A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed Tuesday in the ocean off Southern California during a routine flight from an aircraft carrier, military officials said.A search and rescue operation was launched after the MH-60S helicopter crashed around 4:30 p.m. about 60 nautical miles off San Diego, the Navy’s U.S. Pacific Fleet said on Twitter.The crash happened while the aircraft was “conducting routine flight operations,” according to the Navy. It had been aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.”Search and rescue operations are ongoing with multiple Coast Guard and Navy air and surface assets,” the tweet said. No other details were immediately available. The MH-60S is a versatile aircraft that typically carries a crew of four and is used in missions including combat support, humanitarian disaster relief and search and rescue.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
SAN DIEGO --
A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed Tuesday in the ocean off Southern California during a routine flight from an aircraft carrier, military officials said. A search and rescue operation was launched after the MH-60S helicopter crashed around 4:30 p.m. about 60 nautical miles off San Diego, the Navy’s U.S. Pacific Fleet said on Twitter. The crash happened while the aircraft was “conducting routine flight operations,” according to the Navy. It had been aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. “Search and rescue operations are ongoing with multiple Coast Guard and Navy air and surface assets,” the tweet said. No other details were immediately available. The MH-60S is a versatile aircraft that typically carries a crew of four and is used in missions including combat support, humanitarian disaster relief and search and rescue. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Source link The post Navy helicopter crashes in ocean off Southern California coast first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/navy-helicopter-crashes-in-ocean-off-southern-california-coast/ via The Greater Kansas City
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. â One million COVID-19 vaccinations, as Kansas City passes the milestone this week, local employers ponder how to reach the next step. That next step? Two million vaccinations, striving to reach herd immunity. But sluggish vaccination rates could accelerate as more businesses start requiring shots for their employees. Truman Medical Center/University Health has mandated that employees must be vaccinated by September 20. Hospital administration said they will not really know the how many people opt-out until they reach the deadline. But Charlie Shields, TCM/UH President and CEO, said on Tuesday that, yes, they will probably lose some employees because of the requirement. However, those employees might not be able to find work at other hospitals as more healthcare facilities start mandating COVID-19 vaccinations like they do the flu shot. The healthcare industry is not alone in this push. The focus of Tuesdayâs KC Chamber meeting was âIncreasing Vaccination Rates in the Workplace.â One business that shared thoughts on their decision to mandate was United Inner City Services (UICS). UICS Executive Director Deidre Anderson said it was necessary being in childcare. âWhen the child tested positive, also having double ear infection and pneumonia, I guess it was just a courageous leap of faith,â Anderson said reflecting on the decision. âI hate when I get the reaction that âYouâre forcing me to get vaccinated.â My reaction is âIâm sure it feels like that. And I apologize if it feels like that. But Iâm simply telling you this is why weâre doing it. This is what weâre doing. And you do still have a choice.ââ Recently updated OSHA guidelines suggest âthat employers consider adopting policies that require workers to get vaccinated or to undergo regular covid-19 testing, in addition to mask wearing and physical distancing, if they remain unvaccinated.â Legal experts at the chamber meeting were asked if mandatory vaccination for employees is legally permissible. Their answer was yes, with exemptions for disabilities and sincere religious beliefs. But employers can also continue to encourage vaccinations through methods including weekly prize drawings, discounted rates on insurance premiums, health insurance surcharges, or requiring the use of normal PTO or unpaid leave for unvaccinated employees who get COVID-19. âI have people who are frustrated with me because Iâm the bearer of the news and also a lot of misunderstanding why we no longer continue to pay emergency sick leave and trying to explain on the front end of the pandemic there was no vaccination so that was the governmentâs accommodation,â Anderson said. âThe volume of exposure is extremely extensive for us. But, I canât operate at all when people are not vaccinated and theyâre exposed.â In general, moving forward, employees who have a legitimate reason for not getting vaccinated may be given reasonable accommodations including wearing a mask, bi-weekly testing for COVID-19, or remote work. But, according to the legal experts on the panel, the accommodation does not have to be the employeeâs preferred accommodation. Suggest a CorrectionSource link The post More Kansas City businesses requiring vaccinations first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/more-kansas-city-businesses-requiring-vaccinations/ via The Greater Kansas City By Kevin Collison Adam Jones, who’s redevelopment portfolio include the Westside and West Bottoms, is going east to the 18th & Vine District with an artsy project featuring barbecue and soul food along with a dollop of local jazz culture. He’s renovating a small two-story building at 1819 Vine into a restaurant and night club and naming it “Ruthelle’s” after Ruthelle Winkfield, the woman who ran a hair salon for many years in the space. A big mural of Ruthelle was recently completed on the side of the building by street artist Michael Toombs and Jones also plans to add a neon sculpture by LA artist Nikita Gale based on a note jazz great Charlie Parker wrote to his wife, Chan: “I adore your every move.” The artwork is part of a $20,000 grant he received from Dashboard, an Atlanta non-profit dedicated public art intended to raise social awareness. Jones also has commissioned 18 portraits of local jazz greats that will be part of his Kansas City Jazz Hall of Fame installation at a 50-foot long outdoor pavilion planned for the back of the building. The portraits were done by an old classmate of his from the Kansas City Art Institute based in Long Island, Cliff Baldwin. Chuck Haddix of KCUR, a longtime connoisseur of local jazz history, helped select the musicians for the gallery. The building had been vacant since the 1980s and Jones acquired it about six years ago. It originally was built around the turn of the 20th Century for a Black doctor who had his office and residence there. As part of his redevelopment plan, Jones reached out to his neighbor, the Zodiac motorcycle club, to make sure his idea was compatible and wasn’t viewed as gentrification. The project is being financed by Lead Bank and the total redevelopment cost was estimated at $175,000. The schedule calls for the exterior work to be completed by year’s end and the restaurant and club opening in late spring 2022. Jones’ project is only a block away from two other larger development plans either under construction or in the works for the 18th and Vine area. The first phase of the proposed One Nine Vine mixed-use development, a $25.6 million apartment building with ground floor retail, is scheduled to be considered by a city development agency in early September. It’s proposed for the southeast corner of 19th and Vine. And work is underway on the 2000 Vine project which is renovating two, 150 year-old buildings at 2000 Vine into office space, retail and a proposed microbrewery. Don’t miss any downtown news, sign up for our weekly CityScene KC email review here. Source link The post Developer Bringing ‘Ruthelle’s’ Back to 18th & Vine – CitySceneKC first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/developer-bringing-ruthelles-back-to-18th-vine-cityscenekc/ via The Greater Kansas City Sea Breeze Properties, developers of the $1 billion North City — a mixed-used commercial project in San Marcos — say they are eagerly embracing students who are returning to the adjacent Cal State San Marcos campus for the fall semester, especially those lucky 860-plus scholars who are staying at The Quad. When finished, the self-contained business district fronting Route 78 will boast 3,400 units of housing, 750,000 square feet of office space, 375,000 square feet of retail, including restaurants, groceries and entertainment, as well as The Quad, the student housing portion of the build. The project also features 20 acres of parks and trails. So far, 20% of North City has been completed. The businesses within the project say they’re anxious to get back to normal after a year of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “While business has improved over the last few months — buoyed by new openings, community events, and reduced rent offered by the developers — North City and San Marcos business boosters are looking forward to increased foot traffic and brisker business from the students, faculty, and entire university ecosystem who’ll be looking to dine, drink, and get back to enjoying campus life,” said a spokesperson. Home improvement website Porch this week released a study which found that the average sales price of a home in the region could exceed $1 million by this time next year. What’s amazing is that this projected increase represents a 25% bump over the current average price of $754,000. That’s a one-year increase of historic proportions, and would follow the hefty increase which took place this past year — close to 20%. Porch said the projected rate of increase in San Diego is the third highest nationwide, trailing only Austin and Phoenix. The website projects that the sales price of an average home in Austin will jump 37% over the coming year, while the sales price of a home in Phoenix will rise 26%. Austin has experienced a flood of Californians moving into the metro area, with the population there now exceeding 1 million residents. So, what’s behind the hefty run-ups in sales prices? There is a shortage of properties coming to market just as demand surges. New housing construction has never recovered from the deep recession of 2008-2009, with supply lagging demand as the economy stages a sharp comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic. To find the residential real estate markets that could grow the most within the next year, researchers at Porch analyzed data from Zillow, Redfin and the Census Bureau. The average household income in San Diego has now reached close to $84,000, according to the study. * * * A spokeswoman for the iconic 132-year-old Hotel del Coronado checks in to note that the property “has reached another milestone in its $400 million “reimagination.” The work has been quite extensive and brings the landmark property up to shiny new. She said that construction workers have completed restoration of the hotel’s front porch and lobby, as well as entry and retail outlets. The 757-room hotel has been undergoing extensive renovations, an effort that started before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020. * * * Van Dermyden Makus Law Corp., which claims to be one of the nation’s top workplace investigations legal firms, says it has opened a San Diego office. Kelly Gemelli, a veteran practitioner in the area of employment law, has joined the firm as managing partner of the local office. VM Law, as the firm is better known, currently has offices in Sacramento and San Rafael. The new office here is part of an overall strategy to expand services across the state. * * * The Port of San Diego has promoted Karen Porteous to the position of executive vice president and chief of staff. Previously, the 26-year veteran held the title of chief administrative officer. * * * Home services platform Thumbtack has released results of its 2021 Small Business Friendliness Survey, and San Diego didn’t come out too well. In fact, we failed. We got an F. The score was based on the polling of 3,600 small business owners in the home maintenance and construction sector across the country. Forty-four cities and 43 states received grades from A+ to F on overall small business friendliness, regulations, taxes, and training opportunities. In addition to San Diego, cities scoring F’s were Detroit, Nashville, and Kansas City. The top scoring cities on the business friendliness scale were Jacksonville, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Baltimore and Seattle. All received grades ranging from an A- to an A+. The federal government received an F score. California received a C-. * * * Finally…Hera Hub Temecula, the first woman-owned and focused business accelerator in the Inland Empire, will hold re-opening festivities the afternoon of Sept. 9. The event comes after more than a year of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hera Hub was founded in San Diego 10 years ago, and has been growing through a collaborative licensing model, with locations sprouting up nationwide, according to the website. Tom York is a Carlsbad-based independent journalist who specializes in writing about business and the economy. If you have news tips you’d like to share, send them to [email protected]. Show comments Source link The post Tom York on Business: New ‘North City’ District Welcomes Back CSUSM Students first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/tom-york-on-business-new-north-city-district-welcomes-back-csusm-students/ via The Greater Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. â The deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters down to 53 is at 3 p.m. Central Time on August 31. Many teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, have already begun the difficult decision of cutting players who have been working through camps, practices and preseason games. Head coach Andy Reid may have found himself having a more difficult time this year than any other during his tenure in Kansas City. With a new offensive line and more depth in the wide receiver and running back rooms, some players who showed flashes in the preseason will now hope to be picked up by another team or make it on the practice squad. Suggest a Correctionfrom The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/chiefs-cut-down-to-final-53-man-roster-before-regular-season/ via The Greater Kansas City The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war.Hours ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline for shutting down a final airlift, and thus ending the U.S. war, Air Force transport planes carried a remaining contingent of troops from Kabul airport. Thousands of troops had spent a harrowing two weeks protecting the airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans and others seeking to escape a country once again ruled by Taliban militants.In announcing the completion of the evacuation and war effort. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said the last planes took off from Kabul airport at 3:29 p.m. Washington time, or one minute before midnight in Kabul. He said a number of American citizens, likely numbering in “the very low hundreds,” were left behind, and that he believes they will still be able to leave the country.Secretary of State Antony Blinken put the number of Americans left behind at under 200, “likely closer to 100,” and said the State Department would keep working to get them out. He praised the military-led evacuation as heroic and historic and said the U.S. diplomatic presence would shift to Doha, Qatar.Biden said military commanders unanimously favored ending the airlift, not extending it. He said he asked Blinken to coordinate with international partners in holding the Taliban to their promise of safe passage for Americans and others who want to leave in the days ahead.The airport had become a U.S.-controlled island, a last stand in a 20-year war that claimed more than 2,400 American lives.The closing hours of the evacuation were marked by extraordinary drama. American troops faced the daunting task of getting final evacuees onto planes while also getting themselves and some of their equipment out, even as they monitored repeated threats — and at least two actual attacks — by the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A suicide bombing on Aug. 26 killed 13 American service members and some 169 Afghans.The final pullout fulfilled Biden’s pledge to end what he called a “forever war” that began in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and rural Pennsylvania. His decision, announced in April, reflected a national weariness of the Afghanistan conflict. Now he faces criticism at home and abroad, not so much for ending the war as for his handling of a final evacuation that unfolded in chaos and raised doubts about U.S. credibility.The U.S. war effort at times seemed to grind on with no endgame in mind, little hope for victory and minimal care by Congress for the way tens of billions of dollars were spent for two decades. The human cost piled up — tens of thousands of Americans injured in addition to the dead.More than 1,100 troops from coalition countries and more than 100,000 Afghan forces and civilians died, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project.In Biden’s view the war could have ended 10 years ago with the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden, whose al-Qaida extremist network planned and executed the 9/11 plot from an Afghanistan sanctuary. Al-Qaida has been vastly diminished, preventing it thus far from again attacking the United States.Congressional committees, whose interest in the war waned over the years, are expected to hold public hearings on what went wrong in the final months of the U.S. withdrawal. Why, for example, did the administration not begin earlier the evacuation of American citizens as well as Afghans who had helped the U.S. war effort and felt vulnerable to retribution by the Taliban? It was not supposed to end this way. The administration’s plan, after declaring its intention to withdraw all combat troops, was to keep the U.S. Embassy in Kabul open, protected by a force of about 650 U.S. troops, including a contingent that would secure the airport along with partner countries. Washington planned to give the now-defunct Afghan government billions more to prop up its army.Biden now faces doubts about his plan to prevent al-Qaida from regenerating in Afghanistan and of suppressing threats posed by other extremist groups such as the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate. The Taliban are enemies of the Islamic State group but retain links to a diminished al-Qaida.The final U.S. exit included the withdrawal of its diplomats, although the State Department has left open the possibility of resuming some level of diplomacy with the Taliban depending on how they conduct themselves in establishing a government and adhering to international pleas for the protection of human rights.The speed with which the Taliban captured Kabul on Aug. 15 caught the Biden administration by surprise. It forced the U.S. to empty its embassy and frantically accelerate an evacuation effort that featured an extraordinary airlift executed mainly by the U.S. Air Force, with American ground forces protecting the airfield. The airlift began in such chaos that a number of Afghans died on the airfield, including at least one who attempted to cling to the airframe of a C-17 transport plane as it sped down the runway.By the evacuation’s conclusion, well over 100,000 people, mostly Afghans, had been flown to safety. The dangers of carrying out such a mission came into tragic focus last week when the suicide bomber struck outside an airport gate.Speaking shortly after that attack, Biden stuck to his view that ending the war was the right move. He said it was past time for the United States to focus on threats emanating from elsewhere in the world.”Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “it was time to end a 20-year war.”The war’s start was an echo of a promise President George W. Bush made while standing atop of the rubble in New York City three days after hijacked airliners slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.”The people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” he declared through a bullhorn.Less than a month later, on Oct. 7, Bush launched the war. The Taliban’s forces were overwhelmed and Kabul fell in a matter of weeks. A U.S.-installed government led by Hamid Karzai took over and bin Laden and his al-Qaida cohort escaped across the border into Pakistan. The initial plan was to extinguish bin Laden’s al-Qaida, which had used Afghanistan as a staging base for its attack on the United States. The grander ambition was to fight a “Global War on Terrorism” based on the belief that military force could somehow defeat Islamic extremism. Afghanistan was but the first round of that fight. Bush chose to make Iraq the next, invading in 2003 and getting mired in an even deadlier conflict that made Afghanistan a secondary priority until Barack Obama assumed the White House in 2009 and later that year decided to escalate in Afghanistan.Obama pushed U.S. troop levels to 100,000, but the war dragged on though bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in 2011.When Donald Trump entered the White House in 2017 he wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan but was persuaded not only to stay but to add several thousand U.S. troops and escalate attacks on the Taliban. Two years later, his administration was looking for a deal with the Taliban, and in February 2020 the two sides signed an agreement that called for a complete U.S. withdrawal by May 2021. In exchange, the Taliban made a number of promises including a pledge not to attack U.S. troops.Biden weighed advice from members of his national security team who argued for retaining the 2,500 troops who were in Afghanistan by the time he took office in January. But in mid-April he announced his decision to fully withdraw.The Taliban pushed an offensive that by early August toppled key cities, including provincial capitals. The Afghan army largely collapsed, sometimes surrendering rather than taking a final stand, and shortly after President Ashraf Ghani fled the capital, the Taliban rolled into Kabul and assumed control on Aug. 15.Some parts of the country modernized during the U.S. war years, and life for many Afghans, especially women and girls, improved measurably. But Afghanistan remains a tragedy, poor, unstable and with many of its people fearing a return to the brutality the country endured when the Taliban ruled from 1996 to 2001.The U.S. failures were numerous. It degraded but never defeated the Taliban and ultimately failed to build an Afghan military that could hold off the insurgents, despite $83 billion in U.S. spending to train and equip the army. The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war. Hours ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline for shutting down a final airlift, and thus ending the U.S. war, Air Force transport planes carried a remaining contingent of troops from Kabul airport. Thousands of troops had spent a harrowing two weeks protecting the airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans and others seeking to escape a country once again ruled by Taliban militants. In announcing the completion of the evacuation and war effort. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said the last planes took off from Kabul airport at 3:29 p.m. Washington time, or one minute before midnight in Kabul. He said a number of American citizens, likely numbering in “the very low hundreds,” were left behind, and that he believes they will still be able to leave the country. Secretary of State Antony Blinken put the number of Americans left behind at under 200, “likely closer to 100,” and said the State Department would keep working to get them out. He praised the military-led evacuation as heroic and historic and said the U.S. diplomatic presence would shift to Doha, Qatar. Biden said military commanders unanimously favored ending the airlift, not extending it. He said he asked Blinken to coordinate with international partners in holding the Taliban to their promise of safe passage for Americans and others who want to leave in the days ahead. The airport had become a U.S.-controlled island, a last stand in a 20-year war that claimed more than 2,400 American lives. The closing hours of the evacuation were marked by extraordinary drama. American troops faced the daunting task of getting final evacuees onto planes while also getting themselves and some of their equipment out, even as they monitored repeated threats — and at least two actual attacks — by the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A suicide bombing on Aug. 26 killed 13 American service members and some 169 Afghans. The final pullout fulfilled Biden’s pledge to end what he called a “forever war” that began in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and rural Pennsylvania. His decision, announced in April, reflected a national weariness of the Afghanistan conflict. Now he faces criticism at home and abroad, not so much for ending the war as for his handling of a final evacuation that unfolded in chaos and raised doubts about U.S. credibility. The U.S. war effort at times seemed to grind on with no endgame in mind, little hope for victory and minimal care by Congress for the way tens of billions of dollars were spent for two decades. The human cost piled up — tens of thousands of Americans injured in addition to the dead. More than 1,100 troops from coalition countries and more than 100,000 Afghan forces and civilians died, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project. In Biden’s view the war could have ended 10 years ago with the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden, whose al-Qaida extremist network planned and executed the 9/11 plot from an Afghanistan sanctuary. Al-Qaida has been vastly diminished, preventing it thus far from again attacking the United States. Congressional committees, whose interest in the war waned over the years, are expected to hold public hearings on what went wrong in the final months of the U.S. withdrawal. Why, for example, did the administration not begin earlier the evacuation of American citizens as well as Afghans who had helped the U.S. war effort and felt vulnerable to retribution by the Taliban? It was not supposed to end this way. The administration’s plan, after declaring its intention to withdraw all combat troops, was to keep the U.S. Embassy in Kabul open, protected by a force of about 650 U.S. troops, including a contingent that would secure the airport along with partner countries. Washington planned to give the now-defunct Afghan government billions more to prop up its army. Biden now faces doubts about his plan to prevent al-Qaida from regenerating in Afghanistan and of suppressing threats posed by other extremist groups such as the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate. The Taliban are enemies of the Islamic State group but retain links to a diminished al-Qaida. The final U.S. exit included the withdrawal of its diplomats, although the State Department has left open the possibility of resuming some level of diplomacy with the Taliban depending on how they conduct themselves in establishing a government and adhering to international pleas for the protection of human rights. The speed with which the Taliban captured Kabul on Aug. 15 caught the Biden administration by surprise. It forced the U.S. to empty its embassy and frantically accelerate an evacuation effort that featured an extraordinary airlift executed mainly by the U.S. Air Force, with American ground forces protecting the airfield. The airlift began in such chaos that a number of Afghans died on the airfield, including at least one who attempted to cling to the airframe of a C-17 transport plane as it sped down the runway. U.S. Central Command via AP By the evacuation’s conclusion, well over 100,000 people, mostly Afghans, had been flown to safety. The dangers of carrying out such a mission came into tragic focus last week when the suicide bomber struck outside an airport gate. Speaking shortly after that attack, Biden stuck to his view that ending the war was the right move. He said it was past time for the United States to focus on threats emanating from elsewhere in the world. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “it was time to end a 20-year war.” The war’s start was an echo of a promise President George W. Bush made while standing atop of the rubble in New York City three days after hijacked airliners slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. “The people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” he declared through a bullhorn. Less than a month later, on Oct. 7, Bush launched the war. The Taliban’s forces were overwhelmed and Kabul fell in a matter of weeks. A U.S.-installed government led by Hamid Karzai took over and bin Laden and his al-Qaida cohort escaped across the border into Pakistan. The initial plan was to extinguish bin Laden’s al-Qaida, which had used Afghanistan as a staging base for its attack on the United States. The grander ambition was to fight a “Global War on Terrorism” based on the belief that military force could somehow defeat Islamic extremism. Afghanistan was but the first round of that fight. Bush chose to make Iraq the next, invading in 2003 and getting mired in an even deadlier conflict that made Afghanistan a secondary priority until Barack Obama assumed the White House in 2009 and later that year decided to escalate in Afghanistan. Obama pushed U.S. troop levels to 100,000, but the war dragged on though bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in 2011. When Donald Trump entered the White House in 2017 he wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan but was persuaded not only to stay but to add several thousand U.S. troops and escalate attacks on the Taliban. Two years later, his administration was looking for a deal with the Taliban, and in February 2020 the two sides signed an agreement that called for a complete U.S. withdrawal by May 2021. In exchange, the Taliban made a number of promises including a pledge not to attack U.S. troops. Biden weighed advice from members of his national security team who argued for retaining the 2,500 troops who were in Afghanistan by the time he took office in January. But in mid-April he announced his decision to fully withdraw. The Taliban pushed an offensive that by early August toppled key cities, including provincial capitals. The Afghan army largely collapsed, sometimes surrendering rather than taking a final stand, and shortly after President Ashraf Ghani fled the capital, the Taliban rolled into Kabul and assumed control on Aug. 15. Some parts of the country modernized during the U.S. war years, and life for many Afghans, especially women and girls, improved measurably. But Afghanistan remains a tragedy, poor, unstable and with many of its people fearing a return to the brutality the country endured when the Taliban ruled from 1996 to 2001. The U.S. failures were numerous. It degraded but never defeated the Taliban and ultimately failed to build an Afghan military that could hold off the insurgents, despite $83 billion in U.S. spending to train and equip the army. Source link The post Last US troops leave Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/last-us-troops-leave-afghanistan-ending-americas-longest-war/ via The Greater Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. â Outdoor dining will be in place in Kansas City for months to come. Kansas Cityâs Council approved an extension of its outdoor dining program last week and will allow the temporary dining options to stay in place through the end of 2021. The program was created in 2020 to promote social distancing and allow restaurants to serve more customers during the pandemic. The ordinance allowed restaurants and bars to apply and turn sidewalks, streets and parklets into outdoor seating areas. Each option has its own requirements, and business owners must file and have plans approved by the city before the dining area opens. The temporary permit waives fees, maintenance agreement and other requirements that would normally be needed to open an outdoor dining area. Kansas City has additional information about requirements and how to apply for a temporary permit. Last year entertainment areas such as Westport and the Power and Light District featured outdoor dining. The city even agreed to close a portion of 14th Street downtown to allow restaurants to offer a large outdoor seating area for customers. Other metro cities, such as Shawnee and Blue Springs, also opened up options for restaurants to have temporary outdoor dining areas. Suggest a Correctionfrom The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/kansas-city-extends-outdoor-dining-program/ via The Greater Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. â The Chiefs began trimming their roster to the 53-man limit for the regular season on Monday, and coach Andy Reid may have found himself having a more difficult time this year than any other during his tenure in Kansas City. Take the offensive line, for example. The unit had been dominated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Super Bowl fiasco, forcing general manager Brett Veach to tear it down and start all over. In fact, the line was so drastically different by the time preseason games began that three Super Bowl starters were among the second-team unit. âI mean, itâs gotten better each and every week,â Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. âI think theyâve had an amazing preseason. I havenât got a hit a lot. I donât really think I got touched at all (Friday). I think that just speaks to them and how theyâve been playing. Theyâve done a great job and gotten better each and every week.â Itâs not just the offensive line where the Chiefs had an abundance of depth during training camp. Among the early cuts Tuesday were running backs Darwin Thompson and Derrick Gore, both of whom showed some flashes in the preseason. Thompson was a sixth-round pick in 2019 who had appeared in 26 games over the past two seasons, and Gore had a nifty 56-yard touchdown reception as the Chiefs wrapped up preseason with a win over Minnesota. The fact both were let go means starter Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has been dealing with an ankle injury, and longtime backup Darrel Williams, who sustained a concussion, should be ready for the opener Sept. 12 against Cleveland. The Chiefs also have Jerrick McKinnon, who showed a good grasp of the playbook after signing as a free agent. âHeâs been doing this a long time, especially for running backs,â Reid said. âThe average longevity is like, three years, so for him to have been in it and doing it this long, he brings great experience. And he sure has a knack for the pass game.â The Chiefs were not expected to publish a full list of roster cuts until Tuesday, when all teams are required to reach the 53-man limit for the regular season. But most of those who will be searching for work elsewhere trickled out Monday, most of them confirmed by the players or their agents on social media. Three wide receivers were released in Darrius Shepherd, Dalton Shoen and Maurice Ffrench, who spent last season on the Chiefsâ practice squad. So was offensive lineman Wyatt Miller, who failed to crack a suddenly deep group up front. On the other side of the ball, defensive end Demone Harris was released after competing throughout camp with Tim Ward for a roster spot. Another defensive end, Austin Edwards, was released along with linebacker Omari Cobb, defensive back Zayne Anderson and Devon Key, a young safety whom the Chiefs would like to sign to their practice squad. Some of the moves could have a big impact on special teams, which is often the decider on the last few roster spots. âSometimes you lose guys you want to keep,â Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub said, âbut you go in, you make your arguments for guys and they have to be solid offensive or defensive players first, obviously. Then itâs our job to turn those guys down the line into good special teams players, and thatâs the way it works.â On Wednesday, the Chiefs and other NFL teams can begin assembling their practice squads. That means up to 16 players, rather than 10, and more chances for teams to sign players who have been in the league for an extended period of time. âThere are a couple of spots we have questions,â Reid said, âbut Veach has done a nice job of bringing in great competition, so we have to make some decisions in certain areas. Maybe we keep a guy here or there that we normally wouldnât keep at a key position and have a little bit of an overload because heâs been a good player. Itâs just part of it.â Suggest a CorrectionSource link The post Kansas City Chiefs cut more players before roster deadline first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/kansas-city-chiefs-cut-more-players-before-roster-deadline/ via The Greater Kansas City By Kevin Collison The new Transit Coffee shop at Westport Road and Main is all about motion, whether it’s the region’s place as a transportation crossroads or the streetcar stop that’s opening nearby in a couple years. “The idea is, Kansas City is this central hub for all kinds of different supply lines and transportation systems,” said Ben White, co-owner. “There’s lots of green coffee beans stored in the caves here. “We can bring in all the best coffees. We want to serve high-end coffee, but not be pretentious.” The café is taking over the space vacated by Oddly Correct coffee, which moved to 4141 Troost, and is currently in a soft opening phase. A grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 3. White is bringing a wealth of coffee experience with him, dating back to the seventh grade when he was a regular patron at the former Benetti’s coffee shop next door to his middle school in Raytown. He later became a Starbuck barista before going to work at The Quay in the River Market where he eventually became general manager and helped it open an outlet at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Throughout all that, he managed to get his degree from the UMKC Conservatory of Music specializing in playing classical guitar. Performing remains a passion along with coffee. When Oddly Correct vacated the corner for new digs on Troost Avenue, a couple of his friends from Redeemer Fellowship church, which owns the building, approached him about whether he’d like to open a coffee place there. White agreed and took over the lease, which now is scheduled to go through 2026, a year or more after the streetcar extension from downtown to UMKC is expected to be running. Rather than roast its own coffee, Transit Coffee seeks out the best beans from around the country to brew. White and his baristas gather for “cuppings” to sample which beans to buy and a steady rotation is planned. Some of the roasters in the line-up include Methodical out of Greensville, S.C.; Dogwood out of Minneapolis, and Hammerhand from Liberty. Transit Coffee also will feature pastries and baked goods from Black Hole Pastry along with breakfast sandwiches featuring meats from Local Pig. White had experience with the streetcar while working at The Quay, the River Market stop was nearby, and said its a great vehicle to deliver customers. “We got a lot of people from out of town and it was fantastic for business,” he said. He wants his new place to be rider-friendly, offering quick turnarounds in service so people can stop by, get their coffee and food, and be ready to jump on the next streetcar coming down the track. “We want high-end coffee and food on-the-go,” he said. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. Don’t miss any downtown news, sign up for our weekly CityScene KC email review here. Source link The post Transit Coffee Opens Near Future Streetcar Stop at Westport Road – CitySceneKC first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/transit-coffee-opens-near-future-streetcar-stop-at-westport-road-cityscenekc/ via The Greater Kansas City Here’s the latest on Hurricane Ida: City government said power is knocked out to all of New Orleans, LouisianaThe storm weakened to a Category 2 stormIda’s 150-mph winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland U.S.Ida hit Louisiana the exact day Hurricane Katrina devastated the state 16 years ago”The devastation is likely to be immense,” President Biden said at FEMA HeadquartersHundreds of flights have been canceled Sunday and Monday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Video above: Live coverage from sister station WDSU in New OrleansHurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S., knocking out power to all of New Orleans, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast into one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors.The power outage in New Orleans heightened the city’s vulnerability to flooding and left hundreds of thousands of people without air conditioning and refrigeration in sweltering summer heat.Ida — a Category 4 storm — hit on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier, coming ashore about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck land. Ida’s 150-mph (230 kph) winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland U.S. It dropped hours later to a Category 2 storm with maximum winds of 110 mph (175 kph) as it crawled inland, its eye about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west-northwest of New Orleans.The rising ocean swamped the barrier island of Grand Isle as landfall came just to the west at Port Fourchon. Ida made a second landfall about two hours later near Galliano. The hurricane was churning through the far southern Louisiana wetlands, with the more than 2 million people living in and around New Orleans and Baton Rouge under threat.“This is going to be much stronger than we usually see and, quite frankly, if you had to draw up the worst possible path for a hurricane in Louisiana, it would be something very, very close to what we’re seeing,” Gov. John Bel Edwards told The Associated Press. People in Louisiana woke up to a monster storm after Ida’s top winds grew by 45 mph (72 kph) in five hours as the hurricane moved through some of the warmest ocean water in the world in the northern Gulf of Mexico.The entire city of New Orleans late Sunday was without power, according to city officials. The city’s power supplier — Entergy — confirmed that the only power in the city was coming from generators, the city’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness said on Twitter. The message included a screenshot that cited “catastrophic transmission damage” for the power failure.The city relies on Entergy for backup power for the pumps that remove storm water from city streets. Rain from Ida is expected to test that pump system.More than 1 million customers were without power in two Southern states impacted by Ida — more than 930,000 in Louisiana and 28,000 in Mississippi, according to PowerOutage.US, which tracks outages nationwide.In New Orleans, wind tore at awnings and caused buildings to sway and water to spill out of Lake Ponchartrain. The Coast Guard office in New Orleans received more than a dozen reports of breakaway barges, said Petty Officer Gabriel Wisdom. In Lafitte about 35 miles (55 km) south of New Orleans, a loose barge struck a bridge, according to Jefferson Parish officials.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Ricky Boyette said engineers detected a “negative flow” on the Mississippi River as a result of storm surge. And Edwards said he watched a live video feed from around Port Fourchon as Ida came ashore that showed that roofs had been blown off buildings in “many places.”“The storm surge is just tremendous,” Edwards told the AP.Officials said Ida’s swift intensification from a few thunderstorms to a massive hurricane in just three days left no time to organize a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans’ 390,000 residents. Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged residents remaining in the city on Sunday to “hunker down.”Marco Apostolico said he felt confident riding out the storm at his home in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, one of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods when levees failed and released a torrent of floodwater during Katrina.His home was among those rebuilt with the help of actor Brad Pitt to withstand hurricane-force winds. But the memory of Katrina still hung over the latest storm.“It’s obviously a lot of heavy feelings,” he said. “And yeah, potentially scary and dangerous.” The region getting Ida’s worst includes petrochemical sites and major ports, which could sustain significant damage. It is also an area that is already reeling from a resurgence of COVID-19 infections due to low vaccination rates and the highly contagious delta variant. The region getting Ida’s worst includes petrochemical sites and major ports, which could sustain significant damage. It is also an area that is already reeling from a resurgence of COVID-19 infections due to low vaccination rates and the highly contagious delta variant.New Orleans hospitals planned to ride out the storm with their beds nearly full, as similarly stressed hospitals elsewhere had little room for evacuated patients. And shelters for those fleeing their homes carried an added risk of becoming flashpoints for new infections.Forecasters warned winds stronger than 115 mph (185 kph) threatened Houma, a city of 33,000 that supports oil platforms in the Gulf.The hurricane was also threatening neighboring Mississippi, where Katrina demolished oceanfront homes. With Ida approaching, Claudette Jones evacuated her home east of Gulfport, Mississippi, as waves started pounding the shore.“I’m praying I can go back to a normal home like I left,” she said. “That’s what I’m praying for. But I’m not sure at this point.”Video: Louisiana hospitals prepare for Hurricane Ida’s arrival= Comparisons to the Aug. 29, 2005, landfall of Katrina weighed heavily on residents bracing for Ida. Katrina was blamed for 1,800 deaths as it caused levee breaches and catastrophic flooding in New Orleans. Ida’s hurricane-force winds stretched 50 miles from the storm’s eye, or about half the size of Katrina, and a New Orleans’ infrastructure official emphasized that the city is in a “very different place than it was 16 years ago.”The levee system has been massively overhauled since Katrina, Ramsey Green, deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure, said before the worst of the storm hit. While water may not penetrate levees, Green said if forecasts of up to 20 inches of rain prove true, the city’s underfunded and neglected network of pumps, underground pipes and surface canals likely won’t be able to keep up.The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality was in contact with more than 1,500 oil refineries, chemical plants and other sensitive facilities and will respond to any reported pollution leaks or petroleum spills, agency spokesman Greg Langley said. He said the agency would deploy three mobile air-monitoring laboratories after the storm passes to sample, analyze and report any threats to public health. Louisiana’s 17 oil refineries account for nearly one-fifth of the U.S. refining capacity and its two liquefied natural gas export terminals ship about 55% of the nation’s total exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Government statistics show that 95% of oil and gas production in the Gulf Coast region was shut down as Ida made landfall on Sunday, according to energy company S&P Global Platts.Louisiana is also home to two nuclear power plants, one near New Orleans and another about 27 miles (about 43 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge.President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi ahead of Ida’s arrival. He said Sunday the country was praying for the best for Louisiana and would put its “full might behind the rescue and recovery” effort once the storm passes.Edwards warned his state to brace for potentially weeks of recovery.“Many, many people are going to be tested in ways that we can only imagine today,” the governor told a news conference.
NEW ORLEANS --
Here’s the latest on Hurricane Ida:
Video above: Live coverage from sister station WDSU in New Orleans Hurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S., knocking out power to all of New Orleans, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast into one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors. The power outage in New Orleans heightened the city’s vulnerability to flooding and left hundreds of thousands of people without air conditioning and refrigeration in sweltering summer heat. Ida — a Category 4 storm — hit on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier, coming ashore about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck land. Ida’s 150-mph (230 kph) winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland U.S. It dropped hours later to a Category 2 storm with maximum winds of 110 mph (175 kph) as it crawled inland, its eye about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west-northwest of New Orleans. The rising ocean swamped the barrier island of Grand Isle as landfall came just to the west at Port Fourchon. Ida made a second landfall about two hours later near Galliano. The hurricane was churning through the far southern Louisiana wetlands, with the more than 2 million people living in and around New Orleans and Baton Rouge under threat. “This is going to be much stronger than we usually see and, quite frankly, if you had to draw up the worst possible path for a hurricane in Louisiana, it would be something very, very close to what we’re seeing,” Gov. John Bel Edwards told The Associated Press. People in Louisiana woke up to a monster storm after Ida’s top winds grew by 45 mph (72 kph) in five hours as the hurricane moved through some of the warmest ocean water in the world in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The entire city of New Orleans late Sunday was without power, according to city officials. The city’s power supplier — Entergy — confirmed that the only power in the city was coming from generators, the city’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness said on Twitter. The message included a screenshot that cited “catastrophic transmission damage” for the power failure. The city relies on Entergy for backup power for the pumps that remove storm water from city streets. Rain from Ida is expected to test that pump system. More than 1 million customers were without power in two Southern states impacted by Ida — more than 930,000 in Louisiana and 28,000 in Mississippi, according to PowerOutage.US, which tracks outages nationwide. In New Orleans, wind tore at awnings and caused buildings to sway and water to spill out of Lake Ponchartrain. The Coast Guard office in New Orleans received more than a dozen reports of breakaway barges, said Petty Officer Gabriel Wisdom. In Lafitte about 35 miles (55 km) south of New Orleans, a loose barge struck a bridge, according to Jefferson Parish officials. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Ricky Boyette said engineers detected a “negative flow” on the Mississippi River as a result of storm surge. And Edwards said he watched a live video feed from around Port Fourchon as Ida came ashore that showed that roofs had been blown off buildings in “many places.” “The storm surge is just tremendous,” Edwards told the AP. Officials said Ida’s swift intensification from a few thunderstorms to a massive hurricane in just three days left no time to organize a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans’ 390,000 residents. Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged residents remaining in the city on Sunday to “hunker down.” Marco Apostolico said he felt confident riding out the storm at his home in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, one of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods when levees failed and released a torrent of floodwater during Katrina. His home was among those rebuilt with the help of actor Brad Pitt to withstand hurricane-force winds. But the memory of Katrina still hung over the latest storm. “It’s obviously a lot of heavy feelings,” he said. “And yeah, potentially scary and dangerous.” The region getting Ida’s worst includes petrochemical sites and major ports, which could sustain significant damage. It is also an area that is already reeling from a resurgence of COVID-19 infections due to low vaccination rates and the highly contagious delta variant. The region getting Ida’s worst includes petrochemical sites and major ports, which could sustain significant damage. It is also an area that is already reeling from a resurgence of COVID-19 infections due to low vaccination rates and the highly contagious delta variant. New Orleans hospitals planned to ride out the storm with their beds nearly full, as similarly stressed hospitals elsewhere had little room for evacuated patients. And shelters for those fleeing their homes carried an added risk of becoming flashpoints for new infections. Forecasters warned winds stronger than 115 mph (185 kph) threatened Houma, a city of 33,000 that supports oil platforms in the Gulf. The hurricane was also threatening neighboring Mississippi, where Katrina demolished oceanfront homes. With Ida approaching, Claudette Jones evacuated her home east of Gulfport, Mississippi, as waves started pounding the shore. “I’m praying I can go back to a normal home like I left,” she said. “That’s what I’m praying for. But I’m not sure at this point.” Video: Louisiana hospitals prepare for Hurricane Ida’s arrival = Comparisons to the Aug. 29, 2005, landfall of Katrina weighed heavily on residents bracing for Ida. Katrina was blamed for 1,800 deaths as it caused levee breaches and catastrophic flooding in New Orleans. Ida’s hurricane-force winds stretched 50 miles from the storm’s eye, or about half the size of Katrina, and a New Orleans’ infrastructure official emphasized that the city is in a “very different place than it was 16 years ago.” The levee system has been massively overhauled since Katrina, Ramsey Green, deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure, said before the worst of the storm hit. While water may not penetrate levees, Green said if forecasts of up to 20 inches of rain prove true, the city’s underfunded and neglected network of pumps, underground pipes and surface canals likely won’t be able to keep up. AP Photo/Eric Gay The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality was in contact with more than 1,500 oil refineries, chemical plants and other sensitive facilities and will respond to any reported pollution leaks or petroleum spills, agency spokesman Greg Langley said. He said the agency would deploy three mobile air-monitoring laboratories after the storm passes to sample, analyze and report any threats to public health. Louisiana’s 17 oil refineries account for nearly one-fifth of the U.S. refining capacity and its two liquefied natural gas export terminals ship about 55% of the nation’s total exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Government statistics show that 95% of oil and gas production in the Gulf Coast region was shut down as Ida made landfall on Sunday, according to energy company S&P Global Platts. Louisiana is also home to two nuclear power plants, one near New Orleans and another about 27 miles (about 43 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge. President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi ahead of Ida’s arrival. He said Sunday the country was praying for the best for Louisiana and would put its “full might behind the rescue and recovery” effort once the storm passes. Edwards warned his state to brace for potentially weeks of recovery. “Many, many people are going to be tested in ways that we can only imagine today,” the governor told a news conference. Source link The post Ida downgraded to Category 2, knocks out New Orleans power first appeared on The Greater Kansas City News Site. from The Greater Kansas City News Site https://thegreaterkansascity.org/ida-downgraded-to-category-2-knocks-out-new-orleans-power/ via The Greater Kansas City |
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