Lonk Link: July 2020

Friday, July 31, 2020

With time extension stalled, Census speeds up count schedule - KCRG

lonk.indah.link

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Census Bureau sped up the timetable for crunching 2020 census numbers on Friday after an earlier request for an extension stalled in the Senate and as pressure mounts to turn in data used to determine congressional districts by year's end, when President Donald Trump is still in office.

On its website Friday, the bureau listed the deadline for processing data used to apportion the districts as Dec. 31. As recently as Thursday, it had listed a time frame of Oct. 31, 2020 to April 30, 2021 — an estimate based on a request for an extension that it submitted to Congress in April.

Census experts and civil rights activists worry the sped-up deadline could affect the thoroughness of the count, which determines how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed and how many congressional districts each state gets.

“The rapidly changing census schedule is not only alarming; I fear that it will undermine confidence in the Census Bureau and call into question the thoroughness of remaining counting operations and quality of data processing,” said Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former congressional aide who now is a census consultant for foundations and philanthropic groups.

Facing delays caused by the pandemic, the Census Bureau had asked Congress in the spring to extend the deadline for turning in apportionment data from Dec. 31, 2020, to April 30, 2021. As recently as this month, top Census Bureau officials said it would be impossible to meet the end-of-the-year deadline, and that the bureau expected bipartisan support for the request.

The request passed the Democratic-controlled House as part of coronavirus-relief legislation but is now stalled in the Senate. The chamber's inaction coincides with a memorandum Trump issued last week to try to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from being part of the process for redrawing congressional districts.

Civil rights groups, states, cities and individuals have filed at least a half-dozen lawsuits challenging the memorandum as unconstitutional and an attempt to limit the power of Latinos and immigrants of color. The most recent lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Maryland by residents of California, Florida, Nevada, New York and Texas. The suit claims that the order would dilute their voting power and cause their communities to get less federal funding.

The request to Congress also asked that the deadline for turning in data used for drawing legislative and local districts be extended from March 30, 2021, to to July 31, 2021. The Census Bureau website said Friday that the deadline is the end of March.

“We are concerned over what seems to be an abandonment of the request for the additional time that both the White House and Census Bureau have already acknowledged is required for a full and accurate census,” Arturo Vargas, CEO of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, said in a statement. “Census operations must be able to continue without being rushed and without political interference.”

If Congress passes the deadline extension, and Trump loses in the November election to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, it could extend part of the congressional apportionment process into Biden’s administration.

Deborah Stempowski, assistant director for the Census Bureau’s decennial programs, declined comment about the deadlines during an online news conference with the Association of Public Data Users on Friday.

The American Statistical Association said in a statement that the Census Bureau should be granted the deadline extensions, given the challenges it has faced this year.

“It is critical to give the professional career staff of the U.S. Census Bureau the time and resources to carry out the decennial census,” the association said.

In April, the Census Bureau postponed wrapping up the head count from the end of July to the end of October so that there would be more time to reach out to households that haven't yet answered the questionnaire. But because of the coronavirus, the half-million door knockers originally set in May to visit homes that haven't yet responded only started heading out this month.

As recently as Thursday, the Census Bureau’s website listed the door-knocking operation as ending in October. On Friday, however, it said, “The Census Bureau is working to complete data collection as soon as possible, as it strives to comply with the law and statutory deadlines.”

Census Bureau spokesman Michael Cook said Friday that the bureau was working to finish the data collection “as soon as possible” to comply with the statutory deadline.

“We are currently evaluating our operations to enable the Census Bureau to provide this data in the most expeditious manner and when those plans have been finalized we will make an announcement,” Cook said.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that Trump’s memo seeks to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from being included in the congressional apportionment process, not head count.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"time" - Google News
August 01, 2020 at 01:51AM
https://ift.tt/30f6iCj

With time extension stalled, Census speeds up count schedule - KCRG
"time" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5iuuC

How Lions plan to maximize training camp practice time - detroitlions.com

lonk.indah.link

"Practice is a major concern," Patricia said. "We're really trying to do everything we can to maximize that opportunity that we have out on the field.

"The hard part is you get to this time of year and you smell the fresh-cut grass and you just start to get around it and the field is all painted up and the first thing we want to do is get out there and throw the pads on and let's go practice. But we just have to be patient all the way through to make sure we're just being safe."

Safety is obviously the biggest concern in the middle of a global pandemic, which is why it's important to ease the players into action to mitigate the risk of injury. As Patricia put it, there's a lot of adaptability going on in Allen Park right now.

Patricia is still finding the positives in the practice schedule agreed upon by the league and the NFLPA, and thinks there might actually be some benefits to the schedule that's been developed.

"The interesting part is if you take out preseason games, which we did, you kind of buy back some of the time that we usually spend traveling, the game itself and maybe postgame, you actually pick up a couple extra days," he said.

"When you look at the training camp portion of the schedule, the ramp-up period and when you get to that training camp practice schedule, we wind up with actually a lot of practice days. There's a lot of time in there for installation."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"time" - Google News
August 01, 2020 at 04:46AM
https://ift.tt/2DqfvP2

How Lions plan to maximize training camp practice time - detroitlions.com
"time" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5iuuC

Late Start, Short Season, Regional Competition for High School Sports in Connecticut - CT Examiner

lonk.indah.link

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference announced Friday that fall sports competition will not begin until September 24 and will last just six weeks.

“There were two key factors at play in pushing back the start date for games,” said Glenn Lungarini, the executive director of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. “We wanted our schools to have the best chance to get back in-person or hybrid and the recommendations from our doctors and athletic trainers was that it is important to have a prescribed build-up of training since the students haven’t had any structured activity for six months.”

In other words, the delay in the fall season will give schools the opportunity to work out the kinks in their COVID precautions before introducing sports and will allow students more time to gradually build physical fitness before the season begins.

This is important, especially for schools that choose to begin using a hybrid model and may only be able to have half of their athletes present on any given day of practice depending on how the school chooses to proceed with after school activities.

In contrast to an earlier draft plan released by the conference, when the goal was proceed with the normal leagues, the finalized plan organizes schools to compete within a region.

“All the games will be regionally-based,” Lungarini said. “Many of our commissioners are already thinking along these lines as we look at independent schools and conferences that are spread out through the state in order to rearrange schedules.”

Because opening and closing schools will be guided in part by county-level cases of COVID infections, organizing competitions between schools within the same geographic region will provide best opportunity to complete an entire season, say officials.

At the end of October — depending on case data and recommendations from the Department of Public Health — the conference plans to hold a two-week post-season tournament restricted to regional play.

“Our focus is to maximize play for the kids, but it’s not a return to normal,” Lungarini said.

Finishing the season early will also maximize the opportunity for student athletesvto participate in senior nights, homecoming games and the other end-of-school activities largely missed in the spring 2020 season.

“As we talked to kids about the season, what they missed most was those closure activities, we want to make sure they have those this time around,” Lungarini said. “Even under great metrics right now, there is a big unknown when you get to the start of flu season.”

With fall pre-season practices just a few weeks away, Lungarini said the focus is now shifting to planning for the winter season.

“Winter is going to be even more challenging to predict. It is easier to manage outdoor sports,” he said. Sports like indoor track and wrestling that typically draw huge crowds at just a handful of state facilities may not be possible – or will at least look very different – if COVID-19 continues to be a threat come December.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"short" - Google News
August 01, 2020 at 01:00AM
https://ift.tt/3hNjlkm

Late Start, Short Season, Regional Competition for High School Sports in Connecticut - CT Examiner
"short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SLaFAJ

Short wind turns with strong cooling effect: Why the ocean in the tropics is often colder than expected - Science Daily

lonk.indah.link

Sea surface temperatures in the tropics have a major influence on the climate in the tropics and the adjacent continents. For example, they determine the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the beginning and strength of the West African monsoon. Therefore, it is important to understand the variability of sea surface temperatures for climate predictions. Until now, the seasonal cycle of sea surface temperature in the tropical North Atlantic could not be sufficiently explained. "More precisely, the sea surface is colder than predicted by the combination of previous direct observations of solar radiation, currents and mixing, especially in the summer months from July to September," explains Dr. Rebecca Hummels from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and first author of a study now published in Nature Communications.

Ship-based observations with the German research vessel METEOR in September 2015 provided first measurements of a strong turbulent mixing event below the sea surface, where mixing was up to a factor of 100 higher than previously observed at this location. "When we noticed the greatly enhanced turbulence in the water column during data processing, we at first suspected a malfunction of our sensors," says Dr. Marcus Dengler, co-author of the study. "But when we also noticed strong currents at the ocean surface, we became curious." Precisely such events can explain the lower temperatures at the ocean surface.

"We were able to isolate the process behind this strong mixing event, which lasted only for a few days," explains Dr. Hummels. "It is a so-called inertial wave, which is a very short but intense flow event," Hummels continues. Inertial waves are horizontal wave phenomena in which the current at the surface rotates clockwise with time, whereas the movement rapidly decays with increasing depth. The different velocities at the surface and in the layer below cause instabilities and ultimately mixing between the warm water in the surface layer and the colder water below. Such inertial waves can be caused by brief variations in the near-surface winds. Up to now, generally only weak currents have been observed in this region and the rather steady trade winds at this time of year did not suggest particularly strong mixing events. However, wind variations are crucial to trigger these waves in the upper ocean. The winds do not have to be particularly strong, but ideally should rotate the same way the ocean currents do. Since such wind fluctuations are relatively rare and only last a few days, it has not yet been possible to measure such a strong wave phenomenon with the associated strong mixing in this region.

After the discovery of this event during the METEOR cruise in September 2015, the Kiel scientists wanted to know more about the frequency and the actual impact of such events. "Through model-based data analysis, we were able to give a context to the in-situ observations," explains co-author Dr. Willi Rath from the Research Unit Ocean Dynamics at GEOMAR. "Together, we have scanned 20 years of global wind observations looking for similar events triggered by wind fluctuations and described their occurrence in the region and during the course of the year," Dr. Rath adds. This has supported the hypothesis that the temporal and spatial distribution of such events can indeed explain the gap in the heat balance of the upper ocean.

The strong turbulent mixing caused by the inertial waves at the base of the surface layer is also crucial for biology: For example, the cold water that is mixed into the surface layer during such an event also brings nutrients from deeper layers into the upper ocean penetrated by sunlight. "This also explains the hitherto largely unexplained occurrence of chlorophyll blooms in this region, which could now also be attributed to the seasonally increased occurrence of these inertial waves," explains Dr. Florian Schütte, also co-author of the study.

The ship measurements in the tropical Atlantic were carried out in close cooperation with the international PIRATA program. For more than 20 years, the PIRATA surface buoys have been providing valuable data for studies of ocean-atmosphere interaction, which were also used for this study. "Indeed, the intensive mixing measurements resulted from a failure in the hydraulic system of the METEOR, which made other measurements impossible at that time," says Prof. Dr. Peter Brandt, chief scientist of the expedition. Despite buoys and series of ship expeditions to this region, new phenomena are still being discovered -- sometimes by chance -- which decisively advance our understanding of the tropical climate.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"short" - Google News
August 01, 2020 at 02:02AM
https://ift.tt/3hVDYe2

Short wind turns with strong cooling effect: Why the ocean in the tropics is often colder than expected - Science Daily
"short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SLaFAJ

Three Marquette County women arrested after short police pursuit Thursday night - WLUC

lonk.indah.link

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Three Marquette County women were arrested following a short police pursuit in the city of Marquette Thursday night.

According to the Marquette Police Department, officers attempted to stop a vehicle for speeding around 9:50 p.m. July 30.

The driver of the car, 19-year-old Zya Ray Fassbender, of Marquette, sped away from the patrol car. A short pursuit began, but Fassbender attempted to take a corner at a higher speed, lost control and struck a fire hydrant on Elm Street near McClellan Avenue.

Fassbender and her two passengers, 23-year-old Taylor Kugler, of Gwinn, and 27-year-old Amber Sweeney, of Gwinn, were injured in the incident and transported to U.P. Health System - Marquette hospital by EMS for treatment.

Kugler and Sweeney were treated and released, but both women had outstanding warrants out of Marquette County, so they were arrested and lodged at the Marquette County Jail.

After her emergency room evaluation, Fassbender was lodged at the Marquette County Jail for fleeing and eluding. The Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office later authorized charges of possession of methamphetamine, resisting and obstructing, and tampering with evidence.

MPD says no arraignment date for Fassbender has been set at the time of posting.

The Marquette Police Department was assisted by the Marquette City Fire Department and UPHS EMS.

TV6 & FOX UP will update this story as more information is made available.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"short" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 09:54PM
https://ift.tt/3fddiDP

Three Marquette County women arrested after short police pursuit Thursday night - WLUC
"short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SLaFAJ

With time extension stalled, Census speeds up count schedule - WBTV

lonk.indah.link

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"time" - Google News
August 01, 2020 at 01:51AM
https://ift.tt/30gUGPa

With time extension stalled, Census speeds up count schedule - WBTV
"time" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5iuuC

Best Stocks To Short Today As GDP Plunge Rattles Investors - Forbes

It's Time for Companies to Pay Employees On-Demand - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM CERIDIAN - Harvard Business Review

lonk.indah.link

By David Ossip, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ceridian

Many Americans – regardless of income level, employment type, race, gender, age, or geography – are living paycheck to paycheck.

Currently, the overwhelming majority of employers pay their employees in arrears. This means that employers hold on to employees’ earned wages for up to two weeks, and during this period, the employees are effectively financing their employers. The employees oscillate between being cash rich on payday and cash poor while waiting for the next paycheck. According to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, “there is a sharp increase in spending on payday, which reaches its peak at either the payday itself or within the following two days, then slowly dies down in the subsequent couple of days.”

This can leave little to cover expenses for the remaining days. In fact, nearly one in three workers runs out of money before –even among those earning over $100,000.

Until now, the options for those workers have been very expensive. Credit card and line of credit facilities charge up to 20% in interest and fees. Payday loans, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and depending on the state, have fees that can equate to an annual percentage rate of almost 400% for a two-week period.

As we surveyed the market, we found that more than 60% of U.S. workers who have struggled financially between pay periods in the past six months believe their financial circumstances would improve if their employers allowed them immediate access to their earned wages, free of charge.

Most payroll vendors do not calculate earned wages continuously – in real time – making it very difficult for payroll administrators to implement an accurate on-demand pay solution. However, advances in cloud and HCM technologies have led to real-time pay systems that can calculate daily how much an employee is actually owed, net of taxes and deductions. This allows employees to be paid daily.

For employers, allowing employees to get paid when they want helps organizations differentiate themselves as forward-looking employers of choice. Data shows that better financial well-being and spend management lead to a more engaged workforce and lower employee turnover. On-demand pay makes employers more attractive as they recruit and onboard new talent.

For employees, on-demand pay means they can pay bills sooner and use the money they’ve already earned, instead of borrowing at potentially high interest rates. It gives them greater control over their finances, including immediate delivery of funds in the event of an emergency.

Covid-19 has brought about an acceleration of change in virtually every sector of the economy and in virtually every aspect of our lives. We believe that within the next five years, organizations will no longer pay their employees in arrears. The technology to pay on demand is here today. Ceridian’s new Dayforce Wallet allows employees to be paid on demand with no direct fees – even daily – while still allowing employers to fund their payroll weekly or biweekly.

To learn about Dayforce Wallet, Ceridian’s industry-first on-demand pay solution click here.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"time" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 10:09PM
https://ift.tt/3hWWfaO

It's Time for Companies to Pay Employees On-Demand - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM CERIDIAN - Harvard Business Review
"time" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5iuuC

Short wind turns with strong cooling effect - Phys.org

lonk.indah.link

The ship measurements in the tropical Atlantic were carried out in close cooperation with the international PIRATA program. For more than 20 years, the PIRATA surface buoys have been providing valuable data for studies of ocean-atmosphere interaction, which were also used for this study. "Indeed, the intensive mixing measurements resulted from a failure in the hydraulic system of the METEOR, which made other measurements impossible at that time," says Prof. Dr. Peter Brandt, chief scientist of the expedition. Despite buoys and series of ship expeditions to this region, new phenomena are still being discovered—sometimes by chance—which decisively advance our understanding of the tropical climate.

Explore further

Climate predictions several years into the future?

More information: Rebecca Hummels et al, Surface cooling caused by rare but intense near-inertial wave induced mixing in the tropical Atlantic, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17601-x

Provided by Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

Citation: Short wind turns with strong cooling effect (2020, July 31) retrieved 31 July 2020 from https://ift.tt/2BMMk8D

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"short" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 10:00PM
https://ift.tt/2BMMk8D

Short wind turns with strong cooling effect - Phys.org
"short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SLaFAJ

This action short film 'Wolfman' packs a punch - The Hindu

lonk.indah.link

Ben Sebastian's Wolfman is a long way from the usual short films. The 12-minute-long work unfolds as an explosive all-action piece pegged on a survival story. The fast-paced work, which aptly takes the tag-line 'An Action Short', portrays how an unnamed young guy held captive fights his way to freedom from what appears to be a seedy den for gangsters.

[embedded content]

We get to see high-octane action sequences that pack in some no-holds-barred hand-to-hand combats, martial arts stunts and stylised gunplay. The very framework of Wolfman reserves little room for chit-chats and the short suitably steers clear of any dialogues as bullets fly and bones are broken.

Ben says omitting dialogues and keeping the characters unnamed were all part of the plan. "The idea was to make it action-intense. The focus was on camerawork and visuals," he says, adding that he went for fast cuts throughout. "Also, we kept the camera dynamic mostly rather than going for static shots," says Ben who also edited the film and did the VFX.

Shot at an old building in Kottayam, Wolfman was filmed in 10 days. Ben says the action sequences were partly inspired by the acclaimed Indonesian film The Raid 2 and he credits his stunt co-ordinators Abhijith and Naveen Nandhan for the fight choreography. "It also helped that Sajeev Sajan who played the protagonist had learnt a bit of Kung Fu before," he points out. Ben says he likes role-playing shooter games and some of the frames shot in the first-person point of view demonstrate the influence.

A self-taught filmmaker, the 29-year-old says he picked up the techniques of movie-making from YouTube tutorials. "I like experimenting with film editing and watch a lot of western action short films. But it is a genre not much explored in India," he says. One reason why he chose to try his hand at an action short film.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"short" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 05:29PM
https://ift.tt/2BM9AUf

This action short film 'Wolfman' packs a punch - The Hindu
"short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SLaFAJ

Riverhounds SC Notebook: Forbes approaching all-time USL assist mark - Pittsburgh Soccer Now

lonk.indah.link

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will look to steer things back in a positive direction on Saturday night, when they return home for a rematch with Philadelphia Union II.

The Hounds are returning to a bit of a normal work schedule this week. But then again, what is normal in 2020?

They did play a stretch of three games in eight days, that included a home match against the team (Indy Eleven) in the USL Championship with the most points to this point of the 2020 campaign, sandwiched between two road matches in Philadelphia and New York.

The Hounds are a quarter of the way through the 16-game schedule that will stretch to the first weekend in October. This abbreviated slate puts pressure on clubs to produce results. Having lost the last two matches, Pittsburgh is suddenly in the middle of a dogfight in its group.

The good news that came at mid-week, was the club that’s now at the top of the table, Hartford Athletic, finally lost, getting handed a 4-1 defeat at Indy, where Tyler Pasher scored yet again.

The Athletic (who I predicted would finish second to the Hounds in the group), have taken care of business against the three MLS 2 side in the Group, but struggled when they took on the formidable Indy Eleven. The Hounds will not face Hartford until August 28, then will see them two more times in September.

In his get together with the media on Wednesday, Bob Lilley said that his club is showing positive signs despite the losses, but they need to execute better.

Bob Lilley Press Conference Transcript: Week 4 vs. Philadelphia

While it’s a bit of a mad dash of a season, there’s still 12 games left, the Hounds have plenty of time to get things right.

Forbes’ assist total stands out on the stat sheets

Once we get to a quarter of the way through the season, I usually start to look at statistical trends to learn a bit more about the Hounds, and each club.

Assists

Lets start with the statistic that stands out the most for the Riverhounds thus far this season: Kenardo Forbes’ league leading five assists.

Forbes added another assist to his resume with the free kick that led to the Hounds lone goal on Sunday, a header from Skyler Thomas.

Just another assist for @KenardoF. 😎 #UNLEASH #NYvPIT pic.twitter.com/t38G3o0bQE

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) July 26, 2020

In just a little more than two seasons played in Pittsburgh, the Hounds’ captain has produced 22 assists for the club, tying him with Justin Evans and Gary DePalma for 4th all-time in club history. Forbes also has 36 assists total in his entire USL Championship career. He is now 2nd all-time in assists, only one assist behind the current leader Maikel Chang.

With Forbes setting the tempo working through the central midfield, the Hounds have been showing patience in build-up to numerous goals this season. Even they press opponents into making mistakes, and often look forward in getting into transition quickly, the Hounds have been most successful when making the extra pass.

In fact, there have been times when Pittsburgh has knocked it around the box nicely, but then after seeing nothing, they play the ball back to Forbes, who cleverly finds the passing lanes when they open up, picking apart opposing back lines.

Forbes is making a definitive case for league MVP when you look at his ability to play from box-to-box. His nine tackles are third on the club, as we saw him make another impressive defensive play on Sunday against the Red Bulls II. If he can pick-up some timely goals at different times in the next 12 games, he should be on the short list of MVP candidates.

Both Ropapa Mensah and Danny Griffin each have pair of helpers in each of the first two matches.

If the Hounds are going to be successful and stay on this trend through the season, they’ll have to continue to keep working the ball to break down its opponents in the final third.

Goals / Shots

As a goal scoring outfit, the Hounds stack up pretty well in the entire league, as they are third in the USL Championship, with 10. Only Indy Eleven (13) and Phoenix Rising have scored more goals.

More than half of those goals for Pittsburgh came in the 6-0 rout at Philly.

As Bob Lilley likes to see — scoring has been balanced among the roster with Anthony Velarde and Steevan Dos Santos each scoring twice, while Dover, Mertz, Forbes, Mensah, Lukas Fernandes and Thomas have each scored once.

The Hounds are lower in the league in total shots (21st overall with 38), and much like they were a year ago, are near the top in conversion rate (3rd overall at 29%).

Passing

Despite Forbes’ ability to create chances and his own personal passing accuracy, following trends of past Lilley coached teams, the Hounds are among the league’s lowest in passing efficiency.

Pittsburgh is 30th overall in passing accuracy (73%). By comparison, the league’s leaders are The Miami FC, who’ve yet to win a match, with 84%.

The Hounds are 13th in passes (1,696), as Indy Eleven lead the way (with two games at hand) with 2,834 total passes.

Minutes Played

As I pointed out in my postgame Takeaways/Player Grades from the Hounds 2-1 loss at NY Red Bulls on Sunday, they have a core group of players who have pretty much played in either all or the bulk of the Hounds’ 360 minutes of action thus far.

This core group includes: Robbie Mertz (351 minutes), Kenardo Forbes (360), Jordan Dover (342), Ryan James (360), Thomas Vancaeyezeele (360) and Skylar Thomas (360).

Ropapa Mensah (305) has carried the bulk of minutes among the forward rotation, starting in each of the four matches, getting subbed off in the first two, but playing full matches in back-to-back matches last Wednesday and on Sunday.

Steevan Dos Santos, who’s been working his way back into shape after dealing with a groin injury, has only logged a total of 78 minutes, but has made appearances in all four matches and scored those two quick goals against Philly.

Defending

Pittsburgh has allowed four goals in four matches. Two of those came in the 96th minute of the past two matches.

What’s the answer here?

Make sure games don’t have a lot of extra stoppage time!

Kidding aside, the Hounds have defended fairly well as a unit, considering that the back line has been a bit of a makeshift unit. They had to replace Joe Greenspan and Tobi Adewole.

Thomas (6 fouls conceded-6 tackles-10 clearances) and Vancaeyezeele (4 fouls conceded/8 tackles/10 clearances) have been solid and steady, and they know what they’re going to get from the outside backs, James and Dover.

Tomas Gomez started the first three games in goal, with Danny Vitiello getting the nod on Sunday. This is right in line with Lilley’s

Discipline

Uncharacteristic for a Bob Lilley coached team, the Hounds are among leaders in yellow cards (10) and fouls conceded (5th overall with 63).

Robbie Mertz is the only Hound with more than one yellow card, as the Upper St. Clair native has been booked twice this season.

One interesting note is that Indy Eleven, who came to Pittsburgh and played a very, very physical match, lead the league with 77 total fouls conceded in six matches. The Hounds were called for 22 fouls in that match vs Indy, while the Eleven lived up to their names — with 11 fouls.

We’ll have to make a note of that for when the next time these two teams meet at Indy in mid-August.

Overall, it’s much of what we might expect from the Hounds. It’s not always going to be pretty, but they’re going to be striving to work as a collective unit. They’re a bit reliant on veterans to shoulder the load, particularly Forbes to keep things together in the middle and most of the back line. They’re defending well, but not putting enough pressure on opposing goalkeepers.

Union II Showed Improvement in loss to Hartford

The Union II showed considerable improvement in its last match, a 3-2 loss at Hartford on Monday.

After falling 6-0 and 5-1 in their first two games back in Chester, the Union II took their first lead of 2020 (they played Loudoun United to a scoreless draw in early March), Yomi Scintu and Axel Picazo scored inside the first 20 minutes. Scintu took advantage of a mistake on the Hartford back line, then scored Picazo, who created a few chances in the match against Pittsburgh, was the beneficiary of a charging run from Danny Flores who beat his man to the end line and cut the ball back to Picazo for an easy flick.

However, the Union II lead dissipated when Hartford turned up the pressure.

Former Alderdice High School and Riverhounds Academy standout Ben Martino continued to get valuable playing time in goal. The 18-year old from Pittsburgh Martino was forced into making four saves and three punches while limiting their opponents to one shot on goal after going down 2-0.

After starting the first three games back, The Brotherly Game’s Matt Ralph has been informed by the Union coaching staff that Martino will not be in the starting lineup upon his return to Pittsburgh.

Players Unavailable for Selection (previously Injury Report): Mark Lindstrom

In the preseason, Lindstrom, a rookie defender, went down with a leg injury, and worked his way back to training the past few weeks with the team. But Lilley admitted on Wednesday he had a set back.

“I feel thankful that we’ve been relatively healthy over the first four games. Lindstrom had a step backwards in training yesterday. Didn’t train today.

Walls, Bunk-Andersen and Dikwa, still not with the team

In addition, we learned this week that Tony Walls, a veteran player who was signed in the off season, is currently not with the team to attend to personal matters.

“Tony is dealing with personal stuff. He’s back in Milwaukee,” Hounds Head Coach Bob Lilley said. “We’ve given him some time to deal with some personal things. That’s his priority right now.”

In addition, there’s the continuing lingering saga of Patrick Bunk-Andersen and Albert Dikwa, who remain overseas.

“Those players overseas, we’ve been working on it for four weeks. (Operations head) Jon Rotz, the league, immigration attorneys have gotten involved. The paperwork’s been filed. It would be nice (to have them),” Lilley added on Wednesday.

1v1 with Skylar Thomas

Matt Gajtka had a chance to catch up with the Hounds’ steady defender on Thursday.

Here’s the interview on Pittsburgh Sports Live:

Video: 1-v-1 With Riverhounds SC Defender Skylar Thomas

Coverage for Hounds-Union II

Both Matt and I will be at Highmark Stadium on Saturday.

Look for updates on our Live Blog, postgame interview on our Facebook page along with a postgame recap show on Pittsburgh Sports Live.

John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of 'Miracle on the Mon' -- a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium and a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"time" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 07:55PM
https://ift.tt/2P9iGxi

Riverhounds SC Notebook: Forbes approaching all-time USL assist mark - Pittsburgh Soccer Now
"time" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5iuuC

Coronavirus Live News: World Updates - The New York Times

lonk.indah.link

Video player loading — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is testifying before a House subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis.CreditCredit...Pool photo by Kevin Dietsch

Here’s what you need to know:

A production facility of the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi in Val-de-Reuil, France. — Credit...Joel Saget/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The deal with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline is the biggest so far with the U.S. government.

The French drug maker Sanofi said on Friday that it had secured an agreement of up to $2.1 billion to supply the United States government with 100 million doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccine, the largest such deal announced to date.

The arrangement brings the Trump administration’s investment in coronavirus vaccine projects to more than $8 billion. This sprawling, multiagency effort, known as Operation Warp Speed, is placing bets on multiple vaccines and is paying companies to manufacture millions of doses before clinical trials have been completed.

“The global need for a vaccine to help prevent Covid-19 is massive, and no single vaccine or company will be able to meet the global demand alone,” Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president and global head of Sanofi Pasteur, the company’s vaccine division, said in a statement.

Under the deal announced, Sanofi and its partner, the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, will receive federal funding to pay for clinical trials as well as for manufacturing the vaccine. Sanofi said the deal also includes an option for the company to supply an additional 500 million doses. The company expects to begin clinical trials to test for safety in September, followed by late-stage efficacy trials before the end of this year. Sanofi said it could apply for regulatory approval in the first half of next year.

If the vaccine is successful, it would be made available to Americans at no cost, other than what providers charge to administer it, the federal government said in a statement.

The head of Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, is a former GSK executive who as of May held just under $10 million in GSK stock. Dr. Slaoui’s financial ties to some of the companies that are pursuing coronavirus vaccines have raised questions about conflicts of interest.

Sanofi and GSK did not say how much of the federal money would go to each company — only that Sanofi would receive the most. GSK did not comment on whether Dr. Slaoui had recused himself from negotiations over the deal. A senior administration official said all agreements were negotiated by federal “acquisition professionals” and that Dr. Slaoui did not play a role in the negotiations.

As states scramble to put out fires, Fauci and other top U.S. health officials go back before Congress.

Credit...Chris Creese for The New York Times

Two days after U.S. deaths surpassed 150,000, three familiar federal health officials, including Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, returned to Capitol Hill to testify in front of a new audience: the House’s special select committee investigating the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic.

Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, was joined on Friday morning by Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Adm. Brett P. Giroir, the assistant secretary for health and the administration’s point person on coronavirus testing.

Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the top Democrat on the House committee charged with overseeing the response to the coronavirus, kicked off the hearing by demanding that the Trump administration put forth a “comprehensive national plan” to control the pandemic.

“It is clear that the administration’s approach of deferring to the states, sidelining the experts and rushing to reopen has prolonged this virus and led to thousands of preventable deaths,” said Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the Democratic chairman of the House select committee overseeing the coronavirus responses.

The top Republican on the panel, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, chided Mr. Clyburn for advancing a political narrative. Turning to the witnesses, he said: ”You wouldn’t even be here today if there wasn’t a plan”

The three witnesses last testified a month ago before lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Senate, when the subject was school reopening.

But the Democrat-led House select committee has had a hard time securing Dr. Fauci and his colleagues as witnesses. The Trump administration initially refused to make them available.

The hearing is taking place as states across the country are reimposing limits in response to a resurgence of cases — a turn of events reflected in the title lawmakers gave the hearing: “The Urgent Need for a National Plan to Contain the Coronavirus.”

With President Trump clearly intent on announcing promising vaccine news, it has fallen to Dr. Fauci to offer reassurances that the federal government is moving quickly but safely. The other witnesses will most likely discuss the change in the C.D.C.’s position on reopening schools, which now tilt toward reopening — and delays in getting virus test results.

On Thursday, the president, meeting with reporters, again stressed his desire for students to return to the classroom.

The coronavirus panel was established this spring by Speaker Nancy Pelosi in large part to put a check on how the federal government is spending the trillions of dollars in emergency aid. But its mandate has broadened to include a panoply of issues, including racial disparities in the pandemic and nursing home outbreaks.

Some of the House’s fieriest members are on the panel, including Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who has been a regular skeptic of Dr. Fauci and public health mandates, including mask wearing.

Several of the panel’s prominent Democrats are also not known for shying away from conflict, including Mr. Clyburn and Representative Maxine Waters of California.

United States ›	On July 30	14-day change	Trend
New cases	67,167	–1%
New deaths	1,237	+57%

Five key developments you may have missed on Thursday.

The pandemic’s toll on businesses in the United States became emphatically clearer as the government detailed the most devastating three-month economic collapse on record, which wiped away nearly five years of growth. Read more on the economic crisis.
President Trump, whose unsteady handling of the virus has left him trailing in the polls, floated the idea of changing the date of the presidential election — a suggestion he has no authority to enact, and which instantly drew rare rebukes from top Republicans. Read more on Mr. Trump’s words and the reaction to them.
U.S. lawmakers failed to extend jobless benefits that are expiring today. On Thursday, the Senate dissolved into partisan bickering over a sweeping economic stabilization package, clashing over dueling proposals. Tens of millions of Americans have depended on the $600-a-week unemployment aid for months. Read more about the impasse.
Herman Cain, who ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and was a recent contender for a top Federal Reserve job, died after being hospitalized with the coronavirus. Read Mr. Cain’s obituary.
Cases in New Jersey are rising again. Just a week ago, the state recorded its lowest seven-day average of new daily cases — 224 — since the numbers peaked in the state in early April, according to a database maintained by The New York Times. But the state has averaged 416 cases per day over the past week. Read more about the uptick in cases in New Jersey.

Europe’s economic contraction is its worst on record.

The European economy tumbled into its worst recession on record in the second quarter, as quarantines across the continent brought business, trade and consumer spending to a grinding halt.

From April to June, gross domestic product fell by 11.9 percent from the first quarter in the 27 member states of the European Union, and by 12.1 percent in the core group of countries that use the euro currency, according to figures released on Friday by Eurostat, the E.U. statistics agency.

On an annualized basis, European Union economies shrank by 14.4 percent, and eurozone economies by 15 percent, the sharpest contractions since statistics started being kept in 1995.

Over the same period, the United States economy shrank by 9.5 percent on the previous quarter and by 32.9 percent on an annual basis, according to figures published on Thursday.

But in Europe, there were signs that the worst may have passed, and that a tentative recovery has been gaining some traction as governments unleash enormous stimulus spending. Lengthy lockdowns, while painful for business and industry, have helped curb a widespread resurgence of the pandemic in most countries, easing reopening.

The figures were especially grim for nations on Europe’s southern rim, which were among the worst affected by the virus and which faced longer quarantine periods than northern European countries.

In Spain, which has had one of Europe’s highest death tolls, the economy shrank by a staggering 22.1 percent from a year ago and by 18.5 percent from the first quarter. France, the eurozone’s second-largest economy, shrank by 19 percent from a year ago and by 13.8 percent from the first quarter; and Italy, the third-largest economy in the zone, contracted by 17.3 percent from a year ago and by 12.4 percent from the first quarter. France is officially in recession, with three straight quarters of contraction.

On Thursday, the authorities reported that the German economy, Europe’s largest, shrank by 11.7 percent from the same period last year and by 10.1 percent from the previous quarter.

European Union leaders last week agreed to a landmark stimulus of 750 billion euros, or about $884 billion, to rescue their economies and to anchor a mild turnaround that had started to take hold after lockdowns began to be lifted.

But risks abound as surges in new cases are reported, increasing the possibility of more quarantines.

“The hard part of this recovery is set to start about now,” Bert Colijn, senior economist for the eurozone at ING Bank, said in a note to clients.

Native Americans appear to be hit particularly hard by the virus, though the data is incomplete.

Credit...Mason Trinca for The New York Times

Even with significant gaps in the available data, there are strong indications that Native American people have been disproportionately affected by the virus.

The rate of known cases in the eight counties with the largest populations of Native Americans is nearly double the national average, a New York Times analysis has found. The analysis cannot determine which individuals are testing positive for the virus, but these counties are home to one in six U.S. residents who describe themselves in census surveys as non-Hispanic and American Indian or Alaska Native.

And there are many other smaller counties with significant populations of Native Americans that have elevated case rates, including Yakima County, Wash. The Times identified at least 15 counties that have elevated case rates and are home to sizable numbers of Native American residents, ranging from large metropolitan areas in Arizona to rural communities in Nebraska and Mississippi.

Native Americans at Risk

Counties with large Native American populations with reported infection rates above 1,500 cases per 100,000 residents.

Wash.

Yakima

S.D.

Buffalo

Thurston

Iowa

Neb.

Utah

San Juan

Coconino

N.C.

Robeson

Apache

Ariz.

Okla.

McKinley

La Paz

Navajo

N.M.

Maricopa

Miss.

McCurtain

Pinal

Neshoba

Wash.

Yakima

S.D.

Buffalo

Lyman

Thurston

Neb.

Utah

D.C.

San Juan

Coconino

N.C.

Ariz.

Robeson

McKinley

Apache

Okla.

La Paz

N.M.

Navajo

Miss.

Maricopa

Pinal

Neshoba

McCurtain

La.

Terrebonne

Yakima

Buffalo

Lyman

Thurston

Apache

San Juan

Robeson

Coconino

McCurtain

McKinley

La Paz

Navajo

Neshoba

Maricopa

Pinal

Terrebonne

“I feel as though tribal nations have an effective death sentence when the scale of this pandemic, if it continues to grow, exceeds the public resources available,” said Fawn Sharp, the president of the Quinault Indian Nation and of the National Congress of American Indians.

The trends are troubling enough that congressional leaders have asked the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to examine them.

In New Mexico, Native American and Alaska Native people have accounted for nearly 40 percent of virus cases, though they make up 9 percent of the population.

Hospitalization rates published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggest that Native American people are overrepresented among those who become seriously ill from the virus. Federal data tracking individual coronavirus cases often omits race and ethnicity information.

Native Americans — particularly those living on reservations — are more prone to contract the virus because of crowded housing conditions that make social distancing difficult, said Allison Barlow, director of the Center for American Indian Health at Johns Hopkins University. And years of underfunded health systems, food and water insecurity and other factors contribute to underlying health conditions that can make the illness more severe once contracted.

Hong Kong is delaying an election, citing coronavirus. The opposition isn’t buying it.

Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

The Hong Kong government said on Friday that it would postpone the city’s September legislative election by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, a decision seen by the pro-democracy opposition as a brazen attempt to thwart its electoral momentum and avoid the defeat of pro-Beijing candidates.

“It is a really tough decision to delay but we want to ensure fairness, public safety and public health,” said Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive.

The delay was a blow to opposition politicians, who had expected to ride to victory in the fall on a wave of deep-seated dissatisfaction with the government and concerns about a sweeping new national security law imposed on the city by Beijing. And it was the latest in a quick series of aggressive moves by the pro-Beijing establishment to sideline the pro-democracy movement.

On Thursday, 12 pro-democracy candidates said they had been barred from running, including four sitting lawmakers and several prominent activists like Joshua Wong. Mr. Wong said he was barred in part because of his criticism of the new security law. He called the disqualifications “the most scandalous election fraud ever in Hong Kong history.”

Even as Hong Kong cast the decision as one made for public health reasons, to curb the spread of the virus, the pro-democracy opposition has accused the government of using social-distancing rules to clamp down on the protest movement that began more than a year ago.

Global roundup

Britain halts reopenings and brings in new restrictions for millions after signs of increasing spread.

Credit...Phil Noble/Reuters

Britain has barred millions of people in northern England from meeting other households at their homes, paused reopenings set for Aug. 1 and moved to make face masks mandatory in more places, after a day on which it reported 38 new coronavirus deaths and nearly 900 known new infections, its highest case numbers in a month.

At a news conference on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had promised to put on the brakes at any sign of an increase in cases, and added: “Our assessment is that we should now squeeze that brake pedal.”

Britain — which has suffered Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak, with nearly 56,000 confirmed deaths — has been gradually easing restrictions, with pubs, restaurants, museums and hair salons allowed to reopen early this month.

On Saturday, the government had planned to allow reopening of higher-risk settings in England including casinos, bowling alleys and skating rinks, and to permit small wedding receptions and some indoor performances. All that will now be pushed back until at least August 15.

“We simply cannot take the risk,” Mr. Johnson said. “We will of course study the data carefully and pay attention to open up as soon as we can.”

Measures to encourage more people to return to their places of work would go ahead, he said. Mr. Johnson also added that mask wearing, already mandatory in shops and supermarkets in England, would be extended to include more indoor settings where social distancing was not an option.

The moves came suddenly, with the restrictions in northern England implemented at midnight, less than three hours after the authorities’ initial announcement Thursday night, and with official guidance on what the rules cover not published until the following morning.

Those restrictions affect Manchester and its surrounding towns and suburbs, plus areas in East Lancashire and West Yorkshire.The announcement came just before Eid al-Adha, and several of the affected areas have large Muslim communities. Places of worship will remain open with social distancing measures but the authorities recommended praying outdoors.

Here are other developments from around the globe:

Vietnam, which has been fighting a fresh virus outbreak after more than three months without reporting a locally transmitted case, has announced its first death from the coronavirus. The victim was a 70-year-old resident of the city of Hoi An who had been living with kidney disease for more than a decade. The man was admitted to a hospital on July 9 with chest tightness and fatigue, and tested positive for the virus on Sunday. He died Friday morning.

On Friday, Japan announced 1,305 new cases, breaking a record set the day before. As cases spike in Tokyo, Gov. Yuriko Koike has requested that karaoke venues and bars and restaurants serving alcohol close by 10 p.m. from Aug. 3 through the end of the month. Businesses that cooperate will be offered 200,000 yen, or about $1,900.

Many African countries are testing too little to track the virus, an aid group warns.

Credit...Berthier Mugiraneza/Associated Press

A stark lack of testing in many African countries has kept officials from being able to track the pandemic, prompting fears that a recent surge in cases across the continent may be just the “tip of the iceberg,” according to the International Rescue Committee.

Each country in Africa where the committee works has conducted fewer than 8,000 tests per million people, the group said. By contrast, Britain has conducted 205,782 tests per million, the United Arab Emirates 472,590 per million, and Singapore 199,904 per million, the committee said.

The committee cited Tanzania (63 tests per million), Niger (373 tests per million), Chad (383 tests per million), Democratic Republic of Congo (467 tests per million) and Burundi (563 tests per million) as having the lowest testing rates among the African countries where it works.

The committee, a global humanitarian aid organization, said that testing in many African countries was falling far short of the rate of at least one test per 1,000 people per week recommended by the World Health Organization.

The organization said many African nations needed international support to increase their testing capacity or the continent could face “an undetected and uncontrolled spread — and a response fighting with a hand tied behind its back.”

“The testing shortfalls make it nearly impossible to understand the extent of the pandemic — let alone put measures in place to stop it,” Stacey Mearns, a senior technical adviser on emergency health at the committee, said in a statement.

Reporting was contributed by Liz Alderman, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Kate Conger, Robert Gebeloff, Michael Levenson, Eshe Nelson, Richard A. Oppel Jr., Richard C. Paddock, Elian Peltier, Matt Phillips, Austin Ramzy, Motoko Rich, Eliza Shapiro, Megan Specia, Eileen Sullivan, Katie Thomas, Neil Vigdor, Mihir Zaveri.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"time" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 08:52PM
https://ift.tt/33dnpGk

Coronavirus Live News: World Updates - The New York Times
"time" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5iuuC

Rechercher dans ce blog

Friday, July 31, 2020

Share this:

Share this:

Here’s what you need to know:

The deal with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline is the biggest so far with the U.S. government.

As states scramble to put out fires, Fauci and other top U.S. health officials go back before Congress.

United States ›

On July 30

14-day change

Trend

67,167

–1%

1,237

+57%

Where cases are rising fastest

U.S. hot spots ›

Worldwide ›

Five key developments you may have missed on Thursday.

Europe’s economic contraction is its worst on record.

Native Americans appear to be hit particularly hard by the virus, though the data is incomplete.

Hong Kong is delaying an election, citing coronavirus. The opposition isn’t buying it.

Britain halts reopenings and brings in new restrictions for millions after signs of increasing spread.

Many African countries are testing too little to track the virus, an aid group warns.

Featured Post

Popular Posts

Archives du blog

Libellés