The Full Belmonte, 3/21/2023
World on ‘thin ice’ as UN climate report gives stark warning
By SETH BORENSTEIN and FRANK JORDANS
FILE - Women push wheelbarrows atop a coal mine dump at the coal-powered Duvha power station, near Emalahleni east of Johannesburg, Nov. 17, 2022. Humanity still has a chance, close to the last one, to prevent the worst of climate change’s future harms, a top United Nations panel of scientists said Monday, March 20, 2023. But doing so requires quickly slashing carbon pollution and fossil fuel use. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell, File)
“BERLIN (AP) — Humanity still has a chance, close to the last, to prevent the worst of climate change’s future harms, a top United Nations panel of scientists said Monday.
But doing so requires quickly slashing nearly two-thirds of carbon pollution by 2035, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said. The United Nations chief said it more bluntly, calling for an end to new fossil fuel exploration and for rich countries to quit coal, oil and gas by 2040.
‘Humanity is on thin ice — and that ice is melting fast,’ United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. ‘Our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.’
Stepping up his pleas for action on fossil fuels, Guterres called for rich countries to accelerate their target for achieving net zero emissions to as early as 2040, and developing nations to aim for 2050 — about a decade earlier than most current targets. He also called for them to stop using coal by 2030 and 2040, respectively, and ensure carbon-free electricity generation in the developed world by 2035, meaning no gas-fired power plants either.
The industrial backdrop of a BP refinery and a Uniper coal-fired power plant is seen in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, March 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
That date is key because nations soon have to come up with goals for pollution reduction by 2035, according to the Paris climate agreement. After contentious debate, the U.N. science report approved Sunday concluded that to stay under the warming limit set in Paris the world needs to cut 60% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, compared with 2019, adding a new target not previously mentioned in six previous reports issued since 2018.
‘The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts for thousands of years,’ the report said, calling climate change ‘a threat to human well-being and planetary health.’
‘We are not on the right track but it’s not too late,’ said report co-author and water scientist Aditi Mukherji. ‘Our intention is really a message of hope, and not that of doomsday.’”… Read more at AP News
Fox News v Dominion: $1.6bn defamation fight goes to court today
The voting machine company is suing the news channel over its disingenuous coverage of various outlandish election claims
“Lawyers for Fox News and voting equipment company Dominion will face off in a Delaware courtroom on Tuesday in the latest phase of Dominion’s closely watched $1.6bn defamation suit against the media company for spreading election lies.
The case has attracted much attention because it represents one of the most aggressive efforts to hold any party accountable for spreading election misinformation in the United States.
Court filings leading up to the hearing have produced stunning internal messages showing that prominent Fox hosts, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, privately doubted the far-fetched allegations about Dominion even as the network continued to air them.
Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox Corporation, said in his deposition that Fox News hosts ‘endorsed’ the lie of a stolen election. Murdoch also acknowledged he personally could have done more to stop the airing of false claims, but did not.
Both sides will be making their case to Eric Davis, a Delaware superior court judge overseeing the case, to rule in their favor ahead of a trial. The case is widely expected to proceed to a trial scheduled in mid-April, though the parties could reach a settlement before then.
At the center of the case is Fox’s decision to air a number of false claims about Dominion after the 2020 election as Donald Trump and his allies tried to overturn the result.
Those claims included allegations that Dominion rigged the 2020 election by manipulated vote tallies, that it was owned by a Venezuelan company and was fixing the election for Hugo Chavez, and that it paid kickbacks to government officials. Fox knew those allegations were demonstrably false, Dominion lawyers say, and chose to broadcast them anyway to pander to its conservative audience.
‘This false narrative portrayed Dominion as a villain in a grand scheme to steal the 2020 Presidential Election,’ lawyers for Dominion wrote in their filing last month.
Lawyers for Fox argue that the news channel was broadcasting newsworthy allegations made by Trump and it is protected by the first amendment’s guarantees of press freedom. US law sets a high bar in defamation cases, requiring plaintiffs to show a news organization acted with ‘actual malice’ or knew that a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard to the truth.
‘Dominion has gotten its headlines, and journalists everywhere will now think twice about covering the most important news of the day for fear of punitive defamation suits,’ lawyers for Fox wrote in their filing. ‘But this effort to publicly smear a media organization just for having the temerity to cover and comment on allegations being pressed by the sitting President of the United States should be now recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.’” [The Guardian]
Deadly Fungus Detected in Most U.S. States
Candida auris infections have grown from dozens to more than 2,000 annual cases in a few years, CDC says
Candida auris was identified in 2009 after it was discovered in the ear of a patient in Japan.PHOTO: BSIP/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES
“A rare and often deadly fungus is spreading rapidly across the U.S., federal researchers said, raising pressure to find new treatments for severe fungal disease.
Candida auris, a fungus discovered about 15 years ago in Japan, infected at least 2,377 people in the U.S. in 2022, up from 53 in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Its swift spread into most states and more than 40 countries has prompted the CDC and World Health Organization to label it a growing threat to public health. Candida auris has a mortality rate of up to 60% and is particularly risky for people who are older or have compromised immune systems, the CDC said….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Trump legal woes force another moment of choosing for GOP
By STEVE PEOPLES, FARNOUSH AMIRI and LISA MASCARO
Evelyn Knapp, a supporter of former President Donald, walks outside of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, Monday, March 20, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
“ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — From the moment he rode down the Trump Tower escalator to announce his first presidential campaign, a searing question has hung over the Republican Party: Is this the moment to break from Donald Trump?
Elected Republicans have wavered at times — whether it was Trump’s condemnation of John McCain’s war record, his racist attack against a Mexican-American judge, his sexually predatory language caught on video, his alleged extramarital affairs, his decision to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence, his promotion of false allegations of election fraud and his incitement of a violent mob that threatened the lives of lawmakers in both parties.
But after almost eight years of near-constant scandal, Republicans have ultimately rallied behind Trump over and over and over again.
Now, on the eve of a new presidential campaign season, that loyalty is being tested anew as Trump prepares for the possibility that he may soon become the first former U.S. president charged with a crime. New York prosecutors are wrapping up their probe into whether Trump engaged in an illegal hush money scheme involving a porn actress….
As charges loom, many party leaders have begun to defend the former president — even as other Republicans with far less baggage line up against him in the nascent 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, a likely presidential contender, said over the weekend that Americans don’t want to see Trump indicted. Another 2024 Republican prospect, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, said there is a sense that the former president is being unfairly attacked. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a frequent Trump critic also eyeing a White House bid, also said New York prosecutors may be unfairly prosecuting Trump.
There are cracks in such support, however.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s strongest prospective rival, offered a mixed assessment when asked to address the potential indictment on Monday.
‘I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,’ DeSantis said as some in the audience laughed uncomfortably. ‘But what I can speak to is that if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction and he chooses to go back many many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office. And I think that’s fundamentally wrong.’
The ordeal has pushed Republicans back into an uncomfortably familiar place -- playing defense for Trump as he grapples with another scandal. The situation dominated the conversation at the House GOP conference in Orlando, where dozens of congressional Republicans gathered this week….” Read more at AP News
Los Angeles Schools to Shut Down After Workers Vow to Strike
The nation’s second-largest school district will cancel classes starting on Tuesday, while thousands of employees pressed demands for higher pay.
“LOS ANGELES — Tens of thousands of Los Angeles school employees will begin a three-day strike starting on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of campuses to close and canceling classes for 422,000 students.
The union that represents 30,000 support workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District is seeking a 30 percent pay increase, saying that many employees make little more than the minimum wage and struggle to afford the cost of living in Southern California.
The Los Angeles teachers’ union has asked its 35,000 members to walk out in solidarity and to avoid crossing the support workers’ picket lines….” Read more at New York Times
Macron’s Government Survives No-Confidence Vote in National Assembly
French president fends off efforts to halt his pension revamp and topple his administration
“PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly on Monday, fending off a last-ditch effort to kill his contentious pension overhaul and topple his administration.
The no-confidence motion, spearheaded by a group of centrists, won the support of 278 lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament, nine votes short of a majority. A second no-confidence vote, filed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, failed by a wide margin….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Met police found to be institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic
Author of landmark report says Met can ‘no longer presume that it has the permission of the people of London to police them’
“The Metropolitan police is broken and rotten, suffering collapsing public trust and is guilty of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, an official report has said.
The report by Louise Casey, commissioned by the Met after one of its officers abducted Sarah Everard, taking her from from a London street in March 2021, before raping and murdering her, is one of the most damning of a major British institution .
The 363-page report details disturbing stories of sexual assaults, usually covered up or downplayed, with 12% of women in the Met saying they had been harassed or attacked at work, and one-third experiencing sexism.
Lady Casey said that the lifeblood of British policing was haemorrhaging and her report warned that ‘public consent is broken’ with just 50% of the public expressing confidence, even before revelations about the force’s worst recent scandals.
She pinned the primary blame on its past leadership and said: ‘Public respect has fallen to a low point. Londoners who do not have confidence in the Met outnumber those who do, and these measures have been lower amongst black Londoners for years.’
‘The Met has yet to free itself of institutional racism. Public consent is broken. The Met has become unanchored from the Peelian principle of policing by consent set out when it was established.’
The report found a bullying culture, frontline officers demoralised and feeling let down by their leaders, and discrimination ‘baked into the system’.
Casey revealed that one Muslim officer had bacon stuffed in his boots, a Sikh officer had his beard cut, minority ethnic officers were much more likely to be disciplined or leave, and Britain’s biggest force remains disproportionately white, in a capital that is increasingly diverse.
Stop and search and use of force on powers against black people was excessive, found the report for the Met – which stops more people per head of population than any other force.
A catalogue of suffering by women included frequent abuses by senior officers, including one subjecting a female junior to repeated harassment and an indecent act. She complained and told the inquiry: ‘It would have probably been better to suffer in silence, but I couldn’t do that. He got away with everything, I was made to look like the liar.’
Casey said the Met was failing on so many levels the crisis is existential, and if not fixed could end in its dismemberment: ‘If sufficient progress is not being made at the points of further review, more radical, structural options, such as dividing up the Met into national, specialist and London responsibilities, should be considered to ensure the service to Londoners is prioritised.’
Casey said austerity had deprived the Met of £700m but the cuts made by the force left its protection of children and women as inadequate.
Already crushingly low convictions of rapists were made worse by fridges that housed rape kits being broken, or being so full that evidence was lost, and cases dropped with rapists going free because of police bungles. Casey claimed in one instance someone ruined a fridge full of evidence by leaving their lunchbox in it.
Casey said the Met had blown repeated chances to reform by official inquiries over the decades and warned the force must not cherrypick the reforms it likes. It should implement her recommendations as a whole, she said.
But a gap and potential high level clash was emerging after Casey’s report was published, with those who oversee and run the Met having had the report for days.
Sir Mark Rowley, the force’s commissioner since September, said he would not use the labels of institutionally racist, institutionally misogynistic and institutionally homophobic that Casey insisted Britain’s biggest force deserved.
But one of the two people who hired him – and thus can fire him – made clear he agreed with Casey’s damning verdicts.
Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has not previously used the term ‘institutional’ about prejudice in the force he oversees since coming to office. He will be chairing a new oversight board for the Met, in effect placing it in a form of special measures for the foreseeable future.
Khan said: ‘The evidence is damning. Baroness Casey has found institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, which I accept’
‘I’ll be unflinching in my resolve to support and hold the new commissioner to account as he works to overhaul the force.’
Rowley said he wanted more time to study Casey’s recommendations, but said he accepts the findings. He said he accepted Casey’s factual findings about racism, misogyny and homophobia in his organisation and they were systemic, but neither he nor the Met would accept they were ‘institutional’, claiming it was a political term.
Rowley, battling to avoid being the last commissioner of the Met in its current shape and form, said: ‘I have to use practical, unambiguous, apolitical language … I don’t think it fits those criteria.’
‘It’s simply a term I’m not going to use myself.’
Asked if he was not accepting the finding, Rowley said: ‘I’m accepting we have racists, misogynists. I’m accepting, we’ve got systemic failings, management failings, cultural failings.’
‘This is about an organisation that needs to become determinedly anti-racist, anti-misogynist, anti-homophobic.’…” Read more at The Guardian
“Supporting Ukraine | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv today, becoming the final Group of Seven leader to visit during the war. Kishida arrived in Ukraine following a stop in India, where he condemned Russia’s invasion and sought to pressure Prime Minister Narendra Modi to distance his country from Moscow over the war.” [Bloomberg]
Army of lobbyists helped water down banking regulations
By BRIAN SLODYSKO and KEN SWEET
FILE - The Silicon Valley Bank logo is seen at an open branch in Pasadena, Calif., on March 13, 2023. A handful of red state Democrats were instrumental helping Republicans secure a rollback of banking regulations sought by then-President Donald Trump in 2018. Now those changes are being blamed for contributing to the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that prompted a federal rescue and stoked anxiety about a broader banking contagion. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — It seemed like a good idea at the time: Red-state Democrats facing grim reelection prospects would join forces with Republicans to slash bank regulations — demonstrating a willingness to work with President Donald Trump while bucking many in their party.
That unlikely coalition voted in 2018 to roll back portions of a far-reaching 2010 law intended to prevent a future financial crisis. But those changes are now are being blamed for contributing to the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that prompted a federal rescue and stoked anxiety about a broader banking contagion.
The rollback was was leveraged with a lobbying campaign that cost tens of millions of dollars and drew an army of hundreds of lobbyists into the effort. It also was seeded with ample campaign contributions.
The episode offers a fresh reminder of the power that bankers wield in Washington, where the industry spends prodigiously to fight regulation and often hires former members of Congress and their staff to make the case that they are not a source of risk to the economy….” Read more at AP News
Miami shocks top-seed Indiana in March Madness
By The Associated Press
Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes (54) shoots against Miami's Kyla Oldacre (44) during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament Monday, March 20, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
“BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Destiny Harden made a shot in the lane with 3.5 seconds left to send ninth-seeded Miami past top-seeded Indiana 70-68 on Monday night, lifting the Hurricanes to their first Sweet 16 since 1992.
The Hoosiers (28-4) became the second No. 1 seed to be eliminated in two nights. Stanford was upset Sunday on its home court. It’s the second time since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1994 that two No. 1 seeds didn’t make the Sweet 16. It also happened in 1998.
Harden finished with 18 points and Lola Pendade had 19 points for the Hurricanes (21-12), who never trailed.
Indiana tied the score at 68 on Yarden Garzon’s 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left but couldn’t get the defensive stop it needed and turned the ball over on the final possession to seal their only home loss of the season.
No. 4 VILLANOVA 76, No. 12 FLORIDA GULF COAST 57
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Maddy Siegrist scored 31 points and sent the winningest team in Villanova history into the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history with a win over Florida Gulf Coast.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats (30-6) won their record 30th game and celebrated the March Madness milestone in front of another packed house at the Pavilion. Siegrist, the first-team AP All-American, made 13 of 24 shots in what was likely her final home game. The four-year star has left some wiggle room that she could return for a fifth season, but all signs point toward her playing in the WNBA this summer.
One thing is sure, Siegrist is headed to the Sweet 16.
The Wildcats are going for the first time since 2003 -- the coach of that team, Harry Perretta, watched this one from behind the basket -- and they will the play winner of Monday’s game in Indianapolis between top-seeded Indiana and No. 9 seed Miami.
SEATTLE 3 REGION
No. 4 TENNESSEE 94, NO. 12 TOLEDO 47
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Reserves Sara Puckett and Jillian Hollingshead led five Lady Vols in double figures with 13 points apiece as Tennessee routed Toledo.
This is the first time since 2015 and 2016 that Tennessee (25-11) has reached consecutive Sweet 16s and the first in coach Kellie Harper’s fourth season. The Lady Vols now have reached the Sweet 16 for the 36th time as the only program to play in all 41 NCAA Tournaments.
Toledo (29-5) snapped a program record 17-game winning streak and missed out on its first Sweet 16. The Rockets lost for the first time since Jan. 18 at Bowling Green, which was avenged in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017.
Quinesha Lockett led Toledo with 19 points.
No. 3 OHIO STATE 71, No. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 69
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jacy Sheldon made a tiebreaking jumper in the lane with 1.8 seconds left to lift Ohio State to a win over North Carolina and help the Buckeyes advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
With the game tied, Sheldon took the pass from Eboni Walker and floated in the game-winning score. North Carolina had one final chance, but turned it over with a second remaining.
Ohio State (27-7) saw its 12-point lead with 7:02 to go erased as the Tar Heels went on a 13-2 run midway through the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels did most of that run without star Deja Kelly, who exited midway through the final quarter with a leg injury. She went to the locker room, but returned to the court a short time later.
Trailing 66-63, Kelly made two free throws before Paulina Paris made a layup in transition to give the Tar Heels (22-11) its first lead of the game with 2:09 left.
No. 2 UCONN 77, No. 7 BAYLOR 58
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Azzi Fudd scored 16 of her 22 points in a decisive third quarter, leading UConn to a win over Baylor and into a 29th straight Sweet 16.
Aaliyah Edwards added 19 points and Nika Muhl had 10 assists for the Huskies (31-5). Dorka Juhasz chipped in with 11 points and Caroline Ducharme added 10.
Ja’mee Asberry scored 15 points and Jaden Owens had 14 for Baylor, which finishes its season 20-13. Bella Fontleroy scored 12 points for the Bears, who made 12 3-pointers after hitting 14 in their first-round win over Alabama.
But the Huskies dominated inside, outscoring the Bears 36-12 in the paint and outrebounding Baylor 42-31.
SEATTLE 4 REGION
No. 5 LOUISVILLE 73, No. 4 TEXAS 51
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Hailey Van Lith scored 21 points and Louisville rolled over Texas on the Longhorns’ home court to send the the Cardinals to the Sweet 16 for the sixth NCAA Tournament in row.
In a matchup of two teams that began the season in the Top 10 only to all out of the rankings before regrouping late, the Cardinals smothered the Longhorns and standout point guard Rori Harmon all night, stretching a 14-point halftime lead to 21 by end of the third quarter.
Louisville (25-11) led by as much as 27 early in the fourth. The win sends the Cardinals to the Seattle 4 Region to play No. 8-seed Mississippi, which upset No. 1 Stanford on Sunday.
DeYona Gaston scored 12 points to lead Texas (26-10).
No. 6 COLORADO 61, No. 3 DUKE 53
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Quay Miller had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Aaronette Vonleh converted two overtime baskets in the lane after picking up her fourth foul, helping Colorado beat Duke.
Jaylyn Sherrod had 14 points and Vonleh finished with 12 as the Buffaloes (25-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years.
Elizabeth Balogun scored 14 points and Reigan Richardson had 10, but the Blue Devils didn’t hit a field goal in overtime. Duke overcame a 13-point deficit in regulation.
Next up for Colorado is Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Seattle 4 Region semifinals.
Duke lost for the third time in its last four second-round home games in the NCAA tourney.
GREENVILLE 1 REGION
No. 4 UCLA 82, No. 5 OKLAHOMA 73
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charisma Osborne scored a career-high 36 points in her final game at Pauley Pavilion and UCLA rallied in the fourth quarter after blowing an 18-point lead to defeat Oklahoma.
The Bruins, who had an 18-point lead in the second quarter, found themselves trailing 54-50 late in the third quarter before Osborne started the comeback. She drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled by Beatrice Culliton. Osborne made the ensuing free throw to bring them within one.
She had 13 points in the final 10 minutes as the Bruins (26-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. UCLA regained control by going on a 6-1 run at the beginning of the fourth.
Kiki Rice added 14 points for the Bruins, who will face top-ranked South Carolina on Saturday in a Greenville 1 Regional semifinal. UCLA hung tough with the Gamecocks earlier in the season before losing 73-64.
Madi Williams scored 24 points and Ana Llanusa 15 for the Sooners, who end their season 26-7.” [AP News]
Gwyneth Paltrow to stand trial for Deer Valley ski crash
By SAM METZ
FILE - Gwyneth Paltrow arrives at the 26th annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, in Los Angeles. Paltrow goes on trial starting Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in the Utah ski resort town of Park City where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family sky vacation. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
“PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow is scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actress-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.
Terry Sanderson, 76, said Paltrow was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele.
‘Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control,’ Sanderson’s attorneys claim in the lawsuit, ‘knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries. Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.’
In a case that has lasted years since the 2016 incident, Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000 — claiming that the accident in Park City was a result of negligence, and left him with physical injuries and emotional distress.
At ski resorts, the skier who is downhill has the right of way, so a central question in the case is who was further down the beginner’s run when the collision transpired. Both Paltrow and Sanderson claim in court filings that they were further downhill when the other rammed into them.
ENTERTAINMENT
Sanderson also accused Deer Valley and its employees of engaging in a “cover up” by not providing complete information on incident reports and not following resort safety policies.
After his initial lawsuit seeking $3.1 million was dropped, Sanderson amended the complaint and he is now seeking $300,000. Paltrow — the Oscar-winning actress known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love” and Marvel’s “Iron Man” movies — filed a counterclaim in response, seeking attorney fees and $1 in damages.
Paltrow has countered that he was actually the culprit in the collision, is overstating his injuries, and trying to exploit her celebrity and wealth. In addition to her acting career, she is also the founder and CEO of the high-end wellness company, goop.
In court filings, her attorneys deny Sanderson’s claims and allege that he was the one who crashed into her — a collision in which she sustained a “full body blow.” Her counterclaim alleges that members of Paltrow’s group checked on Sanderson, who assured them he was fine. It casts doubt on his motive and claims of injury, noting that before the incident, he had 15 documented medical conditions.” Read more at AP News
St. Francis College (N.Y.) announces elimination of entire Division I athletic program
“As part of a restructuring program announced Monday, St. Francis College (N.Y.) will eliminate its entire Division I athletics program, effective at the conclusion of the 2023 spring semester.
In a statement published to the St. Francis athletic website, the college said the decision came after a ‘strategic realignment plan’ was recently approved by the college's Board of Trustees. The college cited an increase of operating expenses, flatter revenue streams and plateauing enrollment in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘We want to acknowledge that SFC has a rich legacy in competitive athletics, and are proud of our Terriers today and in all years past,’ the school said in the statement. ‘This difficult decision was guided by a commitment to preserving the College's 164-year Franciscan mission to provide a high quality and affordable education to working-class and first-generation students.’
The Terriers will see the dissolution of 19 athletic teams in competition. Basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball and water polo are offered for both men and women, in addition to a women's bowling team….” Read more at USA Today