MIDDLETOWN

Middletown detectives are continuing to make progress to find the killer of a woman gunned down while a passenger in a car early Jan. 1.

Teresa Shields, 26, of Middletown, was one of two people killed during the early morning hours of New Years Day after incidents outside the 513 Lounge and a shooting at Roosevelt Boulevard and Wicoff Street. Two weeks ago, detectives traveled to Chicago where they seized a vehicle and evidence believed to be involved in Shields homicide.

Steven Waldon, 34, of Middletown was the driver of the 2010 Audi that was sprayed with gun shots at Roosevelt and Wicoff. Both Waldon and Shields, his girlfriend, suffered gunshot wounds and Waldon drove them and two other passengers to Atrium Medical Center emergency room. Shields died at the hospital.

Lt. Jim Cunningham said Waldon has identified the Jeep seized in Chicago as the vehicle that shots came from, but says he does not know the identity of the shooter.

The owner of the vehicle is a person of interest, Cunningham said, noting that person lives in Chicago, but has ties to Middletown.

Middletown Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw said he and detectives met with Shields parents last week to talk about leads in the case.

We have a number of leads and have seized evidence while in Chicago (and) working with the Chicago Police Department. But we still need more information. We are working 24/7 on this case and it is paying dividends, Muterspaw said in a Facebook post. Dont forget this girl or this family. They need you to remember and stand for her. Say something if you know something.

The Ohio Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the fatal car crash early on Jan. 1 that killed Mariama-Maria Richlen, 24, West Chester Twp.

Richlen was a passenger in a car driven by Deshawn Rippey, 22, of Hamilton, that flel from the parking lot of the 513 Lounge on North Verity Parkway when shots were fired in the parking lot area behind the bar. Before officers could stop Rippeys Buick, it had crashed into a wall at the rear of St. Johns Church.

Waldon and Shields also attended the New Years party at the 513 Lounge, but it is not known if the shooting incidents are connected.

Anyone with information regarding the Shields homicide can:

Call the anonymous hotline at 513-425-7749

Send police a private message via Facebook

Call Detective Steve Winters or Detective Sam Allen at 513-425-7737

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Progress continues in Middletown Jan. 1 drive-by fatal shooting - Hamilton Journal News

A report issued last week rates Iowa as having the most structurally deficient bridges in the country and the second-highest percentage of such bridges.

The numbers 4,968 bridges, which make up 20.5 percent of Iowas total figure, according to The American Road & Transportation Builders Association are astounding. More than one in five bridges has been deemed as unsatisfactory.

Given the shortfall and other critical needs going unmet, Iowa must be prudent in going forth. The state needs to invest in its infrastructure.

To be clear, bridges labeled structurally deficient arent necessarily in immediate danger of collapse. The term is applied when spans need rehabilitation or replacement because at least one major component has advanced deterioration or other problems.

Those unable to support heavier loads are clearly marked by city or county engineers. But, because of a lack of resources, many of these bridges are at least 50 years old and have never undergone any major repairs.

Many of the most heavily traveled bridges support busy interstates or other highways, including the intersection of North Sixth Street and West Kanesville Boulevard in Council Bluffs, are easily noticed. But many of the bridges bearing even more potential danger can be found in rural portions of the state.

Iowa, the state noted for having two borders completely drawn by rivers, has plenty of creeks and streams away from the state lines. Bridges over these smaller bodies of water often carry larger trucks and trailers from farm to market in more sparsely populated areas.

The work is being done in southwest Iowa. Council Bluffs interstate reconstruction is a clear step in the right direction, as are smaller projects, such as recent bridge repair along Iowa Highway 92 near Treynor.

The need to repair roads and bridges in Iowa or this country is nothing new.

Thats why the Iowa Legislature voted a couple years ago to increase the fuel tax. President Donald Trump has pledged a massive project to improve the nations infrastructure, with roads and bridges playing a central role in the campaign proposal that has yet to be formally unveiled.

And its clear that some progress is being made. The study noted that 57 Iowa bridges have been repaired since the previous years survey, which is progress in a positive direction.

However, the safety and security of Iowans and others traversing our state must remain at the forefront. Anything, within reason, the state can do to help accelerate the repair of aging bridges would be a positive step.

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Our View: Progress on bridge repairs is too slow - The Daily Nonpareil

The South Carolina football team opens spring practice in 5days. With Saturday looming, here are 5storylines to watch.

Moore is arguably the most important player for South Carolina this spring as he continues rehabfrom neck fusion surgery that cost himthe 2016 season. South Carolina enters the spring with 3relevant linebackers on its roster and Moores progress is key for the position group.

RELATED: 5 players to watch in spring football

Bentley entershis first spring at South Carolina, just as he would be had he not enrolled a full year in advance. But instead of getting his first reps, hewill be the established starting quarterback. Bentleycomes off a strong freshman seasonin which he threw for 1,420 yards and 9touchdowns in 7starts. Bentley can launch himself toward an even better 2017 with a strong spring.

South Carolina willhave an ongoing battle this spring between Rico Dowdle and A.J. Turner as it is. Williams a transfer from North Carolina, will get in the mix and make it more colorful. Gamecocks coacheswill have the 3running backs compete to start spring ball, inat what could be a heated competition all the way into the fall.

South Carolina returns 4starters on the offensive line, but things can always change with a new position coach. Wolford inherits a decent chunk of experience in his return to coach South Carolina football.Left tackle is a question mark, while better play is needed at center and right guard. Spring ball gives Wolford his first opportunity to get hands on with his new players.

South Carolina played a large portion of its 2016 recruiting class immediately, but there are redshirt freshmenthat could play key roles in 2017. Offensive tackle Sadarius Hutcherson draws plenty of buzz and merits watching atthe open left tackle position. Defensive tackle Stephon Taylor was highly recruited and could be a remedy to run-stopping issues. They will getopportunities to make their statement for playing time.

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Skai Moore's progress leads South Carolina football spring storylines - SECcountry.com

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Progress (PRGS) today announced that MeWatt Corporation, creators of a revolutionary IoT device for near real-time energy monitoring and analysis of appliance energy usage, is leveraging the NativeScript open source platform to enable customers to become more knowledgeable abouttheir energy consumption.

Developed and supported by Progress, NativeScript enables the cross-platform creation of native applications for iOS and Android devices. It is unlike traditional hybrid or web apps, as it leverages platform-native UI to deliver maximum performanceeven on older Android devices and makes it easy to share code between platforms. Developers using NativeScript can use their existing skills in JavaScript, without the need to learn new coding environments, expediting time to market.

Serving both commercial businesses and personal consumers alike, MeWatt created a device that could IoT-enable any appliance, with actionable recommendations and alerts to empower users to reduce energy costs and control their carbon footprint. MeWatt needed to build a mobile app capable of quickly pulling and analyzing data from potentially hundreds of thousands of appliances without negatively impacting performance. NativeScript, the open source framework from Progress, provided MeWatt with the tools needed to not only create the app, but do so in a matter of weeks, compared to traditional native approaches that could take months and requires specific development skillsets and technologies.

"We needed a mobile app that would run on any device and we didnt have the time to create individual native apps. If you know JavaScript and you want the best performance possible in native, the NativeScript framework is an excellent product to use, said Lino Tadros, CEO and President, MeWatt. We didnt have to write everything from scratch using a different language to support each device. We did it once, which helped us bring the app to market fasterin weeks instead of months.

After developing mobile apps using the NativeScript framework, the MeWatt team plans to use NativeScript for future energy saving ideas. Our development team likes how easy it is to re-use components and code from existing projects, which is pivotal in a world where time to market can make or break the success of an app. If the project calls for JavaScript, then NativeScript will be the go-to framework for building the app, Tadros said.

The NativeScript framework is paving the way for mobile application development, said Faris Sweis, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Developer Tooling, Progress. Developers want native, high quality, high performing apps, and they want to reuse as much of their code as possible to build native mobile apps faster. NativeScript empowers developers to deliver maximally performing and elegant applications with a minimal amount of effort.

For more information about NativeScript, please visit http://www.nativescript.org. For more details about the MeWatt story, click here or view additional customer successes at https://www.progress.com/customers.

About MeWatt MeWatt is a revolutionary appliance to mobile device that provides near real-time energy monitoring and energy usage analysis for consumer appliances and enterprise green initiatives. MeWatt continuously collects and analyzes the energy usage of appliances to provide actionable recommendations and alerts to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions and save money for both consumers and enterprises. Learn about MeWatt at http://mewatt.com.

About Progress Progress(PRGS) is a global leaderin application development, empowering enterprises to build mission-critical business applications to succeed in an evolving business environment.With offerings spanning web, mobile and data for on-premise and cloud environments, Progress powers businesses worldwide, promoting success one application at a time. Learn aboutProgress atwww.progress.com or 1-781-280-4000.

Progress and NativeScript are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation and/or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the US and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170221005018/en/

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MeWatt Uses Progress to Accelerate Mobile Application Development for Internet of Things - Yahoo Finance

UM's roots in sustainability highlighted in 2016 Progress Report U of M News Service In 2015, the university invested $100 million toward efforts to accelerate progress in the areas of waste reduction, greenhouse gas reduction and campus sustainability culture. Significant work is underway, including: Conversion of Michigan Stadium ... and more »

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UM's roots in sustainability highlighted in 2016 Progress Report - U of M News Service

Extremely preterm babies those born between 22 to 24 weeks gestation continue to face unfavorable odds, as only about one in three survive. But a new study led by Duke Health shows that these rates are slowly improving. The findings show that, compared to extremely preterm babies born a decade earlier, a larger percentage are developing into toddlers without signs of moderate or severe cognitive and motor delay.

Improvements in survival and neurodevelopment may be the result of a number of factors, including decreasing rates of infection in the infants, along with the increased use of steroids in expectant mothers that can help mature and strengthen the fetuss lungs prior to birth, according to the authors.

The findings are encouraging, said lead author Noelle Younge, M.D., a neonatologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at Duke. We see evidence of improvement over time. But we do need to keep an eye on the overall numbers, as a large percentage of infants born at this stage still do not survive. Those who survive without significant impairment at about age 2 are still at risk for numerous other challenges to their overall health.

For the study, the researchers looked at data of 4,274 infants born between the 22nd and 24th week of pregnancy, far earlier than the 37 to 40 weeks of a full-term pregnancy. The babies were hospitalized at 11 academic medical centers in the Neonatal Research Network, part of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.

About 30 percent of the infants born at the beginning of the study (between 2000 and 2003) survived. That number increased to 36 percent for babies born toward the end of the study (from 2008 to 2011), with the best outcomes for children born at 23 and 24 weeks. Overall survival for babies born at 22 weeks remained the same throughout the study, at just 4 percent.

Over the 12-year study period, the number of infants who survived but were found to have cognitive and motor impairment at 18 to 22 months stayed about the same (about 14 to 16 percent). However, the percentage of infants who survived without evidence of moderate or severe neurological impairment improved from 16 percent to 20 percent.

Researchers in the Neonatal Research Network reported in 2015 that survival was increasing in this vulnerable population. One concern was that the improved survival might have been accompanied by a greater number of infants who went on to have impairments in the long term, such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay, hearing and vision loss, said Younge.

However, we actually are seeing a slight improvement. Because children continue to develop over years, its important to continue to track this data so families and providers can make the best decisions in caring for these infants.

These improvements may be due to a number of factors, including lower rates of infection in the infants and increased use of steroids in expectant mothers. Steroids can help mature and strengthen the fetuss lungs prior to birth. At the beginning of the study, 58 percent of the expectant mothers had received steroids to boost fetal development. That figure increased to 64 percent by the end of the study.

The culture of neonatal intensive care units has really changed in the past decade, said senior author C. Michael Cotten, M.D., a neonatologist and professor of pediatrics at Duke. Weve taken a big focus on preventing infections, and theres a lot more encouragement and support for the use of mothers milk than there was 15 years ago, which has also been linked to better outcomes.

Extremely preterm infants are highly susceptible to infections. Neonatal intensive care units have reported steady decreases in infection rates among extremely preterm infants over the past two decades.

This is important because infections have been associated with greater risk of neurologic problems, Cotten said.

The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Source: Duke Health

APA Reference Pedersen, T. (2017). Recent Progress Seen in Lessening Cognitive, Motor Delays in Very Premature Babies. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 20, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/02/20/extremely-preterm-babies-have-fewer-cognitive-motor-delays/116677.html

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Recent Progress Seen in Lessening Cognitive, Motor Delays in Very Premature Babies - PsychCentral.com

President Donald Trump campaigned, and won, on larger-than-life promises.

From the bold (create 25 million jobs) to the specific (he won't eat another Oreo until Nabisco moves production back to the United States) to the wildly aspirational ("I will give you everything"), Trump offered up so many promises during his presidential bid that it was hard to know at times where bravado ended and his policy agenda began.

NBC News found that Trump took 141 distinct stances on 23 major issues. From this roving platform, a set of bold goals emerged. As president, Trump vowed to curb immigration, repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, create jobs for Americans, defeat "radical Islamic terror" and rebuild American infrastructure, to name just a few.

Follow along as we track his progress here.

Trump's core campaign promises defied party-line politics as much as they stuck to them, and united a surprising coalition of voters that drew historically white, working-class Democrats into a conservative coalition that fueled the reality television star to a surprising victory in November.

In the hands of an outsider candidate bent on shaking up Washington, D.C., it was a triumphant strategy. Now, they are the test of his presidency.

He will have to tackle broad catchphrase pledges "build the wall" and "so much winning" with policy while he working with a Republican-led Congress filled with the "establishment" politicians he derided throughout his campaign and Democratic lawmakers intent on opposing much of his agenda.

Can Trump fulfill his promises when confronted with the realities of first-ever elected office, a complex global economy, and a divided nation?

With this tracking tool, we'll chart the success of his presidency using 10 core goals as a lens, examining how Trump's goals collide with the realities of governing.

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Donald Trump's Campaign Promises: Tracking His Progress and Fact Checking His Claims - NBCNews.com

Monday marks the 14th anniversary of the Station Nightclub fire, one of the deadliest fires in U.S. history. Survivors of the fire gathered Monday morning at the West Warwick site of the club to commemorate the tragedy. They also celebrated the near-completion of a memorial for those who perished in the fire.

For more than a decade survivors and family members of victims have fought to turn the site of the Station Nightclub into a memorial park, commemorating the 100 people who died in the fire. After legal hurdles to getting the land, the group finally saw construction begin last fall.

Gina Russo, who survived the fire, said shes been overwhelmed seeing the lot transformed since construction began last year.

Its awesome to watch the process of it going from this very tragic place, seeing the one hundred crosses, to developing this beautiful monument and park to honor the one hundred, said Russo.

Russo also helped spearhead the years-long project. She estimates the cost at more than $2 million. She said theres more money left to raise, to pay for upkeep and maintenance of the memorial site.

To ensure that we have maintenance money in the account, were going to go a little further with fundraising efforts, said Russo.

The memorial is expected to be completed by the spring.

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Station Nightclub Fire Memorial Sees Progress On 14th Anniversary - Rhode Island Public Radio

February 19, 2017 Quality checkpoints. Credit: GBSI

One year after the Global Biological Standards Institute (GBSI) issued its Reproducibility2020 challenge and action plan for the biomedical research community, the organization reports encouraging progress toward the goal to significantly improve the quality of preclinical biological research by year 2020. "Reproducibility2020 Report: Progress and Priorities," posted today on bioRxiv, identifies action and impact that has been achieved by the life science research community and outlines priorities going forward. The report is the first comprehensive review of the steps being taken to improve reproducibility since the issue became more widely known in 2012.

"By far the greatest progress over these few years has been in stakeholders recognizing the severity of the problem and the importance of taking active steps for improvement," said Leonard P. Freedman, PhD, president of GBSI."Every stakeholder group is now addressing the issues, including journals, NIH, private funders, academicians and industry. That's crucial because there is not one simple fixit is a community-wide problem and a community-wide effort to achieve solutions."

The report addresses progress in four major components of the research process: study design and data analysis, reagents and reference materials, laboratory protocols, and reporting and review. Moreover, it identifies the following broad strategies as integral to the continued improvement of reproducibility in biomedical research: 1) drive quality and ensure greater accountability through strengthened journal and funder policies; 2) create high quality online training and proficiency testing and make them widely accessible; 3) engage the research community in establishing community-accepted standards and guidelines in specific scientific areas; and 4) enhance open access to data and methodologies.

Research community stakeholders have responded with innovation and policy. The community is taking more steps to work together and to tackle the complexities of the reproducibility problem. The report highlights tangible examples of community-led actions from implementing new funding guidelines and accountability to tackling industry-wide research standards and incentives for compliance. The lessons learned from these early efforts will assist all stakeholders seeking to scale up or replicate successful initiatives.

"We are confident that continued transparent, global, multi-stakeholder engagement is the way forward to better, more impactful science," says Freedman. "We are calling on all stakeholders - individuals and organizations alike - to take action to improve reproducibility in the preclinical life sciences by joining an existing effort, replicating successful policies and practices, providing resources to replication efforts and taking on new opportunities."

Actions Going Forward

The report contains specific actions that each stakeholder group can take to enhance reproducibility. In its leadership role, GBSI will:

Freedman introduced the new report at the AAAS 2017 Annual Meeting today during the session, "Rigor and Reproducibility One Year Later:How Has the Biomedical Community Responded?," hosted by GBSI. Freedman was joined by panelists Michael S. Lauer, M.D. of NIH; William G. Kaelin Jr., M.D. of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and Judith Kimble University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"The research culture, particularly at academic institutions, must also seek greater balance between the pressures of career advancement and advancing rigorous research through standards and best practices," said Freedman, noting a major challenge still facing the community. "Additional leadership and community-wide support will be needed and we believe that the many initiatives described in this report add neededmomentum to this emerging culture shift in science.

"The preclinical research community is full of talented, motivated people who care deeply about producing high-quality science. We are optimistic about the potential to improve reproducibility, and look forward to continuing to contribute to the effort."

Explore further: FASEB issues recommendations on reproducibility

Provided by: Global Biological Standards Institute

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A stretch of Laurel Canyon Boulevard remained closed Sunday after a 20-foot sinkhole swallowed two vehicles Friday in Studio City and left a woman injured, according to Los Angeles officials.

Crews have been working around the clock since the Friday night incident and were making good progress on repairs involving an underground sewer pipe, said Gary Lee Moore, a Los Angeles city engineer, Sunday.

Moore could not say Sunday morning when Laurel Canyon Boulevard between Moorpark Street and Valley Spring Lane would reopen to traffic. Woodbridge Street east of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, where the sinkhole was located, also remained closed and was expected to be for weeks as crews worked on repairs, he said.

Safety is the number one concern, Moore said. The last thing we want is to have that area collapse and then sewage...could then back up and come out on the street.

The giant hole on Woodbridge Street east of Laurel Canyon was likely caused by the heavy rain and the failure of a sewer pipe that is more than 80 years old, according to city engineers. The top of the 48-inch semi-eliptical pipe eroded away and then the soil between the top of the pipe and the street had gotten into the sewer pipe, causing the asphalt above to collapse.

Los Angeles firefighters rescued a 48-year-old woman who managed to escape her car inside the hole but was found screaming for help atop her overturned vehicle. After she was rescued, a second vehicle, which had been vacated, fell into the sinkhole.

Crews have been installing large steel shoring boxes that straddle the underground sewage pipe and doing other work so that there is no further collapse of the street and the soil surrounding the pipe, Moore said. Once shoring is complete, they will put personnel down into the hole to remove the debris in the sewer and to start repairs on the reinforced concrete pipe.

The sewage that came out of the pipe remained inside the hole below the street and was flowing into the downstream portion of the pipe thats still there, Moore said.

Theyll be in live sewage, he said of the contractors. Its tough work.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page, which identified the injured woman as makeup artist Stephanie Scott, had raised more than $15,000 for Scotts medical bills and other expenses related to the incident.

Stephanie will have to replace her car and will also have unforeseen medical bills, according to a post by the creator of the page, who identified himself as a friend and co-worker. Her car had all of her work equipment inside and needs to be replaced as well.

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Scott sustained some damage to her hand and will be out of work for some time but is home and doing Ok, said a post by the pages creator, Garry Allyn.

Scott did not immediately return a request for comment made through the GoFundMe page.

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'Good progress' on sinkhole repairs but unknown when Laurel Canyon will reopen - LA Daily News

With MLB spring training underway, there's plenty to talk about. USA TODAY Sports

Mike Trout has more MVP awards than postseason appearances, two-to-one.(Photo: Chris Carlson, AP)

TEMPE, Ariz. The worlds best baseball player has a new teammate on each side of his locker in the Los Angeles Angels clubhouse, corner infielder Luis Valbuena to the left, second baseman Danny Espinosa to the right. Yet another newcomer, outfielder Cameron Maybin, is just a couple of stalls away.

Theyre part of a makeover intended to help the Angels bounce back from a 74-88 finish, their worst since 1999, and ideally get Mike Trout back to the playoffs.

Entering his sixth full season at 25, Trout has more MVP awards than postseason appearances, two-to-one. He has five times as many All-Star Game invites and three times as many runner-up finishes in the MVP race as trips to the playoffs.

Mike Trout's intense offseason training consisted of running with a barbell on his back

The personal achievements are great, but the lack of team success must be getting old.

Its frustrating, for sure, said Trout, pointing to a rash of injuries to the pitching staff as a prime reason for last years pratfall. You want to get to the playoffs. Its fun. Youve seen the World Series last year. You want to be in that atmosphere.

Several things would have to go right for Trout to experience the playoff vibe again this season. Years of neglecting the farm system while spending lavishly and often unwisely on free agents Josh Hamilton didnt pan out, and C.J. Wilson only in his first two seasons have put the Angels in a bind.

They dont have much help coming from the minors, and only enough room in the budget for modest additions.

Second-year general manager Billy Eppler made some opportunistic moves in the offseason, trading for Maybin, Espinosa and catcher Martin Maldonado. He also signed free agents Ben Revere, Jesse Chavez and Valbuena, the latter costing the most at $15 million over two years.

Its debatable whether that will be enough to contend in a division where the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers loom as favorites. Los Angeles likely will need starting pitchers Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Matt Shoemaker to make strong comebacks from serious injuries to have a fighting chance.

We feel like were going to be competitive and need to stay healthy, and we have to play well in our division, owner Arte Moreno said. The Astros should be better, Seattles Seattle, and Texas won a lot of one-run games, thirtysomething one-run games. Its pretty hard to repeat that.

Regardless of whether the odds are stacked in their favor or against, the Angels can count on Trout maintaining an optimistic outlook, at least publicly.

In his first media session of the spring Saturday, the reigning AL MVP expressed a desire to steal 40 bases, revealed slightly longer hair Some of my teammates complained that I had the same buzz cut since third grade and confirmed he would not play in the World Baseball Classic, although he would not discuss why.

He also gave a hearty approval to the Epplers additions, especially Maybin, who will play alongside him in left.

Cams obviously fast, Trout said. I got to see him play when he was with Detroit. He brings a lot to the table. Last year we were trying to fill some holes in left field. Its going to be fun. The outfields going to be fast.

After his stolen-base total dwindled from a career-best of 49 as a rookie in 2012 to 11 in 2015, Trout returned to his aggressive ways on the basepaths last season, swiping 30. He also led the league with 116 walks and a .441 on-base percentage while batting .315 with 29 homers and 100 RBI on the way to his second MVP award in three years.

In addition, Trout cut down his strikeouts from 184 in 2014 to 137 last year, an indication of his ability to keep improving even when hes at the games top echelon. Teammates marvel at the way Trout answers the bell night after night he has played at least 157 games in each of the last four seasons while remaining remarkably consistent. In that four-year span, Trout has produced an on-base-plus slugging percentage of between .988 and .991 three times.

Hes the best player in the game and it shows on an everyday basis, thats the thing thats most important and special about him, right fielder Kole Calhoun said. He doesnt take it for granted. He tries to win, hes there to work every day and he wants to be in the lineup every day. Thats the making of one of the all-time greats in this game.

Now, if only fans could see him in the postseason.

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Mike Trout stays humble, but frustrated with Angels' progress - USA TODAY

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Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir told those gathered at the Munich Security Conference this weekend that he is still an optimist about resolving the challenges facing the Middle East.

If your job is to solve problems you cannot be a pessimist, he said, and so we have to do everything we can to deal with the challenges that we face.

Among the many challenges he listed were the conflict in Yemen, the crisis in Syria, an Iran that is rampant in its support of terrorism, a region that is rife with terrorism challenges in reforming our economies and bringing the standard of living of our people up to a higher level, he said with a small smile.

He also mentioned the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority but framed it in a broader historical context, similar to that which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself has done over the past several years.

We face the challenge of trying to bring peace between Israelis and Arabs, he said, later adding that he indeed believes that in this particular area, progress can be made in the Arab-Israeli conflict if theres a will to do so.

We all know what a settlement can look like, he said, we just need the political will to do so. And my country stands ready with other Arab countries to see how we can promote that, he added, clarifying that Saudi Arabia is game for another try at peace-making and negotiations.

The comments also support last weeks comments in Washington DC that U.S. President Donald Trump and Israels Prime Minister Netanyahu have been discussing a broader canvas upon which to work out a new and different peace initiative.

Al-Jubeir expressed his countrys confidence in the new president and comparing him to the late President Ronald Reagan. I like to remind my European friends that when Ronald Reagan was elected they thought World War III would take place and yet how did it all turn out? He pushed back against the Soviet Union and he ended the Cold War.

When we look at the Trump Administration we see a president whos pragmatic and practical, a businessman, problem-solver, a man whos not an idealogue. We see a man who has a certain view of the world, a man who wants America to play a role in the world.

Our view is that when America disengages it creates tremendous damage in the world because it leaves vacuums, and into those vacuums evil forces flow and it takes many times the energy to push back against these evil forces to prevent them from emerging in the first place, he explained.

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Saudi FM: 'Progress Can Be Made in Arab-Israeli Conflict' - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

Barring a miracle in next months Big East Tournament, the DePaul Blue Demons probably wont be dancing in this years NCAA Tournament.

However, that doesnt mean the Blue Demons arent showing considerable progress on the court. Three of their 12 Big East losses have come by a combined seven points against Big East heavyweights Georgetown, Butler and reigning national champions Villanova.

These games point directly to the progress head coach Dave Leitao has made in his second year as the Blue Demons head coach.

Leitao, who coached the Blue Demons to their last tournament appearance in 2004, says progress is measured in a, lot of different ways, not necessarily just by wins or losses.

At the time of this writing, DePaul currently sits at 1-12 in the Big East and just 8-18 overall. However, that doesnt tell the whole story of the team.

The Blue Demons are one of the younger teams in the conference with only one senior, Billy Garrett, Jr. in the starting lineup.The Blue Demons are led on offense by sophomore Eli Cain, who leads the team with 15.8 points per game.

As Cain progresses, so too do the Blue Demons. Robert ONeill, co-managing editor of SB Nations Big East Coast Bias blog said the Blue Demons are, absolutely, Cains team going forward.

ONeill also added that DePauls narrow loss at Villanova in December represents the, absolute best that DePaul can be, while DePaul was, the better team for 43 of the 45 minutes, in their home overtime loss to Butler in January.

Getting over that hump is a major obstacle for the Blue Demons going forward. Getting a landmark win against ranked opponents brings prestige and publicity to the program. While its not the ultimate goal, it represents a milestone on DePauls journey back to national relevance.

ONeill said that one of DePauls biggest challenges lies in the fact that they play in such a top-heavy conference.

When Leitao led the Blue Demons to their last NCAA tournament, he did so in Conference USA, not the Big East (DePaul joined the Big East in 2005).

ONeill says DePaul could win four to six conference games if they played in another, perhaps more balanced conference such as the SEC or the Pac-12.

Indeed, this is an exciting time for the program, which is leaving Rosemonts Allstate Arena after this season after 37 years for the brand new Wintrust Arena located in downtown Chicago. Both ONeill and Leitao agree that the new arena will give the Blue Demons a boost in recruiting.

While the arena isnt completely built yet, ONeill said it should have, pretty cool bells and whistles in locker rooms and other team areas, adding that, every little edge you can get helps.

Leitao said he, constantly, talks to potential recruits about the new arena, taking them to the construction site and showing them photos of what the new arena will look like. Leitao added that the new arena represents the change happening within the program.

For the players, those close calls against the conferences upper echelon point to what the team could be. For every close loss against Villanova, DePaul has also suffered heavy losses against top tier opponents like Creighton and Seton Hall.

In those games, the Blue Demons suffer from what junior Joe Hanel called a lack of focus, which is common among less experienced teams like DePaul.

We have to put together 40 minutes if we want to win, Hanel said. It cant be 35 minutes or 34 minutes.

Freshman Brandon Cyrus said hes noticed, increased competitiveness, in practices, adding that, guys are just trying to make each other better.

Cyrus also represents the kind of player Leitao is trying to recruit into the program. The Canadian native played high school basketball at La Lumiere in La Porte, IN., an area Leitao has focused on recruiting. Cyrus was considered by many to be the best of DePauls 2016 recruiting class.

While Chicago has built a reputation for producing excellent high school recruits, DePaul is at a disadvantage.

Leitao said that before he can land Chicago-based recruits, he has to give them a reason to stay here. Leitao faces a long road back for DePaul, but if the program can build off the potential theyve shown this season, then there truly is hope for the near future. ONeill says that DePaul could be a solid team in three to four seasons, but they face an uphill battle in a conference that already features perennial NCAA tournament hopefuls like Villanova, Butler and Creighton.

However, DePaul will have to overcome the loss of Billy Garrett, Jr. next season. Garrett, Jr. has been a team leader since his freshman season and recently became the all-time leader in free throws for DePaul.

ONeill, Hanel, Leitao and Cyrus all agreed that it will be a team effort to replace Garrett, Jr. both on the court and in the locker room. As Cain and Cyrus develop, look for them to become potential leaders going forward.

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Men's basketball points to close games as progress - The Depaulia

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The NHL's bye week experiment is still a work in progress NBCSports.com One of the big changes in the NHL this season has been the introduction of the bye week, giving every team in the league one stretch of at least five consecutive days where it plays no games. The theory behind it was simple: The NHL season, 82 games ... and more »

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Progress is being made in the renovation projects underway at the Willowick and Willoughby branches of the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library.

Contractors report that they are on budget and about 45 percent finished. They are also on schedule for a late May completion date, said library Executive Director Rick Werner.

A discovery on the upper level of the Willoughby branch led to a slight change in design, when contractors uncovered a small piece of history one of the original brick exterior walls of the library.

The original structure of the Willoughby branch was one of the many Carnegie Libraries built across the country between the 1880s and 1920s.

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Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate at the turn of the century, provided start-up funding to communities that were able to sustain a library on their own after he made the initial investment, said Willoughby Library Manager Debbie Mullen.

Willoughby was one of those fortunate communities and our library was built in 1909, she said.

Many of the Carnegie characteristics were lost as the structure of the library evolved over time to meet the need of patrons.

Renovations in the early 1960s to make the library compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act led to the loss of the grand stairway and the traditional Carnegie roof, Werner said.

Without adding much time to the work schedule or affecting the budget, contractors have found a way to incorporate the wall into the final design.

This is actually a wall from the original structure and its kind of neat to feature that in the library, Werner said. Its pretty well preserved from having been covered by the additions. It hasnt been weathered or anything, so we are going to leave this wall brick.

The wall is on the upper level, where the remodeled and expanded children and young adults sections will be located.

The previous young adult/teen section was not very big and it was stuck out in the middle of the rest of the library, Werner said.

Our experience with teens is that they like to have their own space and like to be by themselves, he said. We want them by themselves, but we want to keep an eye on everything going on in the library.

The architect designed a glass-enclosed teen area which will be complete with a couple of gaming systems for young adults to use.

For the first time, the library will have a space completely dedicated to teens, which is a really important group for libraries to reach out to, Werner said.

With the newly renovated teen section, the library might be able to expand its programming geared toward teens, Mullen said.

The library, which is mostly landlocked and unable to be expanded out in any direction, is looking to use the space they have in the most efficient way.

Basically, this renovation project is re-allocation of space in a way that makes more sense, Mullen said.

In addition to vastly expanding the children and young adults sections, the libraries in both Willowick and Willoughby will be increasing the number of computers available for public use, with Willoughby actually doubling the number of computers it currently has.

The buildings will be wi-fi-enabled for patrons who bring in their own devices and will have plenty of charging stations for patrons to use for their electronics, Werner said.

The one thing that the library is not expanding on is the number of self-checkout kiosks.

One of the things we did think about as we were planning both renovations is that we heard from the community and our staff that people actually like to deal with people, Werner said. Whereas some people like dealing with the self-checkout, there is still a very large group of people who like the interaction and the people on our staff like to work with the public.

The libraries realize they are going to take a hit on circulation this year as they dont have everything accessible, but, according to Werner, thats one of the prices to pay as renovations take place.

The goal is to be ready before schools let out and summer programming begins.

The library is on budget for renovations, with $2.2 million, including a contingency if a few things cost more than the budget allowed, Werner said.

The public can view renovation updates on the W-E Public Library website at http://www.we247.org, which includes a link to its Facebook page with updates.

Our board is pleased, Werner said. Our board is very focused on making sure that we finish this in a quick and timely manner and on budget, and right now we are accomplishing both of those goals.

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Willoughby-Eastlake libraries make progress on renovations - News-Herald.com

COLUMBIA, MO. Three weeks from Sunday the mens basketball NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed, a day the Southeastern Conference hopes will mark tangible progress for a sport the league keeps trying to improve with only subtle results.

If the tournament field is the ultimate measure of a leagues fitness, the SEC has fallen behind on Selection Sunday. The league has landed only three teams in the NCAA bracket three of the last four years. With 14 selections overall the last four years, the SECs total ranks seventh among Division I conferences, behind the Big Ten (27), Big 12 (26), Pac-12 (25), ACC (23), Big East (23) and Atlantic 10 (15). Eight of those 14 SEC teams won no more than one game in their tournament appearances from 2013-16.

ESPNs latest bracket projection has four SEC teams in the field Kentucky and Florida as 3 seeds, South Carolina as a 7 and Arkansas as an 11 but thats still behind the countrys top conferences. ESPN predicts the ACC with nine teams, the Big 12 and Big Ten with seven, the Big East with six and the Pac-12 with five.

However the bracket unfolds on March 12, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey believes the leagues efforts to upgrade the sport have made progress.

This year you look at the fact we have three ranked teams at this time of the year and, the number varies, but about six in the top 50, Sankey said in a phone interview this week. Thats a step forward from where we were last year. Thats not our destination, but its a step forward. Our teams, our coaches, our campus leaders deserve a lot of credit.

What would the SEC consider a satisfactory number of NCAA bids?

I guess 14 is too lofty a goal, Sankey joked. A step forward would be four, but I dont predict thats a destination. Weve still got a lot of basketball to play. Over time I think our expectation ought to be much higher.

In the past year the SEC has addressed the sport with a number of moves. Last year, Dan Leibovitz was hired as associate commissioner for basketball and former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese as a special consultant. The SEC also mandated nonconference scheduling measures based on RPI rankings. Teams upgraded their schedules this year but still struggled against the other power conferences. SEC teams are 19-35 against the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and Pac-12. Thanks to 5-5 split in the recent SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the conference owns an 8-7 season record against the Big 12.

Earlier this year, SEC teams lost 20 nonconference games to teams outside of the six major conferences, though some were to perennial mid-major powers: Florida and Tennessee lost to Gonzaga; Alabama and Vanderbilt lost to Dayton; Louisiana State lost to Virginia Commonwealth and Wichita State. SEC teams also lost nonconference games to teams with triple-digit RPI rankings: Lehigh, UCF and Oakland. Then theres Missouri. The Tigers own the leagues worst nonconference losses, three to teams with RPI rankings of 184 or worse: Lipscomb, Eastern Illinois and North Carolina Central.

It still bothers me that I dont think our league gets the respect that it deserves, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said earlier this month. We talk about it at our coaches meetings: We need people talking up our league. When I was in the Big 12 (at Texas) we needed announcers talking up our league.

At the beginning of the year, he added, everyone kept asking, Are we a year or two away? We were close a year ago. Coming down the stretch with two or three weeks (left) there were seven teams mentioned for the tournament. Because the league was good enough to beat up on each other and the perception was the league wasnt good enough it seemed to hurt the league.

Barnes, whose Volunteers (14-12, 6-7) host Missouri (7-18, 2-11) at noon Saturday, is one of four second-year coaches around the league whos delivered progress. With one more win, the Vols will match their total from last year. Tennessee is among the first four bubble teams just outside the bracket in ESPNs latest projections. Florida (21-5) and Mississippi State (14-11) have matched their win totals from last season under second-year coaches Mike White and Ben Howland, respectively. Alabama (15-10) has five SEC road wins under second-year coach Avery Johnson and needs three wins overall to match last years total.

With more SEC teams making splashy hires Barnes and Howland arrived as established power conference head coaches last year other schools that enter the coaching market figure to feel pressure to follow suit. Missouri and Louisiana State could be making changes this offseason. Mizzous Kim Anderson is just 8-41 against SEC foes in three seasons, while Johnny Jones has LSU (9-16, 1-12) at the bottom of the league standings a year after failing to capitalize on the addition of Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in last summers NBA draft.

Whatever happens next at both schools, the SEC will be watching closely from its home offices in Birmingham, Ala.

Our coaching hires are critically important, Sankey said. In one way stability and continuity is of great value, but the reality is coaches change. You look at Bruce Pearl, whos building a program at Auburn. Rick Barnes is in his second year at Tennessee. Ben Howland, Mike White, Bryce Drew (at Vanderbilt) and Avery Johnson as being the most recent and have all shown progress. Theres a building effort.

MISSOURI at TENNESSEE

When Noon

Where Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tenn.

Series Missouri leads 6-5; last meeting: Feb. 13, 2016, MU 75, Tennessee 64

TV, radio SEC Network, KTRS (550 AM)

Records: Missouri is 7-18, 2-11 SEC; Tennessee is 14-12, 7-5

About the Tigers Mizzou takes its 32-game road losing streak to Knoxville, where its 2-3 all-time and 0-2 since joining the SEC. The Tigers are coming off Wednesdays 57-54 home loss to Alabama, which snapped a two-game winning streak at Mizzou Arena. Junior forward Jordan Barnett had scored 23 points in consecutive games before scoring just five against Alabama while missing 10 of 12 shots. Barnes played one season at Texas (2014-15) under current Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. For the first time in SEC play sophomore guard Terrence Phillips finished with just one assist in Wednesdays game. He scored six points and turned the ball over three times. Sophomore forward Kevin Puryear is shooting a team-best 43.5 percent from 3-point range in SEC games, which would rank No. 3 in the league if qualified for the rankings with more attempts.

About the Volunteers Against one of the nations toughest schedules, Tennessee is one win away form last years total and last month logged impressive wins against Kentucky and Kansas State. The Vols have since lost three of four, including Tuesdays 25-point loss at Kentucky. Senior guard Robert Hubbs III leads the Vols with 14 points per game. Freshman forward Grant Williams adds 12.3 points per game and a team-best 5.4 rebounds. UT ranks No. 296 in Division I in average height and starts only one player taller than 6-5. Barnes is 11-8 all-time against Missouri: 1-0 at Clemson, 10-7 at Texas and 0-1 at Tennessee.

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Lake County election officials likely will learn Monday if their efforts so far to find a bipartisan resolution to consolidating the county's small precincts will be enough to stop a push by the Indiana Legislature to force their hand.

The House Elections and Apportionments Committee is expected Monday to review efforts made by local election officials to reach an agreement on how to consolidate small precincts and stop the progress of a bill aimed at forcing Lake County to consolidate precincts with under 600 active voters.

Elections Board Director Michelle Fajman said the small precinct committee created by the Board of Elections met Wednesday and made some progress but that did not include consensus on the number at which precincts should be consolidated.

"We agreed anything over 1,200 should be split. We all agreed to move the date to Feb. 15 to determine active voters. We did not come down to a conclusion on the lower end number," Fajman said. "We made some progress."

Dan Dernulc, chair of the Lake County Republican Party, said he received a report from the Republican committee members and acknowledge a compromise had been reached regarding the 1,200-voter threshold to split precincts and the date of Feb. 15 for use to pull the active voter count.

He said he is uncertain the two sides can reach an agreement on the number at which precincts should be consolidated. Dernulc said he thinks the best offers have been presented and there is still no consensus.

"I think there is still a big gap. I don't know if we will ever come to some type of resolution," Dernulc said.

A report of what has so far been accomplished was sent to the Elections and Apportionments Committee for consideration Feb. 13. A second similar piece of legislation entered in the Senate also has been introduced and is set for committee hearings soon.

The Lake County small precinct committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday prior to the regularly scheduled 10 a.m. board meeting. Fajman said what steps the committee next takes will depend on what action the Elections and Apportionments Committee takes.

Carrie Napoleon is a freelancer for the Post-Tribune

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Durham, N.C. As work continues on the East End Connector in Durham, a project decades in the making that will ultimately link Interstates 40 and 85, some in areas around the construction are worried it will make traffic worse.

When the connector opens to traffic in the summer of 2019, it will tie the Durham Freeway to I-85 with big, freeway-style interchanges. It's designed to get traffic off secondary roads.

North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Abbott says a mild winter is helping crews make progress.

"It's a very big deal for Durham because, once it is finished, that's going to get a direct connection to basically the East Coast," Abbott said.

"A lot of the work right now is bridge work. This project is going to involve construction of about 16 bridges. We're even building a detour bridge for a railroad."

Engineers say that, once it happens, it should help relieve congestion on local roads.

Cheyne Burwell says he's worried that might not be the case.

"People coming in from Granville County, from Wake Forest, are going to continue to use these secondary roads that are not built for this bandwidth of traffic," he said.

"Sherron Road is really difficult. There are times I can barely get out of my home to get to work, and there have been days where I've had to turn around and just work from home."

Burwell says he's hopeful that the DOT will expand other roads on his side of town.

DOT officials said they believe the East End Connector will go a long way to solving many of the area's traffic troubles.

As work continues over the spring and summer, crews will keep travel lanes open in the evening when the Durham Bulls play home games.

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Mild winter helping crews make significant progress on East End Connector - WRAL.com

President Donald Trump addressed a variety of topics during a Feb. 16, 2017, news conference in the East Room of the White House.

Were tracking more than 100 of President Donald Trumps campaign pledges on our Trump-O-Meter. In a lengthy press conference Feb. 16, Trump listed several actions hes taken since his Jan. 20 inauguration to meet these promises.

Heres a quick rundown of the promises he listed. (We fact-checked the press conference in a separate article.)

"We've withdrawn from the job-killing disaster known as Trans Pacific Partnership."

We rated this a Promise Kept after Trump signed a presidential memoranda officially directing the United States to withdraw from the free trade deal. The TPP, negotiated by former President Barack Obama, had yet to be ratified by Congress and was unlikely to be. Trump's withdrawal is a largely symbolic move but underscores the new administration's very different outlook on global trade.

"We've imposed a hiring freeze on nonessential federal workers."

We rated this promise In the Works, after Trump signed a presidential memorandum imposing a hiring freeze on federal employees, with exceptions for employees in national security, public safety and the military sectors. But the real measure of success for this pledge will come down to how much he is able to reduce the scope of the government through attrition.

"We've issued a game-changing new rule that says for each one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated."

We rated this a Promise Kept, when he signed a Jan. 30 executive order directing that for every new regulation, two be repealed. Several regulation categories are exempt from Trump's order, including the military, foreign affairs and personnel management.

"We've begun preparing to repeal and replace Obamacare."

We rated this claim In the Works after Trump signed a broad executive order to minimize the laws economic burden on his first day in office. However, the executive order did not repeal the former presidents signature health care law or offer executive branch agencies any new authority with regard to the policy.

"We have also taken steps to begin construction of the Keystone Pipeline and Dakota Access Pipelines."

We rated Trumps promise to build the Keystone XL pipeline In the Works after he signed a presidential memorandum advancing the construction of the pipeline on Jan 25. He also signed another memorandum ordering the Army to "review and approve" the Dakota Access Pipeline. Both represent direct reversals of actions taken by the Obama administration, which took steps to halt construction of both pipelines.

We are "now in the process of beginning to build a promised wall on the southern border."

We rated this promise as In the Works after Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 calling for the walls "immediate construction of a physical wall." Trump didnt mention in the press conference a key component of his promise that Mexico would pay for for the wall. Mexican government officials say the country wont pay.

"We've ordered a crackdown on sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal law and that harbor criminal aliens."

Trump promised to "end" sanctuary cities during his campaign. We rated this promise In the Works after he signed an executive order on Jan. 25 directing the attorney general's office and the secretary of homeland security to withhold grant money from cities that protect undocumented immigrants.

"We have taken decisive action to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of our country."

Trump promised to suspend immigration from terror-prone places. We rated this promise In the Works when he signed an executive order Jan. 27 temporarily halting entry into the United States of people from seven countries impacted by terrorism. The order is currently facing significant legal challenges.

"I've started by imposing a five-year lobbying ban on White House officials...

We rated this promise a Compromise. Trump signed an executive order Jan. 28 that will restrict some of the lobbying White House officials can do after they leave his team. But like most presidential crackdowns on ethics, it has caveats. For example, the order only bans White House officials from lobbying their former agency, not from becoming lobbyists.

and a lifetime ban on lobbying for a foreign government."

We rated this a Promise Kept. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 28 banning administration officials from ever lobbying the United States on behalf of a foreign government.

"I have kept my promise to the American people by nominating a justice of the United States Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, who is from my list of 20."

We rated this a Promise Kept. Not even two weeks into his presidency, Trump nominated Gorsuch to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court. Gorsuch, a conservative, is currently a judge for the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit based in Colorado.

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Donald Trump touts promise progress at press conference - PolitiFact

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Trump Boasts Of 'Incredible Progress' In 4 Weeks Of Presidency NPR It's now four weeks since President Trump was sworn in. Despite setbacks, like the sacking of his national security adviser, Trump is talking about "incredible progress" he's made since taking office. Facebook; Twitter. Google+. Email ...

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