First, you can go to New Orleans right now and have a good time, at least in the popular tourist areas, which look like nothing ever happened. But if you drive a little way from those restored areas, it's a different story. There are blocks and blocks of abandoned single-story houses and there are shopping areas that look fine, except a lot are not open. These buildings are in the areas that were flooded and stayed submerged.

February 13, 2015 Back to back storms in as little as two weeks dropped record amounts of snow on New England. The capacity of the MBTA’s equipment was put to the test, but the system buckled under the weight of the weather. In the face of widespread train delays and mounting criticism, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott responded with a fiery press conference that’s not likely to be forgotten anytime soon. The day after her press conference, Scott submitted her letter of resignation. We’ll take a look at her tenure and immediate task at hand to get the trains back to normal.

Later in the show, as the Bay State Banner celebrates 50 years of reporting the news of New England’s communities of color, we discuss the continuing evolution of journalists of color.

Panelists:
- Latoyia Edwards, Anchor, NECN
- Phillip Martin, Senior Reporter, WGBH News
- Kim McLarin, Assistant Professor of Writing, Literature and Publishing, Emerson College
- Yawu Miller, Senior Editor, The Bay State Banner
- Akilah Johnson, Reporter, The Boston Globe

At least two young Christian girls have been abducted and abused in Pakistan within the last three months, sparking concerns over the vulnerability of minority girls and the barriers to justice they face.

Robotic dogs are patrolling President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida days after his election victory as the Republican has faced two assassination attempts and reports of an Iranian murder plot against him.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Western allies asking them for help after Russia's most recent attack on Kyiv. "It is crucial that our forces have the necessary means to defend the country from Russian terror. I am grateful to each of our partners who help us. Timely delivery of interceptor missiles for our air defense, fulfilling agreements on defense systems, and electronic warfare production and supply are, without exaggeration, lifesaving efforts," Zelensky wrote on X. In the morning, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the Ukrainian capital. A threat of a missile attack was declared in the city. It was later reported that explosions took place in Kyiv's suburbs.

Famous Russian journalist, chef and TV presenter Alexey Zimin died. He was 52. The reason for the journalist's death remains unknown. Alexey Zimin was born in Dubna, a suburban town near Moscow, on December 13, 1971. He held the position of deputy editor-in-chief of Afisha Magazine. Zimin also founded Afisha Eda food publication and served as editor-in-chief of Afisha Mir, GQ and Gourmet magazines. The journalist hosted "Cooking with Alexey Zimin" show on NTV channel organised and organised food festivals. Zimin also opened several cafes, bars and restaurants.

Julio Osorio stands in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery near his mother's grave. (Emily Elena Dugdale/KPCC); Credit: Emily Elena Dugdale

The devastating Woolsey fire broke out one year ago. In Malibu, it wreaked havoc not only on hundreds of homeowners but also on the day laborers, housekeepers and gardeners who traveled to the city to work in its affluent neighborhoods.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Mike Okamoto poses as Shogun Santa with visitors to Japanese Village. ; Credit: Chava Sanchez/KPCC

LA’s Asian Santa tradition is back. Shogun Santa has returned to Little Tokyo after a big loss in the community last year.  

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Will Davidson and his Minecraft creation, modeled off the Santa Cruz Mission; Credit: Steve Henn

Minecraft is a deceptively simple video game. You're dropped into a virtual world, and you get to build things. It's like a digital Lego set, but with infinite pieces.

Its simplicity makes it a big hit with kids, like 10-year old Will Davidson. Last year, Will built a Spanish mission for a school report. He modeled his off the Santa Cruz Mission. "I made a chapel over here," Davidson says. "I also have a bell tower."

After he turned in his report, he added a few things. Like skeleton archers. "And zombies ... and exploding things, and spiders, that try to kill you," he said.

Minecraft is popular with kids because they're free to create almost anything, says Ramin Shokrizade, a game designer.

Also, kids aren't manipulated into clicking buttons to buy add-ons within the game. In other games, designers give players a special power for free at first, then take it away and offer it back at a price.

Zynga, the creator of Farmville, calls this fun pain, according to Shokrizade. "That's the idea that, if you make the consumer uncomfortable enough, and then tell them that for money we'll make you less uncomfortable, then [they] will give us money," he says.

Kids, Shokrizade says, are especially susceptible to this — and Minecraft has a loyal following, in part, because it doesn't do it.

Susan Linn, from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, agrees. She says a big reason she likes Minecraft is because after you purchase the game upfront, that's it.

"Parents don't have to worry that their kids are going to be targeted for more marketing," Linn says. "How forward-thinking!"

But Linn is worried. Microsoft bought Mojang, the company that created Minecraft, on Monday for $2.5 billion, and she says that any time a large company spends billions to acquire a smaller company, executives are bound start looking for new ways to get even more money out of it.

The first Ampersand web typography conference took place in Brighton last Friday. Ampersand was ace. I’m going to say that again with emphasis: Ampersand was ace! Like the Ready Brek kid from the 80s TV ads I’m glowing with good vibes.

Imagine you’d just met some of the musicians that created the soundtrack to your life. That’s pretty much how I feel.

For a long, long time I’ve gazed across at the typography community with something akin to awe at the work they do. I’ve lurked quietly on the ATypI mailing list, in the Typophile forum, and behind the glass dividing my eyes from the blogs, portfolios, and galleries.

I always had a sneaking suspicion the web and type design communities had much in common: Excellence born from actual client work; techniques and skills refined by practice, not in a lab or classroom; a willingness to share and disseminate, most clearly demonstrated at Typophile and through web designer’s own blogs. The people of both professions have a very diverse set of backgrounds from graphic design all the way through to engineering, to accidentally working in a print shop. We’ve been apprenticed to our work, and Ampersand was a celebration of what we’ve achieved so far and what’s yet to come.

Of course, web design is a new profession. Type design has a history that spans hundreds of years. Nevertheless, both professions are self-actualising. Few courses exist of any real merit. There is no qualifications authority. The work from both arenas succeeds or fails based on whether it works or not.

Ampersand was the first event of its kind. Folks from both communities came together around the mutal fascination, frustration, challenge and opportunity of web type.

Like Brooklyn Beta, the audience was as fantastic as the line up. I met folks like Yves Peters of the FontFeed, Mike Duggan of Microsoft Typography, Jason Smith, Phil Garnham, Fernando Mello, and Emanuela Conidi of Fontsmith, Veronica Burian of TypeTogether, Adam Twardoch of Fontlab and MyFonts, Nick Sherman of of Webtype, Mandy Brown of A Book Apart and Typekit, and many, many others. (Sorry for stopping there, but wow, it would be a huge list.)

Rich Rutter opened the day on behalf of Clearleft and Fontdeck at the Brighton Dome. Rich and I had talked about a web typography conference before. He just went out and did it. Hats off to him, and people like Sophie Barrett at Clearleft who helped make the day run so smoothly.

Others have written comprehensive, insightful summaries of the day and the talks. Much better than I could, sitting there on the day, rapt, taking no notes. What follows are a few snippets my memory threw out when prodded.

Who knew the original letterforms for Comic Sans were inspired by a copy of The Watchmen Vincent Connare had in his office? Or that Vincent, who also designed Trebuchet, considers himself an engineer rather than type designer, and is working at the moment on the Ubuntu fonts with colleagues at Dalton Maag.

Jason Santa Maria declared himself a type nerd, and gave a supremely detailed talk about selecting, setting, and understanding web type. Wonderful stuff.

Jonathan Hoefler talked in rapid, articulate, and precise terms about the work behind upcoming release of pretty-much all of H&FJ’s typefaces as web fonts. (Hooray!) He clearly and wonderfully explained how they took the idea behind their typefaces, and moved them through a design process to produce a final form for a specific purpose. In this case, the web, as a distinct and different environment from print.

I spoke between Jason and Jonathan. Gulp. After staying up until 4am the night before, anxiously working on slides, I was carried along by the privilege and joy of being there, hopefully without too much mumbling or squinting with bleary eyes.

After lunch, David Berlow continued the story of web fonts, taking us on a journey through his own trials and tribulations at Font Bureau when re-producing typefaces for the web crude media. His dry, droll, richly-flavoured delivery was a humorous counterpoint to some controversial asides.

John Daggett of Mozilla, editor of the CSS3 Fonts Module, talked with great empathy for web designers about the amazing typographic advances we’re about to see in browsers.

Tim Brown of Typekit followed. Tim calmly and thoroughly advocated the extension of modular scales to all aspects of a web interface, taking values from the body type and building all elements with those values as the common denominator.

Finally, Mark Boulton wrapped up the day brilliantly, describing the designer’s role as the mitigator of entropy, reversing the natural trend for things to move from order to chaos, and a theme he’s exploring at the moment: designing from the content out.

The tone of the day was fun, thoughtful, articulate, and exacting. All the talks were a mix of anecdotal and observational humour, type nerdery, and most of all an overwhelming commitment to excellence in web typography. It was a journey in itself. Decades of experience from plate and press, screen, and web was being distilled into 45-minute presentations. I loved it.

As always, one of the most enjoyable bits for me was the hallway track. I talked to heaps of people both in the pre- and after-party, and in between the talks on the day itself. I heard stories, ideas, and opinions from print designers, web designers, type designers, font developers, and writers. We talked late into the night. We talked more the next day.

Now the talking has paused for a while, my thoughts are manifold. I can honestly say, I’ve never been so filled with positivity about where we are, and where we’re going. Web typography is here, it works, it’s better all the time, and one day web and type designers everywhere will wonder, perplexed, as they try to imagine what the web was like before.

Here’s to another Ampersand next year! I’m now going to see if Rich needs any encouragement to do it again. I’m guessing not, but if he does, I aim to provide it, vigorously. I hope I see you there!

Furthermore

• Rich Rutter back in May on The Ampersand Story
• Eye Magazine: Web typography comes of age at Brighton’s Ampersand conference
• Anthony Stonehouse: Ampersand 2011
• Laura Kalbag: Notes from Ampersand
• Dave Bushell: Ampersand Conference!

Last but not least, did I mention that Rich Rutter, Mark Boulton, and I are writing a book? We are! More on that another time, but until then, follow @webtypography for intermittent updates.

After Midnight Giclee by Alonzo Adams is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to Limited Edition 500 pcs

Starfish Space on Wednesday announced a new funding round that will allow it to complete development and build of three spacecraft that will be used for on-orbit docking and maneuvering […]

The U.S. Air Force plans to refine its concept for the future Increment 2 of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). “Increment 2–we are ‘danger’ close to getting started in earnest […]

Craft beer has revolutionized the industry and is moving out of microbreweries and into the main market. According to the Brewers Association, there were over 3,200 brewers in the United States as of November 2014.

The October jobs report from Australia was not as strong as we have become accustomed to:

• Australian October unemployment rate 4.1% (vs. 4.1% expected)

It was not a poor report, just not another blockbuster!

AUD/USD is not a lot changed. Earlier we had Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock sounding not dovish:

• RBA Bullock says rates are restrictive enough, staying there until confident on inflation

The first activities of an action plan to create a more gender-sensitive national parliament in Montenegro were drafted during a workshop in Podgorica on 18-19 April 2016 organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Parliamentary Committee for Gender Equality and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The event gathered 18 participants, including members of parliament and representatives of the parliamentary service, institutions and civil society, who, led by experts, drafted the first activities of the action plan. The plan covers six key areas: leadership and commitment, gender-balanced representation, gender-sensitive legislation and policy, parliamentary services and infrastructure, gender awareness in parliamentary culture, and parliament as a promoter of gender equality. Participants set the end of the year as the goal for finalizing and putting the plan up for adoption for the new convocation of the Parliament for the first quarter of 2017.

“The on-going gender mainstreaming of the Montenegrin Parliament is a significant step forward in translating our written pledges into actual reality,” said Dan Redford, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro. “In particular, I am delighted to hear that the development of a roadmap and subsequent drafting of their action plan have been initiated by the parliament. This has to be the clearest indicator that its implementation has great chances of success and becoming ‘mainstream’ in the truest sense of the word.”

Nada Drobnjak, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for Gender Equality highlighted the fact that the drafting of this important document and its subsequent adoption will make the Montenegrin Parliament a leader and pioneer in the region, and beyond.

In 2015, the Mission and ODIHR, in co-operation with the Committee for Gender Equality developed a roadmap towards a gender-sensitive parliament which served as the basis for the development of the action plan. The development and the adoption of the action plan is one of the measures initiated and included in the action plan for strengthening the legislative and oversight role of Montenegrin Parliament. 

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WARSAW, 21 July 2016 - Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today underlined that the principles of rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights need to be upheld in Turkey, following the attempted coup.

“Any attempt to overthrow democratically elected leaders is unacceptable and is to be condemned. In responding to these unconstitutional events, however, all actions by the Turkish authorities must not exceed the legal framework of the Turkish Constitution and Turkey's international human right commitments,” said Director Link. “In investigating these events and holding responsible those who have attempted the coup, the authorities must ensure that human rights standards, due process, fair trial rights and respect for the independence of the judiciary are respected. Talk by authorities of a possible reintroduction of the death penalty and the summary firing of thousands of judges are clearly crossing the line of existing legal standards."

The ODIHR Director’s statement follows reports that thousands of judges and prosecutors across the country were detained, arrested or dismissed from their positions immediately after the failed coup attempt.

“These actions raise serious concerns regarding the Turkish authorities' respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Also the newly announced three-month state of emergency cannot legitimize disproportional measures, such as, among many others, the recently announced work-travel ban on academics,” Director Link said.

At the OSCE summit in Istanbul in 1999, OSCE participating States agreed to promote the development of independent judicial systems. This principle is further stressed in other OSCE commitments that call upon participating States to respect judges’ freedom of expression and association, guaranteed tenure and appropriate conditions of service, and the discipline, suspension and removal of judges according to law.

“ODIHR is ready to offer any assistance to Turkey in this challenging moment. Putting those who attempted the violent coup on trial is crucial,” said Director Link. “ODIHR is available to monitor these trials, in line with its existing and proven methodology. A Turkish invitation to the OSCE to monitor these trials would demonstrate Turkey's compliance with international standards, even in times of a state of emergency.”

Related Stories

• OSCE/ODIHR Director Link welcomes Kyrgyzstan’s review of Askarov’s case, calls on Kyrgyz authorities to implement UN Human Rights Committee decision
• OSCE/ODIHR final report on early parliamentary elections in Serbia recommends comprehensive review of legislation and ensuring the level playing field for contestants
• OSCE workshop in Kosovo focuses on improving the recording of hate crimes

Argentina’s negotiating team were ordered home. The country’s president Javier Milei has previously said that the climate crisis is a “socialist lie”. “We have instructions from the ministry of foreign affairs to no longer participate,” the country’s top environmental official said,

France’s ecology minister, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, announced she was cancelling her trip to Baku to take part in the Cop29 talks. 

On Wednesday, representatives from Milei’s government were ordered to leave the Azerbaijani capital. Speaking to the Guardian, Argentina’s undersecretary for the environment, Ana Lamas – the country’s most senior representative on the climate and nature after Milei dissolved the environment ministry – confirmed the decision, which was first reported by Climatica.

“It’s true. We have instructions from the ministry of foreign affairs to no longer participate. That’s all I can tell you,” she said. Lamas said the decision applied only to Cop29, when asked if Argentina was planning to leave the Paris agreement.

There is widespread concern about the future of the climate accord after the election in the US of Donald Trump, who has pledged to exit the agreement for the second time.

A team captain to start the season, David Long Jr. was demoted from his starting post two weeks ago and has now been waived. The Dolphins made room to claim tight end Jack Stoll off waivers.

Franco, 23, was arrested Sunday in San Juan de la Maguana after an altercation in the parking lot of an apartment building in which guns were drawn. Police described the incident as “a heated dispute of a passionate nature” with another man over a woman.

Espresso machines from De'Longhi, Nespresso, Cafe, and more are up to 50% off.

How I stopped worrying and learned to leave social media: Why focusing on self-care is what we need to move forward after 2024.

Con la publicación del segundo tráiler de Warcraft: El origen, seguimos contando los días para su estreno. Y es que nunca el mundo fantástico de un videojuego había llegado al cine de una forma tan fiel.

[Business Day Africa] The Adani Group is now setting its sights on the U.S. market after facing significant pushback in its bid to enter Kenya.

Dozens of buildings destroyed in Zaporizhzhia after Russian strike

Spain unites in solidarity with massive aid effort after devastating floods

College Park, GA United States - Description Great News! Menzies Aviation is hiring!!! We have full -time positions at Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport. Available Shift: 6AM-230PM and 2PM-1030PM Benefits: + Hourly rate starting at $15.00/hr + Full Benefits PTO DENTAL MEDICAL VISION 401K +... View

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Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is speaking to reporters after being voted Senate Republican leader by secret ballot Wednesday. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Thune defeated Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL) to succeed outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who will still serve in the Senate through at […]

House Republican leaders are speaking to the press after holding their votes for leadership positions within the conference. Republicans are expected to retain their majority in the House of Representatives, but the Associated Press has not projected which party will have control of the lower chamber of Congress. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE […]

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is optimistic about the Senate GOP despite losing a bid to lead the conference on Wednesday. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) won the secret ballot race to lead the Senate GOP over Scott and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) after two rounds. Thune defeated Cornyn 29-24 in the second round of voting. Scott, […]

Amazon is shutting down Freevee, its ad-supported video streaming platform formerly known as IMDb TV. All of its content is already available on Prime Video.

The post Amazon is Shutting Down Freevee After Moving its Content to Prime Video appeared first on Thurrott.com.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise, Blizzard just surprised-dropped new Warcraft 1 and 2 remasters alongside a patch 2.0 for Warcraft 3: Reforged.

The post Warcraft 1 and 2 Remasters Launch Today Alongside Warcraft 3: Reforged 2.0 appeared first on Thurrott.com.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice on Tuesday banning all flights to Haiti for at least 30 days following three gun attacks on planes flying to the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

The post U.S. Flights to Haiti Halted After Gangs Start Shooting Commercial Airliners appeared first on Breitbart.

"Saturday Night Live" cast member Chloe Fineman is suddenly telling fans that Elon Musk made her cry three years ago when he guest hosted the show and said her comedy writing wasn't funny.

The post ‘SNL’s Chloe Fineman ‘Burst into Tears’ After Elon Musk Said Her Sketches Weren’t Funny appeared first on Breitbart.

Lunchables are being removed from school lunch menus across the U.S. after just a year of them being included in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) after they tested positive for lead and other harmful materials.

The post Lunchables Pulled from School Menus After Testing Positive for Lead appeared first on Breitbart.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has resigned from his congressional seat after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to serve as Attorney General in his administration.

The post Matt Gaetz Resigns from Congress After Trump Nominates Him as Attorney General appeared first on Breitbart.

U.S. 550 reopened after it was closed in both directions Wednesday morning because a boulder crashed onto the highway near Ouray overnight.

The U.S. 50 bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir closed in April after state and federal transportation officials discovered cracks in the steel supports. 

[Written by Stephen Wright] Bermudian ice hockey player Blake Montgomery has reflected on the moment he got drafted by National Hockey League [NHL] team the Ottawa Senators. Rather than attend the draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas in June, Montgomery, 19, visited Bermuda to watch the live televised event at the Boundary Sports Bar […]

Keyshawn Johnson discusses whether Deion Sanders should play a key role in guiding his son, Shedeur Sanders, through the NFL Draft process. He breaks down the potential impact of Deion’s involvement in Shedeur’s future as a top draft prospect.

Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency Dogecoin spiked by as much as 20% Wednesday after the Tesla mogul was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead a newly created “Department of Government Efficiency” — or DOGE. The meme coin, which features an image of a Shiba Inu breed dog and was created…

Just Eat Takeaway sells Grubhub for $650 million, just 3 years after buying the app for $7.3 billion NEW YORK (AP) — European food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com is selling Grubhub for $650 million, a fraction of the billions it spent to buy the U.S. platform just three years ago. Wonder…

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday after the U.S. October consumer price index reading reinforced expectations that the Fed would cuts rates again in December. The CPI came in line with expectations, accelerating slightly to an annual inflation rate of 2.6%. Core CPI, which straps out…