Recently, Grand Canyon National Park unveiled its new, high tech, Virtual Studio for Kids. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2013-02-12-virtual-studio.htm

A fluid layout with max/min width, header/footer and multiple percentage columns ALL reaching the footer using NO images.

iHEARTMEDIA News-Talk KOA-A-K231AA-K231BQ/DENVER has agreed to a three-year extension of its deal with rightsholder LEARFIELD IMG COLLEGE's BUFFALO SPORTS PROPERTIES to serve as radio … more

The FCC is granting a blanket waiver to broadcasters of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) requirement that mandates broad recruitment outreach for all open full-time positions when the … more

Canadian ratings firm NUMERIS has released data showing radio retaining 88% of its weekly reach during the pandemic in CANADA. The number, at 93% for adults 18+ in metered markets last FALL, … more

Email marketing is great for staying in touch with your existing customers and attracting new ones. Also, it’s a very effective method of selling your products. According to email marketing stats, 60% of consumers say they’ve made a purchase as the result of an email marketing message they received. There are certain types of emails...

Like everyone, U.S. oil companies have been hit hard by the pandemic, and they are looking for relief. . Oil companies have requested special access to a $600 billion lending facility at the Federal Reserve, and the administration seems keen to deliver. The president just announced that the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury would make funds available, and the Department of Energy is also floating a $7 billion plan to pay drillers to leave oil in the ground.

Unfortunately, at least one faction of the industry — a group of refiners that traditionally profit when crude feedstocks are cheap — is angling for much more than a financial bailout. They are using the pandemic as cover to cannibalize markets vital to U.S. biofuel producers and farmers.

Their plan, outlined in letter from several oil-patch governors, would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halt enforcement of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It would allow refiners to stop offering biofuel blends at the fuel pump, eliminating the market for U.S. ethanol and biodiesel and decimating demand for billions of bushels of corn and soybeans used to make renewable motor fuel.

With half the nation’s 200-plus biofuel plants already offline, thousands of rural workers facing layoffs, and millions of U.S. farmers on financial life support, the destruction of the RFS would be an economic death knell for rural America.

It’s hard to imagine why refiners would expect the Trump administration to take the request seriously. The misguided plan would inflict incredible collateral damage on our economy, our energy security, and to the President’s prospects with rural voters. Notably, the courts rejected similar abuse in 2016. Even former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who scorned American farmers, rejected a similar plan back in 2017.

Nevertheless, refiners saw the current health crisis as a political opportunity and went for a kill. Fortunately, farm state champions are pushing back. Governors from Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota condemned the oil-backed plan. They wrote, “Using this global pandemic as an excuse to undercut the RFS is not just illegal; it would also sever the economic lifeline that renewable fuels provide for farmers, workers and rural communities across the Midwest.”

Aside from the sheer audacity, the refinery-backed plan also suffers from a major flaw — it wouldn’t change the economic situation of a single refinery. They claim that lifting the RFS would eliminate the costs associated with biofuel credits known as RINs, which are used to demonstrate compliance with the nation’s biofuel targets. Refiners that refuse to produce biofuel blends can purchase RINs from those that blend more ethanol or biodiesel into the fuel mix. In turn, when they sell a gallon of fuel, that RIN price is reflected in their returns. The oil industry’s own reports show that “there is no economic harm to RIN purchasers, even if RIN prices are high, because those costs are recouped in the gasoline blend stock and diesel.”

Even in a fictional scenario where costs aren’t automatically recouped, a detailed EPA analysis found that “all obligated parties, including the small refiners subject to the RFS program, would be affected at less than 1 percent of their sales (i.e., the estimated costs of compliance with the rule would be less than 1 percent of their sales) even when we did not consider their potential to recover RIN costs — with the estimated cost-to-sales percentages ranging from -0.04 percent (a cost savings) to 0.006 percent.”

Clearly, a 0.006 percent savings isn’t going to protect any refinery jobs, but refineries are betting that DC policymakers don’t know the difference between RINs values and compliance costs. They open one side of a ledger and hope that no one asks to see the next page.

Meanwhile, the nation’s biggest oil lobby, American Petroleum Institute, is calling on the EPA to simply cut 770 million gallons of biofuel out of the 2020 targets. Earlier this year, regulators approved a modest bump in biofuels to addresses a small fraction of the four billion gallons lost to secretive EPA refinery exemptions. The courts have since sided against the handouts, but the EPA has refused to implement the decision. Now, API says the agency should rip away the few gallons clawed back by U.S. farmers. It’s a baseless argument with one goal: blocking competition at the fuel pump.

Keep in mind, collapsing demand for motor fuel is just as hard on the nation’s biofuel producers. RFS targets enforced by the EPA are based on a percentage of each gallon sold — so if refiners make less fuel, their obligations under the law shrink at an equal rate. Meanwhile, biofuel producers across the heartland are closing their doors, as even their modest 10 percent share of the market has been cut in half.

Biofuel advocates are focused on their own survival. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley summed it up, saying “[T]here ought to be parity for all liquid fuels. So I look forward to working with (Agriculture) Secretary (Sonny) Perdue to make sure that our biofuels industry gets through this crisis so that we can continue to use America’s (home) grown energy in our gas tanks.”

Parity makes sense, but refinery lobbyists want more. The Trump EPA should reject the latest anti-biofuel pitch because it’s bad policy, but more than that, it’s an insulting attempt to capitalize on a health crisis to make an end run around the truth.

Former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent spearheaded the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005. He currently serves as co-chair of Americans for Energy Security and Innovation.

Another day, another devastating new uptick in Iowa’s COVID-19 figures.

Several times in the past few weeks, Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced a new daily high in Iowa’s positive COVID-19 tests or deaths. On Tuesday, yet another striking record — 19 deaths in a 24-hour period, or nearly 10 percent of the state’s total COVID-19 deaths to date.

For a governor who says she is staking her pandemic response on data and metrics, those grim numbers don’t seem to weigh heavily on Reynolds’ decision-making.

“The fact is we can’t prevent people from getting the COVID-19 virus,” Reynolds said at her Tuesday news conference. “If we weren’t testing in these areas, people would still have the virus and without being tested, diagnosed and isolated it could spread even further.”

In one breath, Reynolds tells Iowans we are helpless to stop the virus’s spread. In the very next breath, she explains how testing and isolation can help prevent the spread.

It’s just one example of the confusing guidance Iowans are getting from the governor and her team. Iowans looking for answers about how to protect themselves and their families are finding seemingly conflicting answers.

They report we have reached the peak, only to backtrack. They say we’re in this together and there’s a statewide plan to confront the outbreak, but then they tell us it’s really about “personal responsibility.” They tell us to stay home as much as possible, then pivot to emphasizing the need for people who feel sick to stay home.

Sometimes, it almost feels as if Reynolds is blaming Iowans for getting sick.

Early on, Reynolds used a regional strategy to track the virus, based on factors such as hospitalizations and health care resources in six multicounty regions across the state. That approach has been brushed aside with little explanation to the public.

Instead, Iowa now has “open” and “closed” counties — 22 where significant restrictions remain intact, and 77 where businesses can open in a limited manner. After less than a week under the county-by-county strategy, there are early signs that the 77 counties are seeing an uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases.

• Gov. Reynolds is disrupting her own virus response plan

Reynolds’ response in this phase of the pandemic is just as crucial as the initial phase, to prevent a deadlier wave. Shifting to the personal responsibility path also decentralizes leadership, which creates more uncertainty.

If Iowa’s “open” counties see a surge, will Reynolds relent and reimpose restrictions?

We have reason to doubt it. Just this week, Reynolds co-authored a Washington Post guest column with other governors, arguing “our approach worked.”

In Reynolds’ mind, she has already defeated the virus, so she’s retreating from the fight. That’s bad news for Iowans who are still very much on the front lines of this pandemic.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com

The present teachings provide a method of controlling a remote vehicle having an end effector and an image sensing device. The method includes obtaining an image of an object with the image sensing device, determining a ray from a focal point of the image to the object based on the obtained image, positioning the end effector of the remote vehicle to align with the determined ray, and moving the end effector along the determined ray to approach the object.

A tool to grasp objects, and to expand and/or retract while holding the objects, wherein the tool can include at least one handle disposed on a first end of an expandable assembly. At least one handle can be adapted to expand the expandable assembly when actuated or when there are a pair of handles and they are moved towards one another and retract the expandable assembly when they are moved away from one another. A gear assembly can be disposed on a second end of the expandable assembly. The tool can allow users to reach, grasp, move, and release remote objects.

Apparatus for performing electron radiation therapy on a breast cancer patient preferably includes an intraoperative electron radiation therapy machine, an intraoperative electron radiation therapy collimator tube connected to the intraoperative electron radiation therapy machine, and a plurality of filters made of a material having substantially the same density as human breast tissue for placement between the machine and the patient to change the energy of a monoenergetic beam after the beam has left the machine, allowing a filter to be chosen to reduce the energy traveling through the tube to a desired amount of energy to treat the patient. A method of controlling the amount of energy to reach a breast cancer patient undergoing electron radiation therapy includes selecting a filter made of a material having substantially the same density as human tissue and placing the filter between an intraoperative electron radiation therapy machine and a breast cancer patient to change the energy of a monoenergetic beam after it has left the machine, the filter being chosen to reduce the energy traveling from the machine to a desired amount of energy to treat the patient.

A breaching device that may be used to create a linear and, if desired, continuous, cut or breach in a metal structure. The cut or breach created may be non-linear in shape and not deviate from the functionality of the device. The device includes a plurality of containers joined together, such as by a metal wire or the like to form a series of cutting charges. One or more of the containers includes Reactive Material (RM) that may be ignited electronically or some other activation mechanism. The containers that do contain RM are sealed with the RM therein and preferably fabricated to be sufficiently heat resistant so that the RM is only ignited intentionally. The RM that is contained in the containers may be fired simultaneously, sequentially or in a programmed pattern, depending on the requirements of the application.

POLICE have arrested a man for assaulting officers after he was told he was breaching the new coronavirus laws.

EASTLEIGH are through to the FA Cup first round after two penalties for Scott Rendell.

Bournemouth have been fined £35,000 after accepting a charge from the Football Association for a breach of anti-doping rules.

A father-son tennis double act from West Tytherley strutted their stuff on the big stage at the National Finals of the .

AFC TOTTON hope to make it third time lucky in knockout competition on Tuesday night.

FORMER Trojans hockey star Alex Danson has reached a half-century of goals for Great Britain.

While the long and anxious wait for news engulfed loved ones in Southampton, rescue attempts continued mid-Atlantic in the wake of Titanic’s demise.

The number of shootings in New Haven has reached a seven-year high. That’s according to a crime report from the New Haven Police Department.

Successful crime thrillers set in Birmingham come to an exciting end.

PepsiCo India had volunteered to support the scale up of India's COVID-19 testing capacity through support provided to FIND.

According to the company, the online presence will further strengthen the brand’s reach by covering 2,000+ pin codes. Basis the demand and sales, Godrej Interio also plans to introduce selected online-only models to cater to a larger section of customers who love purchasing online.

In addition to making their products available at more outlets, top spirits makers are also in discussion with state excise departments and online food delivery giants such as Swiggy, Zomato and Dunzo to push for home delivery of liquor, including select premium brands, sources said.

The company, which has a retail network in 450 towns, is further expanding by adding new stores in smaller towns through franchise route.

Even though that is the small fraction of the $33 -billion revenue the market generate globally, it also means there is tremendous scope for growth for India.

Updated Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET A day after U.S. and Mexico officials announced an agreement to avert tariffs — set to begin on Monday — affecting billions of dollars in imports from Mexico, President Trump took a victory lap on Twitter. Under a joint agreement released by State Department officials, Mexico will assist the United States in curbing migration across the border by deploying its national guard troops through the country, especially its southern border. The deal also expands a new program called Migrant Protection Protocols, allowing U.S. immigration enforcement officials to send Central American migrants to Mexico as their asylum claims are pending Mexico says those migrants will be offered jobs, health care and education, though critics question how safe migrants will be as they await the conclusion of their claims. In addition, the agreement says Mexican authorities will work to dismantle human smuggling operations. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador praised

With 1.4 billion people, making it one of the world’s most populous nations, India is hearing the full and everlasting gospel being faithfully proclaimed daily, thanks to the gifts of precious supporters like you, who make the work of Amazing Facts International possible.

Our frontline work in India is being conducted by a dedicated team whose members must remain anonymous to continue their work. India is a vast nation with a large population, making the opportunity to preach great, but religious prejudice against Christianity and open public evangelism requires special discretion, especially when reporting on the ministry’s day-to-day outreach efforts.

A careless step could create overwhelming disruptions for our workers at a crucial time, as it has done for other Christian ministries in the nation in recent years.

However, despite an outright ban on open evangelism in many parts of India, Amazing Facts television messages still air on seven Christian television channels across the nation—in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Plans are now underway to add a Bengali-language broadcast and to reach Muslim areas of India and neighboring Bangladesh. Also in the works is reaching those who speak Nepali. Moreover, our work in India will help us reach the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, whose language is Dzongkha.

There has been an encouraging response: 320 Bible Study Guides have been mailed out by our team, and the first lessons completed by seekers of Bible truth are now coming in. The 27 lessons in our Bible School course will also soon be converted into a digital format for use on mobile devices. At the same time, the Amazing Adventure Bible Guides, designed for children, have also been distributed with a positive reception.

Changing Lives

Most gratifying are the personal testimonies of those reached by the message. During the first three months of 2020, we received 252 requests for free literature. One man from Punjab expressed gratitude for the Christian resources he received, saying that since the deaths of his wife and their only son during the past two years, he was cut off from his relatives and contemplated suicide. But with the new hope he received from our broadcasts, he felt God still had a plan for his life. This man is now distributing Amazing Facts literature to his neighbors.

And a woman in her 70s is going to Christian pastors in her area and urging them to read Amazing Facts literature so that they, too, can understand and share the three angels’ messages with others. She considers this task her biggest goal in the remaining years of her life.

Thanks to the labor of a small, dedicated team of workers, Amazing Facts International is bringing the good news of Jesus and His soon return to many important centers in India and neighboring lands. But there is much more difficult work to be done. That’s why we are so grateful for your prayer support and gifts. Because of you, a co-laborer and part of our ministry family, we’re able to reach this crucial corner of the world!

About 17 million people have applied for unemployment benefits in the U.S. in recent weeks. It's an astonishing number that's nearly 10 times what the system has ever handled so quickly. But, by one estimate , that money is still not flowing to about half of those people who desperately need it. And others are only getting a trickle of what they should be receiving. Many people have been out of a job for a month now. That's a long time to be without your income in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. "It's really intense and it's really frightening," says Nicolena Loshonkohl, a hair stylist NPR has been checking in with in Roanoke, Va. She's a single mom with a 2-year-old daughter. As a regular employee at a local salon, she says it was pretty easy to file for unemployment online. And she's now started to get payments. Loshonkohl feels fortunate about that. But so far, she's only receiving $340 a week. And that doesn't cover her rent, health insurance, food and other basic costs of

A new environment has a way of bringing out something new in us, for American singer-songwriter, Charli Adams, it comes in the form of new single "Superpowers." The acoustic composition puts the indie artist in the familiar position of vulnerability and seclusion that first propelled her from secret shows in her native Alabama to the […]

The post Charli Adams reaches for something familiar in new single "Superpowers" appeared first on EARMILK.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Adjusting to life on the virtual campaign trail has been a challenge for both Joe Biden and President Trump. It's been a particular struggle, though, for the former vice president. Here he is kicking off a virtual campaign rally this week with supporters in Florida. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JOE BIDEN: Just me? Am I on? UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes. BIDEN: Good evening. Thanks so much for tuning in. KELLY: Ouch. Joining us now is NPR political correspondent Asma Khalid. She covers the Biden campaign. Hey, Asma. ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: Hi there. KELLY: So clearly some technical difficulties for the former vice president there. What is his strategy for campaigning when he can't go out and campaign? KHALID: Well, you're right. I mean, he's been hunkered down at his house in Delaware. So we should point out he has not been able to physically go out and campaign because of the virus. This week, the campaign announced this new

Writers have been creating worlds for centuries. J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, H.P Lovecraft, they all shaped worlds and mythologies and civilisations out of words. Few musicians, however, have created new worlds out of their music. Kraftwerk's albums and aesthetics form a unique world of Pop Art, industrialism, rhythms and electricity... [ read more ]

A satirical look back at some of the quirkiest, most eyebrow-raising things that happened in the sports world this week.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three more people have died from COVID-19, bringing the death total to at least 124 in Oregon, state officials said. The Oregon Health Authority said Friday that another 75 cases were confirmed, and that 3,032 Oregonians have tested positive for the coronavirus. The three newly-reported deaths include an 80-year-old woman and […]

President Trump and Vice President Pence have made official visits to battleground states this week, while the Biden campaign tries new ways to reach voters in key states virtually.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back further off their recent record high in the week ended May 2nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, although claims remain at an elevated level and came in above economist estimates.

A dairy company that accused foreign workers of owing rent after allegations of underpayment arose has agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

A former employee at Renewal SA becomes the first public servant charged with breaching secrecy provisions surrounding investigations by SA's Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.

Irrigator Anthony Barlow is fined well below the maximum for pumping water from the Barwon River during an extreme water shortage in Broken Hill.

A fourth-generation grazier, who is selling the family property, says it could take a decade of uncommonly good conditions for pastoralists to recover from the drought in far-west NSW.

South Africa pushes Australia all the way, but the hosts are through to the T20 World Cup final in a rain-affected game at the SCG.

Former Queensland shadow police minister Trevor Watts says it was a mistake to have "driveway drinks" with neighbours — caught by a police patrol — with officers alleging it was more like a "street party" that did not follow coronavirus physical distancing rules.

MORNING BRIEFING: Photos shared on social media appear to show two NRL players defying coronavirus restrictions on a camping trip on the NSW Mid-North Coast, while aged care homes say the PM's advice on visitors is "cavalier and careless".

The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in Tasmania jumps to 16, with five cases being diagnosed on Saturday, the director of public health says.

Another five coronavirus cases in Tasmania's troubled northwest take the tally to 200, as the Health Minister urges people to remain vigilant.

Laura Sullivan spent 32 years in an Australian group she now believes is a cult, because of its controlling nature. But she didn't choose that path she was born into it.