollars are better spent on securing immediate material well-being for them and their families. But Harris thinks their dollars would be better off with a massive and bloated international organization that can help her presidential campaign. I mean, have you seen SEIU's massive mansion across the street from the White House? How could any group so swampy be wrong? Right to work is a bugbear to union leaders because it crimps their finances for political spending, and Ms. Harris is eager to get the endorsement of the SEIU and other major unions. Her first big policy proposal, unveiled in March, would have the feds give teachers across the country an average pay raise of $13,500 a year. That payoff to the teachers unions would cost federal taxpayers some $315 billion over 10 years, not including what states would have to contribute to qualify for these Harris Grants. The big story of the 2020 campaign so far is the Democratic Party's lurch to the left, and Ms. Harris's pitch against right to work is evidence that her goal is entrenching union power rather than assisting workers. Several years ago, Reason ran a series of articles on whether libertarians should support right-to-work laws. Here's Shikha Dalmia making that case that yes, "right to work laws are indeed libertarian." Meanwhile, contributors Sheldon Richman and J.D. Tuccille make a libertarian case against right-to-work laws, arguing that they interfere with freedom of contract, here and here. The state's presence was minimal, and villagers sustained themselves through farming and remittances from relatives working in the Persian Gulf. Even in retrospect, nothing in those days indicated that my home province would become the main transit hub for jihadists moving from Syria into Iraq after the 2003 invasion, or the site of the Islamic State's final battle as a caliphate. Now Hassan struggles "to connect images from my past with the reality of today," he writes in The Atlantic. Read the whole thing here. | Elizabeth Nolan Brown ([email protected]) | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reason/HitandRun/~3/WKFsjxh4_Kk/ | 2019-04-29 13:30:39+00:00 | 1,556,559,039 | 1,567,541,738 | labour | labour relations |
234,773 | hitandrun--2019-05-21--The First Amendment Protects the Right to Work as a Tour Guide Says Federal Judge | 2019-05-21T00:00:00 | hitandrun | The First Amendment Protects the Right to Work as a Tour Guide, Says Federal Judge | Telling stories for money should not require a government test and license in a country with a First Amendment, a federal judge in Georgia has ruled. The decision came as a result of a lawsuit challenging Savannah, Georgia's past attempts to force tour guides to pay fees, pass tests, and get licenses before taking people around the city and saying things to them. Judge William T. Moore, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, in his decision in Freenor v. Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah, issued yesterday, concluded that the city had offered no reasonable justifications for its tour guide licensing scheme. Savannah actually repealed the challenged law back in 2015, after the Institute for Justice (I.J.) filed this suit in 2014, but the case was not mooted by the law's repeal since the suing tour guides and would-be tour guides also sought compensatory damages for harms that the law caused when it still existed. A press release from I.J. spells out the pointlessness of the unconstitutional requirements which Savannah first put in place in 1978: "Tour guides who wanted this storytelling license had to pass a hundred-question multiple choice exam on Savannah history—even if they had no interest in discussing history on their tours. For instance, some tour guides focus on art and architecture or tell ghost stories." Along with the written test, licensed tour guides also needed to pass a criminal background check and to provide notes from licensed physicians certifying their fitness to work as tour guides. I.J. celebrates that this week's Georgia decision continues a national trend toward squashing these sorts of unconstitutional occupational licensing laws: Judge Moore found that the city's claims of any threat to the safety or enjoyment of tourists from improperly tested tour guides were not proven, nor were any provable harms prevented by a criminal background check that was also part of the tour guide licensing scheme. "Ultimately, a handful of anecdotes is not sufficient to sustain the city's burden to demonstrate that the tour guide licensing scheme actually serves its interests," Moore wrote. | Brian Doherty ([email protected]) | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reason/HitandRun/~3/4qeqMNzc8N4/ | 2019-05-21 21:55:55+00:00 | 1,558,490,155 | 1,567,540,280 | labour | employment legislation |
240,625 | hotair--2019-07-24--De Blasio unveils workers bill of rights and its really something | 2019-07-24T00:00:00 | hotair | De Blasio unveils workers’ bill of rights and it’s really… something | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio may be ringing up literally zero in any number of primary polls and he’s facing calls to be removed from his office back home, but you have to give the guy credit for staying in the box and swinging for the fences. He held several campaign events in Washington yesterday and during one appearance with labor union officials, he unveiled his latest policy proposal. It’s a “workers’ bill of rights” and you can tell precisely which members of the choir he’s singing to. It’s packed full of goodies that labor unions will love, plenty of free stuff for all his friends and unfunded debt as far as the eye can see. (Politico) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled the first major policy proposal of his struggling presidential campaign Tuesday, heading to the nation’s capital to lay out a “workers’ bill of rights” at a union headquarters. The proposal, which he unveiled in a BuzzFeed op-ed earlier in the day, includes two weeks of paid time off for all workers, a national $15 minimum wage and stronger protections from terminations. “If you care about beating Donald Trump, working people are not going to come out and vote unless they believe it’ll actually change their lives,” de Blasio told a small crowd gathered for his event at the Communications Workers of America’s office in Washington, D.C. This proposal is a transparent sop to the labor unions and it’s the same thing that nearly every Democrat in the race is doing. The unions largely fund their campaigns, so that makes sense, but Hizzoner is going way over the top in a (likely fruitless) attempt to win some union endorsements. But since some of his more viable opponents will probably adopt some of the same positions, it’s worth taking a look. The fact that he wants a federal minimum wage of fifteen dollars per hour is the same as everyone else on the debate stage, so we can set that one aside. More interesting is the idea of scrapping “at will” employment and replacing it with “just cause.” That means that employers will have to be able to justify a decision to terminate employees in every instance. Having this sort of granular intrusion into employment decisions leads to two unavoidable results. Employers will be more cautious and slow in hiring because they’ll fear getting stuck with a dud of an employee. They will also be open to endless litigation whenever a disgruntled worker decides to go to court after losing their job. In the real world, hiring and termination decisions are hard enough without Big Brother holding a gun to your head. He’s also calling for retirement benefits for all workers, including those in minimum wage jobs, freelancers and gig economy workers like Uber drivers. Can you imagine forcing McDonald’s franchises to set up pension funds for the kids operating the fry machine? A Big Mac would cost about twenty bucks. It would also exacerbate the unfunded pension crisis already plaguing many sectors around the nation. There’s plenty more in there you can read for yourself, but it’s all basically one big gift wrapped up with a bow, being delivered in an effort to get some of the unions to endorse his candidacy. Unfortunately for the Mayor, the unions have two dozen other candidates to pick from, some with far better prospects of success, and they’re all willing to heap treasures upon them in exchange for their support. | Jazz Shaw | https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2019/07/24/de-blasio-unveils-workers-bill-rights-really-something/ | 2019-07-24 14:41:55+00:00 | 1,563,993,715 | 1,567,535,992 | labour | employment legislation |
3,644 | abcnews--2019-12-30--Uber, Postmates sue to challenge California's new labor law | 2019-12-30T00:00:00 | abcnews | Uber, Postmates sue to challenge California's new labor law | SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Ride-share company Uber and on-demand meal delivery service Postmates sued Monday to block a broad new California law aimed at giving wage and benefit protections to people who work as independent contractors. The lawsuit filed in U.S. court in Los Angeles argues that the law set to take effect Wednesday violates federal and state constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Uber said it will try to link the lawsuit to another legal challenge filed in mid-December by associations representing freelance writers and photographers. The California Trucking Association filed the first challenge to the law in November on behalf of independent truckers. The law creates the nation's strictest test by which workers must be considered employees and it could set a precedent for other states. The latest challenge includes two independent workers who wrote about their concerns with the new law. “This has thrown my life and the lives of more than a hundred=thousand drivers into uncertainty,” ride-share driver Lydia Olson's wrote in a Facebook post cited by Uber. Postmates driver Miguel Perez called on-demand work “a blessing” in a letter distributed by Uber. He said he used to drive a truck for 14 hours at a time, often overnight. “Sometimes, when I was behind the wheel, with an endless shift stretching out ahead of me like the open road, I daydreamed about a different kind of job -- a job where I could choose when, where and how much I worked and still make enough money to feed my family," he wrote. The lawsuit contends that the law exempts some industries but includes ride-share and delivery companies without a rational basis for distinguishing between them. It alleges that the law also infringes on workers' rights to choose how they make a living and could void their existing contracts. Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego countered that she wrote the law to extend employee rights to more than a million California workers who lack benefits, including a minimum wage, mileage reimbursements, paid sick leave, medical coverage and disability pay for on-the-job injuries. She noted that Uber had previously sought an exemption when lawmakers were crafting the law, then said it would defend its existing labor model from legal challenges. It joined Lyft and DoorDash in a vow to each spend $30 million to overturn the law at the ballot box in 2020 if they don’t win concessions from lawmakers next year. “The one clear thing we know about Uber is they will do anything to try to exempt themselves from state regulations that make us all safer and their driver employees self-sufficient,” Gonzalez said in a statement. "In the meantime, Uber chief executives will continue to become billionaires while too many of their drivers are forced to sleep in their cars.” The new law was a response to a legal ruling last year by the California Supreme Court regarding workers at the delivery company Dynamex. | null | https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/uber-postmates-sue-challenge-californias-labor-law-67993090 | Mon, 30 Dec 2019 22:29:39 -0500 | 1,577,762,979 | 1,577,793,934 | labour | employment legislation |
85,455 | cbsnews--2019-09-02--Labor Day celebrates workers but not everyones winning | 2019-09-02T00:00:00 | cbsnews | Labor Day celebrates workers, but not everyone's winning | Labor Day was created by the labor movement over a century ago to mark the contributions of the American worker. And by a number of measures, the nation's 160 million workers have much to celebrate, with unemployment at a half-century low and jobs in ample supply. But the benefits aren't being enjoyed by everyone. Indeed, a decade after the Great Recession, the labor market has become a story about the haves and the have-nots. Workers at the top of the pile — from corporate executives to engineers and other high-paid specialists, often with tech or business skills — are reaping outsized benefits, such as juicy pay hikes and high incomes. The situation is considerably less rosy for workers without college degrees, who can likely find a job but who may struggle to find full-time work that assures them a middle-class lifestyle. In recent years, wage gains also have been disappointing for the typical worker, falling far short of what economists believe should be the norm given the historically low unemployment rate. "The labor market hasn't reached full employment yet, and there are still workers re-entering the workforce without being coaxed in by large wage increases," said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at employment website Glassdoor. He added, "Despite low unemployment, there's a wide range of structural factors that may be holding down wage growth, like increasing corporate consolidation and the diminishing power of unions." In other words, workers have less bargaining power than they held in previous decades. Partly, that's due to a decades-long slump in union membership, which hit a record low last year. In 2018, participation in a union fell to 10.5% of workers, compared with a peak of almost 40% in the late 1950s. Americans with college degrees. Highly educated workers have fared best, according to a July analysis of wages by the Congressional Budget Office. Workers with a college degree have enjoyed a 9.3% increase in inflation-adjusted wages from 1979 to 2018, compared with a 24.4% inflation-adjusted plunge for those with only a high school degree. Workers with STEM jobs. Jobs for workers with skills in science, technology, engineering and math have grown much faster than non-STEM jobs over the past decade, at 24% compared with 4%, a U.S. Department of Commerce report found in 2017. Wages in the science and tech fields are also accelerating, with STEM workers earning 29% more than non-STEM workers. In 2010, that gap stood at 26%. Women workers. Median wages for women grew almost 26% from 1979 to 2018 (adjusted for inflation), the CBO found. By comparison, median wages for male workers declined 5.1%. A big caveat: Although women are earning more and closing the gender wage gap, they still earn less than their male counterparts. Women earned about 85 cents for every $1 earned by men in 2018, Pew Research noted. Workers with only high school degrees. As noted above, workers with only a high school degree have seen their inflation-adjusted wages fall more than 20% since 1979. That's making it harder for blue-collar workers to maintain their foothold in the middle class. Middle-skill workers in manufacturing and clerical jobs. These workers are among the high-school-educated employees who have seen labor market losses due to outsourcing and automation. Clerical workers and manufacturing workers are among those who have been hard-hit by the phenomenon. "This has limited the opportunities for workers without a college degree to move up the economic ladder," Zhao said. Black workers. Even though the unemployment rate for black Americans has declined since the end of the recession, African-Americans are twice as likely to be unemployed than white workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Black workers are also more likely to be underemployed —meaning they are working in jobs that don't take advantage of their skills — than white workers, EPI said. Despite the uneven labor market, most workers are happier with their jobs and pay than in previous years, according to a recent survey from the Conference Board. Fifty-four percent of workers said they're satisfied with their jobs, an increase of 3 percentage points from a year earlier and the second-biggest increase in the survey's 32-year history. And even if wage growth isn't what it should be, it's still a good time for workers to look for new opportunities. "Right now it's a job-seeker's market, and workers have more agency over where they work and when they seek out opportunities, which gives them more confidence to take risks, find new jobs better aligned with their preferences, and negotiate for better pay and benefits," Zhao said. "When the economy and job market do eventually slow down, workers can't be as choosy." | null | https://www.cbsnews.com/news/labor-day-celebrates-workers-but-not-everyone-is-winning/ | 2019-09-02 11:44:35+00:00 | 1,567,439,075 | 1,569,331,634 | labour | labour market |
290,215 | lifesitenews--2019-11-12--Alberta passes bill to protect conscience rights of pro-life healthcare workers | 2019-11-12T00:00:00 | lifesitenews | Alberta passes bill to protect conscience rights of pro-life healthcare workers | EDMONTON, Alberta, November 11, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — The Alberta United Conservative Party (UCP) passed a private member’s bill on first reading Thursday that protects the conscience rights of healthcare workers and religious organizations who refuse to participate in practices such as abortion or euthanasia. While mainstream media is full of stories warning that Bill 207 will restrict access to abortion and euthanasia, Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Society, lauded the bill as “fabulous.” Introduced by UCP backbencher Dan Williams (Peace River), the Conscience Rights (Health Care Providers) Protection Act reasserts the Charter rights of healthcare professionals to refuse to advise, assist or perform any “medical procedures” — such as abortions, contraception and euthanasia — they object to for personal or religious beliefs, CBC reported. The purpose of the bill is to “protect healthcare providers and religious health care organizations from being subject to a claim for damages based on the exercise of rights under section 2(a) of the Charter,” it reads. It will safeguard physicians “from having to do an act or refer for an act that they consider to be morally wrong,” Schadenberg told LifeSiteNews. A great benefit of the law is that it does not list specific procedures, which allows wide latitude for doctors to conscientiously object to a number of “procedures” based on their religious convictions, he pointed out. Currently, Alberta has a “1-800” number for a health ministry service that will direct patients who are seeking such morally objectionable services as euthanasia or abortion, and that doctors are expected to give to their patients, he said. The bill also extends conscience protection to religious organizations, which the Charter does not, Schadenberg said. The bill passed 36-15 on first reading, with all UCP members present voting for it and all NDP members voting against it. Premier Jason Kenney was not present for the vote. Williams tweeted Thursday about the bill’s first step: However, among media naysayers were Global News talk-show host Charles Adler and Macleans Magazine reporter Jason Markusoff, who tweeted in response: Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid pointed out the conscience rights’ bill “provides immunity from complaint or discipline to health providers that refuse to deal with patients whose needs offend their conscience.” The bill “never uses the word abortion, which makes it potentially wide-reaching. Conscience rights could also be expanded to help for LGBTQ people and assisted death,” opined Braid. Moreover, CBC ran a story Sunday warning the bill could affect access to hormone therapy or medical treatment for transgender individuals. The NDP also claimed the bill is the UCP’s attempt to limit access to abortion, but Williams said last Wednesday that is “absolutely not” the case. “Let me be clear, this bill not only protects freedom of conscience, but it also in no way limits access to healthcare services in the province,” Williams said. The rookie MLA said his bill was a response to the “moral distress” of doctors who believe their conscience rights are under threat, particularly after the Appeal Court of Ontario ruling last May, the CBC reported. The appeal court upheld the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s policy mandating that doctors who conscientiously object to certain medical “procedures” must provide an “effective referral” — that is, for the purposes of the act — to their patients. “There is a real concern. They feel as though within the province, particularly in health care, but in our country at large across all professions and in public, there is an attack on conscientious belief and a diversity of views,” Williams said, as quoted in the CBC. “This legislation is intended only to protect the Charter rights that individuals have and access to all these (medical) services will continue afterwards as before — no changes,” he added. The bill has now been referred to the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills. There are 63 UCP MLAs in the Alberta legislature to the NDP’s 24. | null | https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/alberta-passes-bill-to-protect-conscience-rights-of-pro-life-healthcare-workers | 2019-11-12T01:08:00+00:00 | 1,573,538,880 | 1,573,560,162 | labour | employment legislation |
383,528 | npr--2019-01-28--Merci Suarez Wins Newbery Medal and Hello Lighthouse Draws Caldecott | 2019-01-28T00:00:00 | npr | 'Merci Suárez' Wins Newbery Medal, and 'Hello Lighthouse' Draws Caldecott | Sure, we may be mired in the dark days of winter, but you wouldn't know it by the splash of color that saturated the American Library Association's annual award presentation Monday — from the pastels on the pages of the picture books, to the two bronze medals that represent some of the highest honors in children's literature. Meg Medina's Merci Suárez Changes Gears won this year's Newbery Medal, awarded for the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." Meanwhile, Sophie Blackall's Hello Lighthouse won the Caldecott Medal, which goes to the artist behind the "most distinguished American picture book for children." It is the second Caldecott Medal for Blackall in just four years, as the illustrator also won in 2016 for her work on Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear. The two medals headlined the ALA's Youth Media Awards, the ceremony that regularly crowns the association's midwinter meeting in Seattle, but these awards were by no means the only ones handed out. In fact, more than a dozen other prizes got distributed. That includes the Michael L. Printz Award, which went to Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X for young adult literature; the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for work geared toward beginning readers, which was awarded to Corey R. Tabor's Fox the Tiger; and the Coretta Scott King Awards, which celebrate the best works by African-American authors and illustrators celebrating the black experience. The latter award, which was named for the activist and wife of Martin Luther King Jr., is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To see the full list of winners — of all the many prizes handed out Monday — click this link or just scroll down. You can also check out a glimpse inside the covers of the Caldecott winner, Hello Lighthouse, by scrolling all the way down or just clicking here to make the big jump. Caldecott Medal: Hello Lighthouse, illustrated and written by Sophie Blackall. Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (for "the most distinguished American book for beginning readers"): Fox the Tiger, written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor. Children's Literature Legacy Award (for an author or illustrator whose books "over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences"): Walter Dean Myers. Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media (for "distinguished digital media for an early learning audience"): Play and Learn Science, produced by PBS Kids. Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal (for "the most distinguished informational book"): The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science, by Joyce Sidman. Mildred L. Batchelder Award (for the publisher of the most outstanding books originating in a country other than the U.S. and in a language other than English, later translated and published in the U.S.): The Fox on the Swing, published by Thames & Hudson, written by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė, and translated from Lithuanian by the Translation Bureau. May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award (selecting an honoree "who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children's literature"): Neil Gaiman. Pura Belpré Award (for "a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth"): Michael L. Printz Award (for "the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit"): The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo. Excellence in Nonfiction Award (for "the best nonfiction book published for young adults — ages 12-18"): The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees, by Don Brown. William C. Morris Award (for work "published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature"): Darius the Great is Not Okay, by Adib Khorram. Odyssey Award (for the "best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the U.S."): Sadie, produced by Macmillan Audio, written by Courtney Summers, narrated by Rebecca Soler, Fred Berman, Dan Bittner, Gabra Zackman and more. Margaret A. Edwards Award (for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature"): M.T. Anderson. Coretta Scott King Book Awards (for "books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values"): Stonewall Book Awards (for work of "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience"): Schneider Family Book Award (for "a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences"): Sydney Taylor Book Award (for "outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience"): Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award for Literature (for outstanding "work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage"): | Colin Dwyer | https://www.npr.org/2019/01/28/689260629/merci-suarez-wins-2018-newbery-medal-and-hello-lighthouse-draws-caldecott?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news | 2019-01-28 17:56:15+00:00 | 1,548,716,175 | 1,567,550,582 | human interest | accomplishment |
387,316 | npr--2019-10-10--Simone Biles Wins Fifth All-Around World Championship Medal | 2019-10-10T00:00:00 | npr | Simone Biles Wins Fifth All-Around World Championship Medal | Editor's Note: Earlier, we mistakenly reported that Simone Biles had set a new record for most world championship medals. She is one medal away from tying the record. As of Thursday, Simone Biles is a step closer to being the greatest gymnast ever to have competed in the world championships. Biles won her fifth world all-around title by dominating the field at the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. With the win, she now holds 22 world medals. The 22-year-old is hoping to surpass Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo, who accumulated 23 medals at the world championship stage when he competed during the 1990s. After starting the day needing two medals to tie Scherbo, Biles now needs only one to match him. She'll try to accomplish that in the upcoming individual events, which run through Sunday. Biles competed Thursday in four disciplines against the top 23 gymnasts from the qualifying round. Her combined score was 58.999, earning her the all-around gold by a wide margin of more than 2 points. Xijing Tang of China placed second with 56.899. Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova collected the bronze, with an overall score of 56.399. In last year's competition, Biles won the individual all-around gold medal and scored the most points in the vault and floor events. At this year's championship, Biles placed first in the vault portion of the all-around event with a score of 15.233. She was also first on the balance beam, where she scored 14.633 points. The native of Texas ended the 2019 all-around competition with a bang by placing first on the floor segment, with a score of 14.400 that secured her victory. On Tuesday, Biles led Team USA to their fifth consecutive world title. Athletes and celebrities flocked to Twitter to praise Biles' 2019 performances. Biles has four signature gymnastic moves named after her.Gymnasts must submit it for consideration and successfully land it at a major competition to have a move named after them. Two of those moves, the "Biles II" and the "Biles", were added during Biles's 2019 performances. Despite her record-setting performance at the championships, both Biles and USA Gymnastics expressed disappointment at the points classification the "Biles" was assigned. The FIG Women's Technical Committee said the move was given a lower score in order to dissuade gymnasts from attempting a potentially dangerous maneuver. Paolo Zialcita is an intern on NPR's News Desk. | Paolo Zialcita | https://www.npr.org/2019/10/10/768936414/simone-biles-wins-another-world-championship-medal?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news | Thu, 10 Oct 2019 12:41:00 -0400 | 1,570,725,660 | 1,570,747,454 | human interest | accomplishment |
472,166 | rferl--2019-12-29--Iranian Chess Player Who Refused To Play For His Country Wins Silver Medal At World Championship | 2019-12-29T00:00:00 | rferl | Iranian Chess Player Who Refused To Play For His Country Wins Silver Medal At World Championship | Alireza Firouzja, a top-rated chess player from Iran and the world's No. 2 ranked junior player, has won the silver medal at the World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship in Moscow after competing under the flag of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Firouzja, 16, had decided not to play for his country in an apparent reaction to the Islamic republic’s ban on competing against Israeli players. Iran does not recognize Israel, and Iranian sports teams have employed a policy of not competing against Israelis for the past several decades. “Congratulations to Alireza Firouzja on a fantastic silver medal. And shame on all those who seek to thwart his career,” FIDE Vice President Nigel Short said on Twitter on December 28. There was no immediate reaction from Iranian authorities. Firouzja, widely praised as a chess prodigy, is the second Iranian sports figure in recent months to try to renounce his citizenship over state pressure on Iranian athletes to forego matches with Israeli competitors. In October, Iran was banned from international judo competitions indefinitely over the country's refusal to face Israeli competitors. The decision by the International Judo Federation (IJF) came after Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei said he was pressured to drop out of bouts to avoid facing an Israeli opponent. "Firouzja has made his decision and has told us that he wants to change his nationality," the president of Iran's Chess Federation, Mehrdad Pahlavanzadeh, told the semiofficial news agency Tasnim last week. Firouzja and his father are currently living in France. In April, Iranian media reported that Firouzja had refused to play against an Israeli player in a tournament in Germany. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised athletes who have refused to face opponents from Israel. With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, Reuters, and The Guardian | null | https://www.rferl.org/a/iranian-chess-player-who-refused-to-play-for-his-country-wins-silver-medal-at-world-championship/30349833.html | Sun, 29 Dec 2019 07:18:34 +0000 | 1,577,621,914 | 1,577,623,974 | human interest | accomplishment |
524,401 | sputnik--2019-02-06--Russian Snowboarder Loginov Wins His 2nd Gold Medal at World Championship | 2019-02-06T00:00:00 | sputnik | Russian Snowboarder Loginov Wins His 2nd Gold Medal at World Championship | Dmitry Loginov has won his second gold medal at the championship in two days, beating Slovenian Tim Mastnak. His victory brought Russia its first-ever parallel slalom (PSL) gold at a world championship. "I can't believe it", Loginov said, according to the International Ski Federation website. "I'm only 19. I'm the youngest world champion of all time, and it's just incredible". READ MORE: Some Like It Cold: Best Russian Skiing and Snowboarding Resorts Loginov also became the first snowboarder in history to hold all four of the PGS and PSL junior and world titles simultaneously. | null | https://sputniknews.com/sport/201902061072180717-snowboard-russia-gold/ | 2019-02-06 13:53:00+00:00 | 1,549,479,180 | 1,567,549,487 | human interest | accomplishment |
538,290 | sputnik--2019-07-22--India Hails Golden Girl Hima Das as She Wins 5th Gold Medal in One Month | 2019-07-22T00:00:00 | sputnik | India Hails Golden Girl Hima Das as She Wins 5th Gold Medal in One Month | With the Indian President and Prime Minster leading the nation, celebrities and sports lovers followed their example and showered praise on the young girl from the State of Assam. Other prominent political leaders also heaped praise on the country's young sensation. India’s legendary superstar Amitabh Bachchan described her as the “Pride of India” while other celebs called her ‘The Golden Girl’. Many film personalities took part in hailing the gold medalist. India’s cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who was recently inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, and other cricketers joined the league in congratulating Hima Das. Hima Das, who felt honoured by the outpouring of wishes, said she would continue to work hard to bring laurels for the country. The gold rush began for Das on 2 July at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. The second victory came in women's 200m at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland on 7 July. The third gold medal was at the Kladno Memorial Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic on 13 July. Das clinched her fourth gold at the 200m race at the Tabor Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic on 17 July. She bagged her fifth gold medal at the 400-metre competition with a clock time of 52.09 seconds at the Nove Mesto Grand Prix in the Czech Republic on 20 July. Her fifth medal came with a better time than her previous performance, in which she clocked 52.88 seconds but slower than her personal best that she managed at the 2018 Asian Games with a clock time of 50.79 seconds in a 400m race. | null | https://sputniknews.com/asia/201907221076320343-india-hails-golden-girl-hima-das-as-she-wins-5thgold-medal-in-one-month/ | 2019-07-22 12:57:18+00:00 | 1,563,814,638 | 1,567,536,183 | human interest | accomplishment |
542,481 | sputnik--2019-08-29--Twitterati Cheer Indias Incredible Four Medal Win at WorldSkills Russia | 2019-08-29T00:00:00 | sputnik | Twitterati Cheer India’s Incredible Four Medal Win at WorldSkills Russia | Held in the sports-friendly Russian city of Kazan from 22 to 27 August, the WorldSkills competition is the world’s biggest competition dedicated to excellence in vocational work skills. By securing 13th place out of 63 participating countries, the Indian contingent is winning millions of hearts for its amazing feat in the global competition. The winners received medals at a glittering closing ceremony on Tuesday, which was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The gold medal was clinched by Aswatha Narayan Sanagavarapu in the water technology category. He competed against skilled workers from 11 countries. He was awarded “Best of Nation” out of all Indian competitors present there. Pranav Nutalapati, 17, won silver medal in the web technology category. Sanjoy Pramanik and Shweta Ratanpura, both bagged bronze medals, in jewellery and graphic design technology, respectively. The Indian contingent was the sixth largest at the ceremony; India's competitors also won 15 medallions in various categories, apart from the medals. As Shweta Ratanpura became the first-ever Indian woman to bring laurels to India at WorldSkills Russia, twitterati heaped praise at her feat. India’s acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik congratulated S. Aswatha Narayana for winning India’ s first-ever gold through his sand art at Puri beach in Odisha state. | null | https://sputniknews.com/viral/201908291076669416-twitterati-cheer-indias-incredible-four-medal-win-at-worldskills-russia-/ | 2019-08-29 11:03:00+00:00 | 1,567,090,980 | 1,567,543,591 | human interest | accomplishment |
546,376 | sputnik--2019-10-10--India’s Mary Kom Wins Accolades After Becoming First Female Boxer to Win 8 World Championship Medals | 2019-10-10T00:00:00 | sputnik | India’s Mary Kom Wins Accolades After Becoming First Female Boxer to Win 8 World Championship Medals | By defeating a spirited rival in Colombia's Valencia Victoria, fetching a unanimous 5-0 verdict to make the last-eight stage, Mary Kom (51kg) bettered her own record as the most successful boxer in the history of the marquee tournament. She has assured India of its first medal in the ongoing edition of the premier boxing event. Mary Kom will take on second-seeded Turk Busenaz Cakiroglu in her semifinal bout on Saturday, after a rest day on Friday. Cakiroglu is the reigning European Championships and European Games gold-medallist. She defeated Cai Zongju of China in her quarterfinal bout, just after Mary Kom's impressive victory in Russia. The Boxing Federation of India shared a video on Twitter where Mary hopes to try her best and win the gold medal. Indian Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju also congratulated the boxer on Twitter. Mary Kom won the wholehearted praise of the Twitterati. Entering into this edition, Mary Kom had six golds and a silver in her kitty, but this is the first time, she has secured a world medal in the 51kg category. She had finished as a quarterfinalist in this division in the past. | null | https://sputniknews.com/asia/201910101077010166-indias-mary-kom-wins-accolades-after-becoming-first-female-boxer-to-win-8-world-championship-medals/ | Thu, 10 Oct 2019 15:14:33 +0300 | 1,570,734,873 | 1,570,718,425 | human interest | accomplishment |
563,235 | tass--2019-03-23--Russian figure skaters Sinitsina and Katsalapov win silver medal at World Championships | 2019-03-23T00:00:00 | tass | Russian figure skaters Sinitsina and Katsalapov win silver medal at World Championships | ### Nikita Katsalapov and Victoria Sinitsina © Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS SIATAMA / Japan /, March 23. / TASS /. Russians Viktoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov took second place at the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan. The duo earned a total of 211.76 points for rhythmic and free dance. The French couple Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (222.65) earned the gold medal with 222.65 points, updating the free skate record at 134.23 points, as well as for the total of the program. The bronze medal went to the Americans Madison Hubbel and Zachary Donohue (210.40). Russians Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin placed fourth (208.52). The World Championships in Saitama will end on March 24 with exhibition performances. In other media | null | http://tass.com/sport/1050178 | 2019-03-23 10:12:19+00:00 | 1,553,350,339 | 1,567,545,088 | human interest | accomplishment |
566,799 | tass--2019-06-24--Russian athletes win 21 medals on Day 2 of 2019 European Games in Minsk | 2019-06-24T00:00:00 | tass | Russian athletes win 21 medals on Day 2 of 2019 European Games in Minsk | MINSK, June 24. /TASS/. The Russian national team has reinforced its top position in the overall medals standings after Day 2 of the 2019 European Games in the Belarusian capital of Minsk having won 21 more medals on Sunday. Thirty-eight sets of medals were contested on June 23 and the athletes of the Russian national team grabbed ten gold, five silver and six bronze medals. After two days of the 2019 European Games’ competitions, the Russian team is in the lead packing 19 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze medals. Hosts Belarus are second in the overall medals standings with ten gold, nine silver and 15 bronze medals. They are followed by Ukraine with 17 medals (five gold, six silver and six bronze medals). The 2019 European Games are being held in Minsk, Belarus, between June 21 and 30, bringing together over 3,600 athletes from 50 countries. A total of 199 sets of medals in 15 different sports are up for grabs during the 2019 European Games. The Russian team of athletes in Minsk includes more than 220 athletes. At the previous European Games, hosted by Azerbaijan’s Baku in 2015, the Russian national team won 164 medals (79 golds, 40 silvers and 45 bronzes). | null | https://tass.com/sport/1065181 | 2019-06-24 00:25:43+00:00 | 1,561,350,343 | 1,567,538,289 | human interest | accomplishment |
566,869 | tass--2019-06-25--Russian athletes win five medals on Day 4 of 2019 European Games in Minsk | 2019-06-25T00:00:00 | tass | Russian athletes win five medals on Day 4 of 2019 European Games in Minsk | MINSK, June 25. /TASS/. The Russian national team retains its top position in the overall medals standings after Day 4 of the 2019 European Games in the Belarusian capital city Minsk, having won five more medals. Eight sets of medals were contested on Tuesday. The Russian team won two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. After four days of the 2019 European Games’ competitions, the Russian team is in the lead with 24 gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze medals. Hosts Belarus are second in the overall medals standings, having won 14 gold, 9 silver and 18 bronze medals. They are followed by Georgia with six gold, five silver and nine bronze medals. The 2019 European Games are being held in Minsk, Belarus, between June 21 and 30, bringing together over 3,600 athletes from 50 countries. A total of 199 sets of medals in 15 different sports are up for grabs during the 2019 European Games. The Russian team of athletes in Minsk includes more than 220 athletes. At the previous European Games, hosted by Azerbaijan’s Baku in 2015, the Russian national team won 164 medals (79 golds, 40 silvers and 45 bronzes). | null | https://tass.com/sport/1065548 | 2019-06-25 18:48:18+00:00 | 1,561,502,898 | 1,567,538,149 | human interest | accomplishment |
566,952 | tass--2019-06-26--Russian athletes win ten medals on Day 5 of 2019 European Games | 2019-06-26T00:00:00 | tass | Russian athletes win ten medals on Day 5 of 2019 European Games | MINSK, June 26. /TASS/. The Russian national team retains its top position in the overall medals standings after Day 5 of the 2019 European Games in the Belarusian capital city Minsk, having won ten more medals. Sixteen sets of medals were contested on Wednesday. The Russian team won four gold, two silver and four bronze medals. The Russian team has a total of 28 gold, 15 silver and 20 bronze medals. Hosts Belarus are second in the overall medals standings with 15 gold, 11 silver and 19 bronze medals. They are followed by Georgia with six gold, six silver and ten bronze medals. The 2019 European Games are being held in Minsk, Belarus, between June 21 and 30, bringing together over 3,600 athletes from 50 countries. A total of 199 sets of medals in 15 different sports are up for grabs during the 2019 European Games. The Russian team of athletes in Minsk includes more than 220 athletes. At the previous European Games, hosted by Azerbaijan’s Baku in 2015, the Russian national team won 164 medals (79 golds, 40 silvers and 45 bronzes). | null | https://tass.com/sport/1065780 | 2019-06-26 22:37:35+00:00 | 1,561,603,055 | 1,567,537,997 | human interest | accomplishment |
567,566 | tass--2019-07-06--Russia wins eight medals on second day of Universiade in Naples | 2019-07-06T00:00:00 | tass | Russia wins eight medals on second day of Universiade in Naples | MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Russian athletes won eight medals on the second day of competitions at the Summer Universiade in Italy’s Naples. On Thursday, 16 sets of medals were up for grabs, and the Russian team secured two gold, four silver and two bronze medals. The gold medals were won in swimming by Grigory Tarasevich (Men 100m Backstroke) and in judo wrestling by Evgenii Prokopchuk (Men 73kg). The individual silver medals went to Dmitriy Gusev in fencing (Men Epee Individual) and Kirill Prigoda (swimming, Men 100m Breaststroke). The silver medals in team events were won by Evgeniia Selezneva and Egor Lapin in diving (Mixed 3m Synchronized Springboard) and by Liliia Akhaimova, Tatiana Nabieva and Uliana Perebinosova in artistic gymnastics. Kamila Badurova (Women 63kg) and Natalia Golomidova (Women 57kg) won the bronze in judo wrestling competitions. Russian female basketball team lost 54:75 to Portugal in the final third game of the group stage and finished second in group B. The men’s basketball team defeated Argentina 84:80 in the second game. In rugby sevens, women’s team defeated Argentina 33:0 in the first game of the group stage, the men’s team defeated Romania 33:5. Russian women’s volleyball team began their participation in the tournament by defeating Thailand 3-0 (25:14, 25:15, 25:19). The Japanese team is leading in the overall medal count with seven gold, five silver and one bronze medals, the US team is the runner-up (5-2-2) and China is third (5-2-0). The Universiade in Naples will be wrapped up on July 14. | null | https://tass.com/sport/1067356 | 2019-07-06 00:38:27+00:00 | 1,562,387,907 | 1,567,536,635 | human interest | accomplishment |
571,142 | tass--2019-09-22--Russian boxers win four medals at World Championships in Yekaterinburg | 2019-09-22T00:00:00 | tass | Russian boxers win four medals at World Championships in Yekaterinburg | YEKATERINBURG, September 21. /TASS/. Russian boxers have been placed second in the overall medal table at the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships, completed in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on Saturday. The Russian men’s team won three gold and one bronze medals. Russia’s gold medalist are Andrey Zamkovoy who won in the welterweight category (69 kg), Gleb Bakshi - middleweight (75 kg) and Muslim Gadzhimagomedov - heavyweight (91 kg). Maxim Babanin won the bronze one day earlier when he failed to qualify for the gold medal match in super heavyweight category (over 91 kg). Overall, Uzbekistan finished first in the medal table, having won three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. Kazakhstan came third (1-1-4). The championship was far more successful for Russia than the previous tournament held in German Hamburg. Then, the team won one silver and one bronze medals. The bouts of the championships’ final day went in the same breath, Russian Minister of Sports Pavel Kolobkov told TASS. "I would like to congratulate the Sverdlovsk Region (where Yekaterinburg is situated - TASS) and personally governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev, as well as the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and the Russian Boxing Federation on a great championship. I congratulate our athletes on this great result, this was a true celebration for all boxing fans in Russia. Four hours of bouts passed unnoticed and in one breath. I am certain that all spectators were truly delighted," Kolobkov said. Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation Umar Kremlev announced that gold medalist would be awarded five million rubles ($78,000) and cars. "Coaches had a great tournament, they will also be rewarded. An award for a [boxer’s] gold medal is five million rubles and cars," he said. AIBA lauded the tournament as the best World Championships ever held. "It is great that such an assessment comes at the time of our team’s successful performance," Kremlev added. The competitions in Yekaterinburg was not designated as a qualification tournament for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In view of this, Russian boxers will still have to fight for their Olympic tickets in the spring of 2020. Kremlev said that fans could expect a decent result of the team at the games in Japan. "We could do a little bit better but this is also a great result. We can hope for decent results at the Olympics in Tokyo as well for Russia’s team," he said. | null | https://tass.com/sport/1079258 | 2019-09-22 04:12:39+00:00 | 1,569,139,959 | 1,570,222,488 | human interest | accomplishment |
692,906 | theguardianuk--2019-03-14--Chess England win first major medal in 22 years with silver at world teams | 2019-03-14T00:00:00 | theguardianuk | Chess: England win first major medal in 22 years with silver at world teams | England’s silver medals on Thursday at the World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, were the team’s first of any colour in major competition since 1997. European gold in that year seemed the last hurrah of a generation which had proved itself No 2 to the former Soviet Union. Before that England won bronze at the 1989 world teams and the 1990 Olympiad but then the Berlin Wall came down and new strong chess nations appeared from Eastern Europe and Asia. England proved themselves more consistent than their major rivals, China, India and the US, in Kazakhstan, although the margins were narrow. They were mentally tough, too, often fighting back strongly from dubious mid-session positions. The team captain, Malcolm Pein, said: “We showed in Astana that, although our teams do not receive the official and financial backing of many of our rivals, our resilience and team spirit are second to none.” Expectations at Astana were muted. Only four of England’s six world-class grandmasters were available, the team struggled with heavy colds in the first few days as it was minus 15 outside the playing hall, while Michael Adams, its lynchpin for two decades, was feeling the years at 47 and lost his first two games. However, boards two to four, Luke McShane, David Howell and Gawain Jones, were all in medal-winning form. Tied matches against USA, Russia and India, all major rivals, were followed by convincing wins against the weaker Iran, Egypt and Sweden, with the only defeat coming against China in the penultimate round. The final leading scores were Russia 16 match points (23.5 game points), England 13 (21), China 12 (21), India 11 (22) and USA 11 (20). McShane won the board two gold with 6/9, Jones the board four silver with 5.5/8 and Howell the board three bronze with 6/9. The result has another significance for English chess, which has been dominated by Nigel Short and Adams for three decades. Currently the live ratings show that the England top five, the four in Astana plus Matthew Sadler, are all covered by a mere 14 rating points, with Howell fractionally ahead of Adams. Short, at age 53, has dropped out of the world top 100. Dominance has given way to primus inter pares. Further down the line, the dearth of new potential global level talent is an increasing concern. Jones and Howell in the late 1990s were the last to show clear potential to reach a 2600 rating, the level of the world top 200 and a springboard for further progress. There is an array of initiatives to encourage juniors, from grandmaster coaching for the most promising down to the very popular UK Chess Challenge, which has its early rounds in schools and attracts tens of thousands of boys and girls. But the implicit ceiling for achievement has become lower, so that the talents are satisfied to become a teenage international master or maybe to go for grandmaster norms in a university gap year. Luke McShane’s victory against India was a key moment in his own and the team’s success, and demonstrated the subtleties of equalising then building an advantage with the black pieces. It was a humdrum Giuoco Piano (quiet game) until White’s committal 11 d4?! (Nbd2) gave him an isolated centre pawn. More misjudgments by 23 Ne1?! (Qc2) and 25 Nd3? (Ba5) accentuated the isolated pawn weakness which in turn made his bishop less active than Black’s knight pair. So McShane offered the queen swap 27…Qd5! which White could not accept and left him in real trouble. The end was the simple tactic in this week’s puzzle, but McShane did the spadework far ahead of that. 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d3 Bc5 5 c3 a6 6 a4 d6 7 O-O Ba7 8 b4 O-O 9 Re1 h6 10 h3 Ne7 11 d4?! exd4 12 cxd4 d5 13 exd5 Nexd5 14 b5 axb5 15 axb5 Be6 16 Qb3 Bb6 17 Rxa8 Qxa8 18 Bd2 Ba5 19 Nc3 Bxc3 20 Bxc3 Re8 21 Bd2 Qc8 22 Re5 Qd7 23 Ne1?! Nb6 24 Bxe6 Rxe6 25 Nd3? Rxe5 26 dxe5 Ne4 27 Be3 Qd5! 28 Qc2 Nc4 29 b6 c5 30 e6 (see the puzzle diagram for the finish). 3610: 30...Qxe6! 31 Bxc5? ( 31 Nxc5 is similar, and otherwise White will shortly be two pawns down) Nxc5 32 Nxc5 Qe1+ 33 Kh2 Qe5+ and White resigned 0-1 as Qxc5 follows. | Leonard Barden | https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/14/chess-england-win-first-medal-for-22-years | 2019-03-14 22:44:57+00:00 | 1,552,617,897 | 1,567,546,310 | human interest | accomplishment |
694,309 | theguardianuk--2019-03-22--Chess Englands medallists battle jetlag but rack up six wins in 4NCL | 2019-03-22T00:00:00 | theguardianuk | Chess: England’s medallists battle jetlag but rack up six wins in 4NCL | Forty-eight hours after the world team championship closing ceremony in Astana, Kazakhstan, England’s jet-lagged trio of team silver and individual board medal winners Luke McShane (gold), Gawain Jones (silver) and David Howell (bronze) were in action again in the penultimate weekend of the 4NCL, Britain’s national league. Not conveniently near Heathrow, either – they had a further tiring journey to Telford in the West Midlands. The decorated trio notched up a combined result of six wins in six games. It was a significant feat, since jetlag is well known to affect chess players and another participant at Astana, attempting the same operation in a different European league, lost badly with the comment: “My brain was just useless.” Jones and McShane led the Guildford team which continued its record unbeaten run, now standing at 72 wins and two draws spread over more than six years. Guildford has 8/8 match points, followed by Howell’s Cheddleton squad and chess.com Manx Liberty on 6/8. Manx was level with Guildford in February, but was then beaten by Yorkshire’s White Rose, for whom James Adair scored in this week’s puzzle. The title deciders are at the final league weekend in early May, when Guildford meet both Cheddleton and Manx. The Surrey team is far ahead in tiebreaking game points, so the realistic question is whether well-financed Manx can end Guildford’s mammoth unbeaten run and thus gain a psychological edge for a serious title challenge in 2019-20. Rumour has it that Manx will really go for it and bring in a couple of 2,700-rated elite GMs to outrate Jones and McShane, plus some 2,600s in support. A different question prompted by the England medal trio’s intercontinental dash is why they took such trouble, since their teams won by wide margins anyway. At least part of the answer lies in the bunched live ratings, which show England’s top five – the medal trio plus Michael Adams and Matthew Sadler – covered by a mere 15 rating points between Howell 2,701 at world No 39 and McShane 2,686 at world No 54. The race is on to succeed Nigel Short and Adams as top dog and every rating point counts. McShane’s win below was a classic case of too many early queen moves, here seven of the first 14, by his opponent. White’s homespun plan was intended to dodge the mainline Berlin Wall 5 d4 or 5 Re1, but when the errant queen finally returned to base by 14 Qd2 McShane already had a pleasant position with active bishops and knight. White tried a tactical trick 19 Bxc7 but McShane struck with 20...f5! and 23...Bxg2! comically netting the white queen still recovering at d2 from her early sortie. In theory there was still work to do with rook, knight and pawn for queen, but Black’s active queen soon homed in on the a2 pawn and White resigned due to 34 Ra1 Qa3 35 h4 Qb2 when the queen eats White’s a2 pawn and Black’s own a pawn has a clear run. 3611 1 Bh7+! so that if Kf8 2 Qxh6! gxh6 3 Rxf7 mate. The game ended 1...Kh8 2 Bg6! and Black resigned faced with fxg6 3 Nf7+ and 4 Nxd8. | Leonard Barden | https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/22/chess-england-luke-mcshane-gawain-jones-david-howell-4ncl | 2019-03-22 12:00:07+00:00 | 1,553,270,407 | 1,567,545,261 | human interest | accomplishment |
712,223 | theguardianuk--2019-10-13--Simone Biles wins two more golds and sets world championship medal record | 2019-10-13T00:00:00 | theguardianuk | Simone Biles wins two more golds and sets world championship medal record | Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history on Sunday when she won the beam and floor finals in Stuttgart to take her career tally to 25 medals while Great Britain’s Joe Fraser took a stunning gold medal on the parallel bars. Biles arrived on the final day of competition with gold medals in the team, all-around and vault finals. For most gymnasts that would have been sufficient, but Biles had a point to prove on the balance beam. At the Rio Olympics she took bronze after losing her balance and grabbing hold of the beam, and last year she fell off the beam in the all-around final at the world championships. No matter. This time Biles produced one of the greatest beam routines of her career, taking gold with a score of 15.066 and not a single wobble. The most remarkable part of her enduring success is that, after 25 medals, 19 of them gold, she is only getting better. “It meant a lot because Cecile [Landi, beam coach] has really been working on bringing my confidence back up to where it used to be on the beam,” Biles said. “To go out there and nail the routine, just like I do in practice, it felt really good and I knew she was really proud.” Biles finished her historic championships by winning a fifth gold medal, her highest haul, on her favoured floor exercise. She beamed as she easily landed her triple-double and again as her score read 15.133, a lead of a full point ahead of her compatriot Sunisa Lee. As Biles celebrated her continued improvement, Fraser’s teammates screamed and lifted him into the air after his assured, polished routine on the parallel bars scored 15.000 and edged out Turkey’s Ahmet Onder by .017 points. The gold medal may have been a surprise, but the 20-year-old Fraser’s rise has been coming. At the European championships this spring, he missed out on the all‑around bronze medal by 0.033 points and finished eighth in the men’s all-around final. His victory in Stuttgart marks the first medal for Britain on the apparatus, and perhaps the first of many. Fraser’s gold medal wrapped up two of the greatest days in British gymnastics history. Ellie Downie bounced back after failing to qualify for the all-around final by winning bronze on the vault and Max Whitlock secured his third world championship gold medal on the pommel horse with a score of 15.5. Meanwhile Downie’s sister, the 27-year-old veteran Becky, put behind her years of injuries and heartbreak and near misses by executing her newest, hardest uneven bars routine to win a silver medal. | Tumaini Carayol | https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/13/simone-biles-gymnastics-24th-medal-world-championship-beam-balance-gold | Sun, 13 Oct 2019 14:38:43 GMT | 1,570,991,923 | 1,571,006,783 | human interest | accomplishment |
752,817 | theindependent--2019-03-23--Joshua Buatsi vs Liam Conroy result Rio medallist wins British title with destructive performance | 2019-03-23T00:00:00 | theindependent | Joshua Buatsi vs Liam Conroy result: Rio medallist wins British title with destructive performance | Joshua Buatsi destroyed Liam Conroy in three rounds to capture to British light heavyweight title and enhance his reputation as one of British boxing's future stars. Buatsi, who emerged from the Rio Olympics with bronze, came into the fight off the back of three successive first round knockouts, but was forced to be more measured against Conroy. After proving to be elusive for two rounds, Conroy was sent sprawling in the third after a beautiful right hand connected sweetly. And despite rising to continue, the fight was soon over after a blistering combination from Buatsi spun a now disorientated Conroy to the canvas again. Buatsi had taken time to warm up but once he round his range, he went through Conroy like a whirlwind, validating the considerable hype surrounding his future. Buatsi has the requisite ingredients to become a legitimate star in the sport, and he appears to know it, too, given his outlandish grey and silver shorts with pink trim. His meteoric rise looks set to continue this summer with a place on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Jarrell Miller in New York at Madison Square Garden. But the cool nature of Buatsi still holds him back from announcing such extravagant plans after a mere 10 fights. “Fair play to Conroy for stepping up and he caught me in there," Buatsi said. “There’s still a long way to go but I’m grateful to everybody. I have to thank Eddie [Hearn] as well, who has guided my career.” Hearn added: “We would love him to box at MSG on the Anthony Joshua card. He’s a special talent. "He is so composed and I am very excited about him. And he will have to be very talented because it is a dangerous division.” Keep up to date with all the latest news with expert comment and analysis from our award-winning writers | Jack Rathborn | https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/boxing/joshua-buatsi-vs-liam-conroy-result-charlie-edwards-vs-angel-moreno-news-anthony-joshua-a8837226.html | 2019-03-23 21:34:00+00:00 | 1,553,391,240 | 1,567,545,090 | human interest | accomplishment |
767,258 | theindependent--2019-07-28--World Aquatics Championships Adam Peaty claims third gold medal as Great Britain win 4x100m medley | 2019-07-28T00:00:00 | theindependent | World Aquatics Championships: Adam Peaty claims third gold medal as Great Britain win 4x100m medley relay | Adam Peaty claimed his third gold medal of the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju as Great Britain won the men's 4x100m medley relay. Peaty, who successfully defended his 50m and 100m breaststroke titles earlier in the week, teamed up with Luke Greenbank, James Guy and Duncan Scott to record a thrilling victory over the United States. Scott's storming final freestyle leg helped the British quartet set a new European record of three minutes, 28.10 seconds. After a solid backstroke leg from Greenbank, Peaty took over and unsurprisingly got Britain in front at the next change, but Guy was passed on the butterfly leg by America's Caeleb Dressel and Russia's Andrei Minakov. Scott still trailed at the final turn by 0.84 secs but produced a strong finish to snatch victory, and his split of 46.14s would have broken the world record in a regular 100m freestyle. In the women's race, the British quartet of Georgia Davies, Molly Renshaw, Alys Thomas and Freya Anderson could only finish eighth as the United States took gold in a new world record time of 3m 50.30s. There was also disappointment for Max Litchfield in the men's 400m individual medley and Anna Hopkin in the 50m freestyle as both swimmers finished seventh. | Sports Staff | https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/swimming/adam-peaty-gold-world-aquatics-championships-great-britain-relay-4x100-a9024371.html | 2019-07-28 14:30:00+00:00 | 1,564,338,600 | 1,567,535,533 | human interest | accomplishment |
773,703 | theindependent--2019-10-13--Simone Biles wins floor and beam events to win record 25th world championship medal | 2019-10-13T00:00:00 | theindependent | Simone Biles wins floor and beam events to win record 25th world championship medal | American Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history on Sunday when she won the beam and floor finals to take her career tally to 25 medals. Soon after securing a convincing victory on the beam in Stuttgart to overtake Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record tally of 23 world medals, the 22-year-old Biles successfully defended her floor title to win medal number 25. The four-time Olympic champion is now the owner of 19 gold medals across four championships against 12 for Scherbo, who competed in five world events between 1991 and 1996. Making her final appearance of the week in front of a raucous crowd, Biles wasted no time as she landed a superb triple-twisting double back flip -- known as the Biles II – on her first pass. Biles’s double layout with a half turn -- another skill named after her -- put her out of bounds for a 0.1 penalty but she did enough to post a winning score of 15.133. The Americans took a one-two finish as Sunisa Lee finished with 14.133 for the silver medal, while Russian Angelina Melnikova came third. Earlier, Biles delivered a polished routine on the beam before a full twisting double tuck dismount for an impressive 15.066. Although Biles had twice before won the world beam title, in 2014 and 2015, it has not always been plain sailing for her on the apparatus. Her slip on the landing of a front tucked somersault at the 2016 Rio Olympics meant she had to settle for a bronze in the event. Last year again, she dropped off the beam during the women’s all-around final at the world championships. But she has regained her swagger this week, under the watchful eyes of balance beam coach Cecile Landi, and posted top scores in all four attempts -- qualifying, the team and all-around finals and Sunday’s apparatus final. As another title-winning score was announced in the arena, Biles punched the air in jubilation before joining celebrations with the U.S. team. Last year’s winner Liu Tingting of China took silver with 14.433, while team mate Li Shijia won the bronze. Biles finished her campaign in Stuttgart with five gold medals from six events to mark ideal preparations for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Her barnstorming run included a record fifth all-around gold as well as helping the U.S. to a fifth straight world team title. | Hardik Vyas | https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/simone-biles-world-gymnastics-championships-2019-floor-beam-vitaly-scherbo-a9154231.html | Sun, 13 Oct 2019 14:10:50 GMT | 1,570,990,250 | 1,571,007,469 | human interest | accomplishment |
1,060,069 | unian--2019-02-06--Ukraine wins first ever World Championship medal in snowboarding | 2019-02-06T00:00:00 | unian | Ukraine wins first ever World Championship medal in snowboarding | Ukrainian snowboarder Annamari Dancha became a silver medalist of the FIS Snowboarding World Championship. This is the first ever medal for Ukraine in snowboarding at the world championships. It is worth noting that Dancha had earlier barely made it to TOP 16, securing only the 15th spot. In the decisive round, Dancha showed almost the same result as Switzerland's Julie Zogg; however, she lost her position in the last meters of the race. Another Ukrainian Oleksandra Maliovana, who also took part in these competitions, took the 34th place. | null | https://www.unian.info/society/10435815-ukraine-wins-first-ever-world-championship-medal-in-snowboarding.html | 2019-02-06 10:20:00+00:00 | 1,549,466,400 | 1,567,549,502 | human interest | accomplishment |
72,033 | breitbart--2019-08-22--Donald Trump Awards Medal of Freedom to Boston Celtics Legend Bob Cousy | 2019-08-22T00:00:00 | breitbart | Donald Trump Awards Medal of Freedom to Boston Celtics Legend Bob Cousy | The president awarded the medal in the Oval Office of the White House surrounded by nearly two dozen family and friends. A point guard for the Boston Celtics, Cousy helped win six NBA championships in seven years from 1957-62. “You’re one of the all-time greats in the history of sports — not just basketball — and an inspiration to us all,” Trump said. “And today, America honors and celebrates everything that you have achieved.” Trump spoke at length about Cousy’s legendary performance in the game of basketball and his contributions to his community outside of the court. “If I’d known I was going to be eulogized I would probably have done the only decent thing and died,” Cousy joked. Cousy thanked Trump for the honor, calling him “the most extraordinary president in my lifetime.” West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin attended the ceremony with his wife and Fox News reporter Ed Henry. Speaking about his love for his family, Cousy started choking up with tears. “That’s why you shouldn’t invite old men to the White House. They get emotional.” Cousy said. Trump credited Manchin for reaching out to him about Cousy, after learning that Cousy would be honored to receive the award. Cousy, now 91, admitted in a recent interview that he did not vote for President Trump or Hillary Clinton, but rather Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. But he said that would change in 2020. “This President will definitely have my vote in 2020,” he said. “I simply feel, without getting into the politics of it at all, like many Americans — I agree with some of the things he’s done and disagree with others.” | Charlie Spiering | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/FleEe02vJH0/ | 2019-08-22 22:30:57+00:00 | 1,566,527,457 | 1,567,533,672 | human interest | accomplishment |
75,944 | breitbart--2019-11-18--Trump to Award Jon Voight with National Medal of Arts | 2019-11-18T00:00:00 | breitbart | Trump to Award Jon Voight with National Medal of Arts | President Donald Trump will award the Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight with the National Medal of Arts, the White House announced on Sunday. In a statement, the White House confirmed that Jon Voight, who is one of Trump’s few prominent Hollywood supporters, will be honored at a ceremony later this week for his “exceptional capacity as an actor to portray deeply complex characters.” “Captivating audiences, he has given us insights into the richness of the human mind and heart,” the statement read. Voight, who won the Academy Award for best actor in 1978 for his role as veteran Luke Martin in Coming Home, is a fervent supporter of the president. Earlier this year, the star declared President Trump the “greatest president since Abraham Lincoln.” “Our country is stronger, safer and with more jobs, because our president has made his every move correct,” he said Voight, who is the father of actress Angelina Jolie. “Don’t be fooled by the political left because we are the people of this nation that is witnessing triumph.” In July, Voight went viral as he was captured on camera wiping the rain off of chairs reserved for Gold Star family members who were set to attend President Trump’s Salute to America event on Independence Day. Other individuals to be recognized on Thursday include bluegrass-country singer Allison Krauss, philanthropist Sharon Percy Rockefeller, and The Musicians of the United States Military. “From concert halls to warzones, these extraordinary patriots have inspired and uplifted their fellow Americans over generations with their incredible courage and breathtaking musical talent,” the statement says of the military musicians. | Ben Kew | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/8SvFWPwI5z0/ | Mon, 18 Nov 2019 12:35:46 +0000 | 1,574,098,546 | 1,574,104,089 | human interest | accomplishment |
104,616 | cnn--2019-05-06--Trump awards Medal of Freedom to long-time friend Tiger Woods | 2019-05-06T00:00:00 | cnn | Trump awards Medal of Freedom to long-time friend Tiger Woods | Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump bestowed Tiger Woods with the nation's highest civilian honor , the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on Monday evening in the White House Rose Garden, hailing Woods as a "global symbol of American excellence." The duo shares a love of the game of golf, but both have also risen to unpredictable and spectacular comebacks: Trump from bankruptcy to the presidency; Woods from public shaming following multiple affairs, injuries and a resulting painkiller addiction, to winning this year's Masters. Trump recalled Woods' historic career from 1997 to his 2019 Masters win, including his injuries and miraculous comeback. When the President discussed the 2019 Masters win, he also noted that Woods' run broke television records that day as well. "Congratulations again on your amazing comeback and your amazing life and for giving sports fans everywhere a lifetime of memories," Trump said. Woods received a standing ovation upon the beginning of his remarks. "This has been an unbelievable experience," Woods said, thanking his family, including his late father. The Medal of Freedom recognizes individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors," according to the executive order designating the award. Since taking office, Trump has presented the award to numerous athletes, including Alan Page, Roger Staubach, and a posthumous award to Babe Ruth Trump, who has a long history with Woods, said in a tweet after the Masters that he had congratulated the golfer on the win and his comeback, announcing that he would be giving him the award. "Spoke to @TigerWoods to congratulate him on the great victory he had in yesterday's @TheMasters, & to inform him that because of his incredible Success & Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE, I will be presenting him with the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM!" the tweet said. Woods' career slumped following his divorce and surrounding scandal in late 2009 and early 2010. He lost about $20 million from estimated endorsements after sponsors including Gatorade, AT&T, and Accenture cut ties. After a string of losses in 2011, Woods failed to make the World Golf Ranking's top 50 players list. But one fan who stuck with him: Donald Trump, who supported the embattled golfer in March 2013 via Twitter. While it's entirely up to the President's discretion as to who receives the Medal of Freedom, the choice of Woods, who at 43 is still relatively young compared to other recipients, has raised eyebrows for Trump's business ties to the pro golfer. Trump, an avid golfer, owns courses across the world and frequently hits the links, playing most recently this Saturday at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. His Trump National Doral in Miami has a villa named for Woods. According to The New York Times , Woods celebrated his first Masters win in 1997 at Trump's Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. And, per the Times, Woods is designing a course in Dubai that would be managed by the Trump Organization. Though it was expected to be completed by the end of 2017, it has yet to open, and a spokesman for Woods declined to comment to the Times. The President has played multiple rounds with Woods, including alongside Jack Nicklaus in February at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. "He picks whoever's playing the best and puts himself on their team, and it may -- he may change teams two or three times in a round. It's just fun," he told Fox News, adding, "It's a faux competition but it's just fun. If somebody hits a bad shot, he just tells them, 'Drop another ball, we're out here having fun.' There's no stress in it." For his part, Woods defended his friendly relationship with the President, saying he respects the office. | Betsy Klein | http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/xDGz7HC8YAs/index.html | 2019-05-06 22:45:39+00:00 | 1,557,197,139 | 1,567,541,055 | human interest | accomplishment |
105,306 | cnn--2019-06-20--Trump to award race team owner Roger Penske Medal of Freedom | 2019-06-20T00:00:00 | cnn | Trump to award race team owner Roger Penske Medal of Freedom | Trump called Penske "a great gentleman who has won 18 Indianapolis 500s" and said Penske is "very thrilled to be getting it." "He's very deserving, he's a great gentleman. I've known him a long time and a very brilliant guy," Trump added. Penske, through Team Penske's social media , said in a statement that he was "humbled by the President's acknowledgment of our achievements in business, in motorsports and in our community." "Thank you to President Trump for this special recognition. On behalf of my wife Kathy (Penske), our family and our nearly 65,000 team members worldwide, it will be my privilege to accept this prestigious award," the statement said. The announcement comes a day after Trump awarded economist Arthur Laffer with the Medal of Freedom. The award recognizes "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." NASCAR driver Richard Petty received the award in 1992. Earlier this month, Trump welcomed Penske's racing team to the White House for their most recent Indy 500 win. Penske also attended an April ceremony honoring one of his NASCAR team drivers, Joey Logano, for his NASCAR Cup Series win. During April's ceremony, the President said he's known Penske "for a long time." Trump also called Penske "one of the truly great people of this world -- not only our country; I really mean that -- one of the truly great people of our world." | Maegan Vazquez | http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/mN9moUhVK7A/index.html | 2019-06-20 21:21:03+00:00 | 1,561,080,063 | 1,567,538,609 | human interest | accomplishment |
107,845 | cnn--2019-11-21--Trump awards 8 National Medals of Arts and Humanities | 2019-11-21T00:00:00 | cnn | Trump awards 8 National Medals of Arts and Humanities | Recipients included the chef at the Inn at Little Washington, 27-time Grammy Award-winning musician Alison Krauss, the best-selling novelist James Patterson and Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight. "Great nations produce great thinkers, artists, musicians and scholars who make our world a more beautiful, enlightened and joyful place," Trump said during the awards reception in the East Room. "Each of today's recipients has made outstanding contributions to society, culture and life. They exemplify the genius, talent and creativity of our exceptional nation." The White House announced earlier this week that the President would be awarding four of each medal, with some recipients being recognized as a group, such as the United States Military's musicians and the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank. The medal ceremony was the President's only scheduled public appearance on Thursday, which took place as members of Congress heard from witnesses during the fifth day of the public impeachment hearings . The President did not comment on the impeachment inquiry -- which is examining his alleged abuse of power -- during the East Room ceremony. Voight is an outspoken Trump supporter and Patterson, who published a book co-written with former President Bill Clinton in 2018, is a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago golf club. Trump called both men his friends when delivering remarks at the White House ceremony. There were a few odd moments during the East Room event. Voight at one point when loud music played off cue, began to dance on stage, by himself, in front of the audience and next to the President. And while congratulating author Patterson, Trump admitted he had sold more books than even Trump, though pointed out he hadn't sold more than the Bible. The medals have typically been awarded on an annual basis, but this will be the first time Trump has awarded the medals since taking office in 2017. In 2017, the 16 remaining members of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities resigned in protest of Trump's defense of white nationalists during demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia. The committee, established by then-President Ronald Reagan, was among the ceremonial White House committees tasked with advising the president on arts and humanities issues. | null | http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/8d4ozxuZISQ/index.html | Thu, 21 Nov 2019 21:58:59 GMT | 1,574,391,539 | 1,574,381,397 | human interest | accomplishment |
185,328 | eveningstandard--2019-09-25--World Athletics Championships 2019 Doha medal table and Team GB medallists | 2019-09-25T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | World Athletics Championships 2019: Doha medal table and Team GB medallists | The USA are hot favourites to top the medal table once again at the 2019 Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. The USA dominated at the last world championships in London, winning a total of 30 medals, including 11 golds. Great Britain won six medals during those championships, but a third of them were claimed by Mo Farah, who will not be competing in Doha as he focuses on October’s Chicago Marathon. Unsurprisingly, it is the USA who also lead the all-time medal table, having won 156 golds prior to these championships, with Kenya a distant second on 55 golds, the majority of which have been won in the distance running events. Russia are third on the all-time table, but will not compete in Doha after the IAAF extended their ban against the country’s federation over doping violations, though some Russians will compete as authorised neutral athletes. Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the most decorated athlete to be competing at these championships, having won nine world medals, including seven golds. Full medal table will appear below once the first final has concluded… | Malik Ouzia | https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/athletics/world-athletics-championships-2019-medals-every-gold-silver-and-bronze-winner-this-year-a4245651.html | 2019-09-25 13:28:00+00:00 | 1,569,432,480 | 1,570,222,231 | human interest | accomplishment |
185,479 | eveningstandard--2019-09-27--World Athletics Championships 2019 Doha medal table and Team GB medallists | 2019-09-27T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | World Athletics Championships 2019: Doha medal table and Team GB medallists | The USA are hot favourites to top the medal table once again at the 2019 Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. The USA dominated at the last world championships in London, winning a total of 30 medals, including 11 golds. Great Britain won six medals during those championships, but a third of them were claimed by Mo Farah, who will not be competing in Doha as he focuses on October’s Chicago Marathon. Unsurprisingly, it is the USA who also lead the all-time medal table, having won 156 golds prior to these championships, with Kenya a distant second on 55 golds, the majority of which have been won in the distance running events. Russia are third on the all-time table, but will not compete in Doha after the IAAF extended their ban against the country’s federation over doping violations, though some Russians will compete as authorised neutral athletes. Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the most decorated athlete to be competing at these championships, having won nine world medals, including seven golds. Full medal table will appear below once the first final has concluded… | Malik Ouzia | https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/athletics/world-athletics-championships-2019-doha-medal-table-and-team-gb-medallists-a4248901.html | 2019-09-27 23:11:19+00:00 | 1,569,640,279 | 1,570,222,082 | human interest | accomplishment |
185,605 | eveningstandard--2019-09-29--World Athletics Championships 2019 Doha medal table and Great Britain medallists | 2019-09-29T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | World Athletics Championships 2019: Doha medal table and Great Britain medallists | The USA are hot favourites to top the medal table once again at the 2019 Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. The USA dominated at the last world championships in London, winning a total of 30 medals, including 11 golds. Great Britain won six medals during those championships, but a third of them were claimed by Mo Farah, who will not be competing in Doha as he focuses on October’s Chicago Marathon. Unsurprisingly, it is the USA who also lead the all-time medal table, having won 156 golds prior to these championships, with Kenya a distant second on 55 golds, the majority of which have been won in the distance running events. Russia are third on the all-time table, but will not compete in Doha after the IAAF extended their ban against the country’s federation over doping violations, though some Russians will compete as authorised neutral athletes. Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the most decorated athlete to be competing at these championships, having won nine world medals, including seven golds. Full medal table will appear below once the first final has concluded… | Malik Ouzia | https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/athletics/world-athletics-championships-2019-doha-medal-table-and-team-gb-medallists-a4249451.html | 2019-09-29 12:27:00+00:00 | 1,569,774,420 | 1,570,221,948 | human interest | accomplishment |
185,896 | eveningstandard--2019-10-04--World Athletics Championships 2019 Doha medal table and Great Britain medallists | 2019-10-04T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | World Athletics Championships 2019: Doha medal table and Great Britain medallists | The USA are hot favourites to top the medal table once again at the 2019 Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. The USA dominated at the last world championships in London, winning a total of 30 medals, including 11 golds. Great Britain won six medals during those championships, but a third of them were claimed by Mo Farah, who will not be competing in Doha as he focuses on October’s Chicago Marathon. Unsurprisingly, it is the USA who also lead the all-time medal table, having won 156 golds prior to these championships, with Kenya a distant second on 55 golds, the majority of which have been won in the distance running events. Russia are third on the all-time table, but will not compete in Doha after the IAAF extended their ban against the country’s federation over doping violations, though some Russians will compete as authorised neutral athletes. Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the most decorated athlete to be competing at these championships, having won nine world medals, including seven golds. Full medal table will appear below once the first final has concluded... | Malik Ouzia | https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/athletics/world-athletics-championships-2019-doha-medal-table-and-team-gb-medallists-a4254746.html | 2019-10-04 19:31:03+00:00 | 1,570,231,863 | 1,570,633,643 | human interest | accomplishment |
203,441 | fortune--2019-04-15--Tiger Woods to Get Presidential Medal of Freedom From Trump | 2019-04-15T00:00:00 | fortune | Tiger Woods to Get Presidential Medal of Freedom From Trump | President Donald Trump said Monday that he would award Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the U.S.—after the golfer won the 2019 Masters by one stroke on Sunday, marking his fifth time winning the tournament. It was his first major championship victory in 11 years. “Spoke to @TigerWoods to congratulate him on the great victory he had in yesterday’s @TheMasters, & to inform him that because of his incredible Success & Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE, I will be presenting him with the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM!’ Trump tweeted. The Presidential Medal of Freedom honors those who make an “especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Yogi Berra, Billie Jean King, Muhammad Ali and Arnold Palmer are among other sports figures who have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. | Jaclyn Gallucci | http://fortune.com/2019/04/15/tiger-woods-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ | 2019-04-15 18:34:48+00:00 | 1,555,367,688 | 1,567,542,944 | human interest | accomplishment |
212,638 | foxnews--2019-09-09--Trump awards Medal of Valor to Dayton police officers commendations to El Paso first responders | 2019-09-09T00:00:00 | foxnews | Trump awards Medal of Valor to Dayton police officers, commendations to El Paso first responders | President Trump on Monday presented the nation's award highest award for public safety to six Dayton police officers who responded to last month’s mass shooting in the Ohio city that left nine people dead and more than two dozen injured. Appearing alongside Attorney General William Barr, the president presented the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to the officers who first responded to the Aug. 4 mass shooting in a crowded downtown Dayton entertainment district. The officers confronted the shooter within 30 seconds, a swift response credited with preventing more deaths. “There are few people who could have done, and would have done, what these police officers did,” Trump said from the White House’s East Room. “To each of you, we are in awe of your swift response, sterling professionalism, and rock-solid nerves of steel.” OHIO SHOOTING VICTIMS INCLUDE GUNMAN'S SISTER, MOTHER OF TWO WHO WAS A NURSING STUDENT The Dayton police officers who received the Medal of Valor were Sgt. William Knight and officers Brian Rolfes, Jeremy Campbell, Vincent Carter, Ryan Nabel and David Denlinger. According to authorities, 24-year-old Connor Betts shot 26 people in the span of 32 seconds before Knight returned fire after hearing the gunshots from his police cruiser. The five other officers rushed toward the gunman and prevented him from continuing his rampage. “These officers were the thin blue line between life and death,” Barr said. “We thank God on that horrible night in Dayton we had men with these qualities.” The president also honored the heroism of five civilians with heroic commendations for having helped others as a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and wounding others. Calling the shooter “soulless and bigoted” and the attack “racist,” Trump went on to praise the civilians who put their lives in danger to help save others when the gunman began his shooting inside the Walmart. EL PASO SHOOTING SUSPECT'S MOM SAYS SHE CALLED POLICE WITH CONCERN ABOUT RIFLE SON OWNED: REPORT “In the darkest moments of despair, God called them into action and they put love of their neighbor above their life,” Trump said. “We are forever inspired by their goodness and the grace of their deeds.” The commendations were granted to Robert Evans, who notified store employees of the shooting; Gilbert Serna, who guided customers to the back entrance during the shooting and hid them in shipping containers; Marisela Luna, who guided customers near the store’s lobby; Angelica Silva, who helped save the lives of wounded victims; and Chris Grant, who was wounded when he threw soda bottles at the shooter to district him. “To the families of the heroes, you understand the difference your loved ones made in lives,” Trump said. “We thank you from bottom of our hearts.” The pair of shootings in August – followed by another one in Texas weeks later – has sparked renewed national discussion of gun control. CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP In the days after the shootings, which happened within 24 hours of each other, Trump signaled he was open to proposals for new background checks, saying "there is a great appetite" for such measures. But within days, following a call with NRA president Wayne LaPierre, Trump abruptly changed his tone and said background checks would not have helped. Trump's comments were reminiscent of his wavering last year, when he vowed to support background checks in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, only to relent after receiving pressure from the NRA. This time there seems to be more sustained momentum to produce some sort of measure after Trump asked aides to pull together a comprehensive list of ideas. White House officials have been meeting with lawmakers and congressional staff as they try to formulate a plan Trump can support without risking fallout from his political base. The Associated Press contributed to this report. | Andrew O'Reilly | http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/6WAmH6pHe_4/trump-medal-valor-dayton-police-officers-el-paso-first-responders | 2019-09-09 16:49:38+00:00 | 1,568,062,178 | 1,569,330,710 | human interest | accomplishment |
72,772 | breitbart--2019-09-05--Donald Trump Awards Medal of Freedom to LA Lakers Legend Jerry West | 2019-09-05T00:00:00 | breitbart | Donald Trump Awards Medal of Freedom to L.A. Lakers Legend Jerry West | Born in West Virginia, West played at West Virginia University before playing for the Lakers in Los Angeles. West played 14 seasons in the NBA for the Lakers, making the all-star team every year. “In the years that followed, he was to become a legend and made plays that will be remembered forever,” Trump said. “I know many of them.” Trump recalled when West rallied his team in Game 3 of the NBA finals in 1962 back to tie the game and scored right before the end of the game, earning the nickname “Mr. Clutch.” After his career as a player, he became a legendary general manager for the Lakers during their triumphant domination of the sport in the 1980-2000s. “Jerry is one of the greatest negotiators, managers, and executives in the history of the NBA,” Trump said. He also highlighted West’s charitable efforts in Los Angeles and West Virginia and his work with veterans. He is also nicknamed as “The Logo,” as his silhouette is still featured in the NBA logo today. West was accompanied at the Oval Office ceremony with members of his family and one close friend from West Virginia University. Chris Wallace, the Chief Communications Officer for the Los Angeles Clippers also attended. “I was a dreamer,” he said, addressing the group. “My family didn’t have much, but we had a clear view of the Appalachian Mountains. And I’ve had several on our front porch and wonder if I ever make it to the top of that mountain. Will I see on the other side? Well, I did make it to the other side. My dreams have come true.” West Virginia officials Governor Jim Justice and Sen. Joe Manchin also joined the president for the ceremony. | Charlie Spiering | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/OwInt5jjEuM/ | 2019-09-05 22:45:48+00:00 | 1,567,737,948 | 1,569,331,177 | human interest | accomplishment |
73,182 | breitbart--2019-09-16--Enter Sandman Donald Trump Awards Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera Medal of Freedom | 2019-09-16T00:00:00 | breitbart | 'Enter Sandman' — Donald Trump Awards Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera Medal of Freedom | Rivera entered the White House East Room with Trump for the ceremony to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” the same song that he used as a walkup song during his career with the Yankees. “Game after game, when his entrance song ‘Enter Sandman’ filled the arena, fans went wild knowing that the game was all but over,” Trump said. “His dominance on the mound mesmerized fans, teammates, and, unfortunately for them, it mesmerized the competitors.” Trump said that First Lady Melania Trump asked him why the song was so important to Rivera’s legacy. “Because he put the batter to sleep,” Trump recalled telling her. “’The Sandman’ A lot of people don’t know that, but the Yankee fans know that.” Rivera is a five-time world series champion and is the greatest relief pitcher in the history of the sport. He was elected by the first-ever unanimous vote into the National Baseball Hall of fame in July 2019. Trump also referred to Rivera’s prominent work for American communities through his charitable foundation inspired by his Christian faith. “Throughout Marino’s incredible career, he remained a humble man guided by a deep Christian faith that inspires everyone around him,” Trump said. “All I did was try to be the best and try to do the best for America,” he said. Born in Panama, Rivera told a story about his effort to learn English after coming to America to play baseball. “By the end of the year, I was able to communicate with my manager and my teammates and I was the happiest man in baseball,” he said, adding that as immigrants, “learning Engish is the first thing we can do.” | Charlie Spiering | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/Mcn8i9eyg9s/ | 2019-09-16 20:36:09+00:00 | 1,568,680,569 | 1,569,330,163 | human interest | accomplishment |
74,257 | breitbart--2019-10-10--Trump to Award the Medal of Honor to Green Beret Master Sgt. Matthew Williams | 2019-10-10T00:00:00 | breitbart | Trump to Award the Medal of Honor to Green Beret Master Sgt. Matthew Williams | U.S. Army Special Operations Command announced Thursday that President Donald Trump will award Army Green Beret Master Sgt. Matthew O. Williams with the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry on October 30. Williams will receive the medal for his actions in Afghanistan on April 6, 2008, as a weapons sergeant with Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3336, Special Operations Task Force-33, assault element. His actions helped save the lives of four critically wounded soldiers and prevented the lead element of the assault force from being overrun by the enemy, according to a White House statement. Facing rocket-propelled grenade, sniper, and machine gun fire, then-Sgt. Williams led an Afghan Commando element across a fast-moving, ice cold, and waist-deep river to fight its way up a terraced mountain to the besieged lead element of the assault force. He then set up a base of fire that the enemy was not able to overcome. When his team sergeant was wounded by sniper fire, Williams exposed himself to enemy fire to come to his aid and to move him down the mountainside to the casualty collection point, and then braved small arms fire and climbed back up the cliff to evacuate other injured soldiers and repair the team’s satellite radio. He again exposed himself to enemy fire as he helped move several casualties down the near vertical mountainside and as he carried and loaded casualties on to evacuation helicopters. “Sergeant Williams’ actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself. Combined Joint Special Operations Task-Force-Afghanistan, Operation Command Central, and the United States Army,” USASOC spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said in a statement. Williams is a native of Boerne, Texas, and graduated from Angelo State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He enlisted into the Army under the 18X Special Forces enlistment program in September 2005 and became a Green Beret in 2007, serving with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne). In 2008, he deployed to Afghanistan with Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3336, Special Operations Task Force-33. Williams has deployed multiple times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Juniper Shield, serving in numerous positions, including weapons sergeant, Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A); senior weapons sergeant, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A); senior instructor/writer, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group; senior weapons sergeant, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion 3rd SFG (A); and operations sergeant, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion 3rd SFG (A). He is still serving in the United States Army and is assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. When off duty, he enjoys hunting and spending time with his wife, Kate, and their son, Nolan, the White House statement said. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal with Bronze Clasp and four Loops, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral “4,” Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral “3,” Valorous Unit Award, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and Special Forces Tab. | Kristina Wong | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/5CAjAzbMRyk/ | Thu, 10 Oct 2019 20:38:32 +0000 | 1,570,754,312 | 1,570,796,524 | human interest | accomplishment |
76,131 | breitbart--2019-11-21--Donald Trump Awards National Medal of Arts to Actor Jon Voight at White House | 2019-11-21T00:00:00 | breitbart | Donald Trump Awards National Medal of Arts to Actor Jon Voight at White House | President Donald Trump awarded the National Medal of Arts to Actor Jon Voight, who surprised him with a dance to the music from Midnight Cowboy. As Trump began speaking, Voight began to dance on the stage while the Midnight Cowboy theme played on the loudspeaker. Trump was clearly surprised by the move but grinned as Voight continued his performance. “I want to hear that whole song, but I don’t know Jon, maybe we have to get it moving a little bit,” Trump said, calling Voight “one of the greatest living legends in cinema.” Trump recalled Voight’s roles in Midnight Cowboy, Coming Home, Mission Impossible, National Treasure and the film The Champ, which he called the “the greatest boxing movie all time.” “That was some great movie,” Trump recalled. “Everyone was crying at that movie. I tried not to John, but it wasn’t easy.” President Trump praised Voight as an actor of “astonishing range and depth,” recalling his performances in Deliverance, The Odessa Files, playing Franklin Delano Rosevelt in Pearl Harbor, and a role in the movie Ali. “John captures the imagination of the audiences and dominates almost every single scene he’s in,” Trump said. “He’s a special person.” Voight is one of the rare vocal conservatives in Hollywood and is a friend of President Donald Trump. Read the final list of medal recipients below: Alison Krauss for making extraordinary contributions to American music. Blending bluegrass, folk, gospel, and country into a unique style, she has entertained and enriched the souls of millions. Sharon Percy Rockefeller for being a renowned champion of the arts, a generous supporter of charity, and a pioneer of new ideas and approaches in the field of public policy. The Musicians of the United States Military for personifying excellence in music and service to country. From concert halls to war zones, these extraordinary patriots have inspired and uplifted their fellow Americans over generations with their incredible courage and breathtaking musical talent. The Award will be accepted by the youngest member of all Premier Service Bands, Staff Sergeant Jan Knutson. Jon Voight for his exceptional capacity as an actor to portray deeply complex characters. Captivating audiences, he has given us insights into the richness of the human mind and heart. Trump also awarded a medal to singer Alison Krauss, as the song “Down to the River to Pray” from the film soundtrack O Brother Where Art Thou played during Trump’s speech. The Claremont Institute for championing the Nation’s founding principles and enriching American minds. Its publications and public events have deepened our understanding and appreciation of American freedom, democracy, justice, and rule of law. The Award will be accepted by President of the Claremont Institute, Ryan Williams. Teresa Lozano Long for supporting the arts and improving educational opportunities. Through scholarships and philanthropy, she has helped America’s children and young adults learn the skills they need to succeed. Patrick J. O’Connell for being one of the greatest chefs of our time. Through the Inn at Little Washington, he has raised the culinary arts to new heights of excellence by embracing regional flavors and championing local farmers. James Patterson for being one of the most successful American authors of our time. His prodigious imagination has resulted in fascinating works that have been enjoyed by millions and his championship of literacy in America has inspired many to realize their potential. | Charlie Spiering | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/9nTOaN8tbxs/ | Thu, 21 Nov 2019 23:57:58 +0000 | 1,574,398,678 | 1,574,424,470 | human interest | accomplishment |
104,088 | cnn--2019-04-15--Trump to award Tiger Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom | 2019-04-15T00:00:00 | cnn | Trump to award Tiger Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom | "Spoke to @TigerWoods to congratulate him on the great victory he had in yesterday's @TheMasters, & to inform him that because of his incredible Success & Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE, I will be presenting him with the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM!" Trump tweeted Monday afternoon. In 2017, he underwent a spinal fusion surgery, and was later arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was put on a diversion program, returning to the circuit in 2018. The Medal of Freedom recognizes individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors," according to the executive order designating the award. | Maegan Vazquez | http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/LNL7fTMNyDU/index.html | 2019-04-15 18:57:25+00:00 | 1,555,369,045 | 1,567,542,968 | human interest | accomplishment |
380,359 | newyorkpost--2019-10-08--Trump awards Medal of Freedom to former attorney general Edwin Meese | 2019-10-08T00:00:00 | newyorkpost | Trump awards Medal of Freedom to former attorney general Edwin Meese | WASHINGTON — President Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom Tuesday to Edwin Meese III, calling the former attorney general “a titan” and “a star.” Meese was attorney general under President Ronald Reagan and has since been a longtime conservative legal and thought leader at the Heritage Foundation. “He was a star,” Trump said of Meese’s work in the Reagan administration during a crowded Oval Office ceremony. “You are a loyal fighter for freedom, champion for law and order,” Trump told Meese. Trump put the medal around Meese’s neck and praised him for a “lifetime of exceptional service and devotion to our country.” Meese was joined by his wife, Ursula, and their children, grandchildren, grandson and other family members. Also on hand were conservative radio host Mark Levin and his wife Julie, who are personal friends of Meese. Meese, 87, thanked the president and said he would cherish the medal forever. He praised Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for making “one of the finest teams we’ve ever had in our country.” Meese thanked President Reagan, his family, his colleagues and friends, including Levin. Levin also spoke and thanked Trump “for everything you’re doing for this country.” The White House gave Meese the highest civilian honor because he “helped to craft a foreign policy strong enough to end the Cold War and played a pivotal role in securing historic tax cuts,” a White House statement said. “As Attorney General, he promoted Federalism and the original public understanding of our Constitution.” Trump has awarded the Medal of Freedom to a number of politicians and athletes. The recipients have included former Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, former NBA players Jerry West and Bob Cousy, golfer Tiger Woods, former Sen. Orrin Hatch and former NFL quarterback Roger Staubach. | Marisa Schultz | https://nypost.com/2019/10/08/trump-awards-medal-of-freedom-to-former-attorney-general-edwin-meese/ | Tue, 08 Oct 2019 18:06:23 -0400 | 1,570,572,383 | 1,570,574,060 | human interest | accomplishment |
476,506 | rt--2019-09-16--Trump awards Medal of Freedom after hard-rocking walkout to Metallicas Enter Sandman | 2019-09-16T00:00:00 | rt | Trump awards Medal of Freedom after hard-rocking walkout to Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ | The awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom is usually a formal affair, but President Donald Trump has broken the mold, walking into the ceremony to the driving metal riffs of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman.’ Presenting the medal to New York Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera on Monday, the President entered the East Room of the White House, with ‘Hail to the Chief’ giving way to the instantly recognizable main riff of Metallica’s 1991 megahit. The music choice was fitting, as ‘Enter Sandman’ would reverberate through New York’s Yankee Stadium as Rivera walked onto the field to the pitcher’s mound during his career with the ‘Bronx Bombers.’ “Why do they call him the sandman?” Trump said that his wife Melania asked him before the ceremony. “I said because he put the batter to sleep, right, the sandman.” While the choice of tunes was a hit with Trump and Rivera’s fans, the anti-Trump crowd were predictably displeased. “Few moments in live sports were more enjoyable than Metallica’s Enter Sandman playing as Mariano Rivera came out from bullpen with 50,000 fans on their feet,” journalist Chuck Modi tweeted. “Now Trump has ruined that too.” Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! | RT | https://www.rt.com/usa/468955-trump-metallica-enter-sandman/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS | 2019-09-16 20:45:00+00:00 | 1,568,681,100 | 1,569,330,201 | human interest | accomplishment |
501,209 | sottnet--2019-05-03--Trump to award Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom | 2019-05-03T00:00:00 | sottnet | Trump to award Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom | President Trump will give Masters champion Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Monday.The event will be "invitation only" and take place in the Rose Garden, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Thursday. She said reporters will be invited to cover it as well.Trump had tweeted throughout the Masters - which Woods won April 14 - calling it "very exciting" and encouraging Americans to tune in. "Congratulations to @TigerWoods, a truly Great Champion!" Trump wrote after Woods won his fifth green jacket - and first major title since 2008.A day after Woods' win, Trump announced he would be giving the golfer the Presidential Medal of Freedom , which is the country's highest civilian honor.Trump has golfed with Woods in the past, most recently on Feb. 2 at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. | null | https://www.sott.net/article/412312-Trump-to-award-Tiger-Woods-the-Presidential-Medal-of-Freedom | 2019-05-03 18:58:17+00:00 | 1,556,924,297 | 1,567,541,348 | human interest | accomplishment |
533,522 | sputnik--2019-05-06--Trump Awards Golfer Tiger Woods Presidential Medal of Freedom | 2019-05-06T00:00:00 | sputnik | Trump Awards Golfer Tiger Woods Presidential Medal of Freedom | The US president awarded Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Monday during an official ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. Woods, whose real name is Eldrick Tont, was not only presented with the Presidential Medal but was also named by Trump "a global symbol of American excellence, devotion, and drive." During the ceremony Trump recalled Tiger's career in details, praising the golfer's "relentless will to win, win, win." Woods, in his turn, thanked his mother, his two children, his girlfriend, and his caddy, while receiving the award. "My dad is no longer here, but my mom is here," Woods said. "I love you, Mom." "I have tried to hang in there and I have tried to come back and play the great game of golf again," Woods said. "I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to do it again." Woods became the fourth golfer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ex-US president George W. Bush presented the honor to Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in 2004 and 2005, respectively, a Fox News report says. President Barack Obama gave the Medal of Freedom to Charlie Sifford, the first African-American to join the PGA Tour, in 2014. Trump announced that he would present Woods with the award in the mid-April after the golfer won the Masters Tournament, for the first time since 2005. | null | https://sputniknews.com/us/201905071074769120-trump-woods-medal-freedom/ | 2019-05-06 23:29:00+00:00 | 1,557,199,740 | 1,567,541,062 | human interest | accomplishment |
588,703 | theconservativetreehouse--2019-05-06--President Trump Awards Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom 600pm Livestream | 2019-05-06T00:00:00 | theconservativetreehouse | President Trump Awards Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom – 6:00pm Livestream | Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Email check failed, please try again Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. | sundance | https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/05/06/president-trump-awards-tiger-woods-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-600pm-livestream/ | 2019-05-06 22:04:38+00:00 | 1,557,194,678 | 1,567,541,077 | human interest | accomplishment |
603,637 | thedailycaller--2019-05-31--Trump To Award Art Laffer Presidential Medal Of Freedom | 2019-05-31T00:00:00 | thedailycaller | Trump To Award Art Laffer Presidential Medal Of Freedom | President Donald Trump will award economist Art Laffer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The ceremony will take place June 19, the White House announced in a press release. (RELATED: White House Aide Says WSJ Falsely Accused Him Of Speaking To Meeting He Didn’t Attend) “Arthur B. Laffer, the ‘Father of Supply-Side Economics,’ is one of the most influential economists in American history,” the White House said in a statement. “He is renowned for his economic theory, the ‘Laffer Curve,’ which establishes the strong incentive effects of lower tax rates that spur investment, production, jobs, wages, economic growth, and tax compliance.” Laffer is widely considered the intellectual founder of “Reaganomics,” the economic philosophy named after former Republican President Ronald Reagan, which emphasizes tax cuts, deregulation, and supply side economics. He is also the namesake for the Laffer Curve, a disputed political theory that postulates cutting taxes actually increases tax revenue in some circumstances. The decision to award Laffer the Medal of Freedom comes a year after Laffer wrote a book titled “Trumponomics,” a book co-written by fellow conservative economist Stephen Moore. (RELATED: Art Laffer Explains Why The US Isn’t In A Trade War) The White House’s move will likely be met with intense criticism from liberals who have spent decades opposing Laffer’s economic philosophy. | William Davis | https://dailycaller.com/2019/05/31/trump-art-laffer-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ | 2019-05-31 21:05:45+00:00 | 1,559,351,145 | 1,567,539,628 | human interest | accomplishment |
664,281 | thedenverpost--2019-08-23--President Trump awards Medal of Freedom to NBA star Bob Cousy | 2019-08-23T00:00:00 | thedenverpost | President Trump awards Medal of Freedom to NBA star Bob Cousy | WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump presented 91-year-old basketball legend Bob Cousy with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday, praising the Boston Celtics star as “one of the all-time greats in the history of sports.” Cousy played for the Celtics from 1950 to 1963, winning six league championships and the 1957 MVP title. The Bob Cousy Award, given to the country’s best point guard in men’s college basketball, is named for him. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and played a pivotal role in founding the NBA Player’s Association. After hanging up his No. 14 jersey, the 13-time NBA All-Star went on to coach basketball at Boston College. “This acknowledgment allows me to complete my life circle,” Cousy said during the Oval Office awards ceremony. “I can stop chasing a bouncing ball. The Presidential Medal of Freedom allows me to reach a level of acceptance in our society I never once ever dreamed of.” Trump spoke of Cousy’s childhood during the Great Depression and discovering his talent for basketball at a young age. The president said Cousy never forgot his first mentor’s advice to never be predictable, and jokingly added: “Hey, I’ve heard that lesson, too.” The president recognized Cousy’s achievements on and off the court, lauding his support for underprivileged young athletes and speaking out against racism. Cousy, who is white, ardently supported his black teammates who faced discrimination during the civil rights movement. Still, Cousy lamented in Gary Pomerantz’s biography “The Last Pass: Cousy, Russell, the Celtics, and What Matters in the End,” that he didn’t do more for his black teammates, including 2011 Medal of Freedom recipient Bill Russell. The Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, celebrates individuals for their “especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the U.S., to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” Trump credited West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin for suggesting the medal be given to Cousy. Cousy is the second Medal of Freedom recipient this year. Trump presented the award to golfer Tiger Woods in May. Cousy is the 10th honoree under Trump, who is Cousy’s candidate of choice in the 2020 presidential election. In a recent interview with NBA.com, Cousy described himself as politically moderate. He said that although he disagrees with some of the president’s actions, he plans to vote for Trump next year. During the award ceremony, Cousy said the medal was made all the more special because it had been presented by the “most extraordinary” president in his lifetime. “I know in your world, you’re well on your way to making America great again,” Cousy told the president. “In my world, it’s been great for 91 years. Only in America could my story have been told.” | The Associated Press | https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/22/medal-of-freedom-bob-cousy-nba-star/ | 2019-08-23 02:21:38+00:00 | 1,566,541,298 | 1,567,533,554 | human interest | accomplishment |
809,368 | themoscowtimes--2019-05-23--Putin Awards FIFAs Infantino State Medal for 2018 World Cup | 2019-05-23T00:00:00 | themoscowtimes | Putin Awards FIFA's Infantino State Medal for 2018 World Cup | FIFA President Gianni Infantino thanked Russia on Thursday for hosting the "best World Cup ever" as President Vladimir Putin presented him with a state award for his role in making last year's tournament possible. In a Kremlin ceremony broadcast on television, Putin thanked "all those who helped to make this dream come to life," including the head of football's global governing body. Infantino, with the Order of Friendship medal pinned to his lapel, replied: "You welcomed the world as friends, and the world has created bonds of friendship with Russia that will last forever." Russia's successful 2010 bid to host the 2018 tournament, which FIFA oversaw under Infantino's discredited predecessor Sepp Blatter, was marred by allegations of corruption in the bidding process which also saw the 2022 event awarded to Qatar. In 2014, FIFA cleared Russian authorities of wrongdoing, though Western critics continued in the run-up to the tournament to question its safety credentials and suggest it could play into Putin's hands politically. Qatar has also been cleared of wrongdoing. But last year's month-long event, spread across 11 cities, passed off without major security incidents and was deemed a success by players and fans. Putin said at the time that the World Cup had helped debunk stereotypes about his country. Blatter was honored with state awards by Germany and South Africa, which hosted the 2006 and 2010 tournaments. | null | https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/05/23/putin-awards-fifas-infantino-state-medal-for-2018-world-cup-a65716 | 2019-05-23 13:29:00+00:00 | 1,558,632,540 | 1,567,540,213 | human interest | accomplishment |
1,007,174 | thetelegraph--2019-05-21--Chelsea Flower Show 2019 awards revealed full list of medal winners | 2019-05-21T00:00:00 | thetelegraph | Chelsea Flower Show 2019 awards revealed: full list of medal winners | The RHS Chelsea Flower Show has revealed its medal winners for 2019. Known as the most glamorous event on the gardening calendar, the Chelsea Flower Show returned for its 60th year, boasting an impressive display of 11 show gardens and 17 smaller gardens. The event, which is open to the public from 21 - 25 May, takes gardening to the next level, showcasing plants and sculptures to create a conversation around contemporary topics. While the top prize, Best Show Garden, will be announced later on Tuesday, below are the best of the best. | Telegraph Reporters | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/chelsea-flower-show/chelsea-flower-show-2019-awards-full-list-medal-winners/ | 2019-05-21 08:32:16+00:00 | 1,558,441,936 | 1,567,540,284 | human interest | accomplishment |
157,461 | eveningstandard--2019-01-03--EuroMillions jackpot winners from UK who scooped 115m prize to be revealed | 2019-01-03T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | EuroMillions jackpot winners from UK who scooped £115m prize to be revealed | A couple from Northern Ireland who scooped a £115 million EuroMillions jackpot are set to go public about their lucky start to 2019, Camelot has said. The pair, who are from County Armagh, won the New Year's Day lottery draw and will speak to the media about their winnings on Friday, the lottery operator announced. They won a total of £114,969,775.70, making them the fourth biggest UK lottery winners in history. In the New Year's Day draw 10 other players took home £1 million in prize money each. The winning main EuroMillions numbers were 01, 08, 11, 25, 28 and the winning EuroMillions Lucky Star numbers were 04 and 06. The New Year's Day win follows a series of high-profile lottery prizes in recent years. In July 2011, Colin and Chris Weir, from Ayrshire, Scotland, became the biggest lottery winners in the UK, and across Europe, when they scooped more than £161 million. Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Suffolk, took home more than £148 million in August 2012, while the biggest prize awarded in the country in 2018 was £121 million, handed to an anonymous winner in April. Last November, builder Andrew Clark, 51, from Boston, Lincolnshire, discovered he had won £76 million, six weeks after the draw. He said he stockpiled tickets in his van, only checking them every three months. | Katy Clifton | https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/euromillions-jackpot-winners-from-uk-who-scooped-115m-prize-to-be-revealed-tomorrow-a4030061.html | 2019-01-03 20:15:00+00:00 | 1,546,564,500 | 1,567,554,071 | human interest | accomplishment |
186,100 | eveningstandard--2019-10-08--Nobel Prize 2019: Winners of the peace, physics, medicine and literature prizes, plus awards schedul | 2019-10-08T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | Nobel Prize 2019: Winners of the peace, physics, medicine and literature prizes, plus awards schedule | The Nobel Prize winners are being announced throughout this week, with the world-famous peace award handed out later on. Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg has been heavily tipped to win the coveted Nobel Peace Prize, after a "school strike for climate" which reached all corners of the globe. Meanwhile the Nobel Prize in Literature will name the winners of both the 2018 and 2019 awards, after last year's award was shelved amid a sexual assault scandal that rocked the Swedish Academy. Among the favourites are Canadian poet Anne Carson, novelists Maryse Conde of Guadeloupe and Can Xue of China and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, author of "The Handmaid's Tale," which has been made into a hit TV series. Here's all you need to know. When is the Nobel Peace Prize announced? The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is the last award to be announced. It will be handed out on Friday, October 11. Who is favourite to win the Peace Prize? Ms Thunberg is among the hot-favourites to scoop the award this year, with Donald Trump listed as a rank outsider behind several other world leaders, including two prime ministers, Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The panel could also choose to acknowledge the joint leadership of Greece's Alexis Tsipras and North Macedonia's Zoran Zaev. The two prime ministers put 30 years of acrimony between their neighboring countries behind them when they agreed that the former Yugoslav republic should officially be renamed from Macedonia to North Macedonia and Greece should drop its objections to its neighbor joining NATO. What is the schedule for the week? The Nobel week began on Monday with the awards for physiology and medicine, while the Physics Prize was handed out out today. Chemistry follows on Wednesday, with the Literature double-header on Thursday and the Peace Prize announced on Friday. The economics prize - officially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, which is the only prize not created by the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite - will be awarded on Oct. 14. Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine: Professor William Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Professor Gregg L. Semenza received the award jointly from the Nobel Committee. The three scientists won the award for their discoveries "how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability", the Nobel Committee said on Monday. The discoveries made by the three men "have fundamental importance for physiology and have paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anaemia, cancer and many other diseases". Nobel Prize in Physics: Canadian-American cosmologist James Peebles and Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. The three received the award for ground-breaking work in astronomy, by shedding light on the evolution of the universe and discovering planets orbiting distant suns. | Tom Herbert | https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/nobel-prize-2019-winners-peace-physics-literature-medicine-schedule-a4256786.html | Tue, 08 Oct 2019 11:09:56 GMT | 1,570,547,396 | 1,570,546,145 | human interest | accomplishment |
186,546 | eveningstandard--2019-10-11--Nobel Peace Prize winners: Abiy Ahmed, Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and other names from past 20 years | 2019-10-11T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | Nobel Peace Prize winners: Abiy Ahmed, Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and other names from past 20 years | Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has beaten competition from 301 fellow nominees to win the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. Mr Ahmed won the award for his peacemaking efforts with Eritrea after restoring relations between the two countries after many years of hostility. He saw off competition from the likes of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was heavily tipped to win for her "school strike for climate" campaign which reached all corners of the globe. Mr Ahmed wil be presented with the award in the Norwegian capital Oslo on December 10, along with a purse of nine million Swedish croons, or around $900,000. Last year, Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and human rights activist Nadia Murad jointly won the prestigious award for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Here's all you need to know about the award. The following people have won the Nobel Peace Prize from 2000-2018: • 2013 - Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine: Professor William Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Professor Gregg L. Semenza received the award jointly from the Nobel Committee. The three scientists won the award for their discoveries "how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability", the Nobel Committee said on Monday. The discoveries made by the three men "have fundamental importance for physiology and have paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anaemia, cancer and many other diseases". Nobel Prize in Physics: Canadian-American cosmologist James Peebles and Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. The three received the award for ground-breaking work in astronomy, by shedding light on the evolution of the universe and discovering planets orbiting distant suns. Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Scientists John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The three were handed the award for the development of lithium-ion batteries, the award-giving body said on Wednesday. "This lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery is now used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement Nobel Prize in Literature: Austria's Peter Handke won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature, and the postponed 2018 award went to Polish author Olga Tokarczuk. Handke won the 2019 prize for "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience," the Academy said in a statement. The 2018 prize went to Tokarczuk for "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopaedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life. Nobel Peace Prize: Prime Minister of Ethiopa Abiy Ahmed after helping to end war with neighbouring Eritrea. "Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its citation. New: Daily podcast from the Evening Standard Listen and subscribe to The Leader on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or your chosen podcast provider. New episodes every weekday from 4pm. | Tom Herbert | https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/nobel-peace-prize-2019-winners-abiy-ahmed-barack-obama-a4259021.html | Fri, 11 Oct 2019 08:23:00 GMT | 1,570,796,580 | 1,570,802,802 | human interest | accomplishment |
191,264 | eveningstandard--2019-12-03--Turner Prize 2019 winner: All four shortlisted artists win after requesting to be considered as a gr | 2019-12-03T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | Turner Prize 2019 winner: All four shortlisted artists win after requesting to be considered as a group | For the first time in history, the 2019 Turner Prize has been awarded to all four contenders on the shortlist. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani have been given the prize as a group after asking that the jury consider them together, a request the judges agreed to unanimously. The artists wrote a joint letter saying that each of them “makes art about social and political issues and contexts we believe are of great importance and urgency” adding that they didn’t wish the issues to be “pitted against each other, with the implication that one was more important, significant or more worthy of attention than the others”. They had not met before the Prize, but found common ground having met in Margate, where the exhibition is being held. They said in the letter: “At this time of political crisis in Britain and much of the world, when there is already so much that divides and isolates people and communities, we feel strongly motivated to use the occasion of the Prize to make a collective statement in the name of commonality, multiplicity and solidarity – in art as in society.” Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue, Edward Enniful, presented the award at a ceremony broadcast live on the BBC from Dreamland in Margate. The jury said: “At our meeting today, we were presented with the letter from the artists and unanimously took the decision to agree to their request. We are honoured to be supporting this bold statement of solidarity and collaboration in these divided times. Their symbolic act reflects the political and social poetics that we admire and value in their work.” The panel of judges was made up of Alessio Antoniolli, director of Gasworks & Triangle Network, Elvira Dyangani Ose, director of The Showroom Gallery and lecturer in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths; Victoria Pomery, director of Turner Contemporary in Margate and writer Charlie Porter, chaired by director of Tate Britain Alex Farquharson. Farquharson added that requesting to be judged as a group is “very much in the spirit of these artists’ work to challenge convention, to resist polarised world views, and to champion other voices. The jury all felt that this made the collective a worthy winner of the Turner Prize.” Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s work revolves around earwitness accounts given by oppressed people, including former prisoners of the Syrian Regime. Helen Cammock’s film The Long Note explores the role of women in the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, seen from a variety of perspectives. Oscar Murillo’s installations explore themes of labour and migration, some of which is influenced by accounts of his father’s early years as an immigrant in the UK. Finally, Tai Shani’s work blurs fact and fiction in work that takes inspiration from a 15th century feminist text, and aims to disrupt the white, male world order. The decision comes after this year's Booker Prize panel decided to declare Bernandine Evaristo and Margaret Atwood joint winners of the world's most prestigious literary prize. The Turner Contemporary in Margate hosts the Turner Prize exhibition this year, which is running until January 12. Last year’s winner was Glasgow-based artist Charlotte Prodger, for her 32 minute film BRIDGIT, created on an iPhone. | Zoe Paskett | https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/turner-prize-winners-2019-margate-a4303596.html | Tue, 03 Dec 2019 17:29:36 GMT | 1,575,412,176 | 1,575,419,486 | human interest | accomplishment |
192,090 | eveningstandard--2019-12-09--Nobel Prize winners 2019: The full list from Peace to Literature and Economics | 2019-12-09T00:00:00 | eveningstandard | Nobel Prize winners 2019: The full list from Peace to Literature and Economics | The 2019 Nobel Prize winners will be presented with their awards at ceremonies in Norway and Sweden this week. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will collect the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on December 10 while the winners of prizes in the other categories head to Stockholm to receive theirs. The annual ceremonies are held on December 10 to mark the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, who stipulated in his will that Norway was to host the peace prize ceremony and Sweden the other prizes. With the ceremony taking place on Tuesday, here's the list of winners plus how to keep up to date with all of the action. Where will the ceremonies be held? Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and economics will be awarded at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway. Both ceremonies will take place in the afternoon and will be attended by royalty, followed by two banquets held in honour of the laureates. How to watch the Nobel Prize ceremonies The ceremonies will be streamed on the Nobel Prize's website and on YouTube. You can follow all the updates on the online streams. • Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Professor William Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Professor Gregg L. Semenza • Nobel Prize in Physics: Canadian-American cosmologist James Peebles and Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz • Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Scientists John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry • Nobel Prize in Literature: Austria's Peter Handke won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature, and the postponed 2018 award went to Polish author Olga Tokarczuk New: Daily podcast from the Evening Standard Subscribe to The Leader on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or your chosen podcast provider. New episodes every weekday from 4pm. | Tom Herbert | https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/nobel-prize-2019-winners-list-peace-prize-literature-economics-a4308846.html | Mon, 09 Dec 2019 15:09:55 GMT | 1,575,922,195 | 1,575,937,896 | human interest | accomplishment |
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