PERENNIAL LOSERS THE RICHEST TEAM
Toronto Maple Leafs Head Sportico’s 2021 NHL Valuations at $2 Billion


Kurt Badenhausen
Wed, October 13, 2021


The year is ingrained in the mind of every Toronto Maple Leafs fan: 1967. It marks the club’s last Stanley Cup title, the longest current drought between championships in the NHL. Last season teased a glimmer of hope, with the club’s first division crown in two decades, led by the NHL’s top goal scorer, Auston Matthews, but the Leafs were unceremoniously dumped from the playoffs in the first round by their archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens.

Yet, the Leafs can claim another trophy: the NHL’s most valuable team and its only $2 billion franchise, according to data compiled by Sportico. The average team is worth $934 million, and the combined fair-market value of the NHL’s 32 clubs, including ownership’s stakes in real estate, regional sports networks and additional team-related holdings, is $30 billion. That represents five times the $6 billion in annual revenue the league should generate from its next full season with fans in buildings, along with revenue from non-NHL events.

Toronto ($2 billion), the New York Rangers ($1.87 billion) and Montreal ($1.58 billion), which are the locales for the NHL’s three league offices, lead the way in this year’s rankings, while 10 teams cracked the $1 billion mark.

“There is a lot of wealth in Toronto that would fall all over themselves to bid on the Maple Leafs,” Drew Dorweiler, a valuations expert at boutique Montreal investment bank IJW, said in a phone interview.

Even with the Canadian dollar currently valued at 80% of the U.S. dollar, the Leafs have the highest sponsor and media revenue in the NHL, including its blockbuster $30 million-a-year arena naming rights deal with Scotiabank. Sportico projects gross revenue for the Leafs at $300 million for a full season with fans in the building, including 50% of the revenue from non-NHL/NBA events at Scotiabank Arena, with the other half allocated to the Raptors, which are also part of the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment conglomerate. And there’s more good news: Toronto starts the 2021-22 season as one of the Cup favorites, along with Colorado, Tampa Bay and Vegas, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

The Leafs are working on their sixth decade without a title, yet history and tradition matter in the NHL for generating revenue that drives value. The 10 most valuable clubs have won a combined 74 Stanley Cup titles, while the bottom 10 have a total of three.

Team Sales

Sportico spoke with more than 30 people inside and outside the league over the last month to dig into the values of NHL franchises. What emerged is optimism around the business of the sport that has the same potential revenue levers to pull that are driving values higher in basketball, football and soccer, with gambling, sponsorships, streaming, blockchain and international prospects front and center.

“The best way to drive values in all professional sports is to sell the right teams,” one sports banker told Sportico, which granted anonymity in order to most accurately assess valuations. The right teams have definitely not been sold in hockey. The last control sale was the Arizona Coyotes for $300 million in 2019, continuing a quarter-century run of that franchise being passed around from owner to owner like a game of hot potato since it moved to Arizona from Winnipeg in 1996. In August, the city of Glendale announced it would terminate the Coyotes’ lease after the 2021-22 season, leaving the club without a home; Sportico values the team at $410 million, more than 20% lower than any other team. Fellow bottom-five in value teams, the Carolina Panthers and Florida Panthers, also changed hands over the past eight years.

The last marquee NHL franchise sold was the Maple Leafs, in 2012, but some recent limited partner transactions at lofty valuations, according to several sources, indicate the NHL is cashing in on the supply/demand equation driving sports team values up across North America. And more deals are likely on the way. Private equity is still sitting on the sidelines in the NHL, but the league is expected to greenlight PE investment into teams in the near future, injecting more liquidity into the sport.

PE money would be welcomed by certain owners. Overall NHL revenue plummeted $2.6 billion, or 55%, last season for a league that can’t fall back on a massive national TV deal like those in the NBA and NFL. The decline followed a COVID-19-impacted 2019-20 season, when the regular season was cut short, and the playoffs took place in “bubbles” without fans. The final 2020-21 revenue tally: $2.2 billion and significant red ink for team owners.

One silver lining of the revenue shortfall for owners moving forward is the collective bargaining agreement. The CBA calls for a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue (HRR), which excludes non-NHL events and allows deductions to sponsorship, concession and premium seat revenue. Players have captured more than 60% of HRR over the past two seasons, and the roughly $1 billion sitting in an escrow account will revert to owners over the next few years to make up for the revenue shortfall.

New Beginnings

The NHL dropped the puck on the season Tuesday, and the night highlighted a few developments that have team executives bullish. Most important for the gate-driven league, fans are back in buildings, with the Canucks and Canadiens the only two NHL teams expected to start this season at less than 100% fan capacity, due to local COVID-19 protocols.

The league kicked off a pair of new TV deals with Walt Disney and Turner Sports worth $4.4 billion combined over seven years. ESPN, which held the rights to games in 2005, will air more than 100 regular-season games a year, ending the run of NBC where national broadcasts sometimes felt “hidden,” according to one NHL insider.

NHL arenas have transformed their concessions operations to include more grab-and-go items, along with cashless transactions that speed up wait times and goose more sales at higher prices. The result is an expected per-capita spending on concessions between $23 and $27 for most teams, according to event food-service industry consultant Chris Bigelow. It represents a 20-25% boost over prior spending.

The Seattle Kraken were approved as the 32nd NHL franchise in December 2018, with an expansion fee of $650 million. The ownership group, led by David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer, is a minority partner in the $1.1 billion redevelopment of Climate Pledge Arena. Oak View Group will run the building in addition to being the arena’s majority equity partner. Sponsorship and premium seat sales are expected to be sold out ahead of the first home game next week, with a waiting list for the premium products, while merchandise sales have set a record pace. Sportico valued the team at $860 million, No. 14 in the NHL.

The Islanders have been nomads in recent years, bouncing between Long Island and Brooklyn, and also faced the challenge of building a pandemic arena. They finally get a permanent home base with UBS Arena, where OVG and the Islanders are equal partners in the $1 billion building.

The Isles sold out 12,000 general season tickets and 3,000 premium seats; some suites are priced at nearly $500,000. Sportico estimates sponsorship and premium seat revenue will top $100 million annually at UBS, up ten-fold versus recent Islanders seasons. The Swiss banking giant locked up naming rights for 20 years in a deal worth more than $15 million a season.

“This building was built for hockey but made for music,” UBS Arena president Tom Pistore said in a phone interview. Construction included easy access for crews to load/unload concert equipment—saving time and money—and a robust compound near the stage for artists that Pistore compares to a luxury hotel. Pistore is bullish on the venue’s concert opportunities, and his premium seating sales staff has been able to push through multiple price increases since they first went to market in early 2020. “Music has been a very important second tenant in our selling,” he adds.

Real Estate Titans

The Edmonton Oilers operate in one of the five smallest NHL markets, but the team punches above its weight with gate receipts and a local TV deal that rank among the NHL’s best. The club sold out 549 games over 13 years in a streak that ended in November 2019, and its TV territory stretches throughout the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and includes more than 5 million people.

Daryl Katz, who owns the Oilers and made his fortune in the pharmacy business, has used the team and Rogers Arena as a tentpole for a massive mixed-use real estate development, ICE District, around the building. The 25-acre development includes condos, a public plaza, dining, hospitality, retail and office space. The $2 billion project will eventually grow to nearly $5 billion, according to sources. Katz has unloaded portions of the project, including a $400 million sale for the commercial portion of the 69-story Stantec Tower, as well as an office building to Alberta pension manager AIMCo for $300 million. Sportico excluded the Ice District from its related business valuations, due to the size of the project, which will ultimately dwarf the team’s assets.

Sportico did include another related business in its $1.16 billion total valuation of the Oilers, ranked ninth overall. OEG Digital Gaming is a separate company that operates the club’s digital, subscription and gaming operations, including sponsorships in those categories. It also operates the Oilers’ popular 50-50 raffle business that grossed $70 million over 70 games last year while also handling raffles for clients in addition to the NHL team. The firm is poised to grow, as gambling rolls out after the Canadian lawmakers’ approval of single-game wagering in June. We conservatively valued it at $260 million. OEG's database has 250,000 names that have engaged with the company.

Next Frontier

The Washington Capitals have always been one of the NHL’s most forward-looking teams under the ownership of Ted Leonsis and his Monumental Sports & Entertainment empire. MSE launched an over-the-top streaming product, Monumental Sports Network, in 2013 and two years later added an equity stake in its RSN partner, NBC Sports Washington.

The NHL announced DraftKings as its official sports betting and daily fantasy sports partner in a five-year deal this week. “The potential revenue streams from gambling have everyone across the league excited,” said one team executive. Leonsis is already a step ahead.

Leonsis was an early investor in DraftKings and Sportrader through Revolution Growth, the investment firm he co-founded, and this year, Washington became the first NBA or NHL arena with a sportsbook inside the building through a 10-year lease with William Hill (a temporary sportsbook was in place the prior nine months). It also includes a broadcast studio, three bars and a restaurant.

“We have grand aspirations for the sportsbook,” Zach Leonsis, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at MSE and Ted’s son, told Sportico this spring. “I think that will be a flagship location, not just for William Hill, but for sports betting venues across the country.”

So when the NHL approved jersey patch partners starting with the 2022-23 season, it was no surprise to see the Caps act first. Caesars will adorn the team’s home jerseys starting next year in a deal worth $6 million a year. We valued the Capitals at $1.17 billion, including its related businesses and real estate, No. 8 among NHL clubs, but Leonsis made one thing clear about his plans for his MSE sports teams at a Sportico Live NBA Valuations event in January: “I never want to sell the team.”

On eve of strike deadline at John Deere

Dana workers call for joint action with John Deere workers

George Kirby

WSWS.ORG
an hour ago


On the eve of a midnight strike deadline for 10,100 John Deere workers Wednesday evening, workers at auto parts maker Dana Inc. expressed their support for joint action with workers at the agricultural equipment maker. The strike deadline was announced by the United Auto Workers last week after Deere workers voted down a sellout contract, which would have included the elimination of pensions for new hires, by a 90 percent margin.

Dana auto parts workers in the United States voted down a sellout contract of their own by a similar margin more than a month ago, but the UAW and the United Steelworkers (USW) are keeping workers on the job on a day-to-day contract extension, working for 12 hours and seven days a week in many cases. Talks between the unions and Dana management have been dragged out for weeks, giving the company time to stockpile parts and complete the changeover to producing parts for next year’s vehicle models.

“I know what you’re going through,” a tenured production worker at Fort Wayne stated. “Requests aren’t being met. We need more unity; we need to take hold of workers’ destiny. We need to let companies know we’re not scared of them. Dana walked out of the negotiations. You need to be 10 times stronger. We need all Dana plants and Deere to cease production.

“I remember PATCO. [The] whole system needs to be changed top to bottom. Corruption [in the union] is ridiculous … it’s in your face like it’s normal. As long as these officials are sucking up to the company we’re screwed every time. They have boats and yachts, they’re not even workers. They’re all for the companies.

“Union officials are like outside contractors. The tactics like erasing votes and the other trickery has to stop. Wages haven’t been going up for a decade, but all other things are going up. The amount of bribes is so great that you can’t get a foothold in the union.”

“I’m on board for workers taking control of negotiations [and] getting rid of union [bureaucrats]. We need solidarity with other plants in [the] auto industry and elsewhere. This will make a statement to the companies. There’s an old saying ‘strength in numbers,’ we need everyone on board.”

A tier worker spoke to the World Socialist Web Site, “Stick together. There are more of us than them. We all have to stick together.”

When asked about what he thought about the negotiations between Dana and the unions, one Fort Wayne worker responded, “What negotiations? It’s a farce. A big ‘ol bunch of BS. We’re supposed to hear about the negotiations when the committee comes back Monday or Tuesday. Honestly, I don’t know what to think until they bring back the contract. They [the USW] expect us to sign, honestly? I don’t think it’s going to be anything better than the last one they brought back.”

“[The first contract] was definitely crap!” another worker said. “The only good thing on that was giving everyone the same point system. ... Everything else was worse.”

She continued, “There’s no updates on COVID due to no information by the union. No one knows anything about the contract. It’s likely they will try to split the vote times for plants. It will be turned down like the Deere contract. Two weeks ago on Friday, the third shift workers didn’t even see the USW proposal. I’m not alone with the suspicion of the union. I’m telling everyone to vote no.”

Workers at Dana have formed the Dana Workers Rank-and-File Committee (DWRFC) to fight for their own interests. In order to reverse the decades of attacks on workers, the DWRFC is appealing to workers across the auto industry and in the working class internationally to establish lines of communication to fight for a common strategy.

To join the DWRFC, email them at danawrfc@gmail.com

WORLD SIGHT DAY
McSurgery: An Indian hospital restoring eyesight to millions
Issued on: 14/10/2021 

There are an estimated 10 million blind people in India, with a further 50 million suffering from some form of visual impairment

 Arun SANKAR AFP

Madurai (India) (AFP)

Black ticks on their foreheads marking the eye to be operated on, dozens of patients in green overalls wait in line, beneficiaries of a pioneering Indian model that is restoring sight to millions.

With a highly efficient assembly line model inspired by McDonald's, the network of hospitals of the Aravind Eye Care System performs around 500,000 surgeries a year -- many for free.

More than a quarter of the world's population, some 2.2 billion people, suffer from vision impairment. Of which one billion cases could have been prevented or have been left unaddressed, according to the World Vision Report by the World Health Organization.

There are an estimated 10 million blind people in India, with a further 50 million suffering from some form of visual impairment. Cataracts -- clouding of the eye lens -- is the main cause.

"The bulk of this blindness is not necessary because a lot of it is due to cataract which can be easily set right through a simple surgery," said Thulasiraj Ravilla, one of the founding members of Aravind.

The hospital was set up by doctor Govindappa Venkataswamy who was inspired by McDonald's ex-CEO Roy Kroc and learned about the fast-food chain's economies of scale during a visit to the Hamburger University in Chicago.

With a highly efficient assembly line model inspired by McDonald's, the network of hospitals of the Aravind Eye Care System performs half a million surgeries a year -- mostly for free

 Arun SANKAR AFP

"If McDonald's can do it for hamburgers, why can't we do it for eye care?" he famously said.

Aravind started as an 11-bed facility in 1976 in Madurai, a city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu but has expanded to care centres and community clinics across India.

- Grit and gratitude -

The model has been so successful it has been the subject of numerous studies including by Harvard Business School.

But it is the outreach camps which have been the cornerstone of its no-frills high-volume work -- nearly 70 percent of India's population lives in rural areas.

"It is the access that is the main concern, so we are taking the treatment to people rather than waiting for them to come for us," Ravilla told AFP.

Some 2.2 billion people suffer from vision impairment out of which one billion cases could have been prevented or have been left unaddressed, according to the World Vision Report by the World Health Organization Arun SANKAR AFP

The free eye camps are a boon for those like Venkatachalam Rajangam who received care close to home.

Rajangam said he had to stop working because he was unable to see the money customers at his provisions store gave him, and also stumbled on the stairs or when out after dark.

The 64-year-old found out about a camp next to his village in Kadukarai, some 240 kilometres (150 miles) from Madurai, where doctors screened his eyes and detected a cataract in the left one.

Rajangam was taken in a bus with some 100 others to a shelter run by the hospital, which also provides basic meals and mats to sleep on free of charge, and underwent a procedure to remove the cataract.

Aravind eye surgeon Aruna Pai said the doctors receive rigorous training to make sure they can perform surgeries quickly 

Arun SANKAR AFP

"I thought the operation would be for an hour but within 15 minutes everything was over. But it didn't feel rushed. The procedure was done properly," Rajangam said after the bandage roll covering his eye was removed.

"I didn't have to spend even a penny... God has created eyes, but they are the ones who restored my eyesight," he gushed, clasping his hands in gratitude.

- 'Practice on goat eyeballs' -

Aravind eye surgeon Aruna Pai said the doctors receive rigorous training to make sure they can perform surgeries quickly.

The complication rate is less than two per 10,000 at Aravind compared to Britain or the United States where it ranges from 4-8 per 10,000, according to the hospital.

"We have wet labs where we are taught to operate on goats' eyeballs. This helps us to sharpen our skills," said Pai, who performs some 100 surgeries in a day.

Aravind said it does not take charity money but instead uses the revenue generated from paying customers to help cover the cost of those who need free treatment.

Experts say India still needs to look at root causes -- including diet, hygiene, and sanitation -- that could help avoid preventable blindness 

Arun SANKAR AFP

It reduces costs further by manufacturing lenses for cataract treatment at its own facility called Aurolab.

Aurolab currently produces more than 2.5 million of these lenses a year at a sixth of the cost of those previously imported from the US, the hospital said.

Rajib Dasgupta, a community health expert based in New Delhi, lauded the clinics: "The Aravind model has emerged as an important one in blindness prevention."

But he warned that India still needed to look at root causes -- including diet, hygiene, and sanitation -- that could help avoid preventable blindness.

Dasgupta warned: "The communicable causes of blindness due to infectious conditions still exist and remain significant challenges."

-- This story is being published to coincide with World Sight Day --

© 2021 AFP

Seven New wind farms would dot US coastlines under Biden plan

 In this Aug. 15, 2016 file photo, three of Deepwater Wind's five turbines stand in the water off Block Island, R.I, the nation's first offshore wind farm. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland says the Biden administration will hold lease sales for up to seven offshore wind farms on the East and West coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico in the next four years. The projects are part of the administration's plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)


WASHINGTON (AP) — Seven major offshore wind farms would be developed on the East and West coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico under a plan announced Wednesday by the Biden administration.

The projects are part of President Joe Biden’s plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said her department hopes to hold lease sales by 2025 off the coasts of Maine, New York and the mid-Atlantic, as well as the Carolinas, California, Oregon and the Gulf of Mexico. The projects are part of Biden’s plan to address global warming and could avoid about 78 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions, while creating up to 77,000 jobs, officials said.

“The Interior Department is laying out an ambitious road map as we advance the administration’s plans to confront climate change, create good-paying jobs and accelerate the nation’s transition to a cleaner energy future,” Haaland said. “We have big goals to achieve a clean energy economy and Interior is meeting the moment.”

In addition to offshore wind, the Interior Department is working with other federal agencies to increase renewable energy production on public lands, Haaland said, with a goal of at least 25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy from wind and solar power by 2025.

Haaland and Amanda Lefton, director of department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said officials hope to reduce potential conflicts with fishing groups and other ocean users as much as possible. “This means we will engage early and often with all stakeholders prior to identifying any new wind energy areas,” Lefton said in a statement.

Commercial fishing businesses have said planned offshore wind projects off the East Coast would make it difficult to harvest valuable seafood species such as scallops and lobsters. Some conservation groups also fear that big turbines will kill thousands of birds

Biden has set a goal to deploy 30 gigawatts, or 30,000 megawatts, of offshore wind power in the United States by 2030. Meeting the target could mean jobs for more than 44,000 workers and for 33,000 others in related employment, the White House said.

The bureau completed its review of a construction and operations plan for the Vineyard Wind project 15 miles off the Massachusetts coast earlier this year. The agency is reviewing nine additional projects, including the South Fork wind farm near New York’s Long Island and the Ocean Wind project off New Jersey.

Vineyard Wind is expected to produce about 800 megawatts of power and South Fork about 132 megawatts. Ocean Wind, the largest project, has a total capacity of 1,100 megawatts, enough energy to power 500,000 homes across New Jersey.

The administration has committed to processing the 13 other projects currently under federal review by 2025.

The ocean energy agency has said it is targeting offshore wind projects in shallow waters near Long Island and New Jersey. A recent study shows the area can support up to 25,000 development and construction jobs by 2030, the Interior Department said.

Heather Zichal, a former climate adviser to President Barack Obama who now leads the American Clean Power Association, a renewable energy group, said Biden’s goal for offshore wind was “ambitious but achievable.″ Wind power is an essential part of the goal to reach 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, she said.

In a related announcement, the Energy Department said it is spending $11.5 million to study risks that offshore wind development may pose to birds, bats and marine mammals, and survey changes in commercial fish and marine invertebrate populations at an offshore wind site on the East Coast.

The department will spend $2 million on visual surveys and acoustic monitoring of marine mammals and seabirds at potential wind sites on the West Coast.

“In order for Americans living in coastal areas to see the benefits of offshore wind, we must ensure that it’s done with care for the surrounding ecosystem by coexisting with fisheries and marine life – and that’s exactly what this investment will do,″ Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a news release.

Neo-fascists exploit ‘no-vax’ rage, posing dilemma for Italy

By FRANCES D'EMILIO

- In this Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021 file photo, demonstrators and police clash during a protest, in Rome. An extreme-right political party's violent exploitation of anger over government anti-pandemic restrictions is forcing Italy to wrestle with its fascist legacy and fueling fears that there could be a replay of last week's mobs trying to force their way toward Parliament. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)


ROME (AP) — An extreme-right party’s violent exploitation of anger over Italy’s coronavirus restrictions is forcing authorities to wrestle with the country’s fascist legacy and fueling fears there could be a replay of last week’s mobs trying to force their way to Parliament.

Starting Friday, anyone entering workplaces in Italy must have received at least one vaccine dose, or recovered from COVID-19 recently or tested negative within two days, using the country’s Green Pass to prove their status. Italians already use the pass to enter restaurants, theaters, gyms and other indoor entertainment, or to take long-distance buses, trains or domestic flights.

But 10,000 opponents of that government decree turned out in Rome’s vast Piazza del Popolo last Saturday in a protest that degenerated into alarming violence.

It’s the mixing and overlap of the extreme right and those against Italy’s vaccine mandates that are causing worries, even though those opposed to vaccines are still a distinct minority in a country where 80% of people 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

Incited by the political extreme right at the rally, thousands marched through the Italian capital on Saturday and hundreds rampaged their way through the headquarters of the left-leaning CGIL labor union. Police foiled their repeated attempts to reach the offices of Italy’s premier and the seat of Parliament.

The protesters smashed union computers, ripped out phone lines and trashed offices after first trying to use metal bars to batter their way in through CGIL’s front door, then breaking in through a window. Unions have backed the Green Pass as a way to make Italy’s workplaces safer.

CGIL leader Maurizio Landini immediately drew parallels to attacks a century ago by Benito Mussolini’s newly minted Fascists against labor organizers as he consolidated his dictatorship’s grip on Italy.

To some watching the violence unfold, the attack also evoked images of the Jan. 6 assault by angry mob of the U.S. Capitol as part of protests over President Donald Trump’s failed reelection bid.

“What we witnessed in the last days was something truly shocking,” said Ruth Dureghello, president of the Jewish Community of Rome.

Premier Mario Draghi told reporters that his government is “reflecting” on parliamentary motions lodged or backed by leftist, populist and centrist parties this week urging the government to outlaw Forza Nuova, the extreme-right party whose leaders encouraged the attack on the union office.

    

FILE - In this Monday, May 6, 2019 file photo, a bronze sculpture by Italo Griselli, known under the Fascist regime as "Saluto Fascista" (Fascist Salute) and after the war renamed Genio dello Sport (Genius of Sport), stands at the entrance of a fascist architecture building in the EUR neighborhood, in Rome. An extreme-right political party's violent exploitation of anger over government anti-pandemic restrictions is forcing Italy to wrestle with its fascist legacy and fueling fears that there could be a replay of last week's mobs trying to force their way toward Parliament.. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

 

FILE - In this Friday, May 3, 2019. file photo, fasces, the original symbol of Fascism adapted from ancient Rome, showing a bundle of rods tied together around an axe, are seen carved with eagles on the facade of the Madonna dei Monti church, above a plaque commemorating the fallen soldiers of WWI, in downtown Rome. An extreme-right political party's violent exploitation of anger over government anti-pandemic restrictions is forcing Italy to wrestle with its fascist legacy and fueling fears that there could be a replay of last week's mobs trying to force their way toward Parliament. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, May, 16, 2019 file photo, a Fascist motto reading in Italian "Many enemies, much honour", decorates the mosaic pavement on the avenue from the Olympic stadium to a fascist-era obelisk, at Rome's Foro Italico sporting ground. An extreme-right political party's violent exploitation of anger over government anti-pandemic restrictions is forcing Italy to wrestle with its fascist legacy and fueling fears that there could be a replay of last week's mobs trying to force their way toward Parliament. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

On Monday, upon the orders of Rome prosecutors, Italy’s telecommunications police force took down Forza Nuova’s website for alleged criminal instigation.

Hours after the CGIL attack, scores of anti-vaccine protesters also invaded a hospital emergency room where a demonstrator, feeling ill, had been taken, frightening patients and leaving two nurses and three police officers injured.

In response, Rome will see two more marches this Saturday: one by opponents of the Green Pass and another to show solidarity for CGIL and provide what Landini describes as an “antidote to violence.”

Police and intelligence officials huddled Wednesday on how to handle possible violence due to the start of the workplace virus mandate and the twin demonstrations.

Sunday will also see a runoff mayoral election in Rome between a center-left candidate and a right-wing candidate chosen by the leader of a fast-growing national opposition party with neo-fascist roots.

Among the dozen people arrested in Saturday’s violence are a co-founder of Forza Nuova (New Force) and its Rome leader. Also jailed are a founder of the now-defunct extreme-right militant group Armed Revolutionaries Nuclei, which terrorized Italy in the 1980s, and a restaurateur from northern Italy who defied a national lockdown early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dureghello described the “thuggery” in Rome as a “grave, painful phenomenon, organized by those who want to create disorder on one hand and orient consensus” by drawing on prejudice in Italian society. In a tweet, she called for an urgent investigation into “neo-fascist movements and the network that supports them.”

Also upsetting Italy’s tiny Jewish community have been antisemitic comments by a Rome mayoral candidate selected by Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy, Parliament’s main opposition party. It recently emerged that Enrico Michetti in 2020 wrote that the Holocaust receives so much attention because Jews “possess banks.” He has since apologized for “having hurt the feelings” of Jews.

In the first round of municipal balloting in Rome, Rachele Mussolini, a granddaughter of the dictator, won the highest number of votes for a council post.

Meloni has long dodged demands by opponents that she unequivocally denounce the legacy of Mussolini’s Fascist rule.

On Wednesday, speaking in Parliament, Meloni distanced her party from Forza Nuova while criticizing the Green Pass workplace rule.

“We are light years distant from any kind of subversive movement, in particular Forza Nuova,″ she said. She then accused Draghi’s broad coalition, assembled earlier this year to lead the country through the pandemic, of “pretending not to see that Saturday in the street there were people demonstrating their dissent about not having a government (Green) pass and not recognizing their right to work.”

Meloni “lives on ambiguity, she has one foot in the legacy of fascism,″ said Antonio Parisella, a retired professor of contemporary Italian history.

Prevalent in much of Italian society is the idea “that Mussolini did good things,” such as the common “myth” that he made the trains run on time and eradicated malaria, said Parisella, who directs Rome’s Liberation Museum.

“The hostility toward the (Green) pass, the aversion to the vaccine” are something that “the post-fascist right well knows how to utilize,″ Donatella Di Cesare, a Rome university philosophy professor, wrote on the front page of the La Stampa newspaper.

Milan anti-terrorism prosecutor Alberto Nobili told Radio 24 this week that in addition to the extreme right demonstrating “under the no-vax symbol,” investigators in that city have found that “anarchist groups and extreme left groups” are also trying to exploit public anger.

Elsewhere in Europe, from Slovenia to Greece, some far-right parties have joined forces with the anti-vaccine movement.

In France, the situation is more complicated. Some far-right leaders teamed up with anti-vaccine protesters. But firebrand Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France did not call for such protests and she is vaccinated. Many anti-vaccine protesters in France have refused to march with the far right.

___

Colleen Barry contributed from Milan and Sylvie Corbet contributed from Paris.

Players' union asks NFL to share all Washington Football Team-Jon Gruden emails


NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said he sees "potential for good" if the NFL decides to release the emails it obtained as part of its investigation into the Washington Football Team. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo


MIAMI, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The NFL Players Association asked the league to release all emails related to its investigation into the Washington Football Team, including those tied to former coach Jon Gruden, a union spokesman told UPI on Wednesday.

The NFL did not immediately respond when asked if it plans to comply with the union's request.

Gruden resigned Monday from his role as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. His departure came as reports surfaced over the last two weeks that revealed racist, homophobic and misogynistic terms Gruden used in email communications from 2010 to 2018.

Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith told USA Today on Tuesday that he was talking with the league about the 650,000 emails and planned to make the request. Smith said there is "potential for good" if the emails are released.

RELATED Buccaneers remove Jon Gruden from team's Ring of Honor amid email scandal

"It took a long time for the league to recognize that they had not listened to the players and addressed their concerns about why players were kneeling or why players were actively becoming engaged in social-justice issues," Smith told USA Today.

"Maybe there is the potential here for recognizing that there are people within our system that engage in or support ideas that we know are inconsistent with fairness and justice and equality, and maybe if we can embrace that quicker, then it gives us an opportunity to understand and fix what I believe are systemic problems in diverse hiring in the league.

"I think that is the hope. And maybe the best outcome for all of us."

RELATED Las Vegas Raiders' Jon Gruden resigns as head coach: 'I never meant to hurt anyone'

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported last week that Gruden used a racist trope to describe Smith in one of his email communications with former Washington Football Team President Bruce Allen.

On Sunday, Gruden apologized for his comment about Smith. He resigned the next day, after the Times obtained additional emails and reported that Gruden used more disparaging language directed at former St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and others.

The emails were part of the NFL's investigation into the Washington Football Team for workplace misconduct, which ended this summer.

The league fined Washington $10 million after its investigation into alleged sexual harassment that took place between managers and executives and other staff members within the franchise.

Gruden was in his 15th season as an NFL head coach. He started his NFL coaching tenure as an offensive assistant in 1990 for the San Francisco 49ers.

He first coached the Raiders from 1998 through 2001. He spent the 2002 through 2008 seasons as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2003.

Gruden worked as an analyst on ESPN's Monday Night Football for several years before he returned to coach the Raiders in 2018. The Buccaneers removed Gruden from their Ring of Honor on Tuesday in response to his offensive emails.

"While we acknowledge Jon Gruden's contributions on the field, his actions go against our core values as an organization," the Buccaneers said.

Former Raiders assistant coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was named the team's interim coach Monday night. The Raiders will face the Denver Broncos at 4:25 p.m. EDT Sunday in Denver.

Now question in NFL is: Does Gruden reflect broader culture?

In this Oct. 10, 2019, file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan participates in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit at Union West in New York. Current or former players, along with people in positions of leadership with NFL clubs, have offered differing opinions this week on how pervasive the sorts of racist, homophobic and misogynistic thoughts expressed by Jon Gruden -- in emails he wrote from 2011-18, when he was an ESPN analyst between coaching jobs, to then-Washington club executive Bruce Allen – remain around the sport to this day. AP, F


When Shad Khan set out more than a decade ago to become the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team, the Pakistani-American heard the scuttlebutt.

“The conjecture was, ‘You will never get approved, because you’re not white,’” Khan, now the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview this week.

His attempt to purchase a 60% stake in one club fell through, so “the narrative that people had been giving to me kind of got reinforced,” Khan said.

Undaunted — and, he says, encouraged by Commissioner Roger Goodell — Khan moved on and soon reached an agreement to buy the Jaguars. “Got approved unanimously,” Khan noted. “The conjecture and what was going on — and the reality — turned out to be different.”

Current and former players and others around the league have varying opinions about a key question that arose in light of the racist, homophobic and misogynistic thoughts expressed by Jon Gruden in emails he wrote from 2011-18, when he was an ESPN analyst between coaching jobs, to then-Washington club executive Bruce Allen: Just how pervasive are those sorts of attitudes around the sport these days?

It’s certainly been a topic of conversation in locker rooms.

“I’m not surprised those ideas exist. ... I guess I was a little bit surprised by that comfort level, sending an email like that to somebody. I would assume you’re pretty assured that they’re not going to be offended by it or surprised by it or have them say anything to you about the nature of those emails,” said Corey Peters, an Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman in his 11th year in the NFL. “But I think it’s good for the league to have that come out, and guys be held accountable for the things that they say, even in private.”

Gruden resigned as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night following reports in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times about messages he wrote demeaning Goodell, union chief DeMaurice Smith and others, using offensive terms to refer to Blacks, gays and women.

Some saw Gruden’s words as indicative of a behind-the-scenes culture that could persist in an industry where about 70% of the players are Black while more than 80% of head coaches (27 of 32) and general managers (also 27 of 32) are white — and all are men.

Among principal owners, only Khan and Buffalo’s Kim Pegula are members of minorities.

“The bigger issues aren’t unique to the NFL, but I think they are stark in the NFL: Who’s in positions of power? And who’s making decisions? When that is only one group, particularly people who are privileged, who are from the dominant group, then those are going to likely be skewed decisions and skewed world views,” said Diane Goodman, an equity consultant.

“It’s easy to point to Gruden and go, ‘Oh, isn’t he terrible?’ and ‘Look at the terrible things he did.’ But that doesn’t look at that larger culture, where people were participating with him. People were allowing these emails to exist. It really is about the whole culture and that sense, that I’m sure people have cultivated, to feel like, ‘I can say these things and they will be, at best, appreciated and reciprocated or, at worst, people may not appreciate them but nothing’s going to happen.’ And that is about privilege and entitlement,” Goodman said. “There is the assumption that ‘I can say these things to another white man who is going to think they’re OK.’”

Some, such as Seahawks six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner or Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins, found the whole episode more reflective of the country than the NFL.

“I hate to say it like this, but that’s just the world we live in. That’s America,” said Dawkins, whose first two seasons in Philadelphia coincided with Gruden’s last two as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. “I believe if (the emails were known about) in 2011, then maybe the backlash is not as severe as it is now. I think where we are in the climate that we’re in, the things that we’ve gone through in the last, maybe, three years with social injustice and all those things, a lot of people are waking up to some of the things that have been normal for too long.”

Said Wagner: “There are people out there like that, that speak that way, that have that mindset, that have not grown. It’s not just football, it’s not just NFL ownership or coaches or anything like that.”

Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons raised the point that representation matters: “You get different backgrounds, you get different opinions.”

He also thinks his job’s workplace culture is improving.

“Progress has been made. Whether it’s good enough or not good enough, I won’t go into details about that,” said Simmons, who entered the NFL in 2016. “I’m a firm believer that as long as we’re taking steps in the right direction, that has to be positive, right?”

Former defensive end Mike Flores figures the sentiments found in the emails, which were gathered during an investigation into sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct at the Washington Football Team, do not represent merely one man’s mindset.

“I know how people talk and joke around in locker rooms. Most people in the NFL would be highly scrutinized if the ‘politically correct police’ examined everyone’s emails,” Flores — who played college football at Louisville with Gruden’s brother, Jay, before spending five seasons with the Eagles, 49ers and Washington — said in a phone interview.

Hugh Douglas, a defensive end with the Jets, Eagles and Jaguars from 1995-2004, told the AP that Black athletes are “conditioned” to hearing “the racial stuff” and hypothesized that owners wouldn’t want their emails made public.

But Pat Hanlon, senior VP of communications for the New York Giants, tweeted, “Been in league 35 yrs. Have never heard that language in writing or verbally. I’m not naïve. Sure it has been there.” He wrote “it is not commonplace” in a second tweet.

Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers sees a generational gap between the folks in charge and those taking the field.

“I can say with real honesty and pride that I don’t feel like those are opinions that are shared by players. I feel like, in the locker room, it’s a close-knit group of guys. And we don’t treat people differently based on the way that they talk, where they’re from, what they’re into, what they look like,” the Packers quarterback said on The Pat McAfee Show.

“I know that there’s probably opinions similar to (Gruden’s), but I feel like they’re few and far between. I really do,” Rodgers said. “I feel like the player and the coach of today is a more empathetic, advanced, progressive, loving, connected type of person. ... Hopefully we can all, as a league, learn and grow from this and hopefully it puts people on notice who have some of those same opinions, like, ‘Hey, man, it’s time to grow and evolve and change and connect.’”

Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who is Black, was among those echoing that sentiment.

“From my standpoint, what I love about the game is that it brings people together. It really brings people from all walks of life together,” Flores said. “So you hate to see anything that brings any type of division.”

Speaking about what happened with Gruden, in particular, Jacksonville’s Khan said, “Obviously, these emails are disturbing,” and quickly added: “My personal experience has not been that way.”

In the time since Khan agreed to purchase the Jaguars in 2011, he’s seen a change in the league’s culture, particularly with regard to social justice causes.

“One hundred percent, I think the league is at the forefront,” he said, “and they’re going to be doing more.”
___

AP Pro Football Writers Dave Campbell, Schuyler Dixon, Josh Dubow, Mark Long, Rob Maaddi, Arnie Stapleton, Teresa M. Walker, Dennis Waszak Jr. and Barry Wilner, and AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Tim Booth, David Brandt, Tom Canavan, Larry Lage, Steve Megargee, Tim Reynolds and Tom Withers contributed to this report.

Acupuncture during knee replacement may lessen post-surgery pain

By Denise Mann, HealthDay News

After knee replacement surgery, many patients experience a level of pain that has them reaching for prescription opioid painkillers.

Now new research suggests that using acupuncture during the operation may help reduce that pain without raising the risk of addiction.

"The opioid epidemic has been in the news and on our minds for years and has created an urgency for us to seek alternatives to postoperative pain, and acupuncture can be an attractive option," said study author Dr. Stephanie Cheng.

She is an assistant attending anesthesiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery and an assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, both in New York City.

Acupuncture may ease pain by stimulating the release of the body's endorphins or feel-good chemicals, Cheng explained.

For the study, 41 people underwent knee replacement surgery using standard anesthesia protocol plus electroacupuncture, which involves applying a small electric current to thin needles that are inserted at known acupuncture points in the ear during surgery.

In addition to reporting less pain, 65% of people who received acupuncture during their knee surgery took a low-dose opioid regimen of 15 pills or less or remained completely opioid-free for 30 days after their surgery.

By contrast, just 9% of people who undergo knee replacement typically report such low usage.

Now, Cheng and her colleagues at looking at acupuncture during other types of joint replacement surgeries.

"Patients are all interested when asked if they want to try acupuncture to help with pain," Cheng said. "Ask your surgeon if he or she works with a trained medical acupuncturist."

The findings were presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The findings are welcome news, outside experts say.

It's time to think outside of the box when it comes to pain relief following surgery, said Dr. Nicolas Piuzzi, director of adult reconstructive surgery research in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

"We have major health problems with opioid abuse and misuse, so anything we can do to mitigate this problem is welcome," Piuzzi said.

Still, more studies are needed before acupuncture during surgery becomes a standard of care, noted Piuzzi.

"We would have to really assess the added value of acupuncture based on time, cost and resources, compared to other approaches that have decreased our use of opioids," he explained.

Today, most people receive two or more types of anesthesia during joint replacement surgery, such as a spinal block with local nerve blocks that target specific areas, Piuzzi said.

"With current methods, most of the time people go home the first day after surgery, and pain is pretty tolerable," he said.

Others may not be so lucky and need pain relief after surgery. "Opioids are great pain relievers and have a role to play when taken for the appropriate amount of time and in the appropriate amount," Piuzzi said.

More and more medical and surgical centers have relationships with licensed acupuncturists, said Chris D'Adamo, director of research for the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"If we have something like this with no side effects, many would be open to it, especially since we have witnessed the problem of opioid addiction subsequent to surgical procedures," D'Adamo said.More information

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health offers more on acupuncture and its potential benefits.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

SPIRIT ANIMAL 

British farmer spots white wallaby on the loose

-October 13, 2021




Oct. 13 (UPI) — A British farmer planting barley in his field captured video when he spotted something surprising — a white wallaby hopping loose.

Jack Smith, 19, said he was planting barley Tuesday in his field near Kenilworth, England, when he saw the unusual animal.

“I saw it in the hedge and thought it was a rabbit or a cat,” Smith told the BBC, “but then it started hopping away.”

White wallabies are native to Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia.

Smith said his friends were in disbelief when he showed them his video.

“People thought I was in Australia,” he said.

RSPCA officials said red-necked wallabies are known to exist in the wild in Britain as a result of animals escaping from captivity, but the white wallaby spotted by Smith most likely was an escaped pet or private zoo animal.

“Our advice to people who spot a wallaby in the wild is to watch from afar and don’t try to approach them,” an RSPCA representative said.

International Energy Agency: Global carbon-cutting efforts fall 60% short of goal


The Lu'an Coal to Oil Project in Changzhi, Shanxi Province. A report from the International Energy Agency called on governments to quickly phase out fossil fuels.

 Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Commitments by world governments to cut carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 will fall short by 60%, the International Energy Agency said in advance of an upcoming climate change conference.

In its annual World Energy Outlook, the agency said that if all countries successfully carried out their announced pledges, energy-related carbon emissions would fall by 40% by mid-century.

"A lot more needs to be done by governments to fully deliver on their announced pledges," the agency said in the report.

COP26, a major world climate change conference, begins next week in Glasgow, Scotland. The report states that more than 50 countries, including the entire European Union, have pledged to meet net-zero targets.

While the agency's report notes that its conclusions are "stark," it said that its message is "nonetheless a hopeful one." The report said there needs to be a "laser-like focus" on driving clean electrification, reducing methane emissions and driving investments in green energy.

"Many of the actions described are cost-effective, and the costs of the remainder are insignificant compared with the immense risks of inaction," it said.

The report also pointed to progress in phasing out coal, noting that China's commitment to not build any more plants using the carbon-intensive fuel is significant. But it said that phasing out coal will require "a broad-based and dedicated policy effort" that takes into account impacts on jobs and energy security.

However, the investments will come at a cost. Clean energy projects and infrastructure upgrades over the next decade will cost $4 trillion, according to the report.

Seventy percent of the additional spending will be needed in emerging markets and developing economies, it said. The report placed responsibility for meeting these targets squarely in the hands of governments.

But Fatih Birol, the agency's executive director, told the Guardian that major economies recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic had already missed opportunities to invest in clean energy.

"We are witnessing an unsustainable recovery from the pandemic," he told the paper.

Birol provided a possible path forward. He called on world leaders to make investments in clean energy profitable, and for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to prioritize clean energy investments.

Young and old people gather to demand urgent action to avert disastrous climate change at Pershing Square in Los Angeles on September 24. A report from the International Energy Agency called on governments to quickly phase out fossil fuels. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Nearly half of U.S. breast cancer patients use pot, CBD, don't tell doctors

By Denise Mann, HealthDay News

Many people with breast cancer use marijuana to deal with symptoms and the side effects of treatment, but a large number of those people don't tell their doctors, according to a new survey. 

File Photo by Circe Denyer/publicdomainpictures

When Brooklyn-based mom and fashion designer Suzanne Weiner began treatment for breast cancer three years ago, her medical marijuana card was her best friend.

"Pot helped me tremendously with the anxiety and stress of my diagnosis," she said. "I was a mess." Weiner still smokes marijuana regularly to help lessen the side effects of an ongoing treatment that helps keep her cancer at bay.


She's not alone. Almost half of all people with breast cancer use marijuana or CBD, often during treatment to ease side effects including pain, anxiety, insomnia and nausea, according to a new online survey.

While Weiner discussed her cannabis use with her doctors, who she said were both knowledgeable and supportive, this isn't always the case. Many patients don't talk to their doctors about it, the survey revealed.

This is risky, according to survey author Dr. Marisa Weiss, founder and chief medical officer of Breastcancer.org and Breasthealth.org in Ardmore, Pa.

"Some chemotherapy drugs are broken down by the same part of the liver that cannabis is, and you don't want to overtax the liver," she said. And, "smoking or vaping when receiving radiation or other therapies to your chest could affect lung function."

Cannabis isn't necessarily bad for you, and it may very well have some benefits, Weiss said.

Like Weiner, 75% of survey respondents who used cannabis said it was extremely or very helpful in relieving their symptoms. "These symptoms are wearing them down thin and interfering with quality of life and ability to finish treatment," Weiss said.

Of 610 adults who were diagnosed with breast cancer within the past five years, 42% said they used cannabis for symptom relief. Of these, 79% used cannabis products during breast cancer treatment, the survey showed.

Patients used both THC and CBD products, with a majority preferring CBD, or cannabidiol.

CBD is derived from hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant, but unlike THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the active component in marijuana, CBD won't get you high.

On average, survey respondents used more than three types of cannabis products including gummies, inhalables or extracts.

The survey also revealed some disconnects about cannabis.

Nearly half of users thought cannabis could treat cancer -- but it can't. Many assumed it was 100% safe -- and it's not, Weiss said.

A possible reason for these disconnects? Most people got their information on cannabis from family, friends and the internet, not their doctor, the survey revealed.

Weiss said it should be "do ask, do tell" when it comes to cannabis use during cancer treatment.

"It is important to let your doctor know that you have these symptoms and that you want to learn more about cannabis and also ask if there are other therapies for these symptoms," she said.

People are reluctant to talk to their doctor about cannabis use for several reasons.

"Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level so that may inhibit people from talking to their doctor, and some may be fearful that it could be placed on their medical records," Weiss said. "Others don't want to be judged and don't think their doctor is likely to know much about it anyway."

If your doctor isn't willing to at least have the discussion, consider finding one who is knowledgeable about cannabis or is open to learning more, she suggested.

Such knowledge is critical now that cancer is a qualifying condition in nearly all states with medical cannabis programs, Weiss pointed out.

The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Cancer.

While cannabis may help with some symptoms of cancer and/or its treatments, outside experts noted that risks and unknowns remain.

Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of breast surgery at Mount Sinai West in New York City, noted there is limited data regarding cannabis use and interactions with chemotherapy.

"Patients should discuss cannabis use with their doctors so that there can be a clear understanding of possible adverse events," she said. THC risks may include dizziness, racing heartbeats and paranoia, while CBD may cause drowsiness and reduced appetite.

"More studies need to be done to find ideal ways to allow patients to use cannabis in a more controlled fashion," Bernik said.

Just because something is natural and plant-based doesn't mean it's 100% safe, agreed Dr. Nirupa Raghunathan, who runs the medical cannabis clinic at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

"Cannabis is not necessarily benign, and there can be negative side effects and risks of interactions with your treatment," she said.

It's also buyer beware when purchasing cannabis products, Raghunathan said. Many CBD products, in particular, don't contain what is listed on their label.

Your best bet is to buy products through a state-run marijuana dispensary, Raghunathan said.More information

Breastcancer.org offers more about medical cannabis and cancer.
Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Former runner Mary Cain sues Nike, coach Alberto Salazar for $20M over abuse

According to the suit, Alberto Salazar mentally abused runner Mary Cain by breaking her down physically and emotionally. It also says Nike was aware of the abuse and did nothing to stop it. 

File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Former youth distance running star Mary Cain is suing Nike and a training coach for $20 million over claims that she was emotionally abused for several years in a program designed to develop track stars.

The suit accuses coach Alberto Salazar of starting the abuse when Cain joined the Nike Oregon Project in 2012 when she was 16.

According to the suit, Salazar mentally abused Cain by breaking her down physically and emotionally, particularly over her weight. It also says Nike was aware of the abuse and did nothing to stop it.

Cain was one of the top prep distance runners when she joined Nike's program and had shattered numerous high school records and qualified for the world championships.

Cain says in the suit that Salazar forced her to get on scales in front of others to embarrass her for her weight. Court documents also describe Salazar as a control freak who complained about the size of her physical attributes.

"He prevented Cain from consulting with and relying on her parents, particularly her father, who is a doctor," Cain's attorney Kristen West McCall told The Oregonian. "Nike was letting Alberto weight-shame women, objectify their bodies, and ignore their health and well-being as part of its culture.

"This was a systemic and pervasive issue. And they did it for their own gratification and profit."

The Nike Oregon Project was established in 2001 and lasted until 2019, when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency banned Salazar and Nike consultant Jeffrey Brown for four years for enabling unlawful doping.

About three months ago, the U.S. Center for SafeSport also imposed a permanent ban to bar Salazar from coaching American track and field athletes following accusations of sexual and emotional misconduct.

One in three Iraq/Afghanistan veterans sees extremizing their ranks

"Since 9/11, we've seen a shift from plots and attacks by religious extremists to those perpetrated by groups advancing political grievances," retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Joe Plenzler says in his prepared testimony.

Daniel Uria & Linus Hoeller, Medill News Service

Radical supporters of former President Donald Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 in a violent effort to keep him in power and prevent the election of Joe Biden.

 File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- More than one in three Afghanistan and Iraq veterans said they perceived extremism as existing within the military and within the veteran community, the head of a veterans' organization told the House veterans affairs committee hearing on Wednesday.

According to an ongoing survey of over 3,500 former military members by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, more than one-third of the veterans also said they have directly experienced extremism, IAVA CEO Jeremy Butler told the committee.

House lawmakers convened the hearing -- titled "Domestic Violent Extremist Groups and the Recruitment of Veterans" -- to examine concerns about a rising number of military veterans joining dangerous and potentially violent domestic extremist groups, like the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

The hearing comes amid a widespread government review of domestic extremism following the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, which resulted in the arrests and prosecutions of hundreds of rioters -- some of whom were active and former military members.

RELATED FBI official says domestic terror threats more than twice as high as international threats

In February, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a military-wide stand down for 60 days to deal with extremism in military ranks, and a Pentagon report in March warned that service members are highly prized recruiting targets by White supremacists and other extremist groups as a means to "bring legitimacy to their causes and enhance their ability to carry out attacks."

Veterans are particularly sought after by domestic terrorist groups because of their skillsets -- tactical knowledge, connections, communication and weapons skills, among others. The veterans can be vulnerable targets, particularly as they transition back to civilian life, searching for a sense of purpose or feeling betrayed by the government.

Cynthia Miller-Idriss of American University said that terrorist organizations seek to convert a feeling of betrayal by the government into violence that is framed as a "heroic action of patriotism for the 'true nation.'"

Butler and Miller-Idriss testified at the hearing along with several threat and security experts, retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Joe Plenzler, photojournalist Joel Beeson and Anti-Defamation League Vice President Oren Segal.

Plenzler said veteran recruitment should be taken seriously because 10% of domestic terror since 2015 has links to veterans while they make up about 6% of the population.

"The threats are real and we are all at risk," he said. "They breached the security of this building and hunted. They hunted for you."

Segal, a leader of the ADL's Center on Extremism, said in prepared testimony that out of 357 people arrested for the Capitol attack, four were active military and 39 were veterans.

"With 18 million veterans in the United States, it is inevitable that some of them will be extremists," Segal said in his opening statement.

"Anecdotally, one can easily find veterans among the membership of a variety of right-wing extremist groups, from White supremacist neo-Nazis to anti-government militia groups."

Some Republican committee members took issue with holding the hearing.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said it was "offensive" that Chairman Rep. Mark Takano, D.-Calif., considered himself the person who would "save the veterans" and accused Democrats of seeing veterans as broken people and extremists. He questioned the impartiality and authority of the witnesses.

"Frankly, sir, this is the problem," Butler countered. "The questions you are asking are part of the problem here. We are using lies ... to avoid addressing the real issues this country is facing."

In an interview later, Plenzler said he "whole-heartedly" agreed with Butler's criticism of politically motivated questioning.

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R.-Md., pressed the experts to equate the actions of the Jan. 6 insurrection with those of Black Lives Matter protesters, a line of questioning that was quickly shut down by Plenzler.

"It's one thing if someone burns down a Walmart, another ... if someone attacks the nation's Capitol," he said. One was an attack on commerce, the other "an attack on the Constitution."

According to Plenzler, 71 of the people arrested in relation with the insurrection had military ties.

"The light is blinking red on the dashboard, so we need to look under the hood and investigate this," he said.

Butler said it's critical for the Pentagon to properly screen all recruits.

He also said educating veterans about extremist recruitment as they leave military service is important -- as is understanding why some of them ultimately fall under the spell of extremist militia-type groups like the Three Percenters and Boogaloo Bois.

"Groups and movements desire and anticipate a breakdown of civil society and the existing governmental structure -- and are seeking to position themselves to not only take advantage of such a dystopian scenario, but to actually help instigate this breakdown," threat expert Cynthia Miller-Idriss said in her testimony Wednesday.

 File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI

Heidi Beirich, co-founder and chief strategy officer at the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, says veterans and active-duty members make up roughly a quarter of extremist rosters.

"This is not an accident," she said in prepared remarks. "These groups spend considerable time reaching out to the community.

"There is no question that the major terrorism threat to the U.S. is coming from the far right. There was no greater display of this than the events of Jan. 6 ... where extremists of various stripes -- White supremacists, neo-Nazis, anti-government ideologues and conspiracists -- joined forces to storm our Capitol."

Plenzler said "terrorist organizations use sophisticated recruiting, communication and indoctrination methods to attract followers, provide them a sense of community and purpose and incite them to violence," he says in his prepared testimony.

"Since 9/11, we've seen a shift from plots and attacks by religious extremists to those perpetrated by groups advancing political grievances.

"Violent extremists weaponize influence by preying on the human brain's sensitivity to appeals to scarcity, sanction and fear, consistency, altruism and reward."

Seth Jones, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says in his testimony that it's no coincidence that many of the best-known domestic terrorists -- including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, Atlanta Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph and Ruby Ridge extremist Randy Weaver -- were at one time members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

"In October 2020, the FBI arrested Adam Fox, Barry Croft and several other accomplices in a plot to kidnap and potentially execute Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer," he said in prepared remarks. "Violent far-right and far-left networks have solicited military personnel because of their skill sets."

A House select committee is still investigating the U.S. Capitol attack, which was carried out by radical supporters of former President Donald Trump in a bid to keep him in power.

"The past few years have witnessed an explosion of far-right violence and the normalization of the extremist ideas that drive it," Miller-Idriss said in prepared remarks.

"Unlike in prior generations, the vast majority of extremist content and radicalization today is experienced online," she adds.

"One of the most worrying trends is the increasing number of Americans who were not previously affiliated with any [extremist] groups but are now increasingly drawn into the large tent of the networked extreme far right."

Alisal Fire grows to become Southern California's first major wildfire of season


View of the Alisal Fire from the Reagan Ranch. 

Photo Courtesy of Los Padres National Forest

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The Alisal Fire burning just outside of Santa Barbara grew to 14,500 acres as strong winds stoked the blaze into Southern California's first major wildfire of the season.

After starting Monday afternoon, the fire grew from strong northern winds that closed portions of Highway 101 and halted Amtrak service, officials said. The fire also triggered evacuations in Arroyo Hondo Canyon, Refugio Canyon and the area between El Capitan Beach State Park and West Camino Cielo.

The fire is just 5% contained as air tankers made drops to assist fire crews on Wednesday, the Los Padres National Forest said on Twitter.

The fire is now threatening the Rancho del Cielo, the 688-acre ranch known as the "Western White House," the former vacation home of President Ronald Reagan, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Flemming Bertelsen, the property's manager, told the paper that the ranch "dodged a bullet" after the fire had come within a quarter-mile.

"We were expecting to get slammed by the fire running up-canyon on us, but amazingly, this unusual north wind kept pushing it away from us," he said.

The region's unique sundowner winds, which blow strong gusts down the slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains toward the ocean, contributed to the fire's size.

The fire is burning an area that has not seen a wildfire since 1955, CBS Los Angeles reported. More than 1,400 personnel with the U.S. Forest Service as well as other agencies are working to contain the blaze. Between 100 and 200 structures are threatened.

VIDEO California fire grows to 13,400 acres (yahoo.com)

Statues from British garden identified as ancient Egyptian, sell for $265,510

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A pair of statues from a British garden initially were believed to be 18th-century replicas of Egyptian artifacts, but fetched $265,510 at an auction after they were suspected to be thousands of years old.

Mander Auctioneers said a couple moving out of their Sudbury, England, home contacted the auction house to sell off items from the home they were vacating, and among them were a pair of sphinx statues that had spent 15 years in the couple's garden.

The couple said the statues were purchased from another auction for a few hundred dollars and were believed to be 18th century replicas of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

Auctioneer James Mander said the auction house didn't question the couple's appraisal of the statues' origins and expected them to sell for $410 to $680, but the auction started to skyrocket when prospective buyers suggested the statues could be actual Egyptian items dating thousands of years.

Mander said the statues sold for a final price of $265,510 to an international art gallery. He said the gallery owners' examination of the statues determined they are indeed authentic Egyptian artifacts.

"As it turns out they're thousands of years old and genuine. So it's quite amazing really," Mander told CNN.

Work is now being done to try to determine exactly when the items date from.

"I wonder where they've been for the last 5,000 years. It's quite incredible, really," Mander said.

DESIGNER QUEEN GRAHAM
Lindsey Graham Warns 40,000 Brazilians Illegally Crossing Border, Heading for Connecticut ‘Wearing Designer Clothes and Gucci Bags’

GUCCI 2020

By Jackson Richman

Oct 13th, 2021, 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) claimed on Tuesday that there have been 40,000 Brazilians who’ve illegally crossed the border through the Yuma Sector in Arizona and headed to Connecticut “wearing designer clothes and Gucci bags.”

Graham made this unproven claim during an appearance on Hannity on Fox News.

“We’re a nation of laws, or we’re supposed to be, our laws are all predicated on that great document known as our Constitution. Joe Biden is not only not enforcing the law but he’s aiding and abetting lawbreaking by processing and not even requiring, they are requesting people show up, not requiring,” said host Sean Hannity, teeing up Graham. “So my question is does every other American get to pick and choose what laws they want to obey and not obey?”

“If you really were serious about people coming into the country, bringing Covid. You know, if you’re going to travel from Germany to the United States you have to be vaccinated and have a negative test,” said Graham. “You had 114,000 people come into the Yuma Sector alone since last October. Nobody’s being tested, nobody’s being vaccinated. They don’t have the capability to do that.”

Hannity rhetorically asked if illegal immigrants are getting “preferential treatment.” Graham concurred and added “it’s dangerous.”

ALESANDRO MICHELLE GUGGI HEAD DESIGNER

Graham went on to say:

What I saw that bothers me the most is another 9/11 in the making. There 80 countries they’ve picked people up from. Two terrorists from Yemen they caught just a couple weeks ago. How easy would it be for Al Qaeda or ISIS to leave out Afghanistan and come through the Southern Border to blend in … The border patrol is doing the best they can but they told me that the likelihood of a terrorist attack coming from our Southern Border grows by the day. And what you see in Texas is moving to Arizona. A 1300 percent increase in illegal crossings in the Yuma Sector in the last few months. Why? We changed the Remain in Mexico Policy.

The Remain in Mexico Policy, which was instituted under the Trump administration, required those trying to cross the Southern Border to seek asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico while awaiting their court date in the United States. The Biden administration tried to end the program in June, but the Supreme Court ordered in August for it to be reinstated. The administration has said it will again try to end the program.

Graham blamed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ memo on Tuesday to Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop workplace raids in seeking to catch undocumented immigrants. Graham said that this move “is going to be another incentive for people to come ‘cause the word is out, you come, you claim asylum, you never leave.”

“The policy choices of Biden are all over the world now,” said Graham. “We had 40,000 Brazilians come through the Yuma Sector alone, headed for Connecticut, wearing designer clothes and Gucci bags. This is not economic migration anymore. People see an open America, they’re taking advantage of us, and it won’t be long before a terrorist gets in this crowd.”