Alation Acquires Artificial Intelligence Vendor Lyngo Analytics – Business Wire

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alation Inc., the leader in enterprise data intelligence solutions, today announced the acquisition of Lyngo Analytics, a Los Altos, Calif.-based data insights company. The acquisition will elevate the business user experience within the data catalog, scale data intelligence, and help organizations drive data culture. Lyngo Analytics CEO and co-founder Jennifer Wu and CTO and co-founder Joachim Rahmfeld will join the company.

Lyngo Analytics uses a natural language interface to empower users to discover data and insights by asking questions using simple, familiar business terms. Alation offers the most intelligent and user-friendly machine-learning data catalog on the market. And by integrating Lyngo Analytics artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) technology into its platform, Alation deepens its support for the non-technical user, converting natural language questions into SQL.

The integration lowers the barrier to entry for business users. Now, they can acquire and develop data-driven insights from across an enterprise's broad range of data sources. This means even data consumers without SQL expertise can ask questions in natural language and find data and insights without the support of data analysts. The acquisition will help organizations drive data culture by putting data and analytics into the hands of the masses.

Wu will join Alation as Senior Director of Product Management, where she will be responsible for product strategy and delivery for natural language data search, discovery, and exploration experiences. Rahmfeld, who is also a part-time, graduate-level deep learning and natural language processing lecturer at UC Berkeleys Master of Information and Data Science Program, will be Senior Director of AI/ML Research. He will be responsible for Alations AI and machine learning center of excellence, building both platform and application experiences that leverage AI and ML to enhance Alations value for business and technical users.

Alation created the first machine learning data catalog and were known for providing the most user-friendly interface on the market, said Raj Gossain, Chief Product Officer, Alation. With this acquisition, were building on the best. Were doubling down on key aspects of the platform that will help drive data culture and spur innovation and growth. Jennifer and Joachim developed a unique solution for a complex data and analytics issue, and Im excited to welcome them to the Alation team.

The acquisition is the latest milestone for Alation, which announced a $110 million Series D funding round and a $1.2 billion market valuation in June 2021. Alation is growing quickly, earning the trust of nearly 300 customers, including leading global brands such as Cisco, Exelon, GE Aviation, Munich Re, NASDAQ, and Pfizer. The company has more than 450 employees globally and is hiring. Recently, Alation was named a leader in The Forrester Wave: Data Governance Solutions, Q3 2021 report and Snowflakes Data Governance Partner of the Year.

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About Alation

Alation is the leader in enterprise data intelligence solutions including data search & discovery, data governance, data stewardship, analytics, and digital transformation. Alations initial offering dominates the data catalog market. Thanks to its powerful Behavioral Analysis Engine, inbuilt collaboration capabilities, and open interfaces, Alation combines machine learning with human insight to successfully tackle even the most demanding challenges in data and metadata management. Nearly 300 enterprises drive data culture, improve decision making, and realize business outcomes with Alation including AbbVie, American Family Insurance, Cisco, Exelon, Fifth Third Bank, Finnair, Munich Re, NASDAQ, New Balance, Parexel, Pfizer, US Foods and Vistaprint. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Alation was named to Inc. Magazines Best Workplaces list and is backed by leading venture capitalists including Blackstone, Costanoa, Data Collective, Dell Technologies, Icon, ISAI Cap, Riverwood, Salesforce, Sanabil, Sapphire, and Snowflake Ventures. For more information, visit alation.com.

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Alation Acquires Artificial Intelligence Vendor Lyngo Analytics - Business Wire

Online sports betting on standby in Connecticut – FOX 61

But, it's coming soon says the CT Department of Consumer Protection.

CONNECTICUT, USA Online sports betting in Connecticut was supposed to begin on Thursday, October 7th. However, sports fans will have to wait just a little longer.

FOX61 spoke with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection to learn more about the hold-up. The Director of Communications, Kaitlyn Krasselt, said her team is just as eager for the launch as everyone else, which is coming soon.

"It really wont be long. Our team is working pretty much around the clock to get this going," Krasselt said.

The hold-up really has to do with a legal checklist.

We just need to make sure that these apps are compliant with the regulations and that consumers can be confident that they will be, their information will be protected and they can enjoy sports betting responsibly," Krasselt said.

Sports betting is legal in person at two locations right now: Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino. It was launched on Thursday, the 30th.

The casinos have both signed contracts with vendors. Foxwoods is partnered with DraftKings and Mohegan Sun is pairing with FanDuel.

The Connecticut Lottery is also working with Rush Street to launch online and in-person sports betting, but they have a few more loose ends to tie up before that happens. The CT Lottery is working with businesses like Bobby V's in Windsor Locks to distribute the kiosks. They hope to offer in-person betting soon.

Some Connecticut sports fans are disappointed in the delay with online betting.

In Connecticut, I was looking forward to that," said Kantan Johnson, who lives in East Hartford. Johnson went on to say he's taken part in online sports betting in other states where it is legal. He said it's as simple as downloading the app for DraftKings or FanDuel, and placing a bet anywhere and any time.

I really like it and its, the returns, its easy to get back your money, you know what I'm saying when you get a win, its quick like that," Johnson said.

And players can win big. Johnson said he's had great luck. But, he won't say by how much.

Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her onFacebook,TwitterandInstagram.

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Online sports betting on standby in Connecticut - FOX 61

Soft Launch of Online Sports Betting, Gaming in CT to Begin Next Week – NBC Connecticut

The state has announced that a seven-day soft launch of online sports betting and gaming will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 12.

The Department of Consumer Protection announced Friday that the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, Meohan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe may begin a soft launch Tuesday for their online wagering programs. Once the soft launch is complete, online gaming can open statewide. There will be certain restrictions during the soft launch period.

The Connecticut Lottery Corporation has different parameters than the tribes. They will offer online sports wagering within the state only, limited in scope to 750 people through the online platform. Customers will only be allowed to make bets during certain times of the day during this soft launch - 3-11 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, 12 p.m.-11:59 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, then running on a 24-hour cycle through the rest of the soft launch period.

The tribes will be allowed to launch online sports betting within the state, online casino gaming, limited to the games approved by DCP for the soft launch. This does include over 100 games, according to DCP. The soft launch will not include live dealer or peer-to-peer online casino games, and will be limited to wagering by 750 customers. They will follow the same hour limitations as the CT Lottery.

FanDuel, DraftKings and Rush Street Interactive, which have contracted with the tribes and CT Lottery, are allowed to start establishing customer accounts for the 750 individuals that will take part in the soft launch.

The rollout of statewide retail and online sports betting was originally planned for Thursday, October 7, but state officials announced Wednesday that there would be a delay.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun opened their sportsbooks Thursday as legalized sports betting began in Connecticut.

Sports betting began at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun last week. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is working with Draft Kings while the Mohegan Tribal Nation chose FanDuel to operate its sports betting.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun opened their sportsbooks Thursday as legalized sports betting began in Connecticut.

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Soft Launch of Online Sports Betting, Gaming in CT to Begin Next Week - NBC Connecticut

The Best Arizona Sports Betting Promos and Bonuses: MLB, NFL Week 5, More – Crossing Broad

Arizona sports betting has now been up and running for a full month, but the states top sportsbooks continue the battle for acquiring new players and bringing back returning ones. As one of the busiest weekends on the sports (and sports betting) calendar rolls in one featuring the MLB playoffs, college football, and NFL Week 5 action, AZ sports bettors once again have the opportunity to score a number of bonuses.

With an absolutely packed weekend schedule, lets take a look at the best Arizona sports betting promos and sportsbook bonuses available.

Each day this weekend will feature multiple postseason baseball games and packed slates of football action, but many Arizona sports fans will also turn their attention to the Saturday night boxing match between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.

Whether its knockout 30-1 odds on Fury-Wilder, an exclusive Arizona Cardinals 49-1 odds boost, or a number of risk-free bets and no-brainer promos, the top Arizona sportsbooks are all-in this weekend with a number of bonuses.

If youve yet to sign up with FanDuel Arizona, this is the weekend to do it. The Cardinals look to stay undefeated when they host the 49ers, and we have an exclusive odds boost on the game with FanDuel Sportsbook. New bettors can jump into the mix and back either team at 49-1 (+4900) odds to win. Bettors can deposit $10 and make a $3 wager on either team to win outright for a $147 payout. Simply put, you cant find better odds on this game and you cant find these odds anywhere else.

Click here to bet $3, win $147 on the 49ers-Cardinals game with FanDuel Sportsbook.

DraftKings Arizona has something for everyone this weekend. Lets first start with the new player promo that gives 100-1 no-brainer odds on baseball or football action. Bet $1 on any MLB postseason game and get $100 if either team records a hit. Bet $1 on any NFL Week 5 game and get $100 if either team scores a point. We dont need to take a deep dive into why these bets will hit, or why DraftKings is basically giving away free money with these offers.

Beyond the new player promo, be sure to check out a number of daily odds boosts, bet bonuses, and parlay boosts throughout the course of the weekend.

Click here to get the above offers with DraftKings Arizona.

Whether youre looking to jump in and get a $1,000 risk-free bet or want to score various free merchandise offers simply for placing bets, Barstool Sportsbook has you covered this weekend. Be sure to check out baseball and football betting promos that provide the opportunity to score free t-shirts, hoodies, and crewnecks. Meanwhile, Barstool Sportsbook also provides a number of bonuses and insurance specials that enhance wins and minimize potential losses.

Click here and use promo code BROAD1000 to get started with Barstool Sportsbook.

Caesars Sportsbook continues to offer its headline-grabbing $5,000 risk-free first bet, but bettors this weekend can also enjoy a number of other outstanding specials. Those who bet on the Fury-Wilder fight will receive a $50 free bet for NFL Week 5 action, while bettors can also lock big parlay boosts and other bonuses simply for placing wagers.

Click here to get a $5,000 risk-free first bet, boosts, and a $50 free bet for NFL Week 5 with Caesars Arizona.

Whether youre looking to bet on college football or NFL action, WynnBet Arizona has a sure-fire way to get paid. New players who sign up and make a $20 first deposit can then wager $1 on the moneyline, point spread, or over/under of any football game this weekend. If either team goes on to score at least one touchdown, WynnBet AZ will pay out a $100 bonus. Given that all 65 NFL games have featured at least one TD so far this season as have almost all CFB games this is a must-get deal.

Click here to get 100-1 TD odds at WynnBet AZ.

Speaking of touchdown bonuses, bet $10 on any NFL team on the moneyline during Week 5 and score a $200 bonus if that team goes on to score a TD. As noted above, every game entering the weekend has featured at least one touchdown. Of the 130 opportunities (65 games x 2 teams) only seven instances have occurred in which a team has been held out of the end zone so far.

In other words, this is most likely going to hit.

Click here and bet $10, win $200 on a TD during Week 5 with BetMGM Arizona.

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The Best Arizona Sports Betting Promos and Bonuses: MLB, NFL Week 5, More - Crossing Broad

Sports betting off to a good start at Casinos but no state revenue – Danbury News Times

Crowds at the casinos during football games are proving that Gov. Ned Lamont was on target with his sharp focus on the start of the NFL season to usher in the new sports industry in Connecticut.

While the state didnt meet that target, the kick-off of in-person betting last week, just three days before the matchup between the New England Patriots and Tom Bradys Tampa Bay Buccaneers, brought beefy crowds to the states two tribal casinos over the weekend.

Baseball playoffs, including the Red Sox-Yankees wild card game that the Red Sox won Tuesday night, have attracted smaller crowds, but they still represent a bump in attendance at the casinos.

As for state coffers Connecticut wont get a cut of that sports betting revenue at the casinos. Not a dime of it.

Under the new Connecticut gaming law, sports bets placed on tribal reservations, like in-person bets on table games, arent taxed. The state will collect 13.75 percent of revenue for online sports betting once the websites of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos are up and running.

Revenue from the Connecticut Lottery Corps retail and online sports betting sites will not be taxed, because the lottery, as a quasi-public agency, transfers all its revenue to the states general fund after expenses.

Online platforms for sports betting are expected to go live Tuesday, starting with a soft launch available to a limited number of users selected by the fantasy sports companies that have partnered with the tribes and the lottery. The state Department of Consumer Protection announced the soft launch date in a Friday afternoon news release.

Online, non-sports casino games, which are part of the 2021 expansion, will be taxed at a rate of 18 percent of revenue, rising to 20 percent after five years. Those systems and approvals are still in the works with no targeted start date.

Tribal and casino officials wouldnt disclose how much revenue sports betting generated in its first week, or how many bets were placed, but pointed to strong volumes so far.

Performance has been better than expected, with Sunday being especially strong, Jeff Hamilton, president and general manager at Mohegan Sun, said in a written statement.

Mashantucket Pequots tribal chairman Rodney Butler, in an interview, said he was very pleased with the volume of bets placed over the weekend at Foxwoods, which the tribe owns, given it happened during soft launch period before the casino has ramped up its marketing.

While football was a big draw last weekend, that was not the case for baseball games during the week. Even the highly anticipated New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox American League wild card game did not bring crowds to the betting kiosks.

Football is 1, 2 and 3, said Butler, a former defensive back for the University of Connecticut, adding that baseball is slow and steady because theres so many games.

And, in the often-said words of Yankees announcer John Sterling, you cant predict baseball.

At Mohegan Sun, one person was at the two rows of betting kiosks at the moment when the first pitch was thrown at Tuesdays Yankees-Red Sox game, a few feet away from Bow & Arrow Sports Bar. A crowd gathred in the bar, many of them Yankees fans.

An employee helping patrons place bets on the kiosks said people had lined up hours ahead of the Pats-Bucs matchup to bet on the game.

Ahead of the Yankees-Red Sox game, large screens mounted high on the walls and the two dozen or so betting kiosks showed the Bronx Bombers were the slight favorites to win. At game time, a $30 bet on the Red Sox paid $63, including the original wager. Payoffs for Yankees bets were lower.

The Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-2.

The Mashantuckets and Mohegans got an early start on in-person sports betting, taking wagers ahead of the Connecticut Lottery Corp, which is still awaiting approval from DCP to launch its retail sites giving the tribes a slight edge.

Initially, well get some decent volume because theres no other options in the state,Butler said. But once they get their other locations, especially the key ones in Stamford, Bridgeport and Hartford, I think those will do pretty good volumes for the state.

What will set the casinos apart, he said, is the experience factor. Foxwoods plans to open its permanent sportsbook in mid-November.

That will be a sight to see. Its like sensory overload, Butler said. Well drive volume based off that entertainment value were creating.

But ultimately, he expects most gamblers will choose the convenience of making wagers online.

The reality is once you get online with sports betting, and in particular, internet casino, that will be a much more profitable venture, but still will pale in comparison to the numbers that you see that we report to the state on our slot handle, Butler said.

The casinos contribute 25 percent of total slot revenue to the states general fund per tribal contracts with the state. Foxwoods reported slot revenue of $30.8 million in August, the most recent data available, resulting in a $7.7 million payment to the state. Mohegan reported $43.7 million, paying $10.9 million to the state.

The expansion of gaming, which is expected to yield nearly $30 million in revenue to the state after the first year with hopes of that growing to $100 million after several years, comes as both casinos continue to recover from the pandemic, which led to declines in business.

Its a dirty little secret in sports betting. Its a very low-margin business. There are states that have lost money in certain months in sports betting and operators have lost money, Butler said.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com

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Sports betting off to a good start at Casinos but no state revenue - Danbury News Times

Mass. Gaming Commission eyes advertising limit as sports betting grows closer – MassLive.com

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission pledged Thursday to scrutinize gambling advertising after hearing the latest recommendations from a six-year University of Massachusetts study of gambling behavior and in preparation for legalized sports betting coming to the state.

At the same meeting, regulators said MGM Springfield plans to reopen its poker rooms on Oct. 29.

Commissioners meeting Thursday via video conference also referenced the prevalence of sports gambling advertising on television during network broadcasts of playoff baseball.

The UMass report the Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort, or MAGIC, study recommended among other things that the government limit advertising, especially in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods or to groups that may be at increased risk of problem gambling.

Commissioners Gayle Cameron said the only time the Gaming Commission got involved in regulating advertising was when it had MGM Springfield tone down plans for its animated billboard. That enforcement was prior to the 2018 opening .

Other recommendations include creating more publicity around the states voluntary exclusion program where people who fear their gambling is out of control can exclude themselves from the casino floor automated alerts if a persons gambling behavior escalates, further restricting access to ATMs at casinos and making ATM exclusion programs, where people could lock themselves out of Casino locations, more accessible.

Massachusetts already bans automated teller machines from the casino floor and from as far as 15 away from the gimbling floor.

Principal Investigator and UMass Amherst Professor Rachel Volberg said the good news from the study is that people change their gambling behavior over time, moving. The non-gambler and recreational gambler populations are the most stable. But people move from problem gambler to at-risk and back down the ladder.

All it takes is purchasing a lottery ticket, or going to a casino one time in the last year, Volberg said.

And these transition points are access points where public health officials can influence behavior.

There is very little thats known, actually, about the impact of advertising on gambling behavior, she sai .

For the study, researchers surveyed the same 3,000 or so residents five times over six years. The initial survey was in 2013 and 14, before the opening of the states first slot parlor at Plainridge Park Casino.

Subsequent interviews happened annually before and after the opening of the states two large resort-casinos MGM Springfield in August 2018 and Boston Encore in June 2019.

We wanted to identify demographic groups at risk of experiencing gambling-related problems, Volberg said. And finally, we highlighted the risk and protective factors important in developing effective prevention and treatment programs and policies to support player health.

Volberg said two other two findings she found particularly interesting.

There was a significant decrease in out-of-state gambling by Massachusetts residents after the casinos opened in Massachusetts.

Researchers also saw an increase in problem gambling behavior before MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor opened.

Researchers concluded that problem gamblers whod quit suffered relapses due to the publicity surrounding a casino opening.

It appears that the media coverage, advertising and general publicity about the pending openings precipitated relapse and may be equally if not more important than the actual increase in physical availability of gambling, Volberg said in a news release.

The study has concluded nut Volberg expressed hope that the Gaming Commission could fund another check-in with the study s subjects.

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Mass. Gaming Commission eyes advertising limit as sports betting grows closer - MassLive.com

PME, FanDuel partner to bring sports betting to Clearwater Casino – Bainbridge Island Review

Port Madison Enterprises recently announced a partnership with sports gambling company FanDuel to operate sports betting at the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort this fall.

According to a PME news release, the new Sportsbook will feature three live betting windows and 12 self-service betting terminal kiosks. The Sportsbook will have 17 screens to feature all of the game-day action, which includes club chair seating and a 32 foot by 9 foot high-definition video wall. Additionally, three self-service betting kiosks will be located in the casinos Beach Rock Music and Sports Lounge, which features 11 screens, including a 24.5 foot by 11.5 foot screen and seating for over 250 people.

We are looking forward to offering sports wagering at our property for the first time and to making the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort Washingtons premier destination for sports betting and the best game-day experience for all of our casino guests, said Greg George, PME board president.

We are so pleased with the recent addition of sports wagering to our gaming compact, making sports betting legal in the state for the first time, said Leonard Forsman, chairman of the Suquamish Tribe. Revenue from sports wagering will help support the Suquamish Tribes important governmental services offered to both tribal members and the local non-tribal community.

We are excited to partner with FanDuel, Americas No. 1 Sportsbook, and to be their exclusive partner in Washington state, said Rion Ramirez, CEO of Port Madison Enterprises, the business arm of the Suquamish Tribe.

Keith Wall, vice president of Retail, FanDuel Group, said, The Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort will be a truly impressive location for the West Coast expansion of our FanDuel Sportsbook retail operations.

A specific date has not been set yet for when the casinos Sportsbook will open.

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PME, FanDuel partner to bring sports betting to Clearwater Casino - Bainbridge Island Review

Joe Asher’s ‘retirement’ didn’t last long; sports betting executive joins IGT – Northern Nevada Business Weekly

Joe Asher, President of Sports Betting at IGT, at the Global Gaming Expo on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Las Vegas. Photo: Jeff Scheid / The Nevada Independent

Statewide, sports betting revenue figures and wagering totals during August were both down from a year ago. The advisory firm described August 2020 as a COVID-impacted, on-steroids calendar that tracked well-above the months historical totals.Still, with eight months completed, Nevada sports gamblers have wagered $4.2 billion while sportsbooks have collected $255 million in revenues, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said last week. Both figures are well ahead of 2019s record-setting year of $5.3 billion in wagers and $329.1 million in revenues.Caesars Entertainment, through Caesars Sportsbook, and Circa Sports, which is operated by downtown Las Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens, trended up in their shares of Nevadas sports betting market for 2021.The difference in market share was striking, however. Caesars is the states leader, according to Eilers & Krejcik, with almost 60 percent of sports betting revenue in the state through August. In April, Caesars completed its acquisition of William Hill U.S. and added the companys Nevada locations.Circa has five locations including Stevens three downtown casinos, the off-Strip Tuscany and The Pass Casino in Henderson, It accounted for just 2.6 percent of the overall revenues.The results from BetMGM during August, which is operated by MGM Resorts International, was viewed as flat by the firm. Still, BetMGM is considered Nevadas No. 2 operator, with more than 15 percent of the market.Several operations experienced a decreasing trend, according to the firm, including Wynn Resorts, which operates just a retail sportsbook on the Strip. The company has yet to launch its mobile WynnBet in Nevada.Station Casinos STN Sports, despite having the states third highest market percentage almost 11 percent fell under the declining trend, according to the firm.Eliers & Krejcik Gaming analysts Chris Grove and Chris Krafcik said Nevada is mirroring other sports betting states where three brands have control of the market.(Caesars) massive retail footprint (80-plus locations) remains its key structural advantage in Nevada, where in-person registration is required for online sports betting, the analysts wrote in a research report. The recent share gains at BetMGM reflect a big increase in BetMGMs Nevadas app download activity.Eilers & Krejcik cautioned that it used information from different data providers and proprietary assumptions and it regards these estimates as low-to-medium confidence because of the states lack of transparency into gaming revenues.Meanwhile, sports betting operators are flooding the airwaves to push their products.Caesars told investors in August it will spend more than $1 billion over the next two years nationally to promote its Caesars Sportsbook, including ads featuring Smoove as Caesar. The comedian grew a following through the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm. BetMGM was one of the first sports betting operators with a national advertising presence through Foxx, an Academy Award-winning actor, as the King of Sportsbooks.Meanwhile, retired NBA superstar ONeal is a brand ambassador for WynnBet and appeared in an online television ad for the product that starred Oscar winner Ben Affleck, who also directed the spot.Station Casinos has been running an advertising campaign on Las Vegas airwaves for its STN Sports app featuring Cutshall, an Instagram comedian.Howard Stutz is a reporter for The Nevada Independent, a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization. The following people or entities mentioned in this article are financial supporters of The Indy: Caesars Entertainment - $155,200; Station Casinos - $100,000; and IGT - $7,500. Thesestories were first published Oct. 6by The Nevada Independent within its weekly Indy Gaming newsletter and are republished here with permission. Go tonvindy.comfor more Nevada news and go tothenevadaindependent.com/newslettersto sign up for the newsletter.

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Joe Asher's 'retirement' didn't last long; sports betting executive joins IGT - Northern Nevada Business Weekly

Campus Efforts Tied To Florida Sports Betting Allegedly Lead To Harassment Of Students – Sports Handle

According to an article in Florida International University student-run publication Panther NOW, petitioners in busy parts of campus have verbally harassed and coerced students while gathering signatures for efforts connected to the future of sports betting in Florida.

These petitioners are legitimately harassing students, meaning they are going to them, insisting and calling them different names and curse words, David Luis, a Student Government Association senator at FIU, said in an article published Tuesday quoting various students.

A petition photographed in the story was allegedly handed out Sept. 22 within a classroom and is tied to the measure sponsored by Florida Education Champions (FEC), a political action committee financed by DraftKings and FanDuel. That petition seeks to allow statewide mobile sports betting by qualified commercial interests. The effort will require 223,000 signatures before the ballot proposal can reach the attorney general for a fiscal analysis and the state Supreme Court for an advisory opinion before it can go on the November 2022 ballot as a constitutional amendment question.

However, as signature-gathering efforts are underway for multiple petitions connected to gambling-related initiatives, there appears to be confusion about how each group is conducting itself on FIUs campus in Miami. The photos within the Panther NOW story also show a booth manned by two persons with four images that contain the text Support The Seminoles Compact and Sign Petition Here. One of the individuals pictured in that photo is also shown pictured in the Green Library Breezeway, despite university policy prohibiting signature gathering within 50 feet of FIU libraries.

A spokesperson for the FEC, Christina Johnson, told Sports Handle Thursday that paid petition gatherers for FECs ballot initiative have not appeared on the FIU campus since mid-September, which would be after the harassment described in the Panther NOW report.

Florida Education Champions have not had an organized presence of paid petition gatherers on the Florida International University campus since mid-September due largely in part by other groups using irresponsible, threatening and potentially criminal, signature-gathering practices, Johnson said.

Meanwhile, representatives for the Seminoles petition have remained on the campus, in a location that meets university guidelines, said Gary Bitner, a spokesperson for the Seminoles.

We are aware of the FIU article and our team has already followed up to ensure all representatives continue to act appropriately, including being courteous and respectful at all times, Bitner said. Its important to note that no accusations of bad behavior have been made toward anyone working on behalf of the Seminole Compact.

They obtained permission in advance to be on the FIU campus and they have been focused on obtaining pledges of support for the compact as part of an overall public awareness and education effort that includes a statewide digital and broadcast advertising campaign.

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Separate from verbal harassment as well as an allegation of sexual harassment in the story sexual comments toward [women], complimenting their bodies, per the report it is illegal in both Miami Dade County (as of 2018) and the state of Florida (as of 2019) to pay signature-gatherers per signature, as opposed to paying gatherers hourly, which is permitted.

According to the Panther NOW report, petitioners on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus in West Miami-Dade County said they were paid per signature.

[Petitioners] seem to be getting more and more aggressive towards students, said Daniel Jones, a sophomore studying international business at FIU. Theyll chase students down as they walk through the Green Library (GL) breezeway. If you dont want to sign their petition, they use very vulgar language.

It is unclear if any additional allegations of harassment in signature-gathering efforts in general have continued since the campus article. The Florida International University media relations office referred an inquiry to the FIU Police Department, which did not immediately respond.

Also according to the Panther NOW report, some petitioners actually entered and interrupted a Crisis Communications class and a Finite Math lecture to obtain signatures, confusing both students and one professor who assumed the petitioning was sanctioned by the university.

To be sure, petitioning is activity protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which was noted by FIU Police Chief Alexander Casas. He told the school paper that, for that reason, we do not ask if persons collecting signatures are being paid to do so. Casas also said that the department would assign officers to the areas of campus where petitioners usually visit campus.

The third gambling-related petition for which signature-gathering efforts are underway is 21-15, which would authorize a limited number of new casinos. This initiative is backed by the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which has donated $17 million to the Florida political action committee Florida Voters in Charge, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. The elections website does not show any valid signatures yet for that initiative.

Both the Sands-supported and FEC-backed initiatives would, if they gain the required 891,589 signatures, make the November 2022 ballot. Signatures must be submitted to the state for verification by Jan. 2, 2022, and verified by Feb. 1, 2022, in order for an initiative to get on the November ballot. Once there, they would need a 60% majority to make the constitutional amendments effective. These ballot initiatives require that signature-gatherers and circulators register with the Secretary of State and provide information such as names, addresses, dates of birth, and a circulator affidavits.

The Seminoles petition is not aimed at amending the state constitution, but is apparently more symbolic in nature. Petitioners for that measure have appeared on at least one other campus the University of Central Florida located in East Orlando.

According to a Sept. 16 report in NSM Today, published by students from UCFs Nicholson School of Communications, canvassers visited campus in early September to gather signatures in response to lawsuits challenging the Seminoles compact, which would allow the tribe to have an effective monopoly on statewide mobile sports betting.

From the story: The canvassers said they sought the signatures of UCF students to demonstrate to the federal court that there is public support, in hopes of bypassing the lawsuit.

That sweeping new 30-year compact executed in April would deliver Florida annual $500 million payments from the Seminoles. The compact also allows the tribe to offer sports betting at physical sportsbooks at its six casinos in the state, and the legality of that part of the compact is not disputed. The compact was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior on Aug. 6, but multiple lawsuits are now challenging its validity for other reasons.

But it is unclear if the canvassers supporting the compact, or any who have appeared on the FIU campus on behalf of the Seminoles effort, are being paid by signature, or hourly, or at all.

As for the FECs ballot initiative, a heavy lift for which time is of the essence, its effort continues. The group has so far validated nearly 29,000 signatures with 100,000 pending as of Sept. 27.

Johnson said: Florida Education Champions is leading its signature-gathering efforts across the state through digital ads, direct mail, and via petition gatherers going door-to-door and at collegiate and professional sporting events and locations to collect the more than 890K valid petitions needed by Floridas Feb. 1, 2022 deadline.

On at least the one campus, though, the streams have crossed and confusion abounds. This is not only a higher education lesson but instructive for all: Read the fine print.

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Campus Efforts Tied To Florida Sports Betting Allegedly Lead To Harassment Of Students - Sports Handle

Sports betting report led to confusion | Living | journalinquirer.com – Journal Inquirer

Late-night newscasts are supposed to be known for their clarity. You should not only watch the news, but also understand it.

When it came to Wednesdays story that online sports betting, which was expected to start today, had been delayed, clarity took a backseat to confusion on many local stations.

There was some fog on the betting window.

I had one question would I be able to put down a bet on Sundays Giants-Cowboys game without having to drive to New Jersey?

It wasnt until I tuned into WVIT-TV30 and anchor Keisha Grant said that gamblers could still put down in-person bets at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos.

Until that report, however, I was perplexed.

WTIC-TV61 anchor Jenn Bernstein said sports betting in Connecticut has been put on hold, for now.

She said sports betting, not just on-line betting, which created some confusion for me.

WFSB-TV3 reporter Erin Edwards only talked about online gambling without mentioning the in-person variety. It would have been appropriate to shed some light on that. WTNH-TV8 anchor Darren Kramer said that online gambling was delayed, and retail sports betting was delayed, without explaining what retail sports gambling was.

I assumed retail gambling meant the 10 OTB locations in the state, which includes Sheas Pizzeria and Sports Bar in Manchester and Bobby Vs in Windsor Locks, but thats just a guess.

He also said that Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun had been accepting in person bets since Sept. 30, without saying if they would continue to do so.

Channel 30 was clear, however, which meant I could be casino-bound this weekend for the excitement of the Giants against the Cowboys.

Now theres only one moment of confusion remaining figuring out which team is going to win.

Dish customers who are looking forward to watching tonights Los Angeles Rams-Seattle Seahawks game had better plan on viewing it on the NFL Network.

It wont be on WTIC-TV Channel 61. Thats because as far as Dish is concerned, there is no Channel 61.

Tegna Inc., which owns Channel 61 and WCCT-TV20, removed the two stations, and the 51 others that it owns, from the Dish lineup because of a carriage fee dispute. More than 3 million Dish customers around the country will be affected.

The dispute you guessed it is about money. Tegna wants a boost in carriage fees.

This time, however, there may be something beyond the dollar signs.

Brian Neylon, the group president of Dish TV, said Tegna is looking to sell all of its TV stations. The more money Tegna could get from Dish, the more valuable those 53 stations would be worth.

Neylon said Dish has made a fair offer, but thats what they always say.

The bottom line is that these disputes almost always get settled the only question is how long it will take.

There are thousands of football fans who are hoping this latest dispute will be settled quickly in time for kickoff.

Women of Wrestling return

The revival of WOW Women of Wrestling is expected to be about the athletes, and not the script writers.

It was announced Wednesday that WOW will be syndicated by ViacomCBS and will be syndicated on 160 stations in 2022.

Jeanie Buss, who owns the franchise, said that WOW will give great women athletes a stage to showcase their skills, something that not many have now.

That means one thing well be seeing talent, not just acting.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.

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Sports betting report led to confusion | Living | journalinquirer.com - Journal Inquirer

Reasons For The Popularity Of Sports Betting – Todayuknews – Todayuknews

Reasons for the Popularity of Sports Betting

One of the main reasons for the mass demand for sports betting is its accessibility and simplicity. Moreover, winning largely depends on the knowledge of the player, and only a small proportion is due to luck due to the unpredictability of sports. The important thing is that when you start making paris sportif en ligne senegal on a sports discipline that you know and analyze the upcoming matches, it is quite realistic to come out in the long run in the black.

There are millions of users registered on the sites of bookmakers offices, which confirms the popularity of this direction. Many bookmakers have long been sponsors of famous soccer and other teams, and even entire leagues. Some fans bet money on matches to make watching them more exciting. Others bet solely to make money.

Betting on the websites of popular betting sites is possible both on the result of the entire match in soccer, tennis, hockey, rugby, or cyber sport and on individual events:

To avoid unnecessary risks, before making a bet, it is necessary to study all the conditions of the bookmakers office and approach the analysis of the game thoughtfully. The choice of the bookmakers office depends on the odds and the variety of prematch and play lines. To find the most optimal and reliable betting company, study reliable and objective ratings from reputable sources.

Modern bookmakers offer a wide variety of bets. The first thing you need to prioritize what you will base your betting on:

If you want to make money on bets, you need to learn all the nuances of sports discipline, how bookmakers work, learn how to analyze the information for the match you want to bet on. You will need to devote at least 2-3 hours a day to this. Study the lines, expert forecasts, follow the latest news.

The variety of outcomes is very large. But first, it is worth to study the terminology and start with the simplest bets:

Another interesting betting variant is a handicap. But it is more complicated and more suitable for experienced bettors. A handicap is added to or subtracted from the result of one of the teams. There are also multi-bets with two or more events.

These days, only the deaf have not heard about the opportunity to earn by betting on various sports disciplines. In recent years, betting is of increasing interest to people, but the reasons for its growing popularity are difficult to understand even to experts. So, what makes millions of fans bet on sports?

Money always attracts people, especially if you dont have to do anything to get it. To make money from betting its not necessary to study tons of scientific literature, graduate from the university and get a job, its enough just to be a gambling man and hope at random. But with a little effort and by studying the odds in various bookmaker offices, you can greatly increase the chances that the bet will be winning.

Accessibility is one of the important reasons for the huge popularity of betting. These days, betting on your favorite team doesnt require much effort, and you dont even have to get up from your favorite couch. On the Internet in a matter of minutes, you can find thousands of different bookmakers, choose your favorite and make bets. But, most importantly, do not get caught at the bait of fraudsters, it can help platforms such as https://doc.bet, there you can see the rating of bookmakers, in which you can bet without fear.

Betting is not really a game of chance, like poker, where everything depends on chance. Betting is a much safer kind of gambling. After all, with sufficient knowledge of the sport on which the bet is made, you can be sure of winning, but nevertheless, a very small chance that the bet will not play remains. Thus, betting in bookmakers offices can be called a safe substitute for a casino.

One of the main reasons is incredibly strong emotions. By placing a bet, a person cheers for an athlete or team with double the strength. And the usual adrenaline rush of victory or defeat is fueled by interest, financially. This incredible cocktail of emotions, among other things, is able to give an unforgettable thrill if you win.

Advertisements for bets and various bookmakers offices can be found literally everywhere. This contributes to the fact that a person enters the site of bookmakers solely out of interest, and also out of interest makes the first bet. And according to statistics in 90% of cases after the first bet will be and the second, and the third, etc.

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Reasons For The Popularity Of Sports Betting - Todayuknews - Todayuknews

Underdog White Sox present sports betting fans a test of heart vs. head – Bloomington Pantagraph

JOHN KEILMANChicago Tribune

The Chicago White Sox have been good to loyal fan Justin Salgado this year, and not just because they easily won their division.

The 25-year-old from Schererville made a preseason bet on Lance Lynn to win this years Cy Young Award, given to each leagues most outstanding pitcher. With Lynn dominant in midsummer, Salgado had a chance to cash in early and he took it, winning $800 on his $100 wager.

It was a savvy move he would have won $1,700 had he stuck it out but Torontos Robbie Ray is now the overwhelming favorite and it shows how Salgado simultaneously manages his sports wagering and his allegiance to the team.

He jumps on bets that will pay off with the success of the Sox; recently, he wrote a post for the Sox on 35th blog about how they feast on left-handed starters. Otherwise, he looks for neutral ways to profit, such as betting that the team and its opponent will score fewer runs than expected.

Ill never bet against them, he said. I just cant do it as a fan of the team.

Sports betting forces fans to weigh their hearts against their heads when it comes to their favorite teams, and the postseason prospects of the White Sox present an especially tough conundrum.

"I'm nervous because I care" La Russa on White Sox-Astros clash in ALDS

The Sox began their series against the Houston Astros as a slight underdog, and should they meet the Tampa Bay Rays in the next round, theyll be underdogs again. But you can also bet on the Sox to win by a certain margin, or on the total number of runs scored, or on the performance of individual players right down to a single pitch.

In other words, there are plenty of ways to make money or get yourself in trouble.

Just be careful and bet within your means, Salgado said. If the payout is high, that means its a long shot.

Since Illinois legalized sports betting last year, gamblers within the state have wagered close to $700 million on baseball, putting it in third place behind basketball ($1.6 billion) and football ($941 million), according to Illinois Gaming Board records.

Most of that money has been bet online rather than at the states casinos, but that hasnt stopped Chicagos sports teams from angling for a piece of the action. As the Chicago City Council mulls a proposed ordinance that would allow arenas and stadiums to have their own sportsbooks, teams such as the Bears and Cubs have already signed partnerships with gambling companies.

As for the South Siders, team spokesman Scott Reifert said: The White Sox are very interested and are actively investigating options, but there are several hurdles to overcome before we proceed, including approval of a revised gaming ordinance by the city of Chicago.

A wrinkle in Illinois gambling law means those who want to bet on their phones must first register in person at a casino to activate their mobile account. Once thats done, they can wager as they like from the comfort of their couches, even after the games are underway.

Jay Croucher, head of trading for PointsBet, said baseball is more conducive than other sports to betting within the flow of the game, given the breaks every half inning or with a pitching change. About half of baseball wagers are made that way, a proportion he expects to increase.

Now were seeing player props become more popular Eloy Jimenez to hit a home run, Lance Lynn to get 10-plus strikeouts, he said. As the U.S. market gets more accustomed (to sports betting), niche markets and inning-by-inning markets are becoming more popular.

But for those who just want to bet on the White Sox to win, he said, the teams underdog status shouldnt be too worrying.

I think they have almost as good a chance as anyone in the American League, he said before the series began. The gap isnt a representation that (the Astros) are better, just that they have home field.

Most of the local action at the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines has, unsurprisingly, come in on the Sox, said Ross Sansone, who helps run the sportsbook. Though people can bet remotely via the casinos BetRivers app, he said he expects a big crowd to wager in person Sunday, when the evening Sox game will be paired with NFL football.

Thats the day were looking forward to, actually, ramping up the staff and having all five (betting) windows open, he said.

Danny Burke, host of the Rush Hour sports betting show on VSiN and Marquee Sports Network, said baseball offers plenty of chances to outwit the bookmakers during the regular season, given the glut of statistics available to anyone with an internet connection. But that flips on its head during the postseason.

The whole dynamic changes, he said. You dont know what the feeling is around teams. You dont know if you can trust a pitcher as much under the big spotlight of an elimination game. I would definitely say I have more success in the regular season than the postseason because its just a completely different beast.

Burke gave the Astros a slight advantage over the White Sox prior to the series, though he said an upset wouldnt come as much of a surprise. Still, he said hometown gamblers should be wary of giving in to Sox fever.

(People) want to bet with their emotions so they not only can see their team win but make some money while doing so, he said. If you want to be a successful bettor you have to have no bias. Sometimes the viable option is to fade your favorite team.

So as much as everybody is happy that a Chicago team is in the playoffs and wants to bet the White Sox, dont go too crazy. Im not saying you cant throw a little bit of money on there and root for them along the way, but dont be throwing your whole bankroll on a series thats going to be really tough for the White Sox.

Minnie Minoso is best known for appearing in MLB in five different decades, with the White Sox giving him at-bats in the 1976 and 1980 seasons. In Minoso's prime, between 1951 and and 1961, he was a feared hitter and baserunner. He compiled 41.5 WAR in 12 seasons with the Sox.

Fox was a solid offensive player in his 14 seasons with the White Sox from 1950 to 1963, but it was with his glove that Fox cemented his reputation. Fox had a total of 47.4 WAR with the White Sox, and his 20.4 defensive WAR is third in White Sox history.

The list of all-time great Chicago White Sox players is pitcher-heavy, beginning with one of the greats of modern times, Mark Buehrle. In 12 seasons with the White Sox, which included the 2005 World Series title, Buehrle had 48.9 WAR, and threw two no-hitters.

Pierce (right, pictured with another all-time White Sox great Ed Walsh) was a White Sox fan favorite and longtime member of the pitching staff. In his 13 seasons with the White Sox between 1949 and 1961, Pierce had a 3.19 ERA and 49.4 WAR.

Cicotte is best known as one of the key members from the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal, but in his nine seasons with the White Sox between 1912 and 1920, he was among the game's best pitchers, with an ERA of 2.25 in an average of 250 innings pitched per season and 50.0 WAR.

One of the great knuckleball pitchers and the best left-handed knuckleball pitcher of all-time, Wood pitched 12 seasons for the White Sox, both as a reliever and starter, between 1967 and 1978. He had a 3.18 ERA with the White Sox and 51.7 WAR.

The first great White Sox player, Walsh emerged as a reliever on the 1904 team and ended up throwing nearly 3,000 innings in his 13 seasons in Chicago from 1904 to 1916. In that time, Walsh had a 1.82 ERA and 63.9 WAR.

A true workhorse, Lyons pitched for 21 seasons all with the White Sox with three years missing toward the end of Lyons' career because of World War II when he was still a viable starter. Lyons wasn't always an ace he had seven seasons with an ERA over 4.00 but he threw at least 180 innings 16 times and led the league in ERA in his final full season of 1942. His 66.8 WAR is the second-most for a pitcher in White Sox history.

"Cocky" Collins was one of the game's all-time great contact hitters, Collins owns the 13th-most WAR all-time, with 67.4 of those WAR coming in his 12 seasons with the White Sox between 1915 and 1926. In that time, Collins had a .426 on-base percentage. His 512 career sacrifices (341 with the White Sox) is the most in MLB history.

Best known for his use of the spitball, Faber became the best pitcher in White Sox history by amassing 67.7 WAR in his 20-year career with the White Sox, during which he threw over 4,000 innings. Faber had a 3.15 ERA and 12 seasons with at least 180 innings. Faber, who played from 1914 to 1933, was the last American League player legally allowed to use the spit ball.

"The Big Hurt" is the greatest slugger and best offensive player in White Sox history. Thomas a two-time MVP had a .995 OPS in his 16 seasons with the White Sox, putting up 73.8 WAR despite negative WAR defensively.

A great player both offensively and defensively, Appling, who played most of his 20 seasons with the White Sox between 1930 and 1950 at shortstop, had 77.6 WAR in his career with the White Sox more than any other White Sox player. He's played in more games than any other White Sox player (2,422), and finished with a .399 on-base percentage.

According to MLB.com, "WAR (Wins Above Replacement) measures a player's value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he's worth than a replacement-level player at his same position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent)."

For position players, the formula is: Number of runs above average a player is worth in his batting, baserunning and fielding compared to the number of runs provided by a replacement-level player. It's adjusted for position (the more difficult the position is to play, the more WAR earned) and league.

For pitchers, RA9 (run average per 9 innings) is used and adjusted for league and ballpark. Then, using league averages, it is determined how many wins a pitcher was worth based on those numbers and innings pitched total.

There are multiple WAR calculations. In these rankings, bWAR was used (Baseball Reference's version), but there are also fWAR (Fangraphs) and WARP (Baseball Prospectus) that vary slightly.

1. Luke Appling 77.6

2. Frank Thomas 68.3

3. Eddie Collins 67.0

4. Nellie Fox 47.4

5. Minnie Minoso 41.5

6. Robin Ventura 39.4

7. Luis Aparicio 35.3

8. Ray Schalk 33.2

9. George Davis 33.1

10. Fielder Jones 32.0

11. Paul Konerko 29.3

12. Carlton Fisk 28.9

13. Shoeless Joe Jackson 27.8

14. Willie Kamm 27.1

15. Sherm Lollar 25.6

16. Magglio Ordonez 25.3

17. Jos Abreu 25.2

18. Chet Lemon 24.9

19. Harold Baines 24.7

20. Johnny Mostil 24.2

21. Alexei Ramrez 23.1

22. Ray Durham 21.4

23. Lance Johnson 21.3

24. Buck Weaver 21.2

25. Lee Tannehill 20.9

26. Earl Sheely 20.3

27. Pete Ward 20.0

28. Jim Landis 19.7

29. Ozzie Guillen 19.5

30. Happy Felsch 19.4

31. Chico Carrasquel 19.3

T32. Bibb Falk 18.8

T32. Bill Melton 18.8

34. Floyd Robinson 18.5

35. Ron Hansen 18.1

T36. Don Buford 16.9

T36. Jose Valentin 16.9

38. Tim Raines 16.6

39. Adam Eaton 15.9

40. Carlos Lee 15.8

T41. Zeke Bonura 15.7

T41.Frank Isbell 15.7

43. Dick Allen 15.4

44. Harry Hooper 14.8

T45. Shano Collins 14.6

T45. Ron Karkovice 14.6

47. Tim Anderson 13.7

48. Jiggs Donahue 13.2

T49. Danny Green 13.1

T49. Carl Reynolds 13.1

1. Frank Thomas 74.9

2. Luke Appling 73.8

3. Eddie Collins 67.4

4. Minnie Minoso 39.6

5. Nellie Fox 35.2

6. Paul Konerko 34.4

7. Carlton Fisk 29.2

8. Robin Ventura 28.8

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Underdog White Sox present sports betting fans a test of heart vs. head - Bloomington Pantagraph

Why Jacinda Ardern giving up on eliminating COVID-19 is a political gamble for the popular PM – ABC News

For 18 months, New Zealand has enjoyed the reputation as the little island that could.

The so-called "team of 5 million" has lived under the threatof strict and sharp lockdowns in exchange for the comfort of knowing it would not have to live with COVID-19 in the community.

And for a while, there was a sense of pride and unity over that approach.

However, things have now changed.

On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was time the country transitioned away from the elimination strategy a huge departure from the approach much of the countryhad bought into a long time ago.

"Elimination was important because we didn't have vaccines.Now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things," she said.

"We need to continue to contain and control the virus as much as possible while we make our transition from a place where we only use heavy restrictions to a place where we use vaccines and everyday public health measures.

"This is a change in approach we were always going to make over time. Our Delta outbreak has accelerated that transition."

One commentatorsaid the change "felt like a form of whiplash".

Another said it was a political and policy tipping point for the Prime Minister.

AP: Mark Baker

Ms Ardern was re-elected in a landslide victory in October, with Labor securing 50 per cent of the vote and enough seats to form government on its own.

It was a huge endorsement of the Prime Minister and her approach to managing the pandemic to that point.

"Her victory last year was almost entirely a function of the popularity of the elimination strategy, and also the success of it," professor of politics at Massey UniversityRichard Shawtold the ABC.

"People felt safe within fortress New Zealand.

"There's long been a sense in New Zealandthat if there are problems in the outside world, we can throw up the barriers and go bush, which is what we did last year, so Ardern was picking up people who would have been lifelong National Party voters, but who appreciated the strategy and the clarity of messaging,and now that's all gone."

Professor Shaw said the moveaway from elimination and the confusion around the current messaging was a political risk for Ms Ardern.

"It's too soon yet to know what kind of impact it would have on her personal popularity, or the government in general, but it is quite a significant moment in contemporary New Zealand politics," he said.

"The risk plays out in various ways.

"The obvious risk is that the disease gets out of control and all of the goodwill that Ardern and her government have accrued over the last 18 months will very rapidly dribble away into the sand."

Reuters:Fiona Goodall

Despite the popularity of Ms Ardern's initial approach, New Zealand has not been immune to anti-lockdown sentiment and protests.

There have also been calls from New Zealanders stranded overseas and from businesses that rely on seasonal workersfor the borders to open.

Recently, former prime minister and National Party leader Sir John Key penned an opinion piece calling for a new strategy, one that would see the "smug hermit kingdom" of New Zealandrejoin the global community.

"Some people might like to continue the North Korean option. I am not one of them," he wrote.

The most recent outbreak, which began in August, kept Auckland residents under alert level 4 restrictions for five weeks.

These are some of the strictest lockdown conditions in the world, prohibiting takeaway food and coffee, and closing all businesses not considered essential effectively placing everyone under quarantine conditions.

For the country's most populous city, it wasa serious blow to the economy and one that has not let up.

Auckland then moved to alert level 3. Thecity is now under settings that sit somewhere between level 3 and level 2, but the number of cases is still increasing, and the infections arebeing found outside of Auckland.

The Waikato region is under alert level 3 restrictions.

Supplied:General Council of the Samoan Assemblies of God in New Zealand

In August, just one case of COVID-19, which had not yet been confirmed as the Delta variant, plunged the whole of the country into a level 4 lockdown.

Yesterday, there were 29 new cases of community transmission, while no regions of the country were under the strictest lockdown.

And today, that number climbed again, with another 44 cases of COVID-19 found in the community.

"For many New Zealanders, the reality of needing to shift from a strict elimination strategy to a differently calibrated strategy due to the change in the nature of the virus is going to take some time to adapt to because we've had 18 months of one story, which is, 'We can eliminate it,'" Professor Shaw said.

Maori and Pacific people have lower rates of vaccination and higher rates of health complications. Pacific people representednearly 60 per cent of all cases COVID-19 in the August outbreak.

Auckland councillor and Samoan community representative Efeso Collins said his community was not ready to move away from the elimination strategy.

"We're worried. There is still a high level of weariness in South Auckland because we know the outbreaks have happened here, and because we present with co-morbidities, we know we're going to be the most affected in any outbreak," he said.

"As opposed to the other sides of Auckland, which are keen to get out of about and connect with people. It's a difficult balancing act when you've got essentially a tale of two cities."

Instagram: Efoso Collins

Mr Collins said he feared it would be vulnerable communities shouldering the increased risk that came with livingwith the virus.

"I think this is a real measure of our humanity," he said.

"We're pandering a little bit to the wealthier, middle class of Auckland.They haven't experienced the level of loss and anguish that we have in South Auckland so they don't know what we're going through."

Supplied: South Seas Healthcare

As the Prime Minister announced the transition towards the new approach, she pointed squarely to the reliance on vaccines.

"At the beginning of this outbreak, we said we were adopting an approach of elimination while we vaccinated that was the right choice and the only choice," she said.

Ms Ardern said at that time only 25 per cent of Aucklanders were fully vaccinated, but that figure was now up to 52 per cent.

Yesterday, the New Zealand Ministry of Health also announced 50 per cent of the entire country's eligible population was now fully vaccinated.

Experts called for clarity around the strategy going forward, saying immunity was not yet high enough to prevent widespread community transmission.

"The change in tack signalled by the government means it is really a matter of time before COVID finds its way to all corners of New Zealand," University of Canterbury COVID-19 modeller Michael Plank said.

"As we transition from an elimination to a suppression strategy, the government will have to tread a very narrow path to avoid overwhelming our hospitals.

"As vaccination rates increase, restrictions can be progressively eased, but if we relax too much, there is a risk the number of hospitalisations could start to spiral out of control."

One leading intensive care doctor has said New Zealand didnot have enough ICU beds for business as usual.

Reuters:Loren Elliott

While New Zealand enters a new phase of its pandemic response, Australia is planning to open its borders.

From late April until the end of July this year, so-called "green zone" flights flew between Australia and New Zealand in a travel bubble, with those on board walking off the plane and into the community, bypassing hotel quarantine.

But a month into the Delta outbreak in New South Wales, Ms Ardern said the risk had become too great and the bubble would be suspended.

A spokesperson from the New Zealand Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said a review of the suspension would take place in mid-to-late November.

"This will give New Zealand time to ensure our vaccination rates climb higher," they said.

"Quarantine free travel was established on the basis that there was little to no community transmission occurring in both countries."

Currently, people can only enter New Zealand from Australia on "red zone" flights before heading into hotel quarantine. Soon, some of those travellers will face further conditions.

"Full vaccination will become a requirement for non-New Zealand citizens aged 17 and over arriving into the country from November 1," the department spokesperson said.

While New Zealanders lookfor clarity around what next, and Ms Ardern seeks to reassure them, Professor Shaw says there is also "an opportunity".

"One thing we know about Ardern is she is very, very good in moments of risk.She knows how to narrate a crisis point," he said.

"This is the highest-risk moment of the last 18 months for her, but I wouldn't underestimate her capacity to communicate her way through this and to take a significant wedge of public support with her."

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Why Jacinda Ardern giving up on eliminating COVID-19 is a political gamble for the popular PM - ABC News

New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern admits nation can’t get rid of coronavirus | TheHill – The Hill

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday acknowledged thatthe country cant completely get rid of COVID-19,The Associated Press reported.

Ardern made the remark while announcing plans to ease lockdown restrictions in Auckland, allowingresidents to be able to meet up with loved ones from one other household and go to the beach starting Tuesday. Early childhood education centers will also reopen.

For this outbreak, its clear that long periods of heavy restrictions has not got us to zero cases, Ardern said. But that is OK. Elimination was important because we didnt have vaccines. Now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things.

Since the beginning of the global pandemic, New Zealand pushed a zero-tolerance approach to the coronavirus by implementing strict lockdowns and aggressive contact tracing.

While slowly returning back to normal life, the country experienced a new COVID-19 outbreak in August.

Ardern said that the seven-week lockdown in Auckland helped control the current situation, the AP reported.

The recent outbreak has led to more than 1,300 cases, with 29 new infections being detected on Monday.

Sixty-five percent of New Zealanders have received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with 40 percent of citizensnow fully vaccinated.Vaccination rates have slowed after initially rising in response to the current outbreak, the AP noted.

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New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern admits nation can't get rid of coronavirus | TheHill - The Hill

Covid-19: ‘Prepare for the inevitability of community transmission’ – Stuff.co.nz

The Government's new suppression strategy risks overwhelming the health system if the virus gets into under-vaccinated communities or if overworked public health officials can't keep up, Marc Daalder reports.

ANALYSIS: The Government has called time on elimination, 18 months and four days after Ashley Bloomfield embraced the strategy at a select committee hearing held under level 4 lockdown conditions.

As she announced a roadmap for Auckland's path out of lockdown on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Covid-19 cases would be present in the community but kept to low levels.

What I'm indicating is that in spite of not having reached zero, that doesn't mean that we are not able to successfully continue our work to keep people safe in the long-term and take an aggressive approach to Covid, she said.

Pool/Getty Images

On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a three-step road map for Aucklands path out of lockdown.

READ MORE:* Covid 19: Elimination may be dead but Auckland's lockdown is very much alive - and lingering* Covid-19: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern kills the elimination strategy, but the restrictions won't end * Auckland's long and winding Covid-19 road with no clear end in sight* Covid-19: Concern for vulnerable communities as Govt announces lockdown exit strategy

Vaccinations will help us. Our contact tracing will continue to play a role. We'll still isolate every case. And in the future, public health measures will still be part of the mix as well.

Experts say New Zealanders should prepare for the presence of Covid-19 in the community under the new approach, even if the Government is striving to keep cases down and the health system from being overwhelmed.

This relaxing of restrictions will see more spread and more Covid cases in the community over the coming weeks, Te Pnaha Matatini Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy said.

This isn't just the case in Auckland, either. Hendy's fellow modeller, University of Canterbury mathematics professor Michael Plank, said we should expect to see the virus outside of the city.

The Auckland boundary will remain in place for now. But if, as is likely, case numbers continue to grow, it will become progressively harder to keep the outbreak contained to Auckland, he said.

The rest of New Zealand should prepare for the inevitability of community transmission. Regions that experience outbreaks may need to be put under restrictions like those in Auckland.

Ricky Wilson/Stuff

Te Pnaha Matatini Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy. (File photo)

Abandoning elimination does not mean the Government will wave the white flag and surrender to the virus. Auckland is still at level 3 and the initial step in loosening restrictions will add relatively little risk of onward transmission.

Ardern was at pains to emphasise that the strategy won't look that different from elimination. We will still rely on contact tracing, testing, masking and other public health measures, as well as tougher restrictions like lockdowns while vaccination rates remain low, to keep transmission low.

But the mere fact that the end goal is different that the Government is now satisfied with low levels of community transmission rather than none at all raises new and potent risks.

Experts have previously said a suppression strategy like that adopted by the Government on Monday would see restrictions in place for weeks to months. University of Otago epidemiologist Michael Baker highlighted that again on Monday evening.

Step 1 is pretty much Level 3 and Steps 2 and 3 are versions of level 2, he said.

When could Auckland move to those Level 2-style restrictions?

You need to see that case numbers are not increasing. I don't think you could ever expect that we'd be moving out of Step 1 anytime soon. Just from what we know of the experience of Victoria and New South Wales and what we've seen here.

Auckland's exit strategy is now vaccination rates, with Ardern targeting 90 per cent of the eligible population double dosed. But only 84 per cent have had their first dose thus far. Even if the remaining 6 per cent (around 86,000 people) went out and got jabbed today, it would still be six weeks before their second dose and another two weeks before they're considered fully protected. Clearly, suppression means Auckland is in lockdown for the long haul.

In the meantime, the Government's goal is to keep transmission low enough that the health system isn't overwhelmed. While successful elimination looked like reaching zero cases and returning to the freedoms of level 1, successful suppression sets a much lower bar of ensuring our hospitals are not overflowing with Covid-19 patients although the consequences of failing to achieve that bar are much more serious with suppression than with elimination.

There are three major and interconnected risks to the Government's ability to keep the health system standing.

The first is the outbreak taking off in under-vaccinated populations. Schools are tentatively slated to reopen from October 18, but children under 12 aren't eligible to be vaccinated. While children pose relatively little threat to one another, they're more likely to be infected by their adult teachers and other school staff members. Currently, however, teachers aren't required to be vaccinated, masks aren't mandated for students in schools and New Zealand's schools have notoriously poor ventilation.

We need to immediately take steps to ensure that schools open in the safest way possible, Jin Russell, a developmental paediatrician at the University of Auckland, said.

One of the best ways we can protect children and re-open schools safely is to aim for 100 per cent of teachers and staff, and 100 per cent of eligible students, to be vaccinated. Overseas experience also shows that by implementing a suite of measures including improving ventilation, taking activities outside, masking, and other measures, schools can drive the risk of Covid-19 transmission to very low levels.

Children aren't the only under-vaccinated group, however. Mori and Pasifika vaccination rates have lagged behind those of the general population. In Auckland, fewer than a quarter of Mori were fully vaccinated by last Tuesday.

As of Sunday, nationwide, just 56.7 per cent of Mori and 73 per cent of Pasifika had received a first dose of vaccine, compared with 80.3 per cent of white New Zealanders.

Unvaccinated people are also likely to be clustered into the same communities, raising the risk of an outbreak. All of the 11 district and city council areas with the greatest proportion of Mori residents are also among the 15 least vaccinated council areas. More than a third of the eligible population in 11 council areas is unvaccinated and populations in nine of these 11 are more than 16 per cent Mori.

These communities are exposed to outbreaks of the virus. If suppression slips up in ptiki district for example, where the population is 44 per cent Mori and where 38.3 per cent of the eligible population is unvaccinated, the outcomes could be grievous.

Jin Russell/Supplied

Jin Russell, a developmental paediatrician at the University of Auckland. (File photo)

That brings up the second risk to the success of the suppression strategy: The capacity in our public health system to ensure suppression doesn't slip up.

New Zealand's public health officials have spent 18 months testing for Covid-19, tracing the contacts of new cases and planning for new outbreaks, all while chronically underfunded and unable to carry out their non-Covid-19-related public health work.

While they were already gearing up to manage a greater burden of new cases after the country reopens next year, an expected period of rest and preparation has now been overrun by the current Delta outbreak. It took the Government six days at the start of the outbreak to start re-tasking other public servants with contact tracing, at which stage less than two thirds of more than 20,000 known contacts had even received a phone call from tracers.

Despite four critical reviews urging the Government to resource the contact tracing system to be able to deal with the contacts of up to 1000 cases a day, the Ministry of Health never did so. Now, it is not impossible that we do see case numbers in the hundreds, even though that could overwhelm our current tracers.

New Zealand would struggle to maintain high system performance of contact tracing for a prolonged period with 100-200 cases per day, one such review, commissioned by the Government, warned after the February outbreak. And this didn't account for the transmissibility of the Delta variant which we are now dealing with.

If contact tracing collapses, then suppression at our current vaccination rates without harsh lockdowns becomes almost impossible. The response is now contingent on the most crucial part of our public health system which has been consistently ignored and under-resourced over the course of the pandemic.

The third risk is that we might not know our contact tracing has failed and the health system is threatened until it is too late.

The suppression strategy is the result of a March 2020 modelling paper from the Imperial College London, which found that mitigating the virus (flattening the curve) would see hundreds of thousands of deaths in places like the United Kingdom or United States because hospitals would be unable to care for all of the grievously ill patients.

Suppression involved stamping the virus to extremely low levels and then progressively loosening restrictions. Inevitably, the virus would resurge and when that renewed outbreak began to threaten the capacity of the health system, new restrictions would be imposed.

In the United Kingdom, the trigger for a new lockdown was to be 100 cases in ICU in a week. The UK's health system had significantly more capacity, but these new cases in ICU would be the result of infections that happened weeks ago. Even after locking down, the modelling showed, ICU admissions would continue to rise, perhaps doubling or tripling above the 100-patient threshold, but not overwhelming the hospital system.

A similar concept may be used with the new roadmap for Auckland, which is set to be reviewed on a weekly basis to discern how the virus situation has responded to each loosening of restrictions. The problem for New Zealand is that we have so little capacity in our health system that we will hit our trigger point with just a handful of ICU cases. By the time an obvious trend starts to emerge, it could be too late to stop ICU capacity from being exceeded.

We'll have to really look at the trend very carefully and if we see signs it's going up, we may have to revisit what we do with these levels or stages, Baker said.

That's backed up by the view of Te Pnaha Matatini researcher Dion O'Neale.

One of the factors that makes outbreaks so difficult to control is the fact that often by the time we know we are on a trajectory of sharply growing case numbers we may already be past the point where interventions like contact tracing or quarantine facilities are able to catch up, he said.

This is because there is a delay between when people become infected or infectious and when we are likely to become aware of them.

In other words, once cases in ICU start to rise, we must immediately respond.

That could even include strengthening the restrictions in place in Auckland or wherever else the virus ends up, both Baker and Plank said.

It will be crucial to remain adaptable and responsive to changes in the number of cases and the healthcare demand they will generate. It may yet be necessary to adjust or tighten restrictions to prevent cases spiralling out of control, Plank said.

The Australian state of Victoria has gone from around 20 cases per day to 1500 in just 6 weeks, and there are currently 96 Covid patients in ICU. This could happen here and it would put immense pressure on our hospitals.

Up until now, New Zealand has enjoyed the benefits of no widespread community transmission of Covid-19 something nearly unique in the world. While that may never have been sustainable in the long-term once the borders reopened, the opportunity to cleanly end elimination has been taken out of our hands. Instead, we are messily transitioning to a suppression strategy while vaccination rates remain too low to, on their own, prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients.

When speaking to Newsroom about the Imperial College London paper in March 2020, Baker issued a prescient warning about the burden of the suppression strategy.

Its one thing to hear about it and see it happening at a distance. Its like watching a Netflix series from overseas, but actually, that will be us if we dont contain it, he said at the time.

Its a new way of living thats pretty foreign. Its pretty obvious that no one alive today has seen a pandemic like this.

After 18 months of keeping it at bay, that new way of living has now arrived on New Zealand's shores at last.

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Covid-19: 'Prepare for the inevitability of community transmission' - Stuff.co.nz

Shootout between motorcyclists on I-4 leaves woman in critical condition, Sheriff Judd says – WFLA

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) A woman is in extremely critical condition after deputies say she was shot while riding on the back of a motorcycle early Friday morning on Interstate 4 in Polk County.

According to Sheriff Grady Judd, just after midnight 38-year-old Ronald Donovan, a member of the Sin City Deciples Motorcycle Club, was driving eastbound on I-4. Donovan, his passenger, a 33-year-old woman, and two other motorcyclists were driving toward the Orlando area.

Judd said thats when two members of the Thug Riders Motorcycle Club passed by them, which didnt sit well with Donovan.

There was some skirmishing and some driving about 100 miles per hour, the sheriff said.

He said Donovan then shot and hit one of the Thug Riders motorcyclists, a 36-year-old man, who fired back toward Donovan.

According to Judd, the bullet struck Donovans passenger in the head just above the ear, causing her to fall off of the motorcycle. Medical experts say she is not expected to survive.

They took an 1888 old western shootout and brought it to 2021 last night, Judd said. You had a rush of testosterone and a rush of idiocy and it ended up with near death.

The sheriff said the injured Thug Riders motorcyclist drove to Champions Gate and stopped at Papa Johns to call 911. At the same time, other 911 calls came into the Polk County Sheriffs Office regarding the shooting on the interstate.

When deputies arrived at the scene, Judd said Donovan had two empty gun holsters, but no guns were found in the area. A motorcyclist was also seen fleeing from the area.

The sheriff also noted that when deputies tried to ask Donovan questions, he responded by saying I know my rights and invoked his Fifth Amendment right.

Donovan was arrested on scene and has been charged with the following:

According to Judd, at this time, the investigation shows that the Thug Riders victim was acting in self-defense when he returned fire.

A portion of I-4 was shut down for several hours as deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers searched for firearms and bullet casings over a half-mile area.

Since the shooting involved two separate motorcycle gangs, the sheriff gave the following warning to members of each side:

Let me warn you, retaliation will get you all locked up in prison for a very long time and thats a guarantee in Polk County, he said. Your stupidness has already gotten a 33-year-old beautiful young lady in a near-death situation and another man shot.

Sheriff Judd he expects to provide more details on the case on Monday.

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Shootout between motorcyclists on I-4 leaves woman in critical condition, Sheriff Judd says - WFLA

Soon to be blockbuster cases from the Supreme Court | TheHill – The Hill

The Supreme Court convenes today for the start of its October 2021 term, in person for the first time since March 2020, when the pandemic drove the justices to literally phone it in. This year, the court has some blockbuster cases, both on its docket and in the cert petition pipeline. Here are a few cases to put on your radar:

Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization

In 2019, the Supreme Court granted a property owner a victory in Knick v. Scott Township. In doing so, the court overruled a 1985 precedent called Williamson County v. Hamilton Bank, which held that property owners couldnt sue in federal court for a violation of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The underlying issue in Knick was whether the owner of rural land in northern Pennsylvania could go to federal court when the town said she must allow strangers onto her property so they could search for putative colonial gravesites.

But the immediate issue at hand was when the court should correct its past mistakes. In Knick, the court reversed Williamson County, leading to a furious debate between the majority opinion and the dissenters over when the court should abandon stare decisis in order to overrule mistaken precedent. Why so furious? Because the court was anticipating the arrival of a giant elephant in the room. With more fanfare than any circus, that elephant has now arrived, and its name is Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization. Today, the Alabama Attorney General is demanding that the court overturn Roe v. Wade.

Glorified and vilified, Roe has been the touchstone for a half-centurys worth of debate over the meaning of constitutional jurisprudence and the impact of the courts decisions on societal norms and vice versa. The debate has been animated not only by the social revolution the case ushered but also by the uneasy admission by even the cases staunchest defenders that the constitutional rationale for former Justice Harry Blackmuns decision did not match its importance. But was it so weak that the doctrine of stare decisis should be abandoned in Dobbs? Or should the court find a new constitutional rationale for the case to preserve the sociological status quo? Expect rhetorical fireworks in the courtroom and around the nation on Dec. 1 when the court tees up the case for oral argument.

Austin v. Reagan National Advertising

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution says that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. After the Civil War, the First Amendment was applied to the states. In 1980, the Supreme Court found that laws affecting so-called commercial speech should be given more leeway. Thus, no law meant some laws are okay for commercial speech. However, in 2015, in a dispute over an Arizona towns ability to regulate signs for church services, the court held that signs commercial or otherwise could not be regulated based on their content.

In Austin v. Reagan National Advertising, the court will decide whether a regulation banning electronic signs, unless the sign is located next to the business it advertises, is a prohibited content-based sign code. In the Arizona case, Justice Clarence ThomasClarence ThomasWhy Latinos need Supreme Court reform ESPN removes Sage Steele from programming after controversial remarks Group asks California bar to investigate Trump adviser's role in Jan. 6 MORE agreed with the result but added in a concurrence that there is no philosophical or historical basis for asserting that commercial speech is of lower value than noncommercial speech. Austin gives the court an opportunity to reaffirm that any sign ordinance requiring an inquiry into the signs message is unconstitutional and that there is no basis for any First Amendment exception for commercial speech. As Pacific Legal Foundations friend of the court brief puts it, Although commercial speech has been treated differently and badly in some of this Courts rulings, modern First Amendment doctrine should place it on an equal footing with other protected speech.

American Hospital Association v. Becerra

Congress has a habit of passing vague laws, leaving it to federal agencies to fill in the blanks with rulemaking and statutory interpretations. In 1984, in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the Supreme Court became fed up with the habit of some federal courts to substitute their policy preferences for those of the agencies under the guise of statutory interpretation. There, the court adopted the Chevron doctrine and said that if the statute isnt clear, the courts should defer to an agencys interpretation. That may have cured the problem of runaway courts, but it led to another: runaway federal agencies. Over the ensuing years, an increasing number of scholars have concluded that Chevron was either wrong or badly flawed in its execution.

The nominal issue in American Hospital Association v Becerra is whether the Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit properly applied Chevron when reviewing the regulation of Medicare reimbursement rates for certain outpatient drugs. But the more fundamental question raised in briefs such as Pacific Legal Foundations is whether it is time to abandon the Chevron doctrine altogether. The argument is set for Nov. 30 and will be watched closely by those contemplating the future of administrative law. Perhaps just as significantly, many will be watching the argument intently for signs on how receptive the court may be to overturning other precedents such as Roe v. Wade that will be on the docket the following day in Dobbs.

Also in play are a host of cases waiting in line for court review. Among these cert petitions are a challenge to Harvards admissions practices that discriminate against Asian American applicants and various challenges to state eviction moratoria, vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 orders. Likewise, with the courts growing willingness to accept property rights cases, Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys soon will ask the court to take up cases from North Carolina and California where property owners were either denied the basic right to use their land without compensation or were heavily fined for the innocent and harmless use of their land.

The Supreme Court always surprises, delights and disappoints. For more on what to expect, watch The Consequential Cases in the Supreme Courts 2021-2022 Term Including New Cases Added After the Courts Long Conference, where attorneys Noel Francisco, Tom Goldstein, William Jay and Anastasia Boden held their own court on the upcoming term.

James Burling is vice president of legal affairs at Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit legal organization that defends Americans individual liberty and constitutional rights.

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Soon to be blockbuster cases from the Supreme Court | TheHill - The Hill

Strange texts and messages sent from victims phone take center stage at S.I. teacher slay trial – SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Jessica Pobega said he was concerned about her best friend Jeanine Cammarata after the schoolteachers boyfriend told her he hadnt been able to reach her.

That was on April 1, 2019, and Pobega hadnt spoken with Jeanine herself in several days.

I was worried, so I tried to call her, Pobega testified Friday at the murder trial of Michael Cammarata, Jeanine Cammaratas estranged husband.

But her friend didnt answer her phone or respond to text messages, the witness testified.

So Pobega reached out on Facebook Messenger, even though she and Jeanine rarely communicated that way.

I asked her to call me to let me know she was OK, said Pobega.

The witness then tried calling her friend again.

Once more, there was no answer, but Pobega said she could see someone was texting her back on Jeanines phone.

That person wasnt Jeanine, prosecutors contend.

By that time, the 37-year-old New Brighton resident was already dead, prosecutors told jurors in their opening argument last week in state Supreme Court, St. George.

She had been killed late on March 30 by her spouse and his girlfriend, Ayisha Egea, near their Queens apartment, allege prosecutors.

Afterward, Michael Cammarata, 45, and Egea, 44, burned the victims corpse, Assistant District Attorneys Adam Silberlight and Timothy Richard said.

Cammarata was livid over divorce papers his spouse had served him a few days earlier, allege prosecutors.

The defense contends Egea was the killer.

BOYFRIENDS TESTIMONY

Following, on April 1, Michael Cammarata and Egea stuffed the victims charred remains in an Arden Heights storage facility, the same day Pobega received the text message from the victims phone, prosecutors maintain.

The content of the message was not explored, although the circumstances eerily echoed the prior testimony of the victims boyfriend.

He testified last week he received an unusual text from Jeanines phone on March 31 and a Facebook Messenger message from her account the next day.

The mans name is being withheld at prosecutors request for fear of reprisal.

The witness said he last saw the victim on the evening of March 30 when Jeanine dropped him off at home around 9 p.m. He said he and Jeanine lived together at his home, although she also maintained her New Brighton apartment.

Shortly thereafter, between 9:30 and 9:40 p.m., Jeanine texted him. She said she was going to pick up her two children from her husband at the 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George, said the witness.

The boy and girl lived with Michael Cammarata and Egea in Queens.

Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Mario F. Gallucci, the witness testified Jeanine had never previously picked up her children at the 120th Precinct stationhouse.

According to evidence and testimony, Jeanine actually drove out to Queens and met her husband and Egea.

Jeanine did not return home that night, the witness testified, although he received an odd text from her late the next morning, he said.

Typically, theyd exchange brief one-line messages. However, this time the text was a paragraph long, said the witness. He said it referred to her reconciliation with Mike.

The witness said he received no other texts that day from Jeanines phone, and there was no response to his phone calls.

The next day, April 1, the witness said he tried all day to contact Jeanine via phone and texts, but to no avail.

However, sometime that day he said he got a weird message from Jeanines Facebook Messenger account.

It said she was OK, and shed talk to him when she could, said the witness.

I would never get a message from her from Facebook, he said.

When questioned by Gallucci, the man admitted to sending a number of texts to Jeanines phone on March 31, including a nasty one early in the morning.

Hey, where are you? I guess Im a jerk---, the text said. I guess youre playing family with Mike and the kids. Good luck in court and with whatever youre doing.

Several days earlier, Jeanine Cammarata had filed for divorce against her husband, prior witness testimony revealed.

Gallucci also dug into the mans criminal history, seeking to undermine his credibility.

The witness admitted to being convicted of disorderly conduct in three separate cases last year in Brooklyn. In two of those cases, the witness was initially charged with criminal contempt for disobeying an order of protection.

The witness also acknowledged he has a rape case currently pending on Staten Island and a misdemeanor assault and menacing case pending in Brooklyn.

On the advice of his lawyer, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when queried further about those cases.

The man said he did not receive any incentives from prosecutors to testify.

The trial resumes Tuesday before Justice Mario F. Mattei.

Only Michael Cammarata is on trial. Egea will be tried separately.

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Strange texts and messages sent from victims phone take center stage at S.I. teacher slay trial - SILive.com

A triple-murder suspects ex-girlfriend was supposed to testify today. Why didn’t she? – Norwich Bulletin

NEW LONDON - Testimony expected on Thursday from the former girlfriend of a Hartford man accused of killingthree members of a Griswold family was put on hold as an evidence suppression hearing for Sergio Correa is poised to enter a second week.

Attorney Christopher Duby, appointed by the Public Defenders Office in New London Superior Court to assist the former girlfriend, Tanisha Vicento, was granted a week-long continuance by Judge Hunchu Kwak without objection from prosecutors or Correas defense team.

Vicento was scheduled to be the second witness called by Public Defenders Joe Lopez and Corrie-Ann Mainville after they elicited testimony from Correas step-sister and co-defendant on Wednesday. The suppression hearing began on Monday.

Mainville asked that she and Lopez be notified as soon as possible if Vicento was contemplating exercising her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination before she takes the stand.

Vicento, who was a key state witness during Correas 2019 probable cause hearingis again to fill that role when her ex-boyfriends trial begins in November.

Vicento is expected to be questioned about a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant she co-owned with Correa when they lived at a Donald Street apartment in December 2017. That's the same month Kenneth, Janet and Matthew Lindquist were murdered in and outside their 70 Kenwood Drive home.

The defense is seeking to exclude the vehicle and its contents from being presented as trial evidence, citing a lack of probable cause and exigent circumstances before its seizure by state police detectives on Dec. 28, 2017.

Police said items from the vehicle were traced back to the Lindquists home and Correas stepsister told police she and her brother used the car to drive to and from the crime scene on Dec. 20, 2017.

Probation officials previously said Vicento voluntarily signed a release form allowing them to search the car, and police said she gave over the vehicle keys willingly shortly after. Lopez seems to be suggesting Vicento was intimidated into cooperating with law enforcement officials - a scenario prosecutors contest.

During the 2019 probable cause hearing, Vicento tearfully recounted Correa alluding that he and his sibling killed Janet and Kenneth Lindquist. She recalled Correa leaving their bed the night of the killings and being unable to reach him by phone.

Hours later, she said Correa was back with their car.

He showed me something in the truck, she said. Two long guns, which I told him to get rid of. He said he buried one and got rid of the other.

Correas sister, Ruth Correa, who is cooperating with the state in exchange for a 40-year sentence on three counts of felony murder, previously confessed to helping her brother murder Matthew Lindquist as part of a scheme to steal guns from Kenneth Lindquists gun safe.

Ruth Correa confessed her brother brutally bludgeoned Kenneth Lindquist with a bat and beat and strangled Janet Lindquist before the siblings set the home ablaze. The couples badly burned bodies were found in the fire rubble, both showing signs of head trauma.

Vicento said Sergio Correa warned her days after the murders to stay away from his sister because she was crazy, she testified.

He said he did the dad and she did the mom, Vicento said. I didnt understand until I watched the news about a big fire and people had died.

Vicento said the Mitsubishi Galant she shared with Sergio Correa had for weeks contained a small metal bat, machete and empty gas can. Ruth Correa previously testified Matthew Lindquist was struck with a machete before the siblings stabbed him multiple times and left his body in a wooded area near the Lindquist home. His body was not discovered for months.

Vicento, who sobbed frequently throughout her testimony, said she recalled seeing Ruth Correa wearing new pieces of jewelry after the murdersand noticed her friend had a purple laptop in her apartment. Ruth Correa testified the laptop was stolen from the Lindquist home, but on the stand denied stealing any jewelry.

Vicento told police during a May 11, 2018 interview that when she confronted Sergio Correa regarding his whereabouts on the night of the murders, he explained his sister snapped and things went bad, according to an arrest warrant.

During a subsequent interview days later, Vicento, who seemed to have a close relationship with Ruth Correa, told detectives she became fearful for her life and the lives of her children after the probation search.

She said Sergio Correa told her he and his sister killed two people and burned the house down, the warrant states.

Sergio Correa ischarged with murder with multiple victims, three counts of felony murder, home invasion, first-degree robbery, first-degree arson and second-degree arson.

Editor's note: Attorney Christopher Duby's name was incorrect in a previous version of this story.

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at(860) 857-6965

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A triple-murder suspects ex-girlfriend was supposed to testify today. Why didn't she? - Norwich Bulletin

Can A Judge Overrule The Jury? – NewsPatrolling

Courtroom proceedings can be confusing for folks who are not well acquainted with legal affairs. One of the most common questions is whether the decision taken by the jury is final. People also want to know what could be their options if they feel that the jury decision is not consistent with the laws of the land. Such answers are a bit challenging to answer, as there are a number of factors involved. Here are some facts that can help get better clarity about whether a judge can overrule the jury verdict.

JNOV A judge overturning the jury decision is quite rare. However, it occurs from time to time. If the judge feels that the jurys decision is not backed by adequate evidence, they can overturn the Jury verdict. This is where JNOV (Judgment notwithstanding the Verdict) comes into the picture. In U.S. federal civil court cases, this reversal is referred to as renewed judgment as a matter of law. For criminal cases, the term used is judgment of acquittal. JNOV can also be used by a judge to amend the verdict instead of completely reversing it. JNOV is essentially a system of checks and balances to ensure that jury decisions are in line with existing laws.

Limited understanding of legal matters Most jury members have limited understanding of legal matters. In comparison, a judge has the requisite qualification and experience to better interpret evidence and arguments presented by the prosecutor and defendant. While respecting jury decision, a judge can make sure that the verdict is supported by adequate evidence and applicable laws.

Guilty and not guilty It is rare for a judge to overturn either guilty or not-guilty verdict given by the jury. However, exceptions can always be there. In case of guilty verdict, a judge can overrule it only if there is no proper evidence establishing the guilt. In case of not-guilty verdict, its extremely rare that a judge will change the decision. Thats because such an act will be in violation of the defendants basic rights, as expressed in Fifth Amendment and Sixth Amendment. However, there could be exceptions if theres clear evidence that establishes the guilt of the accused.

Biased jury decisions As jury comprises members from the community, it is possible that they may be influenced through misleading arguments of the prosecution. This is where the judge needs to keep a close watch. It is the judges responsibility to ensure that jury members are presented with facts and not conjectures or assumptions.

Last but not least, a judge can review compensation amount. A judge amending the jury decision is most common in cases where compensation is decided by the jury. It is possible that the jury may have awarded a much higher compensation than what was needed in the case. If the judge feels that the jury has acted based on emotional factors such as passion or revenge, they can change the compensation amount.

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Can A Judge Overrule The Jury? - NewsPatrolling