Monthly Archives: August 2020

Republican National Convention 2020: Fact-checking the second night – Detroit Free Press

Posted: August 30, 2020 at 2:51 am

First lady Melania Trump closes the second night of the Republican National Convention with an address on opportunity in America, but also division. Associated Press

The second night of the Republican National Convention painted a picture of a compassionate White House in action. But it also showed the blurring of long-standing traditions, and maybe laws, about not mixing politics and government.

President Donald Trump pardoned a man who robbed a Nevada bank and now runs a nonprofit. Trump conducted a small naturalization ceremony inside the White House. Mike Pompeo broke from previous secretaries of state by not only giving a convention address, but doing so from Jerusalem.

First lady Melania Trump wrapped up the night with a speech from the renovated Rose Garden, telling a largely unmasked audience seated on the lawn that her husbands administration has been relentless in its effort to find a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19.

"Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic," she said.

Before ending her address, she alluded to her husbands brash reputation. "Total honesty is what we as citizens deserve from our president," she said. "Whether you like it or not, you always know what he's thinking."

Her speech didnt leave much work for fact-checkers, but other remarks from the presidents adult children, a former impeachment lawyer and his economic adviser did.

Experts also hadplenty to sayabout top administration officials possibly violating the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that limits government officials from mixing political activities with their official duties.

Heres what we fact-checked from the RNCs second night.

Eric Trump, son of U.S. President Donald Trump, pre-records his address to the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium on August 25, 2020 in Washington, DC. 603791(Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

"Biden has pledged to defund the police and take away your cherished Second Amendment."

Both claims areFalse.

Biden has directlysaidhe does not support defunding the police. He said that abuse of power in police departments must stop and reforms are needed. But hes said police departments should be given the money they need to institute changes. Biden proposed an additional $300 million for community policing.

Bidensplan to end gun violencecalls for banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and for the regulation of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act. His plan also calls for a buy back of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. But it does not say the Second Amendment should be revoked. "Its within our grasp to end our gun violence epidemic and respect the Second Amendment, which is limited," his plan says.

In a heated exchange with an auto worker in Detroit in March, Bidenrejectedthe idea that he supported taking guns away from people.

"Biden has pledged to stop border wall construction and give amnesty and health care to all illegal immigrants."

Some elements of this claim are true but need clarification.

Biden hassaid"there will not be another foot of wall constructed" if he is elected president. "I'm going to make sure that we have border protection, but it's going to be based on making sure that we use high-tech capacity to deal with it and at the ports of entry," Biden said during aninterviewaired Aug. 6.

Bidensayshe supports a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living illegally in the country; they would have to have paid taxes and pass a background check. Some argue any path is a form of amnesty. Thecommon reference for amnestyin modern U.S. politics is the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, signed by President Ronald Reagan. The law paved the way for immigrants who were in the country illegally to become lawful permanent residents if they met certain requirements, including being in the country by Jan. 1, 1982.

Biden hassaidthat people should have access to health care, regardless of immigration status; he has not said it should be free. A task force comprised of appointees of Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.recommendedthat Biden extend Affordable Care Act coverage to immigrants illegally in the country who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It recommended allowing additional immigrants illegally in the country to also buy health insurance, without financial assistance from the government.

"My father on the other hand, delivered the largest tax cuts in American history."

False.Several billssince 1980 were larger than the2017 tax bill, measured not only by contemporary dollars but also by inflation-adjusted dollars and as a percentage of gross domestic product, which is a measure of the size of the overall economy. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the recent tax bill is the fourth-largest since 1940. And as a percentage of GDP, it ranks seventh.Weve summarized the tax laws here.

"A corrupt Ukrainian oligarch put Hunter on the board of his gas company, even though he had no experience in Ukraine or in the energy sector. None. Yet he was paid millions to do nothing."

Bondi has a point that Hunter hadno experience in Ukraine or the energy sector.

Despite the lack of expertise, he joined the board of Burisma beginning in 2014 when his father as vice president was publicly representing U.S. policy on the country, which had become the center of a tug-of-war between Russia and the West.

Most of thecriticismwevefoundfocused on the conflict of interest Hunter Biden created by accepting the position. We foundno evidenceto suggest Joe Biden did anything wrong or inappropriate in his official capacity as vice president.

Hunter Bidens work attracted attention at the time. Theoligarch behind the firm, Mykola Zlochevsky, faced investigations for money laundering and tax evasion. (Zlochevsky and the company have denied the allegations.)

Staff at the State Department said they expressed concerns in 2015 when Hunter Biden started serving on the board of Burisma.

The details of what Hunter did have been mysterious.Reuters, using unnamed sources, reported that Hunter weighed in during scheduled meetings but did little of substance. The report suggests he was compensated for contributing his high-profile name.

Exactly how much Hunter Biden was paid remains unclear. As a director, Biden made up to $50,000 per month some months,according tothe New York Times. He left Burisma in spring 2019, around the time that the elder Biden announced his 2020 presidential run.

In 2019, the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives launched animpeachment inquiryinto Trump for withholding aid to Ukraine while asking the government there to look into the Bidens activities.

Wefound no evidencethat Hunter Biden himself was investigated by Ukrainian or American authorities for his role as a board member of Burisma.

Read more of our fact-checking of Bondi's case against the Bidensin this story.

Tiffany Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020.(Photo: Republican National Convention)

"And if you believe in expanding quality and affordable healthcare, only President Trump, my father, signed Right to Try into law, the favored nations clause, and other actions to lower drug prices and keep Americans from getting ripped off."

This is somewhat misleading. TheRight to Try lawthat Trump signed in 2018 law allows individuals who have life threatening conditions, have tried all approved treatment options and cannot participate in clinical trials to access unapproved treatments. It did not, however, lower drug prices.

Trump also signed anexecutive orderon July 24, that both hehas referenced as the "favored nations clause." But it has not been put into action. Nor has the text of this executive order been made public, so the details of how it would be executed are unclear. The idea of the "favored nations" proposal is that the U.S. would pay similar prices as European countries do for some Medicare Part B physician-administered drugs. This proposal has been strongly opposed by drugmakers andexperts told usthey were skeptical that it would actually be implemented.

While Trump has long talked about lowering drug prices as one of his top health care goals, he has made little progress in doing so, outside of issuing several executive orders that have yet to be enacted.

Says Joe Biden "voted for the Iraq War He supported war in Serbia, Syria, Libya."

This isMostly True.

Biden as a senator voted for resolutions that supported interventions in Iraq and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).

As vice president, Biden publicly followed the policies of the Obama administration, which included interventions in Syria and Libya. Bidens campaign pointed to 2016 reporting that said Biden within the White House argued against intervention in Libya.

President Donald Trump inherited "a stagnant economy" and then "rebuilt" it.

The idea that Trump inherited a weak economy from President Barack Obama and turned it into a strong one isFalse and that was before COVID-19 through the country back into a recession. In the big picture, Obama inherited the most severe recession in decades. Trump inherited a slow but steady recovery several years in the making.

For instance, for unemployment rates and median weeks of unemployment, the declines under Obama were at least as fast if not faster than they were under Trump, pre-coronavirus. That holds for several racial and ethnic groups as well as women. The pattern of monthly job gains was also similar under both Obama and Trump.

Inflation-adjusted wages fell for much of Obamas first term, but they began rising again during his second term. Their path under Trump has been rising on much the same trajectory.

The poverty rate and food stamp use declined under Trump, but those declines began during Obamas final years in office. The big declines in foreclosures, bankruptcies and bank failures occurred under Obama, with marginal advances under Trump. Even the stock market, which Trump often notes has risen to record highs on his watch, rose at roughly similar rates under both presidents.

Its important to remember that no president has total control over the factors affecting the economy.

The pandemic "was awful. Health and economic impacts were tragic. Hardship and heartbreak were everywhere. But presidential leadership came swiftly and effectively, with an extraordinary rescue for health and safety to successfully fight the coronavirus."

To hear chief White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow say it, the pandemic is in the rearview mirror. There are states, such as Texas and Florida, where a deadly surge has eased. Nationally, however, the death toll continues to climb.

Data from theCovid Tracking Projectshow deaths topping 170,000. And the recent rise in deaths is only slightly less compared with the early months of the pandemic.

TheInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluationat the University of Washington estimates that the number of deaths will exceed 300,000 by Dec. 1. That would be nearly double the deaths seen so far.

Kudlow offered an optimistic picture of the economic recovery and the growth to come, telling Americans to expect 20% growth in a "V-shaped recovery" in the second half of the year.

But much hinges on the course of the virus. Current trends show an ongoing threat to the prosperity Kudlow described.

"Margaret Sanger was a racist who believed in eugenics. Her goal when founding Planned Parenthood was to eradicate minorities."

This statementis misleading.Sanger has been routinely criticized for supporting eugenics the belief of improving the population by controlled breeding for desirable characteristics. But historians and scholars who have studied Sangers life say her opinions concerned public health, and were not specific to race.

The basic concept that humanity could be improved by selective breeding was firmly held belief for many in the years before World War II. Winston Churchill, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt, George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells all supported the eugenics movement. The philosophy fell out of favor afterNazis adopted eugenicsto support exterminating non-Aryan races.

Still, Planned Parenthoodrecently announcedthat it would remove Sangers name from its Manhattan Health Center over her eugenics beliefs, and there issome disagreementabout her views and whether they should be reevaluated amid protests against systemic racism and a pandemic that has disproportionately affected minorities.

Sanger was a birth control activist, which means that she wanted women to be able to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The historical record shows she worked for women of all classes and races to have that choice.

Those who call Sanger a racist often cite her work on what was called the Negro Project, an effort that started in 1939 that brought birth control services (but not abortion) to Black communities in the south. Black leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois and Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council of Negro Women, were members of its advisory council.

Louis Jacobson, Amy Sherman, Samantha Putterman, Jon Greenberg, Miriam Valverde and Kaiser Health News reporter Victoria Knight contributed to this report. Photos by the Associated Press.

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Ascension Michigan health system to lay off and outsource 223 IT jobs in Troy – Detroit Free Press

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An information technology division within AscensionMichigan, formerly known as St. John Providence Health System, plans to lay off 223 workers in Troy this fall and outsourcetheir jobs.

An executive with Ascension Technologiesnotified state officials this week about the layoffs, which are planned to begin Oct. 24. The affected employees work at the organization's Network Operations Center and Service Desk, which has anoffice in the North Troy Corporate Park, 800 Tower Drive.

Those who can't find different work within Ascension will get severances, the layoff notice said. Some of the affected workers also could get hired by the new vendor.

AnAscension representative on Wednesdaywouldn't provide further details about the layoffs or identify thevendor.

In a recent blog post, Ascension's Chief Information Officer Gerry Lewis said the health system will be shifting some of its IT jobs to outside vendors as part of Ascension's "digital transformation."

Ascension Michigan's hospitals include Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield.(Photo: Ascension Michigan)

"These transitions will enable us to design, deliver and innovate the best end-to-end customer and clinician experience, using best practices and industry standards, while being good stewards of our resources," Lewis wrote in the post.

More: Trinity Health Michigan lays off, furloughs another 1,000 employees

More: Michigan unemployment claims decline, but are 4 times higher than before coronavirus

Ascension Michigan is part of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, a nonprofit Catholic health system.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Ascension Health has received $815 million in grants and $1.3 billion in loans through the federal CARES Act relief package, according to the website COVID Stimulus Watch.

Contact JC Reindlat 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@jcreindl. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.

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Everything you need to know about David Blaines new stunt, Ascension – British GQ

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Ever since I was a kid, Ive dreamed of flying, David Blaine intones in the trailer for his new stunt, Ascension. Clearly nobody told him about aeroplanes, because Blaine recently announced plans to fly high over the Hudson River, which divides New York from New Jersey, in what he has described as his most ambitious project. And this is coming from a man who spent seven days buried alive in a coffin, stood encased in a block of ice for 63 hours, went without food for 44 days and held his breath live on TV for 17 minutes. Heres everything you need to know about Ascension.

Depending on your age, Blaines going to do a sort of tribute act to either Mary Poppins or Pixars Up by floating over the Hudson strapped underneath a bunch of helium balloons at approximately 25,000 feet on 31 August. Blaine has said he hopes to reach the height of Mount Everest, which is 29,029 feet high.

Live on YouTube on 31 August. Presumably, if youre near the river on the day, you might be able to watch it in person, but Blaine hasnt been able to confirm a location yet due to varied wind conditions.

Its hard not to imagine the glee with which the websites execs will be looking forward to the viewing figures; whether the man falls to his death like poor Franz Reichelt or floats sedately across the river to touch down safely on the other side, the spectacle sounds pretty amazing.

Obviously, the frisson of excitement comes from the fact that we dont really know. Even by Blaines standards, this is pretty ambitious he told Joe Rogan on the latters podcast that it was a crazy idea and recounted a series of horrendous stories about his near-misses and injuries sustained during preparation. It has also been pointed out just quite how alone he will be during his flight, unlike his other stunts when he had assistance and emergency services on hand at every point, though he will have emergency oxygen on hand during the flight.

But, given how accomplished an illusionist Blaine is, wed put money on it being a resounding success. Blaines taken serious steps to prepare, including 500 skydives, earning a hot-air balloon pilot certificate and a different, unspecified qualification for flying helium balloons. He has also learned to read the wind, which initially sounds like something out of an anime, but is probably quite useful if hes ever planning on becoming a pilot or yachtsman.

A short shopping list of first-year medical degree terminology, most notably hypoxia, where a lack of oxygen causes the mind to slow and thinking becomes confused, and hypothermia, which you probably know about already. Then theres the less scientific balloon failure situation, which would result in his swift transformation into a pavement pizza somewhere in suburban Newark, NJ. Blaines not wearing a parachute to go up into the air, initially, because he wants the visual image to look like his childhood dream of holding on to the balloons and floating, but he will put one on once hes above 1,000 feet. Alternatively, the helium balloons can just keep on rising and rising until they reach an upper limit of 84,000 feet, roughly twice the altitude a commercial aeroplane cruises at.

Not really, no. Many illusionists, mentalists, confidence tricksters, hypnotists and endurance stuntmen reject the idea of claiming their achievements are magic, if that means anything like done with powers that defy the laws of science. Blaine is no different and will carry out the stunt with a huge team of experts backing him up, including the weather experts, aerial engineers and (hilariously, especially when said in Blaines deadpan delivery) the worlds leading balloonists. So, all in all, hes in good hands.

David Blaine: Ascension will broadcast live on YouTube on 31 August.

A look back at Derren Browns most inexplicable tricks and stunts

Dynamo on his return to TV and his battle with Crohns disease

Everything you need to know about the Emmys 2020

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Ground-Breaking Ceremony for Ascension Saint Thomas New Salem Surgery Center – rutherfordsource.com

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Leaders from Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, United Surgical Partners International (USPI), and the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce were among those in attendance at Thursdays 12 PM ground-breaking ceremony for the highly anticipated Ascension Saint Thomas New Salem Surgery Center.

The multi-speciality ambulatory care center is a joint-venture between Ascension Saint Thomas and United Surgical Partners International, the nations largest ambulatory services provider with over 400 facilities. USPI serves more than 3.4 million patients per year. The Ascension Saint Thomas New Salem Surgery Center will span 13,000 square feet on 3 acres at the southwest corner of New Salem Highway and St. Andrews Drive in Murfreesboro.

Opening remarks were provided by Kelli Beam, Vice President of Membership Development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, who discussed Rutherford Countys growing healthcare needs. Gordon Ferguson, President and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, explained how the new surgery center complements the recent hospital expansion by providing an access point for convenient care in the heart of the New Salem community. Dr. Lindsay Keith of Ascension Medical Group/Saint Thomas Medical Partners attended on behalf of the facilitys group of physician investors. The blessing of the ground was led by Tracey Biles, Vice President of Mission Integration for Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, and was followed by ceremonial shoveling of the dirt. Chris Hartshorn, Market President for United Surgical Partners International, gave closing remarks.

Project completion is expected in 2021.

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5th Ward volunteer firefighters win top honors at firefighter’s banquet – The Advocate

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The annual Firefighters Banquet hosted by four Knights of Columbus chapters in east Ascension looked a bit different this year due to the coronavirus.

Attendance to the July 29 banquet, which usually includes firefighters and their families from around the area, was limited to only the fire department winners and chief officers.

Each departments' firefighter of the year was honored, said master of ceremonies James E. LeBlanc, fire chief for the St. Amant and 5th Ward departments.

Parish President Clint Cointment was the guest speaker for the banquet, hosted by St. Theresa, Our Lady of Holy Rosary, St. Mark and St. John the Evangelist Catholic churches.

Aaron Gautreaux was named overall Firefighter of the Year and Cameron Everett won the Junior Firefighter of the Year award. Both are from 5th Ward Volunteer Fire Department.

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Ascension Parish ‘so fortunate’; major impacts avoided in Assumption, St. James, officials say – The Advocate

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Ascension Parish suffered minor impacts after Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron Parish early Thursday morning but officials remained on alert throughout the day.

Sheriff Bobby Webre reported roads that were blocked with downed trees had been already cleared Thursday morning and power outages affected fewer than 1,000 households then.

"We've been so fortunate," Webre said.

He said residents and local officials had a lot of time to prepare and it showed.

Entergy restored power earlier on Thursday to 200 people in Sorrento and was working on outages in Gonzales and north of the city. DEMCO has reported that fewer than 50 customers lost power.

The parish is still dealing with lingering bands from the hurricane that could bring some wind and rain.

Parish government officials announced Thursday afternoon that all parish employees should report back to work Friday.

In Ascension, Friday's are half days for many employees. Many employees were directed to work from home on Thursday, with some key exception for the storm response.

The parish's Emergency Operations Center was partially activated Thursday, and Public Works and law enforcement officials, and the storm tracking team are located.

The Citizens Service Center is staffed and open for non-emergency calls at (225) 450-1200. For emergencies, call 911.

In Assumption Parish, a possible tornado was reported by the National Weather Service to have touched down Wednesday in Paincourtville, but local officials said Thursday they were unable to find any damage.

John Boudreaux, the parish homeland security director, said the twister matted down sugar cane stalks in fields in the small community along Bayou Lafourche and off La. 70 and La. 1 but did not uproot them.

He said he doubts the tornado actually touched the ground but speculated it could have been heavy winds.

Boudreaux added the parish has weathered Laura with no significant damage nor any house flooding. Storm surge from Laura pushed backwater into the Lake Verret basin up 6 inches. The spring floods were worse.

St. James Parish escaped the impacts of the hurricane, with no power outages and no road closures, officials said.

We were fortunate and fared very well, Eric Deroche, director of the parishs Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said.

According to the National Weather Service, a weather station at the Louisiana Regional Airport south of Gonzales saw 0.7 inches of rain since 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Winds have been strongest Thursday morning. Sustained winds have remained around 20 mph to 30 mph, with gusts of 30 mph to 40 mph.

As of 10 p.m. Thursday, the highest gust reported so far popped up for the 8:15 a.m. measurement at 41 mph.

Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment reported in a statement shortly before noon that all pumping stations are still staffed, including Sorrento, Marvin Braud and Henderson Bayou. The floodgates at Frog Bayou are also closed, protecting homeowners in the Spanish Lake area and Ridge Road.

Sand and bag locations remain open and the animals from the parish animal shelter, Cara's Houe, remains at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center is on standby alert.

Cointment said the parish remains under a flash flood watch, a tornado watch, a wind advisory, and a coastal flood watch until at least 7 p.m. Friday.

The threat is not over yet! Be vigilant and be alert, he said.

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Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Partners with Rutherford County to Deliver On-Site, Near-Site Clinic Care – Wgnsradio

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Murfreesboro, Tenn. - On September 1, Ascension Saint Thomas will officially partner with Rutherford County to provide on-site and near-site clinic services at three sites of care for Rutherford County employees, the employees dependents and County retirees.The near-site clinics are located at:

Walter Hill Elementary Stewarts Creek Elementary, Ascension Medical Group New Salem Clinic.

Rutherford County Government employees and their dependents as well as County retirees will be offered a full service primary care practice offering services including:

Disease Management and Health Coaching Medical Examinations and Assessments Health/Self-care/Consumer Education and Promotion Administration of Health and Wellness Incentive Programs Acute Care and Primary Care Case Management Services Retail Availability for Extended Clinic Services Telemedicine Mobile Health Unit Mobile Mammography

This unique partnership of on-site and near-site clinics with Rutherford County is an example of Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford's overall commitment to care for the community it serves, said Gordon Ferguson, President & CEO, Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford. We look forward to the opportunity to work with the County to keep our community members healthy.

County employees, their dependents, and our retirees are fortunate to have Ascension as a valuable healthcare asset, said Mayor Bill Ketron. We are excited about the addition of the new clinic as well.

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UFC on ESPN+ 33 breakdown: Will Aleksandar Rakic resume his ascension against Anthony Smith? – MMA Junkie

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The main event in Las Vegas features a fun light heavyweight matchup between two men who love to punctuate their presence on the feet.

Embracing more of a traditional muay Thai arsenal, Anthony Smith brings a well-rounded skill set of violence to the table. Carrying a menacing feel to the way in which he marches down his opposition, Smith is capable of making pressure his friend, using it to fuel his forward assaults.

Despite his long reach and frame, the Nebraska native does a deceptively good job at changing his ranges on strikes mid-stroke or combination, following fleeing opponents when appropriate. Traditionally favoring to fight on the inside, Smith keeps an array of unforgiving elbows and knees at the ready, especially when going into or off of clinch breaks.

However, since working more exclusively with coaches like Marc Montoya and James Krause, Smith has also shown an improved jab and overall striking process, using it to either set up or disrupt offense. That said, defense has not typically been Smiths strongest suit, which means he will need to mind the returns of Aleksandar Rakic.

Utilizing his long and athletic frame, Rakics striking base shines through in his flexibility of approach.

In his first few fights under the UFC banner, Rakic demonstrated an ability to pressure effectively behind his kickboxing, mixing in leg kicks and level-changing takedown threats to boot. And in his latest outing opposite Volkan Oezdemir, Rakic showed more of his countering savvy, electing to play a bit more on the outside as he looked to come over the shoulders or underneath the guard off of Oezdemirs offense.

Although Rakic clearly carries the confidence of a young fighter, the 28-year-old, to his credit, does well at staying defensively aware (relative to his contemporaries, anyways). Whether he is rolling his head off crosses or slipping off of the lead side, Rakic does a decent job of moving his head and maintaining the range to his liking.

Regardless if Rakic looks to come forward or counter, I suspect hell be looking for the uppercut given the success Glover Teixeira had with it against Smith. But if Rakic starts to slip or look too liberally for his shots, then he runs the risk of eating a sweeping head kick or hook from his formidable foe.

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Around Ascension for Aug. 26, 2020 | Ascension | theadvocate.com – The Advocate

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Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign

The Ascension Parish Sheriffs Office has announced its participation in the Louisiana Highway Safety Commissions Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over traffic safety campaign. Additional deputies, whose primary focus will be to locate and arrest impaired drivers, will be on duty, according to a news release. During the Labor Day holiday period, there is a higher likelihood of impaired drivers on the roadway. This increases the potential for alcohol related crashes involving serious injury or death, the release said.

The additional patrols run until Sept. 7, in efforts to detect, stop and arrest alcohol impaired drivers. Deputies will also conduct traffic enforcement activities to promote safe and attentive driving.

Terrariums first became popular in the 1970s. Make your own decorative terrariums with sand, gravel, rocks and moss and design it with any dcor that will fit into the jar. Stop by at any Ascension Parish Library location during September to pick up your terrarium packet. Call the library in Donaldsonville, at (225) 473-8052; Gonzales, (225) 647-3955; Dutchtown,(225) 673-8699; or Galvez at 622-3339 for the details. Crafts will be available on a first come, first served basis.

As part of efforts to fight litter and clean up Ascension Parish, President Clint Cointment announced that Ascension Parish is accepting white goods at the Recycling Center on Churchpoint Road.

White goods are any large machines used in routine housekeeping, such as cooking, food preservation or cleaning, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting. White goods include refrigerators, freezers, stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers and water heaters.

Cointment said the parish has been accepting scrap metal and has a separate bin specifically designated for metals.

The Recycling Center is at the Department of Public Works headquarters, 42077 Churchpoint Road in Gonzales. Operating hours are Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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East Ascension Spartans looking for more in 2020; championship is team goal – The Advocate

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The East Ascension Spartans did not finish the 2019 football season as planned, after losing to Ruston in the second round of the 5A playoffs. The team goal for this season is to win a state championship.

Coach Darnell Lee begins his fifth season as the head coach and with so many unknowns heading into an abbreviated season, much is left to ponder. Like most teams, we did not have a spring, 7 on 7 workouts or a normal off-season, these are the times we are in," Lee said.

The Spartans were 9-3 last season and lost some key players, talented guys that are now preparing for college football. Wide receivers Jyrin Johnson (Texas Southern) and Steven McBride (Kansas) will certainly be missed on offense, as well as quarterback Cameron Jones.

Returning to lead the Spartan offense at the skill positions are quarterback Kullen Wheat, running back Kendall Washington, H-back Jaquel Mack and wide receivers Navell Chopin, Troy Dunn and Jordan Goodlow. Add in running back Walter Samuel and athlete Kael Babin to an already explosive offense. That group of names will certainly keep a defensive coordinator up all night trying to devise a plan to slow them down.

A definite strength of our team will be on the offensive line to protect our QB and open holes for our skilled guys, said Lee.

The offensive line will be physical and big. Projected starters include DezMond Schuster (65 300), Gavin Soniat (61 295), Marcus Banks (61 295), Nico Williams (64 265) and Jayven Richardson (66 255). Thats an average of 282 pounds across the front.

Ethan Bagwell was the punter last season and has graduated, Evan Kern will handle those duties. Logan Kern returns as the kicker and is solid.

Defense wins championships is a slogan we always hear when it comes to football, if that is the case, then the Spartans are in great shape heading into 2020. Gone from last years defense is Javon Carter (Grambling) and DaJon Jones (Dodge City CC). The defense is loaded with pieces that have the potential to form a very good defense. The defensive line returns Ashton Milton (320), Demarcus Ester (295) and Jerrell Boykins (290). Boykins is listed as a 3-star recruit that has several colleges hoping he commits to them.

We have experience returning on this defense and it starts up front, the defensive line is a strength, the coach said.

The linebackers include Blake Thompson, Rionte Jones, Marcellus Taylor and Brenton Ragusa. A solid group of linebackers that can run and tackle in space. Jones returns as the leading tackler. The secondary has talent but several new faces and names. We have some youth in the secondary, they are talented players, Lee said.

Justin Walker, Jalen McBride, Antwon Foster and Rashaad Barnes are the projected starters. Due to the season beginning later, we will all miss out on a great week 1 and 2 matchup, the Spartans were set to play Zachary and Haughton respectively. One thing about the Spartans, they dont shy away from competition. Non-district games against Warren Easton and St. Charles will prepare the Spartans for arguably the toughest district in 5A. District 5-5A includes Catholic, McKinley and Woodlawn plus rivals Dutchtown and St. Amant.

The Spartans have all the makings for a championship run, following the lead of their head coach will be vital in achieving the ultimate goal in 2020, a state championship.

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East Ascension Spartans looking for more in 2020; championship is team goal - The Advocate

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