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dankusner · 3 months

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DALLAS-FORT WORTH Bullet train shelved for now

Council says it wants to see results of economic impact study before final decision

A contentious 30-mile high-speed rail line between Dallas and Fort Worth will not move forward at least until after an economic impact study is completed.

The Dallas City Council voted to approve a resolution Wednesday to reiterate that members do not support construction of any above-ground rail lines through the downtown, Uptown and Victory Park areas of Dallas, except for the expansion of streetcars such as the M-line Trolley.

Council members revisited simmering concerns over whether the proposed rail line would hurt the city’s plans to reinvigorate its downtown, notably the planned replacement of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, and whether the line would benefit other communities at the city’s expense.

The proposed rail route, which runs parallel to Interstate 30 and has borne much scrutiny, would cut through the southwest corner of downtown that houses the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Reunion Tower.

Opposition to the route came from one of Dallas’ biggest property owners, Hunt Realty Investments, which has plans for a $5 billion development on land it owns around the Hyatt.

Council member Cara Mendelsohn said the rail line could create another division like Interstate 345 that cut off Deep Ellum from the majority of downtown.

There are continuing discussions about how to undo that divide.

Council members expressed frustration with the process.

They said they didn’t have the schematics to visualize what the rail line would look like.

“I do want to support the alignment to Fort Worth,” council member Chad West said. ”We can’t do big projects without understanding the economic impact, especially if we’re going to be cutting off part of downtown, which we’ve seen.” Larger project

City officials will commission a study and are working with the cities of Arlington and Fort Worth to figure out the best path forward.

Gus Khankarli, the director of the city’s transportation department, said the city would gauge the merits and feasibility of different routes and alignments.

Proposals for federal money also call for alternative alignments. Conversations about the Dallas-Fort Worth line have been part of the discussion over the proposed 205-mile Dallas-to-Houston connection.

Amtrak said it was interested in sharing the reins of operating the much larger rail line.

A seven-story station in the Cedars has passed an environmental assessment and will act as an endpoint for the Houston line.

High-speed trains would make the trip between Dallas and Houston in 90 minutes.

Most council members support the line to Houston.

The project has been in the works for over a decade and has undergone multiple renderings.

The high-speed rail would connect downtown Fort Worth and Arlington’s entertainment district that includes AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field and Texas Live with downtown Dallas.

The proposed lines are underground in Fort Worth and Arlington, but go above ground in Dallas.

Various concerns

Council members have had varying opinions.

Some want the connection in Dallas to be underground as well.

Others have questioned whether the high-speed rail would provide a useful alternative since people can travel from one city to the other in 40 minutes.

Issues surfaced after the North Central Texas Council of Governments floated the idea of a “one-seat ride,” which would connect the Dallas-Fort Worth line with the line to Houston.

It came to a head during NCTCOG’s Regional Transportation Council meeting in February where approval for funding six Dallas-based projects was contingent upon the city’s support for the above-ground alignment.

The alignment that follows the path of I-30 was also considered in a 2017 report initiated by the Texas Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration.

The alignment did not pass the first test.

The report said construction along the I-30 corridor came with “the greatest engineering challenges, the highest design and construction complexity and construction risks, and the highest capital cost.”

The report said a rail line along the existing Trinity Railway Express corridor connecting Dallas and Fort Worth offered the “best financial viability, with the lower capital costs.”

Council member Paula Blackmon asked if the study would consider the existing TRE line to determine if it made sense to upgrade infrastructure that already links the two cities.

Council member Paul Ridley said Wednesday’s resolution sends a message to other regional bodies that the city “will not abrogate its responsibility to decide what is the best path forward for transportation in Dallas.”

‘Not a unilateral decision’:

North Texas leaders vow to work together on high-speed rail plan

High-speed rail plans for North Texas won’t be slowed down, Fort Worth-area leaders say.

The proposal to connect Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth with high-speed rail will move forward despite a resolution from the Dallas City Council that opposes a proposed elevated line through the city’s downtown and adjacent areas.

Elected leaders serving on the Regional Transportation Council said they will work together to develop a rail plan that will benefit North Texas as a whole, as the population is expected to double from about 8 million to more than 15 million by 2050, according to RTC growth estimates presented at a June 13 meeting.

“We have to move forward,” Michael Morris, RTC director of transportation, said after Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn asked for a July 11 workshop on the project to be rescheduled, as the Dallas council will be on a break at that time.

Morris cited the Dallas resolution that calls for a four-month economic impact study to determine the positive and negative aspects of the plan, including whether an elevated rail line is feasible for downtown Dallas.

Mendelsohn suggested that Morris’ reluctance to change the workshop date was “some kind of retribution” for the Dallas resolution approved June 12 — prompting outgoing RTC chair Gyna Bivens, the Fort Worth mayor pro tempore, to demand that transportation council members “act with proper decorum.”

“To have respect, you have to give it,” Bivens said. “We’re not going to let this Dallas-Fort Worth thing get in the way.”

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, elected as the new RTC chair, said, “This is going to have regional implications. … Whatever the case is, it’s not just one city.”

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said council members from the DFW’s third-largest city plan to attend the July 11 workshop,although they will also be on a recess.

Dallas council members are concerned about a proposed seven-story high rail line that would cut through the Central Business District and adjacent downtown area neighborhoods.

The line, they said, could hurt downtown redevelopment work that includes a new $3.7 billion convention center.

The high-speed line would include underground stops in Arlington and Fort Worth.

The underground option in downtown Dallas won’t work for the “one-seat ride” approach, Morris said, but he did not rule out a submerged rail line.

Members of the Regional Transportation Council, an independent policy group of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, cited regional cooperation for the project.

In a statement read by Bivens at the RTC meeting, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said she is dedicated to improving the city, which is now the 12th largest in the nation.

“Fort Worth remains the fastest-growing large city in the country, attracting people and businesses from across the United States,” Parker said. “High-speed rail is an integral part of our transportation future and it will include Tarrant County.

“The regional long-term success of DFW is connected to regional partnerships, such as the high-speed rail project, as the region is poised to be the third-largest metro region in the country by 2030 – with a majority of the growth occurring west,” the mayor said. “Collectively, our success is dependent on world class mobility solutions that connect not just DFW but the entire state of Texas.”

The rail project will require regional cooperation among elected officials and others, Parker said.

“An economic feasibility study on the impact of high-speed rail across the Texas network, including the ‘Texas Triangle,’ is not a unilateral decision,” she said, referring to an area covering the state’s four main urban centers of Fort Worth-Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. “This is a regional decision that will require the stakeholders and elected officials to collaborate and solve complex problems for the advancement of our North Texas region.

“I am confident that the Regional Transportation Council and other stakeholders are positioned to navigate the complexities of the high-speed rail system to see that the route includes Arlington and Fort Worth,” Parker said. “I am thankful for the leadership that is working on our regional transportation networks and will continue to be a solution-oriented advocate. We need to continue to make progress on other transportation projects, such as TRE (Trinity Railway Express commuter rail), as these are not mutually exclusive and these complimentary investments will have a big impact.”

North Texas leaders “have the opportunity to build the first high-speed rail network in the United States,” Parker said.

“Texas is the eighth-largest economy in the world, with no signs of slowing,” she said. “As leaders, it is our responsibility to act with the visionary leadership needed for the soon-to-be third-largest region in the nation and home to 12 million people. Fort Worth is the 12th-largest city and will have a seat at the table to position the project for success.”

Meanwhile, Bivens said she plans to attend the July workshop on the rail project to show her support.

“The half has not been told,” she said, adding that many of her constituents would benefit from the rail project.

Elevated High-Speed Rail Through Downtown Dallas Appears Dead

The Dallas City Council unanimously agreed Wednesday to oppose any new elevated passenger rail projects through downtown.

Yesterday, the regional agency charged with securing money for these sorts of enormous transportation projects said it is no longer planning to put a 17-story rail line through downtown Dallas.

The agency promised more details next month, but it is a significant about-face from recent discussions.

All this hubbub is about a possible high-speed rail line west to Arlington and Fort Worth, whose stations would be below ground.

The consternation happens when the train surfaces aboveground in West Dallas and continues, 17 stories in the air, through downtown, on its way to a station in the Cedars.

Much of the recent discussion around this project happened late last year in the Arlington headquarters of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the aforementioned regional agency.

When the matter got to City Hall last March, bureaucratic hell broke loose.

Each of the four alignments showed an elevated line running through the southwest corner of downtown.

Hunt Realty, which is planning to spend $5 billion on a mixed-use project on its empty land near where the line would go, commissioned renderings of an elevated line running perilously close to the Hyatt Regency and Reunion Tower.

Hunt floated the idea that Reunion would have to be torn down, which was reported by WFAA.

Council members expressed concern about how the project might affect the nearly $4 billion plans for the new convention center next door.

Was an elevated rail bisecting a corner of downtown really worth putting all this new development at risk?

Wednesday, at the behest of the Council’s Economic Development Committee, the body voted wholly in support of keeping an elevated train out of downtown, Uptown, and Victory Park.

This decision basically tells the feds that the city would not support such an alignment, which could put funding at risk.

Then on Thursday, Michael Morris, the transportation director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, broke some news.

“I think our plan forward is not to have an elevated train through your downtown,” Morris said. “We’re more than happy to comply and simply move forward.”

Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn asked him to share the alignments.

He declined, saying he would need more time to explain them, and promised to unveil more at a workshop next month.

He declined again on Friday when asked by D Magazine, saying he could not share any specifics with the public until briefing the board of the Regional Transportation Council.

Morris said the agency has been working to identify routes around downtown since getting significant pushback last March, prior to the resolution.

“I believe we have a solution that complies with the Dallas Council resolution that wishes to have no elevated routes in the central business district of Dallas,” Morris said in an interview. “I believe we have a path forward. We’re going to totally comply with the city of Dallas in their resolution, and I don’t think the world is going to come to an end.”

Hunt Realty hired a firm to design renderings that show what it believes the high-speed rail line would look like as it comes through downtown Dallas. Hunt Realty

There are two related high-speed routes here, Houston to Dallas and then Dallas to Fort Worth.

The former is further along.

The project to Houston was resurrected last year by Amtrak, which came to the table once the private developer appeared to fail to bring it to fruition.

Amtrak quickly hired Andy Byford, who earned the nickname “Train Daddy” for massively improving the frequency and reliability of New York City’s subway system.

He led the transit systems in both London and Toronto, and his arrival at Amtrak signaled a newfound investment in the country’s first possible high-speed rail line.

In the months after Byford’s hiring, President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kushida and secured permission to use that country’s Shinkansen bullet train technology, which, Morris said, has operated for 54 years with 99 percent reliability and no fatalities.

Dallas to Houston is an ideal test case of the technology in the States: a straight shot of relatively flat land between two of the country’s largest cities.

Adding an extension to Fort Worth is a bet on this project coming to fruition—and that there will be an appetite for an expansion elsewhere.

About 90 percent of the land along the western route lies in the public right of way. It only gets complicated once it gets to Dallas, which is why Council has raised a collective eyebrow.

“If you look at high-speed rail in the rest of the world, this isn’t just about Dallas to Houston and Dallas to Fort Worth,” Morris said back in March. “It’s Fort Worth, then does it go to Denver? Does it go to Oklahoma City? Where do we go west of Dallas to a national network?”

Morris had a caveat, though. “It seems very unlikely we would want to build high-speed rail between Dallas and Fort Worth if we did not have a leg that connected us to all the other Texas cities,” Morris said during a January meeting.

The train to Houston has already been environmentally cleared by the feds, which means it can begin pursuing the dollars to build it.

The clearance plan for Fort Worth is underway and expected to be finished in February.

That’s why the City Council passed its resolution, to try to get a word in before the alignment is established.

Morris has said that he would prefer that rail be elevated to reach the 17-story-tall station terminus in the Cedars, which is where riders will access the train to Houston.

The feds have approved that location and height, and changing it would put the entire project in peril, Byford told the Council last March.

During that meeting, Morris said forcing riders to travel down 17 stories to a different, at-grade rail line to Fort Worth would dissuade people from taking the train.

He had proposed a people mover into downtown to the Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, which could become a mixed-use transit hub that connects to DART, the Trinity Railway Express, and Amtrak.

With this week’s Council resolution against elevated rail downtown, Morris said those options would not be possible.

“It appears this current City Council wishes not to have any routes to downtown. Now you need to understand the implications of that,” he said. “All that evaporates, so we have to make sure everyone understands that.”

Meanwhile, sensing Dallas’ concern, Fort Worth and Arlington are digging in.

Arlington will need to join some sort of transit authority to get a station, but its mayor, Jim Ross, has expressed support for the project during the regional transportation meetings.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker released a statement during Thursday’s meeting that essentially told Dallas that it won’t stand by and let its concerns stall the project.

“This is not a unilateral decision,” the statement said.

“Fort Worth continues to be the fastest-growing large city in the country. … High-speed rail is an integral part of our transportation future and it will include Tarrant county,” she said in the statement.

“This is a regional decision that will require stakeholders and elected officials to collaborate and solve complex problems for the advancement of our North Texas region.”

The Dallas City Council’s resolution also declared that it would not support the high-speed rail project before an economic impact study is conducted and submitted to the body for review.

Morris is working from his typical position: in the middle, having to find a way to solve Dallas’ concerns while keeping the project moving for its western neighbors.

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cleoselene · 8 months

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Do you, like me, hate the Electoral College? Do you, like me, realize that changing the US Constitution is incredibly difficult as it requires approval of 2/3 of US states? This doesn't mean it's not worth doing, of course, but it's a long-term solution.

A lot of edgelords on the internet get Big Mad when you ask them to do the absolute Bare Minimum: vote. Why they get mad about it, I don't know *cough they're paid by Putin cough*, probably because they're fucking morons, but it's not really worth arguing with them about it. People who are trying to discourage you from voting are not acting in your interest. People who lived before us suffered and died so women and people of color had access to the polls, if for no other reason, we are failing them and the sacrifices they made for us if we fail to use our franchise. And that's just asshole behavior. Don't be an asshole.

Anyway, there is a more immediate solution:

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Compact ensures that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election. The Compact is a state-based approach that preserves the Electoral College, state control of elections, and the power of the states to control how the President is elected. The National Popular Vote bill has been enacted by 17 jurisdictions possessing 205 electoral votes, including 4 small states (DE, HI, RI, VT), 9 medium-sized states (CO, CT, MD, MA, MN, NJ, NM, OR, WA), 3 big states (CA, IL, NY), and the District of Columbia. The bill will take effect when enacted by states with 65 more electoral votes. The bill has passed at least one chamber in 8 additional states with 78 more electoral votes (AR, AZ, ME, MI, NC, NV, OK, VA). A total of 3,705 state legislators from all 50 states have endorsed it.

Click on the site to learn more about it. Also, check out the very informative Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

This is for all the other people in my "please vote" post saying "you aren't doing anything about the broken system." Well, not true. But guess what: doing something about the broken system without violence still requires voting. And please tell me we are still in a place where we don't think violent revolution is the answer, because when you go that route, you are openly saying you are ready to sacrifice sick and disabled people, LIKE ME.

#electoral college #national popular vote compact

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shahananasrin-blog · 1 year

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[ad_1] DENVER (KDVR) — Eastbound Interstate 70 was closed in the high country Tuesday because of a crash, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The affected stretch was from Exit 203 (Silverthorne) to Exit 218 (8 miles west of Silver Plume), or Mile Points 205-217.5. Delays were expected, CDOT said. Drivers were advised to use U.S. 40 or U.S. 285 as alternate routes. No further details about the crash were immediately released. Close Modal Suggest a Correction Suggest a Correction [ad_2]

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dnaamericaapp · 1 year

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‘We're Just Gonna Scour The Earth': Search Continues For Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russel Who Called 911 To Report Toddler Along I-459

Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, 25, was on her way home from her job at the Woodhouse Day Spa in the Summit and was about 10 minutes from her house, according to her parents, Talitha and Carolos Russell.

The Hoover 911 Center received a call from Carlee Russell stating a toddler was walking on the side of the interstate.

Carlee Russell then stopped to check on the child and called a family member, according to police. The family told investigators that they lost contact with her, but the phone line remained open.

Carlee Russell was last seen wearing black shirt, black pants and white Nike shoes, according to police. Her parents said her hair is in tight braids.

On Saturday police released this updated photo of Russell which they say is how her hair would have looked the night of her disappearance.

Family gathered to search for Carlee Russell Friday morning at the Hoover Met and are asking for help.

"We're just gonna scour the earth," said Carlee Russell's dad, Carlos Russell. "There's no stopping us."

Her parents noted that there is a report from a trucker who said they saw her car with the door open and a grey vehicle had pulled in front of it.

The Russells also say they believe that the child was used as 'bait' in order to lure Carlee out of her car.

Local, state and federal agencies are helping with the search at this time.

A $25,000 reward is being offered between an anonymous donor and Crime Stoppers for any credible information, police said.

Anyone who believes they may have seen Carlee Russell or may have any information about this case is asked to call Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562. -(source wvtm 13 news birmingham)

DNA America

“it’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics

#dna #news #politics #dnaamerica

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dertaglichedan · 1 year

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Carlethia 'Carlee' Russell vanished after calling 911 when she saw a child walking alone on the side of an Alabama interstate highway on Thursday night

The 25-year-old was on the phone with her sister-in-law when she went to check up on the child before the family member heard a scream and lost contact

Anyone with information should contact Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562 or Sergeant Drew Mims at 205-739-7274

A 25-year-old woman vanished after pulling over to check on a toddler who was wondering alone along an Alabama interstate highway.

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embarkbehavioralhealth · 1 year

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Embark Behavioral Health Now Offers Premier Outpatient Therapy in Denver Area

Mental Health Provider Now Serving Preteens, Teens, Young Adults, and Their Families in Greenwood Village DENVER — May 9, 2023 — To best help preteens, teens, young adults, and their families heal, Embark Behavioral Health, a leading network of mental health treatment programs for young people, is now enrolling clients at a new outpatient therapy clinic in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Conveniently located near Denver, Aurora, and Lakewood, the clinic offers a comprehensive range of services as part of the company’s robust continuum of care. Those services include a therapeutic day treatment program, also known as a partial hospitalization program (PHP), and an intensive outpatient program (IOP). “Our team is dedicated to providing compassionate and evidence-based care to support the well-being of young people and their families in our community,” said the location’s executive director, Dr. Myra Irani, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology. “With this new facility, we hope to reach even more children and families in need and empower them on their journey toward healing and resilience." The Greenwood Village clinic is Embark's first location in Colorado, located at 5340 S. Quebec St., Suite 205 N, adjacent to Highway 88 and Interstate 25. Embark's entry into the Denver market will support the Colorado community as the youth mental health crisis reaches alarming levels. In May 2021, Children's Hospital Colorado announced its first-ever state of emergency for youth mental health. As a result of the alarming levels, hospitals, therapy centers, behavioral health hospitals, and local schools are overwhelmed with children and their families who are dealing with the repercussions of this escalating mental health crisis. With its new clinic, Embark can provide mental health services to those families who are actively struggling in the Denver area. The Embark Difference Offering programs accredited by The Joint Commission, Embark prioritizes delivering optimal care and adheres to superior safety standards. The company takes a personal approach to family therapy by treating families as a whole, emphasizing evidence-based and relationship-centered techniques. In fact, the research team collects thousands of data points and shares feedback with families so therapists can adjust treatment accordingly, ensuring families receive the best care. Embark’s diverse programs encompass individual, group, and family therapy, therapeutic/peer mentoring, home health care services, addiction treatment, and parent coaching. These programs address a wide range of issues, such as: - Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). - Anger/mood regulation.   - Anxiety. - Bipolar disorder.   - Borderline personality disorder.   - Bullying. - Depression. - Family conflict. - Self-harm/cutting. - Social isolation. - Substance use. - Technology addiction. The Greenwood Village Clinic: A Closer Look “For adolescents, teens, and young adults living in the Denver area, our outpatient services provide an excellent option for accessing therapy conveniently and locally,” said the location’s clinical director, Emmett Wells, a licensed clinical social worker. To celebrate the clinic’s opening, Embark hosted a ribbon cutting and Mental Health Awareness Month kickoff May 8. The event included the contemporary story of the living Native American art form known as powwow, performed by The LaPointe-Roy family. In addition to launching Embark’s first Colorado outpatient clinic, recent Embark milestones include: - The Embark outpatient clinic in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, earning Main Line Parent’s Best Mental Health Services for Teens award for the second consecutive year. - Adding a Scottsdale outpatient therapy clinic featuring an IOP and a therapeutic day treatment program. - Expanding online services with Embark Virtual IOP. Virtual IOP is an insurance-reimbursable program available to residents in various states across the country. It’s ideal for preteens, teens, and young adults as part of an after- and continuing-care plan ─ for example, when they’re stepping down from a higher level of care, such as residential treatment or wilderness therapy, or up from a lower level of care, such as weekly individual therapy.   For more information about Embark Behavioral Health, visit the website. Read the full article

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newstfionline · 2 years

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Sunday, February 26, 2023

Los Angeles area still blanketed by snow in rare heavy storm (AP) A powerful winter storm that swept down the West Coast with flooding and frigid temperatures shifted its focus to southern California on Saturday, swelling rivers to dangerous levels and dropping snow in even low-lying areas around Los Angeles. The National Weather Service said it was one of the strongest storms to ever hit southwest California. After days of fierce winds, toppled trees and downed wires, more than 120,000 California utility customers remained without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. And Interstate 5, the West Coast’s major north-south highway, remained closed due to heavy snow and ice in Tejon Pass through the mountains north of Los Angeles. Multiday precipitation totals as of Saturday morning included a staggering 81 inches (205 centimeters) of snow at the Mountain High resort in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles and up to 64 inches (160 centimeters) farther east at Snow Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Student violence (SF Chronicle) In March of 2022, Yana, a 13-year-old Ukrainian girl, and her mother fled to escape Russia’s invasion and went to San Francisco, where Yana’s aunt lived. This January, Yana began attending eighth-grade classes at Marina Middle School despite speaking little English. While she’d seen idealized versions of U.S. schools in movies, she wasn’t prepared for what she would experience in real life. Within her first two days at school, she saw classroom behavior that she never would have dreamed of. Students interrupted lessons, jumped on desks, and cursed at teachers. “After one week,” she recalls, “I understood that was normal.” Soon, she became the target of bullying. Her phone was stolen, and when she confronted the thieves, they began “yelling and cursing and moving toward her.” Luckily, a counselor intervened, but the damage was done—Yana hasn’t returned to school since. Yana, understandably, just wants to go back home to Ukraine and the life she knew. Her experience with the post-pandemic education system isn’t unique. According to a survey by education research firm EAB, teachers feel that student violence has increased since the pandemic and that they’re “increasingly the target of disruptive behavior in the classroom.” 84% of teachers surveyed also said current students lack the ability to self-regulate and build relationships when compared to students before the pandemic. 87% of public schools have reported that the pandemic negatively affected student socio-emotional development and behavioral development.

Sports (Sportico) Americans are more active than they were six years ago, with the percentage of Americans who do no physical activities at all declining from 27.3 percent in 2017 to 22.4 percent in 2022. The effect was most remarkable among kids and among those over the age of 65. About 51.7 percent of the country participates in at least one particular physical activity with frequency. Comparing the growth in popularity of different specific sports from 2019 to today, individual and racquet-based sports are up big, including bicycling (up 10.6 percent), trail running (up 21 percent), skateboarding (up 36 percent), surfing (up 25 percent), and naturally pickleball (up 159 percent). Interestingly, tennis participation was up 33 percent, and added 6 million new participants since 2019, more than the 5.5 million who picked up pickleball over the same period. Less popular over the course of the pandemic are various group aerobics, including stationary cycling, cross-training, and boot camp-style training.

Two Pakistanis leave Guantanamo after 20 years without charges (Al Jazeera) Two Pakistani brothers held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay military prison for two decades have been freed by U.S. officials and have returned home. Abdul Rabbani, 55, and his brother Mohammed, 53, will be reunited with their families after a formal questioning by Pakistani authorities, which said the two were “innocently imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for 21 years”. They were the latest inmates to be released from US custody as the country moves towards emptying and shutting down the prison.

Chile’s earthquake readiness (Foreign Policy) Chileans looked on empathetically as a massive earthquake hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on Feb. 6, killing more than 47,000 people. Chile is also prone to earthquakes thanks to its location along the belt of faults and volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean known as the Ring of Fire. As recently as 2010, Chile experienced an 8.8 magnitude quake, a full point above Turkey and Syria’s recent disaster on the Richter scale. But in that Chilean quake, a far smaller number of people—some 500—died, in large part because the country has adopted—and enforced—strict building codes, the Washington Post noted last week. The government in Santiago began researching and enacting those codes after the largest earthquake of the 20th century occurred off Chile’s coast in 1960, killing more than 1,600 people.

Non-salad days (Reuters) Britain is running low on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, cauliflowers, raspberries… and leeks. Bad weather in southern Europe and northern Africa is to blame. So is the government for stiffing its farmers, the former chief of Sainsbury's says. Justin King, who was CEO of Sainsbury's for a decade to 2014, said Britain was uniquely exposed to imports at this time of year because the government had chosen not to help UK growers with their energy bills. "There is a genuine shortage but we did rather bring this problem upon ourselves," he told BBC radio. "We could have chosen to subsidise the energy this winter as we have done for other industries."

US commits $2 billion in drones, ammunition, aid to Ukraine (AP) The Pentagon announced a new package of long-term security assistance for Ukraine on Friday, marking the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion with a $2 billion commitment to send more rounds of ammunition and a variety of small, high-tech drones into the fight. The announcement comes just days after President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and pledged America’s continuing commitment to Ukraine. In a statement Friday, the Pentagon said the aid includes weapons to counter Russia’s unmanned systems and several types of drones, including the upgraded Switchblade 600 Kamikaze drone, as well as electronic warfare detection equipment. Including this latest package, the U.S. has now committed more than $32 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

Quake Hardships Pile Up (NYT) After powerful earthquakes struck southern Turkey, Eylem Sahutoglu and her family endured two weeks of freezing nights under a blue tarpaulin. Then word came from government engineers who had inspected their building: They could return home. But on Monday night, before they could move back into their house in Hatay Province, the earth began shaking again. Another powerful quake had hit the region. “My legs went numb,” Ms. Sahutoglu said, recalling how she had fainted in her front yard as the house crumbled at her feet. Despite the flow of international aid into Turkey, the nearly 1.7 million displaced people in the quake zone face the almost impossible challenge of rebuilding their lives in squalid conditions. About 750,000 are sheltering in tents, breathing air thick with pollutants unleashed from tombs of rubble as tectonic plates continue to rumble, reminders that a fresh disaster could strike at any moment. The extensive damage to infrastructure is swiftly turning hard-hit communities into petri dishes for disease, according to health care officials and residents. Thousands of engineers have fanned out across the wrecked areas to assess the safety of buildings left standing, as residents wait in shelters, many too afraid to enter their homes even if they are intact.

Erdogan irked (Guardian) Almost three weeks out from a massive earthquake that caused widespread damage in Turkey, the country is struggling to respond to the disaster effectively. As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has faced increasing criticism over his government’s response to the quake, the state has lashed out by fining three media outlets for reporting on government shortcomings in handling the disaster. Halk TV, Tele 1, and FOX were all fined by Turkey’s media regulation agency for coverage critical of Erdoğan’s government. Halk TV and Tele 1 were told to stop one of their daily programs and fined 5% of their January revenues for their coverage, and FOX and Halk TV were fined 3% of January revenues for a separate infraction. Reporters Without Borders, an international nonprofit dedicated to freedom of press, ranked Turkey 149 out of 180 in terms of press freedoms last year.

Chinese fighter jet flies within 500 feet of U.S. patrol over South China Sea (NBC News) The U.S. Navy plane had been in the air over the South China Sea for a few hours when a warning came crackling over the radio. “No approaching any more or you will pay full responsibility,” said a voice from a ground station belonging to China’s air force. Soon after, a Chinese J-11 fighter jet appeared about 500 feet off the left wing, flying beside the American P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for well over an hour as it passed over mostly uninhabited islands that are claimed by both China and its neighbors. U.S. officials said encounters like the one witnessed by NBC News on Friday, though professional, are becoming more frequent as Beijing and Washington step up their campaigns for influence in the Pacific. The strategically important South China Sea is an increasingly prominent stage for the spiraling tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which have clashed over everything from Taiwan to the war in Ukraine.

This popular destination will pay tourists to visit (CNN) As travel returns with a bang, but rising airfares are making long-haul journeys difficult for many, destinations are doing all they can to encourage visitors to come and boost their economies. The latest is Taiwan, which is planning to offer tourists $165 each to vacation there. Cash rewards will also be offered to tour groups to encourage them to visit the island. Taiwan’s Premier Chen Chien-jen announced Thursday that the government aims to attract six million tourists in 2023, doubling that figure in 2024 and aiming for 10 million visitors by 2025.

Ahead of Crucial Election, Security Crises and Kidnappings Plague Nigeria (NYT) A 61-year-old civil engineer was supervising a digging project on a farm in southern Nigeria when five young men carrying AK-47s stormed the place and dragged him into the bush. For five days, the kidnappers held the engineer, Olusola Olaniyi, and beat him severely. Only after his family and employer agreed to pay a ransom was he released, in the middle of the night, on a road a few miles away from where he had been kidnapped. Nigeria has faced an outbreak of kidnappings in recent years, affecting people of all ages and classes: groups of schoolchildren, commuters traveling on trains and in cars through Nigeria’s largest cities, and villagers in the northern countryside. With youth gangs and armed bandits finding that kidnapping for ransom produces big payoffs, such crimes have only multiplied. As Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday to choose a new president, insecurity is the top issue facing the country, according to a survey by SBM Intelligence, a Nigerian risk consultancy. Between July 2021 and June 2022, more than 3,400 people were abducted across the country, and 564 others were killed in kidnapping-related violence. “Insecurity has become a function of Nigeria’s economy,” said Mr. Olaniyi, whose family paid about $3,500 in ransom after he was kidnapped in 2021. “Many young men see kidnappings as a job.”

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