Monthly Archives: April 2022

Editor's note: Catch Randy Martinson and AgweekTV's Michelle Rook every Friday after markets close on the Agweek Market Wrap at agweek.com.

The first week of April posted strong gains, with many contracts gaining back most of the previous weeks losses. Does this mean we are continuing to trade headlines? Yes, it probably does. But this week the headlines started to increase as it was more than just the war in Ukraine that gave the market direction.

The smaller than expected acreage estimate continued to add support. The Prospective Plantings projections estimated lower than expected acreage for spring wheat, corn and canola. This has helped those markets consistently trade to new contract highs as they attempt to try to buy more acres. According to the projections, the only markets that can lose acreage are durum and soybeans.

But like Murphys law, if something can go wrong, it usually does. That seems to be the motto for agriculture the past few years. To add to the acreage surprise, spring does not seem to want to arrive. Wintery weather continues to dominate the northern Plains while cold, wet conditions plague the Corn Belt. To add insult, the southern Plains are being supported by expanding drought concerns.

The first week of April ended with the release of USDAs April crop production report . Usually, the April report does not bring much attention to the grains, but it seems this is a year when all of USDAs reports will demand attention.

The numbers from the April report were in line with expectations and did nothing for the grains as it brought nothing new to the table. As expected, the wheat estimate was bearish, negative corn, and neutral soybeans.

The April crop production estimate was bearish wheat. USDA made no changes to 2020 but did make some adjustments to the 2021 numbers. USDA reduced feed demand 10 million bushels and cut wheat exports 15 million bushels. The 25 million bushel decrease in demand followed through to show up as an increase in ending stocks, now estimated at 678 million bushels, which was 25 million bushels above expectations. The national average price for wheat did increase 10 cents to $7.60.

On the world stage, wheat world ending stocks were estimated at 278.4 million metric tons, which was 3 million metric tons below expectations and 3 million metric tons below the previous month.

The report was negative corn as it brought nothing new to the table. The report showed no changes to the 2020 balance sheet, but some reallocations were made in 2021. For 2021 USDA reduced feed demand 25 million bushels but increased ethanol demand 25 million bushels. That left corns ending stocks estimate unchanged at 1.44 billion bushels, 35 million bushels above expectations. The national average price for corn was increased 15 cents to $5.80.

On the world stage, corn stocks were estimated at 305.5 million metric tons, 5.4 million metric tons above expectations and 4.5 million metric tons above the previous month. Chinas imports were trimmed 3 million metric tons. Brazils production was increased 2 million metric tons to 116 million metric tons, 1 million metric tons above expectations. Argentinas production was estimated at 53 million metric tons, 1.5 million metric tons above expectations but unchanged from last month. Ukraines export pace was trimmed 4.5 million metric tons.

The report was neutral soybeans as most numbers came in as expected. U.S. ending stocks for soybeans came in at 260 million bushels, 25 million bushels lower than last month and right at the number the trade expected (exports were increased by 25 million bushels). The average farm price was left unchanged at $13.25.

For South America, Brazils production was lowered by 2 million metric tons to 125 million metric tons (right in line with trade estimates) and Argentinas production was left unchanged at 43.5 million metric tons (that was 900,000 metric tons higher than the trade expected).

World ending stocks were estimated at 89.6 million metric tons, 400,000 metric tons lower than last month but 1.4 million metric tons more than the trade expected. Chinas imports were reduced by 3 million metric tons to 91 million metric tons (that is 8.8 million metric tons lower than the prior year). USDA also went back and increased Brazils 2020-21 production by 1.5 million metric tons to 139.5 million metric tons.

Profit taking hit the corn market early this week, but corn is on a mission to buy acreage. The smaller than expected planting intentions estimate sent a shock wave through the corn market. At this point, with the numbers that have been released, new crop corn stocks could be below 1 billion bushels, which is pipeline supplies. Part of the short crop issue in the US will be alleviated by Brazil as their second corn crop looks good. Good enough that CONAB increased their production estimate for Brazils corn 3.2 million metric tons to 115.6 million metric tons.

Soybeans continue to see strong demand and that will likely continue after July as in the short-term South America will start to be the favorite source for export soybeans. But the issues in Brazil are not over. With over 80% of the soybeans in Brazil harvested, CONAB took the easy road and dropped production estimates 400,000 metric tons to 122.4 million metric tons, thinking that it will be easier to just make any adjustments once the crop is in the bin.

Weather is starting to become a bit more supportive. If the forecasts are correct, it might be a while before producers in the northern Plains and Corn Belt will get into the fields. Above average precip is expected to bless the northern Plains and Corn Belt through the third week of April followed by a week of much below normal temps. The combination of rain and cold will keep fields saturated and likely delay the 2022 planting season until the first week of May.

The delays have traders concerns that we could see further reductions in spring wheat and corn acreage. This helped both September Minneapolis wheat and December corn trade to new contract highs. Winter wheat is also posting strong gains as warm and dry conditions continue to cause declining conditions in the southern Plains.

Russia has pulled their forces out of the northern regions of Ukraine and is now focusing its efforts on the southeast region. NATO is estimating that this war will likely last months, or possibly years. Putin is quoted as saying that the peace talks are dead and that the only way the war ends is with Russia in control.

The war has caused a shortage of world vegetable oil supplies. Russia and Ukraine are the largest producers of sunflowers in the world, producing 90% of the crop and supplying the world with 50% of its sunflower oil. The war has stopped the exporting of sunflower oil and has caused a significant increase in other veg oil productions. The lower production of canola in Canada and soybeans in South America added to the shortage. By the end of the first quarter of 2022, canola prices were up 72%, palm up 61%, and sunflower oil was up 44%.

In an attempt to lower the expense at the pump, the Biden administration made the announcement in Iowa that the administration will waive the restrictions on E15 allowing it to be sold between June 1 and Sept. 15. This is supportive to both ethanol and corn.

The rally in the grains continued at the start of the second week of April. The market accelerated its gains midweek with support coming from a friendly Crop Progress report. The April 11 Crop Progress report confirmed what most were expecting, which was slow progress. The report also showed something most were not expecting: a slight improvement in winter wheat conditions. Corn planting progress advanced ever so lightly last week. As of April 10, 2% of the nations corn was planted, unchanged from the previous week and slightly behind the average pace to 3%. Sorghum planting progress is at 14% versus 16% average. Oats planting progress is at 29% versus 32% average.

Winter wheat heading is estimated at 5% versus 4% last week and 6% average. Winter wheat crop conditions improved 2% to 32% good/excellent. Colorado improved 1%, Kansas 2%, Montana 5%, Oklahoma 7%, while Texas was unchanged. Although the crop improved slightly, the rating is still the second lowest for this time in 20 years. Spring wheat planting progress was at 6% versus 5% average and barley was 11% planted versus 8% average.

Cattle continued to lose ground the first week of April with selling tied to the higher grains complex and lack of a cash trade. Economic concerns are also weighing heavy on the cattle market as the average consumers disposable income gets gobbled up by higher gas and higher interest rates. Technical buying stepped in to help push the cattle market higher the second week of April. A stronger cash trade added support. Supplies remains tight and will likely get tighter as beef cow slaughter for the first three months of 2022 is running 16% above last year, which is also the highest pace since 1986.

The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies, is not indicative of future results.

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Markets move on weather, war and slow planting progress - Agweek

Its been one year since Jane Fraser made her first big strategic moves as Citigroups CEO, and what was already a challenging environment has become even more difficult in recent months.

U.S. inflation is the highest its been in four decades, and interest rates are expected to soar and could dampen loan demand. Meanwhile, Russias war in Ukraine has created economic uncertainty across the world, which in many sectors is still grappling with a pandemic thats in its third year.

Citis first-quarter earnings report reflected some of those challenges total revenues were down, expenses were up, and the company set aside $1.9 billion in credit reserves to help shield against direct and indirect exposures in Russia. Those factors drove the $2.4 trillion-asset global banks net income down 46% from the same quarter last year.

But behind the negative headline numbers, the company appears to be on target with its efforts to simplify operations and focus on high-performing businesses to deliver larger shareholder returns.

Ten of the 13 overseas consumer franchises that were put up for sale a year ago have either found buyers or will be wound down by Citi, while the companys exit from retail banking in Mexico, which was announced in January, is moving forward with very preliminary talks with potential buyers, Fraser told analysts Thursday during the banks first-quarter earnings call.

Bloomberg

At the same time, the bank continues to hire commercial and investment bankers and client advisors as well as invest in new technology for its treasury services, wealth management, cards and other businesses, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said.

And it remains laser-focused on overhauling its risk management and internal controls infrastructure, which came under fire in the fall of 2020 when the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued consent orders after identifying certain deficiencies in the system. The OCC also imposed a $400 million civil money penalty.

On Thursday, Fraser pointed to the progress being made in both offloading the overseas franchises, which Citi says are too small to compete effectively, and upgrading and investing in the risk management infrastructure.

If theres any comfort from our numbers, [its that] were getting on with it, Fraser said. Were not hanging around here.

For the quarter, Citi reported total revenues of $19.2 billion, down 2% year over year due in part to a 43% slide in investment banking fees, which fell amid the contraction of capital markets over the past two months. Expenses rose to $13.2 billion, an increase of 15% from the year-earlier period, or 10% excluding costs related to the companys sale of consumer franchises in Asia.

The uptick in expenses was not unexpected. During an investor day in March, the $2.4 trillion-asset company warned investors that costs in the first quarter would rise 10-12%, excluding any impact from the divestitures of certain consumer businesses.

On Thursday,Mason stood firm on the guidance he gave last month on full-year revenues and expenses, saying revenue growth should be in the low-single-digit range while expenses should come in at the mid-single-digit range. Analyst Steven Chubak of Wolfe Research wondered why the bank did not revise upward its revenue projection, given the number of interest rate hikes that are presumed to take place this year.

The puts and takes that have played through the quarter are one factor as is the fact that theres still a fair amount of uncertainty thats out there, Mason said.

So while there have been increases as it relates to rates and weve seen and expect to see some benefit play through for that, theres also been an impact on banking revenues as we see the uncertainty creating a dynamic where corporate clients are pausing, particularly as it relates to equity capital markets and debt capital markets, Mason said. There are offsets that play out and so we felt comfortable kind of maintaining the guidance on the revenue top line.

Unlike JPMorgan Chase, which added loan-loss reserves for the first time in two years, Citis recorded a moderate net reserve release of $612 million. Cost of credit totaled $755 million.

Net interest income was $10.9 million for the quarter, an increase of 3% from the year-earlier period. Earnings per share were $2.02, beating the average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet Research Systems by 59 cents.

Much of Citis business strategy revamp stems from longtime investor pressure on the company to achieve higher shareholder returns, which have lagged its big-bank peers. Citis return on tangible common equity was 10.5% for the quarter, compared with JPMorgans 16%.

While one analyst on the call said Citis expenses were high, another said the bank appears to be making steady progress on what it committed to at the investor day.

There are higher expenses, but .. asset-quality metrics remain strong, and [we welcome] a more simplified organization, Michael McTamney of DBRS Morningstar said in an interview.

While Cits approach so far seems right, theres a lot left on the to-do list, McTamney said.

They seem to be heading in the right direction, but time will tell, he said.

Continued here:

Behind its negative headline numbers, Citi shows signs of progress - American Banker

The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival is the culmination of talent competitions in art, creative writing, dance, drama and music for Veterans treated in the VA national health care system.

Veterans exhibit their artwork and original writings, or perform musical, dance or dramatic selections in a live stage show performance. All Veterans invited to participate are selected winners of year-long, national fine arts talent competitions. Thousands of Veterans enter from VA medical facilities across the nation.

Annual competition recognizes progress and recovery

The festival is co-presented by VA and the American Legion Auxiliary.

VA medical facilities incorporate creative arts into their therapy programs to further the rehabilitation goals for both inpatients and outpatients. This annual competition recognizes the progress and recovery made through that therapy. It also raises the visibility of the creative achievements of our nations Veterans.

First place winners of the 2021 competition will be recognized at the 41stNational Veterans Creative Arts Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida, April 20 through 24. This years event is being hosted by the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System.

Creative arts therapies in VA are comprised of distinct, professionally trained, credentialed therapists in art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy and music therapy.

Our services offer Veterans comprehensive creative arts therapies using creative modalities and clinical treatment interventions to promote recovery, rehabilitation and wellness. Creative arts therapy treatment objectives target improved cognition and sensorimotor function, emotional resilience, social and coping skills.

Creative arts therapists strive to facilitate Veterans engagement in their community. They also provide a sense of achievement and channel energies into productive forms of behavior.

Across the country each year, Veterans enrolled at VA health care facilities compete in a local creative arts competition. The competition includes categories in the visual arts division that range from oil painting to leatherwork to paint-by-number kits. There are also categories in writing, as well as the performing arts of dance, drama and music.

Local creative arts competition first-place winning entries advance to a national judging process. There, first, second and third place entries in each category are determined. Selected gold medal-winning Veterans are invited to attend the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, which is hosted by a different VA facility each year.

Art therapists use art media, the Veterans creativity and the resulting artwork to assist Veterans with introspection. That introspection helps reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem.

Dance therapy helps Veterans explore emotional and social integration.

Dance/movement therapists use movement to help Veterans explore their physical, emotional, cognitive and social integration in a therapeutic care setting. Dance/movement therapy provides a means for assessment and mode of intervention through expressive, communicative and adaptive body movement.

Drama therapists use drama and theater processes to address therapeutic goals by providing a context for Veterans to set goals, express themselves, tell their stories and solve problems. This therapeutic approach can help Veterans actively explore their self-awareness and enhance their interpersonal skills.

Music therapists use clinical music interventions, such as active music listening, singing, playing, creating and improvising through various music modalities to accomplish Veterans treatment goals for their physical, emotional, cognitive and social/emotional health and well-being.

Through education, clinical training, research and practical experience, creative arts therapists treat Veterans with neurological, orthopedic, medical, surgical and mental health conditions.

Programs offer opportunities for functional rehabilitation and recovery via clinical interventions, education, counseling, training and discharge planning with a holistic approach to recovery and community integration.

For more about VAs Recreation Therapy and Creative Arts Therapy Service, visit http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/rectherapy/.

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Veterans Creative Arts Festival recognizes Veterans' progress and recovery - VAntage Point - VAntage Point Blog

That escalated quickly.

Days after the inexplicably idle mega-billionaire and chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX announced that he had bought a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter and would join its board, wait no hes not doing that; Musk wants the whole damn thing.

In a tweet, Musk disclosed that he served Twitter an offer to buy its remaining stock at $54 per share, confirming murmurs that his endgame and it is a game for him is a hostile takeover of one of the worlds most prominent social networks.

Its still a mystery how Musk plans to execute his grand plans at Twitter while competently helming two large, ambitious tech companies, but the worlds richest man apparently didnt have enough to keep him busy. Not content to simultaneously run two tech companies, Musk is aiming for three. And that could be very bad news, both for a platform that was finally starting to move in a healthy direction and the team thats taking it there.

Twitter isnt perfect. Its always been both things the terrible hell site and the one that occasionally gives us moments of transcendence. During Russias bloody invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Twitter has been both a nexus of misinformation and a vital aggregator of real-time open source intelligence about the war. Much like, in its last era, Jack Dorsey was both a self-serious aloof tech mystic and one who occasionally had moments of real moral clarity that reverberated through the platform and its policies.

Musk isnt just the antithesis of the leadership Twitter actually needs right now hes also an emblem of the platform at its worst. A petty, thin-skinned troll much too rich for all of this (truly it would only take one million dollars to keep me from tweeting ever again a modest price!), Musk actively conducts a formidable army of internet goons, regularly misleads the public about his heroic efforts to intervene in various global crises, sows mistrust about the media when the media is generally just doing its job, slanders private citizens and generally conducts himself like a person who doesnt give a single shit about the literally incomprehensible power differential between himself and basically every other person on the planet.

And, weve really got to emphasize this bit, Musk really should have more than enough going on to keep him from executing a dramatic and totally unnecessary power grab at his favorite place to trawl for internet points with weed and boob jokes.

Social media is very different from spaceships, but the first one isnt easy either. Running a social media company in 2022 is as much about running a company as it is about mitigating very real society-level harms like harassment, misinformation and negative impacts to mental health. Musk isnt just unconcerned with things like harassment and misinformation, two of Twitters most pressing threats to the social order; hes a notorious vector for both.

Musk might think he knows whats right for the business of Twitter and maybe he does; hes very, very rich which, in the absence of wisdom, seems more than sufficient for most of lifes endeavors! But Twitter finally looks to be on the right course, paying attention to the right things (new products, new revenue streams, new users). Its a shame that the worlds richest man might derail that progress in the service of amusing himself.

Toward the end of the Trump era, Twitter began making more decisive steps toward limiting the harms that had prevailed on its platform for years, leading the industry on dynamic content moderation after a too-long era of inaction, but leading still. The company crafted new misinformation tools on the fly and generally opened up about its policy-making process with the refreshing admission that its set of rules was a living document shaped by fallible people and not something etched in stone.

During that period of time, at Twitter and every other major social network, it became clear that after years of pretending otherwise, the most sensitive policy decisions ultimately came down to one persons hunch about what was either the most right, or at least looked the least wrong in the moment. Most famously, the company took the bold if well-overdue step of issuing the then-president a permanent lifetime ban for his role in inciting violence during the insurrection at the Capitol.

Twitters hunch-haver is no longer Jack Dorsey, who left his role as chief executive late last year. But if Musks inexplicable extracurricular gambit does go through, it might instead be a petty man animated by a misguided notion of free speech that mostly means posting anything you want to a privately owned social network regardless of the potential harm it may cause an intellectual posture that curiously doesnt extend to his own workers when they dare to disagree with him. Its not hard to imagine Musk reversing Twitters progress on hate and harassment and generally derailing a lot of important, thoughtful work at the company. Thats a bummer.

I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy, Musk wrote in his letter to the board. However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form.

Twitter has extraordinary potential, he continued. I will unlock it.

For those of us who would love to see Twitter evolve into a more useful, less toxic utility for real-time information and very occasionally very funny jokes, Twitter has been moving in a promising direction. From the companys aspirations to build a choose-your-own-algorithm open standard and its premium subscription product Twitter Blue to new anti-harassment tools designed to mitigate its disproportionate burden on the often marginalized voices that Twitter can, in its finer moments, amplify, the social network has at last been showing a little spring green here and there. But that growth is under threat.

Last week after Musk appeared to reverse course on taking a board seat with his investment, Rumman Chowdhury, who directs Twitters AI ethics team working on algorithmic harms, observed Musks immediate chilling effect at the company.

Twitter has a beautiful culture of hilarious constructive criticism, and I saw that go silent because of his minions attacking employees, she wrote on Twitter, lauding the company for doing right by its employees by keeping Musk out of the henhouse. She later muted the thread, observing only that the trolls have descended.

Indeed they have.

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If Elon Musk gets his way, Twitter will lose years of progress - TechCrunch

Steve Rissing| Special to The Columbus Dispatch USA TODAY NETWORK

Timothy Snyder, a Yale historian, writes about the politics of inevitability.

In The Guardian newspaper, he described recently the politics of inevitability as a sense that the future is just more of the present, that the laws of progress are known, that there are no alternatives, and therefore nothing really to be done…. (N)ature brought the market, which brought democracy, which brought happiness.

Imagine the biology of inevitability.Ever since life first formed on Earth 3.7 billion years ago, humanitys rise and spread was inevitable.

To put it Biblically, we, or at least the meek, shall inherit the land and delight (our)selves in abundant peace (Psalm 37:11).

Ignore events in Ukraine.

In a recent podcast, Snyder explained that, ...(In) the politics of inevitability, if there is huge wealth inequality as a result of unbridled capitalism, we teach ourselves to say that thats kind of a necessary cost of this overall progress. We learn this dialectical way of thinking by which what seems to be bad is actually good.

In the biology of inevitability, theres a huge gap in human ecological impact between rich, developed countries and poor, developing countries.

Average Americans emit 130 times more greenhouse gases than average citizens of Madagascar.Yet, Madagascar, an island nation east of Africa, is much more vulnerable to climate change effects already underway, including typhoons (hurricanes), extreme floodingand drought.

To paraphrase Snyder, such huge inequalities in ecological relationships as a result of our unbridled capitalism and dependence on fossil fuels, is a necessary cost of human progress.

What seems bad increasing effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics is actually good because its part of inevitable human progress and the triumph of democracy and market forces.

Snyder argues in the podcast that our perspective of the politics of inevitability fails us. It inevitability …(teaches) you to narrate in such a way that the facts which seem to trouble the story of progress are disregarded.

Ukraine again.

Thats exactly what the biology of inevitably does.Burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases is part of inevitable human progress and the nature of market forces. If its inevitable, we cant stop it.

But what if it stops us?

Mars appears to once have had liquid water. Its hard to imagine rivers and seas of lifeless, sterile water on Mars or elsewhere.Under the right environmental conditions, life, at least microbial life, seems inevitable.

In his recent book, The Road to Unfreedom, Snyder also speaks of the Politics of Eternity that arises when the politics of inevitability collapse.In this view, time is a circle that endlesslyreturns to the same threats from the past … (where) government cannot aid society as awhole, but can only guard against threats.

Think Make America Great Again.

Mars currently appears free of liquid water and life.While likely in the past, life on Mars was not eternal.

Make Mars Alive Again (MMAA)?

Our policymakers may believe climate change, biodiversity loss, and pandemicsare inevitable costs of progress (often, to their benefit).

What if they are blinded by the biology of human inevitability and eternity and just flat-out wrong?

Where does that leave humanity, up a creek without any liquid water?

Steve Rissing is professor emeritus in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at Ohio State University.

steverissing@hotmail.com

Original post:

Biology: Are Earth's climate problems the price of economic and political 'progress'? - The Columbus Dispatch

On Marchs final evening, a stolen car made its fourth pass down a quiet Brooklyn block and slowed to a stop before a row of neat brick homes. A gunman braced in the sunroof, then opened fire on three cousins having dinner in a parked car.

At least eight shots slammed into the Toyota Camry on the roadside in East Flatbush, killing a 12-year-old honor-roll student named Kade Lewin. Jenna Ellis, 20, was critically wounded in the drivers seat, but survived, and an 8-year-old girl in the back seat was uninjured.

Police said the gunman likely mistook Kade for someone else. That fatal error prompted Mayor Eric Adams to hold aloft, at a news conference four days later, the boys white Nike sneakers with blue swooshes, making their absent owner a symbol of the need to end shootings that have upended hard-won progress reducing killings in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

As whiter, more affluent areas rebound from the pandemics ravages, renewed gun violence is complicating the recovery of vulnerable places like East Flatbush, a middle-class Black enclave with deep ties to the Caribbean.

You just felt like everything was getting better, said Louis Straker Jr., pastor of Reflections Church on Utica Avenue and a native of the neighborhood. During the pandemic, all hell broke loose.

East Flatbush had made long strides since the citys most dangerous era. The neighborhood routinely saw 50 or more killings a year during the 1990s, when the city recorded more than 2,000 annual murders. When crime fell to its lowest point since the 1950s in the years before the pandemic, East Flatbush remained one of the deadliest areas. Then, in 2018, murders fell to only six from 17 the year before, according to police statistics for the 67th Precinct, which serves the neighborhood.

The pandemic brought a sobering reversal. Murders last year reached their highest level in a decade, and at least 103 people have been killed so far this year. As of last week, the 67th Precinct was leading the city with seven murders so far this year, up from two over the same period in 2021.

Theres no doubt that we took a step back, said Deputy Inspector Gaby Celiba, the 67th Precinct commander since January 2021. He said he sees reason to be optimistic as officers make more gun arrests: Were going to get it where we need it to be.

East Flatbush became predominantly Black in the 1960s as real-estate agents used the fear of integration to drive out Italian and Jewish residents and replaced them with Afro-Caribbeans and African Americans who, with few desirable options, snapped up its one- and two-family homes at inflated prices. Today, major corridors like Church Avenue are lined with beauty supply shops, small hair and nail salons, Pentecostal and Adventist churches with vibrant signs and aromatic restaurants serving dishes like stew chicken, oxtails and callaloo.

Violence in East Flatbush was long contained among people involved in gangs, entangled in the drug trade and in hot spots in the neighborhoods periphery. Now, police say that criminals have become more brazen.

Patricia Black, 53, has raised a family and run a salon in her house on East 56th Street since the 1990s, and never worried about harm coming to either. Then Kade was killed in front of her home. Stray bullets flew through her salon, located in her basement, shattering a mirror and lodging in the wall.

I would leave my door open, Ms. Black said. Now, I dont know what its becoming.

Fahd Muthana, who owns and manages M&M Grocery, a deli on Nostrand Avenue, said the violence around East Flatbush today reminded him of the conditions in 1990 when he immigrated to the city from Yemen. Last November, his 18-year-old son, Zayid, was shot in the head and critically wounded while trying to stop two masked thieves from leaving the store.

Zayid had surgery to remove the bullet and after a period of recovery returned to school part-time, Mr. Muthana said, but has to take blood thinners to reduce the risk of clotting and give up his dream of playing football in college.

Mr. Muthana said the police have identified Zayids shooter from the stores security camera footage and from a debit card that the gunman dropped during the attack, but that they needed more evidence to make an arrest. Deputy Inspector Celiba declined to discuss the investigation.

Mr. Muthana, who lives in Sheepshead Bay, said he would feel safer with more police around East Flatbush. We want more safety, because its crazy outside, he said.

Despite the violence, many residents said they still feel safe. A block and a half from the deli, Ceazer Stephens and Maine Gray chatted on a recent weekday evening next to a playground at the edge of Flatbush Gardens.

The rent-stabilized complex of courtyard apartment buildings, originally called Vanderveer Estates, was once notorious for drugs and violence. Residents called the intersection of Foster and Nostrand avenues the front page, because it was the site of murders that generated sensational headlines.

I feel safe here, because this is my community, Mr. Stephens, 30, originally from Trinidad, said. The most that may happen is some type of unfortunate soul lost to drugs is going to ask you for a dollar. Thats about it. But nobodys going to bother you or try to rob you. That doesnt happen like that any more.

Still, as violence rose throughout the pandemic, so did calls to address it. Mr. Adams was elected on a promise to restore public safety and has since revived police tactics that had fallen out of favor during the era of low crime. State lawmakers rewrote a slate of changes to the criminal-justice system passed in 2019 with the aim of reducing mass incarceration after critics blamed them for the rise in violence.

Jumaane Williams, the citys public advocate and a former councilman for East Flatbush, said that he supports some of the mayors proposals, like a plan to make all agencies responsible for addressing gun crime.

But he said that the city does not need to return to policies and practices abused under previous mayors. New York, he said, pushed crime down before the pandemic in part by relying on community anti-violence workers and less aggressive, more focused police work.

Whats most frustrating is seeing the gains that weve made slowly start going backwards, Mr. Williams said. Instead of addressing social inequities that fuel gun violence, he added, were going back to models that are primarily focused on law enforcement and incarceration.

Yul Hicks, the chief operating officer of Elite Learners, an enrichment organization that works with young people in central Brooklyn, said that the city needs to increase outreach and support for young people who may be susceptible to gangs and violence.

People at large may think that the community tolerates it or has accepted it as part of the culture no, its hurtful to all of us, he said. But some of these young guys are not being reached.

Last week, at the intersection of East 56th Street and Linden Boulevard, where Kade was killed, a Police Department van parked across from a makeshift memorial on the sidewalk. A balloon tied to a tree branch carried a simple apology: Im sorry.

Kade was a student at K763 Brooklyn Science and Engineering Academy, four blocks from where he was killed. Councilwoman Farah Louis, whose district includes part of East Flatbush, visited the school after Kades death and talked to classmates, who described him as a deeply compassionate child who loved to play football and basketball.

David and Jenell Walcott picked up their son, David Jr., from the school the Monday after Kade died and found the boy sullen. He told them that he had been building a friendship with Kade over their mutual interest in architecture and video games like Fortnite and Minecraft.

He said hes nervous and anything can happen now, Mr. Walcott said. To have that realization at such a young age is heartbreaking. I think a little piece of his childhood left.

Alain Delaqurire contributed research.

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A Rise in Murders Upends a Sense of Progress in Brooklyns East Flatbush - The New York Times

Minnesota drivers have been slow to adopt electric cars, but a potential new Tesla sales center and the states forthcoming clean car rule could accelerate the shift.

Electric cars accounted for fewer than 0.4% of registered vehicles in Minnesota last year, according to the state Department of Transportation. Although electric vehicles are less harmful for the environment and can be cheaper long-term than gas-burning cars, drawbacks like shorter driving ranges, high up-front costs and limited numbers of charging stations have stymied electric vehicle sales here.

A planned new salesroom in Bloomington thats likely a Tesla facility, according to Axios, could entice more car shoppers to go electric and give prospective buyers more options. Electric car availability is limited in Minnesota compared to some states especially those with low- and zero-emission vehicle rules which is one reason we have relatively few electric vehicles on the road, experts say.

Minnesotas clean car rules will also likely spur electric car sales when they go into effect in 2024. The rules, modeled after California policy, will require manufacturers to offer more low- and zero-emissions vehicles for sale here. Other states with zero-emissions standards have experienced faster electric car adoption.

Heres more on electric cars in Minnesota, in three charts.

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How Minnesota's electric car progress compares to the US, in three charts - Minnesota Reformer

Earlier this year, we launched our Purpose Inform the Way Forward. Not only does this unite our commercial and societal responsibilities. It also anchors our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy.

As a business that stands for trust, we are building on our commitment to ESG for our customers, colleagues, and communities. Our own research of our customers in the legal and tax professions shows the importance they place on the role of business in society, with most surveyed feeling that their work has a positive impact on their community and wider society.

The bar is certainly rising. ESG measures are increasingly important to stakeholders in all industries. We are fortunate to be building on a strong foundation, but the work is never complete.

To advance our ESG strategy, last year we initiated a comprehensive global ESG materiality assessment, exploring not just how ESG topics affect our business, but how our business affects the economy, environment, and people including the significant positive impact we have as a company.

Although the work is ongoing, we are pleased to announce that Thomson Reuters has aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

The UNGPs are the global standard addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity, and they provide the internationally accepted framework for enhancing standards and practices with regards to business and human rights.

This decision augments our longstanding commitment to the UN Global Compact, the UN Declaration on Human Rights and other international standards. It also reaffirms our commitment to respecting human rights throughout our operations, and reflects our increased focus as we continue our transition from a holding company to an operating company.

We believe the interest and focus on ESG will continue to build. Conducting business in a principled manner transparently disclosing relevant targets and metrics related to our ESG programs not only allows our stakeholders to be informed on our progress, but also encourages others to drive positive change.

As we continue our work to inform the way forward, we will share an update in our upcoming social impact and ESG report.

Read the rest here:

Progress on our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts - Thomson Reuters

Wednesday, Ime Udoka reiterated the Celtics do not anticipate Robert Williams returning in the first round of the playoffs; it's the same message he delivered before the regular-season finale against the Grizzlies.

"Doing a little bit more every day. He's looking good and in good spirits. We're happy with the progress, but at the same time, we understand it's going to take time and probably be a full series without him. He's out on the court. Doing some shooting drills, some touch work. We're still preparing for a series without him."

Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who also spoke with the media on Wednesday, talked about what it's been like playing without Williams. "We definitely miss him. He's so important to our team on both ends of the floor, so everybody's trying to adjust and pick up the slack when he's not out there."

Williams, who underwent a partial left knee meniscectomy to address a left knee meniscal tear, is on a 4-6 week timetable. Game 5 between the Celtics and Nets is on Apr. 27, four weeks from his surgery.

While that leaves the door open for the Timelord to return in Round 1, as Udoka has stated consistently, that's unlikely, and Boston is preparing to play the entire series without him.

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Further Reading

The Schedule is Set for Celtics' First-Round Series Against Nets

Nets Beat Cavs, Securing Playoff Rematch with the Celtics

Celtics Earn 2-Seed; Showdown with Nets Likely Awaits

Ime Udoka on the Celtics' Plan for Season Finale: "Let's do what we do and let the chips fall where they may"

Gary Payton Endorses Marcus Smart for Defensive Player of the Year

[Film Room] In Sunday's Win Against the Wizards, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's Growth as Facilitators was Evident

Read more:

Ime Udoka Says He's "Happy with the Progress" Robert Williams is Making, But Reiterates it'll "probably be a full series without...

Mekhi Becton arrived in New York almost three years ago with sky-high expectations. The mammoth offensive tackle oozed potential and was viewed as the Jets left tackle of the future and it looked like he was on his way to that point during his rookie season.

Bectons path to stardom has been derailed by injuries, though. The No. 11 pick in the 2020 NFL draft played just one game last season after suffering a season-ending dislocated kneecap in Gang Greens opener. Injuries were also an issue for Becton during his standout rookie year, and his lack of consistent availability prompted Robert Saleh to announce that he would have to win back his starting left tackle job in January.

Joe Douglas said last month that the Jets are operating as if Becton is one of their two starting tackles, but his place in the pecking order is no longer as solidified as it was when he was a high-profile rookie. Becton is going to have to stay healthy if he wants to stay in the starting lineup.

Controlling his weight will go a long way in ensuring that happens.

Becton, who weighed 363 pounds at the 2020 combine, got up to at least 400 pounds while rehabbing his knee injury, according to ESPNs Rich Cimini. However, Becton is working his way back into shape with the help of a new nutritionist, and the Jets might be able to reap the benefits next season.

Ann Claiborne, Bectons nutritionist, told Cimini that Bectons weight is back down to the 300s. The two started working together during training camp in August and Claiborne helped Becton get down to 360 pounds before undergoing surgery on his knee.

Becton has hired a personal chef under Claibornes guidance. His diet is now anti-inflammatory, alkaline and free of processed foods. Becton eats lots of fruits and vegetables three times the amount he was consuming beforehand, according to Claiborne.

Becton has drawn criticism for his weight before.The Jets are hoping his efforts result in a significant and sustained difference this time around. Zach Wilson could use his larger-than-life blindside protector on the field, after all.

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Jets OT Mekhi Becton making progress with new nutritionist - Jets Wire