This Week in Playoff Mode: Role players are swinging the NBA Conference Finals
The Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets hold 3-0 leads in their respective NBA Conference Finals matchups, thanks to huge contributions from key role players.Superstars get the headlines in the NBA, especially in the conference finals. But with the Heat and Nuggets holding commanding 3-0 leads and the...
1970-01-01 08:00
Michael Block odds at the Charles Schwab Challenge
Brooks Koepka won his fifth career major at the PGA Championship this past weekend, but his win was the secondary story of the tournament.The true hero of the tournament was PGA professional, Michael Block, who played the round of his life which culminated with a T15 finish, a $266k payday, and ...
1970-01-01 08:00
Alabama football rumors: 4-star commits, why Kevin Steele returned, who wins QB battle?
There will be a new face to lead the Alabama football team under center this upcoming season.While Alabama football fans don't believe the dynasty is dead, they are now coming up on three years without a national championship victory.To be fair, Alabama will once again be on the shortli...
1970-01-01 08:00
Oklahoma lures Enel solar panel manufacturing facility with $180M incentive package
Enel North America says it's planning to invest more than $1 billion and will create about 1,000 new jobs with a new solar cell and panel manufacturing facility in eastern Oklahoma
1970-01-01 08:00
Red Sox: Kenley Jansen calls out MLB for 'ruining careers' with pitch clock
Red Sox pitcher Kenley Jansen got candid about the MLB's new pitch clock rules and how it affects his game.There's no denying that the new pitch clock rules have revolutionized the MLB.Last season, the average time of a nine-inning major league game clocked in at just over three ho...
1970-01-01 08:00
OpenAI is exploring collective decisions on AI, like Wikipedia entries
ChatGPT's creator OpenAI is testing how to gather broad input on decisions impacting its artificial intelligence, its president
1970-01-01 08:00
Buy the dip? If the debt ceiling isn't resolved soon, markets will likely slide
If the United States defaults on its debt, it would be catastrophic for the economy. Millions of jobs would be impacted, the cost of borrowing money would skyrocket and government benefits many people rely wouldn't be sent on time.
1970-01-01 08:00
Atlantic City 1Q casino earnings down nearly 15% from year ago
Atlantic City’s nine casinos collectively saw their gross operating profit decline by nearly 15% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period a year earlier
1970-01-01 08:00
Air strikes hit Khartoum ahead of seven-day ceasefire
By Khalid Abdelaziz and Mohamed Nureldin KHARTOUM (Reuters) -Sudan's army conducted air strikes in the capital Khartoum on Monday, residents
1970-01-01 08:00
Nigeria opens Africa’s biggest oil refinery as it tries to boost struggling sector
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has opened Africa’s biggest oil refinery, with hopes it will help the country achieve self-sufficiency and become a net exporter of refined petroleum products
1970-01-01 08:00
US Expresses ‘Serious Concerns’ About China Move Against Micron
The US has “serious concerns” about China’s move to restrict sales of Micron Technology Inc. products in the
1970-01-01 08:00
Nebraska GOP senator who voted for anti-trans and anti-abortion bill that passed by one vote admits she didn’t pay attention to the issue
A Nebraska Republican state senator who voted for a combined anti-trans and anti-abortion bill that passed by one vote in the legislature has admitted that she didn’t pay attention to the issue. State Senator Christy Armendariz represents the 18th District in the state. Writing for New York magazine, journalist Lila Shapiro said that the senator “led me to a bench in an empty hallway” to say that she “found it puzzling that a reporter from New York would come all the way to Nebraska to cover this affair”. “I don’t watch the news or get the newspaper,” she told the magazine. “Is there anything going on I should be aware of?” The writer told Ms Armendariz that other states have passed other similar bills restricting trans and women’s reproductive rights and that an appeals court on the federal level in the Nebraska circuit had ruled that one of them was unconstitutional. “So is it a big widespread thing?” she asked the writer, adding that regular Nebraska residents were unaware of the issue. “I knocked doors for a year, and nobody brought this up,” the senator said, adding that she wished that the legislation had never been brought to the floor. For three months, a group of lawmakers in the state has ground nearly all legislative business in the state to a halt, grabbing the nation’s attention with a remarkable filibuster to stifle a bill that would end gender-affirming care for young transgender people. Late Tuesday 16 May, Republican lawmakers broke through, advancing a bill that not only bans gender-affirming care for trans people under 19 years old but also tacks on an amendment to outlaw abortion after 10 weeks of pregnancy and hands the state’s GOP-appointed medical officer the authority to set the rules for affirming care for trans youth. Hundreds of protesters filled the capital in Lincoln, standing outside the doors and in the gallery above lawmakers while chanting “one more vote to save our lives”; only one senator would have had to defect from supporters of the bill to kill the legislation. The vote – on the 78th day of a 90-day session – followed a series of manoeuvres that opponents argued were bending and breaking the rules of the state legislature to hammer through the legislation and avert the filibuster, which would allow opponents to occupy their allotted time to speak the bill to death. “What you are attempting to do today is the lowest of the absolute lows,” state Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, who spearheaded the filibuster, told Republican lawmakers. “You literally have to cheat at every moment of this debate in every possible way … You are allowing it to happen,” she added. “You do literally have blood on your hands, and if you vote for it, you will have buckets.” State Senator Megan Hunt, the first openly LGBT+ member of the state legislature and the mother of a trans child, lambasted lawmakers for their “escape routes” from the capitol to avoid facing protesters. “If you can’t go out and face them, you are not worthy,” she said. “Your legacy is filth.” Protesters surrounded the state capitol chambers in Lincoln on 19 May chanting “keep your bans off our bodies” and “save our lives” as lawmakers made their final round of votes on the bill, which passed 33-15, according to Reuters. The bill reached the exact number of votes needed to pass. Republican Governor Jim Pillen signed it into law on Monday. Before signing the bill, Mr Pillen said, “We are working to inspire Nebraskans to get in the game so that abortion is simply unthinkable in the state of Nebraska,” according to WOWT. He added that it was “an extremely historic day for Nebraska. It’s a day where it’s really simple: We’re standing up to protect our kids so our state has a bigger and brighter future. LB574 is the most significant win for [the] social conservative agenda that over a generation has seen in Nebraska. I think that’s something we need to clap and shout about”. At a show in Nebraska hours after the vote on Friday night, the artist Lizzo lambasted the legislation from the stage. “It really breaks my heart that there are young people growing up in a world that doesn’t protect them,” she said. “Don’t let anyone tell you who you are. ... These laws are not real. You are what’s real, and you deserve to be protected.” Ari Kohen, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, tweeted: “Hat tip to Senator Armendariz, who says she doesn’t know anything about the issue, doesn’t pay attention to current events, and wishes the bill she voted for hadn’t been introduced. It passed by 1 vote.” “These are the people who devoted an entire legislative session to taking away people’s rights in the face of massive opposition from experts and ordinary citizens. They openly admit that none of their constituents mentioned this issue to them and they don’t know much about it,” he added. “We have a handful of legislators who care enough to listen and learn. And then we have the majority, who seem not to know or care what they’re doing as long as it feels right to them and they have the votes to do it. Awful.” Journalist and author Charles Jaco tweeted that a similar assessment could be made regarding the Missouri legislature. “You have a handful of lawmakers who are serious, substantial people. The rest are various shades of know-nothing religious fanatics, grifters, and bigoted buffoons,” he tweeted. The Independent has reached out to Ms Armendariz for comment. Read More Nebraska governor to sign 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care for minors Lizzo blasts Nebraska bill banning abortion access and gender-affirming care: ‘You deserve to be protected’ Here are the restrictions on transgender people that are moving forward in US states Nebraska governor to sign 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care for minors Lizzo blasts Nebraska bill banning abortion access and gender-affirming care Nebraska expected to pass 12-week abortion ban, restrictions on gender-affirming care
1970-01-01 08:00
