Month: April 2020

The Colombian, who manages his own line of birth control products, is slashing his prices in order to help out during the pandemic

Ex-Newcastle United and Colombia forward Faustino Asprilla is doing his part to ease the strains of the coronavirus outbreak in his native country – by selling his condoms at a special promotional price. 

Asprilla lit up the Premier League with the Magpies during his playing days and also represented his nation at two World Cups, as well as enjoying a hugely successful spell in Italy with Parma. 

While he might have hung up his boots more than 15 years ago, he continues to make headlines in Colombia thanks to his exuberant personal life, prompting a massive manhunt last year when his prize bull Lagrimon was ‘kidnapped’ by cattle rustlers and, happily, later returned to an overjoyed Tino. 

He also dabbles as an entrepeneur, launching his own range of condoms, Tino Condones, in 2014, and regularly appearing in the company’s promotional material. 

The birth control devices are among the essential items that have run short in certain areas as the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted regular life, with a shortfall of up to 100 million after Malaysian company Karex Bhd, which makes one in every five condoms produced globally, was forced to shut down. 

One place where they remain plentiful, however, is apparently in Asprilla’s living room, and he has promised to share the bounty with a generous cut-price offer. 

“Here at home I have a whole load of condoms which I want you to help me use, because it is really difficult for me to use all of them,” Tino stated in a video released on the star’s official Twitter account, in response to an article revealing the shortage. 

“Filling up with kids and bringing them into the world with this virus is not on. So I am giving you a link through which you can get hold of these Tino condoms at a very reasonable price.

“I will let them go at more than half price so that you can have some protection at home: soap, washing your hands, and what could be better than condoms?”

The 50-year-old later returned to the social network to post a picture of his beloved bovine pal, using Lagrimon’s rescue as inspiration to fight the virus. 

“We are all going to pull in the same direction,” he wrote, sharing the moment when his bull was returned by police. 

“Lagrimon survived 20 days kidnapped fighting hunger, we can do the same.”

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MONTREAL ― Canada’s federal government is headed for a $180-billion deficit this year, economists say ― about seven times larger than the previous year’s deficit. But rock-bottom interest rates for governments mean this massive new IOU will only cost taxpayers around $1 billion a year to service.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Wednesday outlined the costs of a new payroll subsidy that will cover up to 75 per cent of wage costs for businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, pegging it at $71 billion for a program that will run retroactively from mid-March to the end of May.

Watch: Canada’s government is asking credit card companies to cut their interest rates.

 

Together with the spending announced earlier ― including the $2,000-a-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit for those who lost work ― economists at Canada’s big banks now expect the federal deficit to come in at around $170-$180 billion this fiscal year, close to 8 per cent of economic output.

As large as that is, some say it’s not actually large enough.

“A budgetary balance in the order of $200 billion (or approaching 10 per cent of GDP) would not be unreasonable in face of this unprecedented shock,” wrote Rebekah Young, director of fiscal and provincial economics at Scotiabank. 

“The risk of responding too slowly or too cheaply would come at the cost of a more protracted recession that would take a much bigger toll on the economy and the government’s finances.”

As a share of the economy, this deficit will be the largest Canada has seen since the early 1980s, Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter noted. He published a chart showing the dizzying pace at which Canada’s deficit has suddenly exploded.

But interest rates in the early 1980s were at record highs, and the government was paying 12-14 per cent on 10-year debt. Today, 10-year Government of Canada debt has a 0.6 per cent interest rate, close to the lowest rate ever.

“At that rate, the deficit would cost just over $1 billion in extra interest costs per year,” Porter wrote in a client note.

So for $1 billion a year, the government can roll this debt over for the next 10 years ― presumably long enough for the economy to recover, and for government revenues to grow, making this debt easier to pay down the line.

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The risk is higher interest rates at some point in the future. If Canada were paying early-1980s interest rates on its debt today, this new deficit would mean an additional $20-$24 billion in interest costs annually ― roughly the same annual cost as the Canada Child Benefit. And that’s just the interest charges, never mind paying it down.

But with low rates, “the massive fiscal policy measures (and huge budget deficits) will carry a relatively light interest cost,” Porter wrote earlier this week. “Longer term, that’s a big relief.”

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Toilet paper with your takeout or sacks of flour with your dozen of delivered cookies might become the new normal as Canadians continue the weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Restaurants adjusting to the economic downturn of no dine-in service have shifted to delivery and pick-up orders, and some are taking a page from another industry: Grocery stores.

Vancouver-based chain Earls Kitchen and Bar has rolled out groceries as part of a new means to stay afloat during the economic hardship. Options include packages of meats, produce and pantry staples or a-la carte items customers can tack on to orders.

It marks a shift from when supermarkets like Loblaws or Whole Foods started the “grocerant” trend by adding dine-in and sit-down meals as a way to keep customers shopping for longer. 

For more on to other brands making the jump, check out the video above. 

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SOUTH NYACK, NY — A set of painted pumpkins arranged at the front door of South Nyack law firm Feerick Nugent MacCartney set off a chain of apologies from the firm and from Bed, Bath and Beyond after someone complained that the gourds were offensive, according to news reports.

The jack-o-lanterns were painted black with eyes and smiles outlined in white. Someone who was offended said the paint job looked like blackface. News 12 reached out to both the law firm and the store. Both removed the pumpkins from display.

Nyack NAACP Director Wilbur Aldridge told News 12 the pumpkins were very insensitive.

Read the entire story on westchester.news12.com.

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Nationals capped a remarkable season Wednesday night, scrapping from unlikely wildcard winner to baseball’s World Champions, staving off elimination with a victory Tuesday and then crowning themselves in Game 7 with a come-from-behind 6-2 road victory over the Houston Astros.

Neither the Nationals nor the Astros won a single game at home, but the Nats victory set off celebration at National Park and the homes, bars and streets of the District and northern Virginia.

Fans spilled into the streets Wednesday night after the team came from behind from 2-0 to win.

Tommy Marshall watched the game with thousands of other fans at Nationals Park, where they rejoiced after every strikeout, and home run.

“For a region that is accustomed to teams blowing it…it was weird to have such strong nerve-wracking hope strong enough to keep my friends and I from leaving our seats just behind the visitor team’s dugout where we were watching the game,” Marshall said. “I think I blacked out at (Howie Kendrick’s) home run. I lost my voice, cheered harder than I’ve cheered in a long time, and they couldn’t even hear us.”

The Nats were 19-31 on May 24. They were 4-3 in the 2019 World Series, and 12-5 in the postseason. That’s all it took. Party on.

The Astros had been favorites to win the fall classic but the upstart Nats, with a combination of youthful naivete and experienced starting pitching, would have none of it.

President Trump, who was resoundingly booed during Game 5, tweeted out congratulations: “Congratulations to the Washington Nationals on a great season and an incredible World Series. Game 7 was amazing! @Nationals”

Are you ready for a slip and slide on the Nationals dugout? You’re not, but here you go:

A slip and slide worthy of the World Series pic.twitter.com/d55XYZuEtK
— Kelyn Soong (@KelynSoong) October 31, 2019

Team owner Ted Lerner said at the trophy presentation, “A dream came true. We did it for the fans of Washington, and it feels great.”

Nationals fans exploded in celebration. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser posted a video of the celebration:

Come home, @Nationals.

We’re waiting for ‘ya. #FIGHTFINISHED#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/PMIeJvaM0r
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) October 31, 2019

“We’re world champs tonight,” Martinez said. He called his team resilient guys “who love to play the game. … We stayed in the fight, we won the fight. I believe in these guys and they believe in each other.”

The Nationals stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the series with two wins in Houston, but were swept at home and fell behind 3-2. A 7-2 victory in Game 6 Tuesday night kept them alive in the series, leading up to the critical Game 7 Wednesday night.

Down in the 7th, home runs by Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick, gave the Nats a slim lead. A run in the eighth and two more in the ninth left the Astros limp in their dugout when the final out was snatched by catcher Yan Gomes just before 11 o’clock Houston time.

Fans in D.C. snapped up all 36,000 tickets to a watch party at Nationals Park, and there are other watch parties happening around the District as Nats fans hope for the first World Series title in D.C. since the Washington Senators — now the Minnesota Twins — did it 95 years ago.

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Kathy Gillespie, a D.C. resident, was wearing her lucky Nats shirt at a Cleveland Park bar as she watched the game. She said her father is a huge Nats fan, and she spent 30 minutes talking on the phone to him about the game.

“For grandpa, we want the Nats to win,” she said.

Tom Williams Jr., of D.C. said he was “weirdly emotional” about the game. He remembered how his mother loved the Senators, and this game caused him to think of his parents and grandparents, as well as going to the D.C. stadium with his father as a kid.

“Let’s win this thing,” Williams texted a group of friends.

Jeff Howcroft, from Ottawa, Canada, lived in D.C. 10 years ago and professes to be a huge Nats fan. He drove 12 hours to watch the Nats play in D.C.

“This is my dream. I’m a baseball fan beyond belief,” Howcroft said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

We will be following the game and the fans all night. Stay tuned to this story for a roundup of fan reaction after the game is over.

---

Additional reporting by Alessia Grunberger/Patch

WHITE HOUSE — The first public impeachment hearing has ended, with more hearings to come later in the week.

William Taylor, a top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, testified for more than five hours Wednesday about their knowledge of President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Ukraine investigate Democrats as the United States withheld military aid.

Republicans within the Housing Intelligence Committee mentioned on multiple occasions that the witnesses didn’t have firsthand knowledge, and noted that aid to Ukraine was eventually released.

Directly before the first televised impeachment hearing began, Trump tweeted out, “READ THE TRANSCRIPT!”

READ THE TRANSCRIPT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2019

Taylor did, though, tell the House committee that a cellphone conversation his aid overheard between another diplomat and President Donald Trump in July shows that the president cares more about investigations into Democrat Joe Biden than he does about Ukraine, according to AP News.

President Trump is calling the public House impeachment inquiry the “single greatest scam in the history of American politics.”

Trump responded to the hearings with a new video released by the White House.

pic.twitter.com/FJ8gMdh5bX
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2019

Trump says during the video filmed in the White House Rose Garden, “They’re trying to stop me because I’m fighting for you. And I’ll never let that happen.”

Early in the proceedings, Republic Rep. Mike Conway asked Schiff to subpoena the whistleblower to appear behind closed doors. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan followed up Conway’s comment by claiming that Schiff is the only member who knows the whistleblower’s identity.

.@Jim_Jordan to Chairman Schiff: “Of the 435 members of Congress, you are the only Member who knows who the whistleblower is, and your staff is the only staff who has had a chance to talk with that individual.

“We would like that opportunity. When might that happen?” pic.twitter.com/UBzmorAbOR
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 13, 2019

Top State Department official, Kent, was asked multiple times about Hunter Biden and his relationship with the Ukrainian gas company called Burma. Kent, though, said he never saw any attempt to shield the company from scrutiny because of Biden’s connection the company, according to the AP.

The House of Representatives impeachment inquiry centers around whether President Donald Trump used the power of his presidency to solicit a foreign government to influence the 2020 U.S. election.

Specifically, he is accused of asking Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, now running for president, while withholding nearly $400 million in military aid approved by Congress.

The next televised impeachment hearing will be on Friday, and will feature former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

Who’s On The Committee Doing The Questioning?

There are 13 Democrats and nine Republicans. The Democrats include: Schiff, Eric Swalwell of California, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Jim Homes of Connecticut, Terri Sewell of Alabama, Andre Carson of Indiana, Jackie Speier of California, Mike Quigley of Illinois, Denny Heck of Washington, Peter Welch of Vermont, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Val Demings of Florida and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.

The Republicans include: Devin Nunes of California, John Ratcliffe of Texas, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Michael Turner and Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, Chris Stewart of Utah, Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Conway and Will Hurd of Texas.

Twenty-one high school coaches from across the country have been selected as 2013 National Coaches of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association.

The NFHS, which has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982, honors coaches in the top 10 girls sports and top 10 boys sports (by participation numbers), and in one “other” sport that is not included in the top 10 listings. The NFHS also recognizes a Spirit coach as a separate award category. Winners of NFHS awards must be active coaches during the year for which they receive their award. This year’s awards recognize coaches for the 2012-13 school year.

Recipients of the 2013 NFHS national awards for boys sports are:

David Gentry, football, Murphy (North Carolina) High School; John Jones, track and field, Columbia (South Carolina) Spring Valley High School; Dennis Bower, basketball, Onalaska (Washington) High School; Larry Turner, baseball, Owasso (Oklahoma) High School; Gregory Oglesby, soccer, Southlake (Texas) Carroll Senior High School; Bill Johnson, wrestling, Norton (Kansas) Community Senior High School;Claney Duplechin, cross country, Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Episcopal High School; Skip Griese, tennis, Ada (Oklahoma) High School;James McGill, golf, Ottawa Hills (Ohio) High School; and Joe Pereira, swimming and diving, Salt Lake City (Utah) Skyline High School.

Recipients of this year’s national awards for girls sports are:

Richard Kates Jr., track and field, Higham (Massachusetts) Notre Dame Academy; Rhonda Farney, basketball, Georgetown (Texas) High School; Mary Jo Cerqua, volleyball, Baldwinsville (New York) High School; Thomas Hasbrouck, soccer, Buckhannon-Upshur (West Virginia) High School;  Jeff Hulse, softball, Olathe (Kansas) East High School; Steven Porter, cross country, Milan (Michigan) High School;Philip Rudolph, tennis, Fayetteville-Manlius (New York) High School;  Richard Hawks, swimming and diving, Greenwich (Connecticut) High School; and Margaret Stanley, golf, Socorro (New Mexico) High School.  There was no national coach selected for girls lacrosse.

The recipient of the National Coach of the Year Award for spirit is Michelle Akers of Logan (West Virginia) High School, and Jennifer Haneyof Hudson (Ohio) High School was chosen in the other sports category for Field Hockey.

In addition to the 21 National Coaches of the Year, the NFHS Coaches Association has selected John E. Nicolaysen of Oakland, New Jersey, as the recipient of the National Coach Contributor Award. This award is presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond and who exemplifies the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct and moral character, and who carries the endorsement of his or her respective state high school association.

The NFHS has a contact person in each state who is responsible for selecting deserving coach award recipients. This contact person often works with the state coaches’ association in his or her respective state. He or she contacts the potential state award recipients to complete a coach profile form that requests information regarding the coach’s record, membership in and affiliation with coaching and other professional organizations, involvement with other school and community activities and programs, and coaching philosophy. To be approved as an award recipient and considered for sectional and national coach of the year consideration, this profile form must be completed by the coach or designee and then approved by the executive director (or designee) of the state athletic/activities association.

The next award level after state coach of the year is sectional coach of the year. The NFHS is divided into eight geographical sections. They are as follows: Section 1 – Northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT); Section 2 – Mideast (DE, DC, KY, MD, OH, PA, VA, WV); Section 3 – South (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN); Section 4 – Central (IL, IN, IA, MI, WI); Section 5 – Midwest (KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD); Section 6 – Southwest (AR, CO, NM, OK, TX); Section 7 – West (AZ, CA, HI, NV, UT); and Section 8 – Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY).

The NFHS Coaches Association has an advisory committee, composed of a chair and eight sectional representatives.  The sectional committee representatives evaluate the state award recipients from the states in their respective sections and select the best candidates for the sectional award in each sport category. The NFHS Coaches Association Advisory Committee then considers the sectional candidates in each sport, ranks them according to a point system, and determines a national winner for each of the 20 sport categories, the spirit category and one “other” category.

A total of 515 coaches will be recognized this year with state, sectional and national awards.

This press release was written by Barbara Green Johnson, AIC, administrative assistant with the NFHS who works with the NFHS Coaches Association and the NFHS Coach Education Program.