Home Blog Page 2239

Undefeated Cincinnati not ready for epic journey to end

cotton bowl practice football 72253 c0 0 5029

ARLINGTON, Texas — Cincinnati has heard for more than three weeks about becoming the first non-Power Five team to break into the College Football Playoff, and then what a big underdog the Bearcats are against Alabama.

“It’s definitely been a long time, especially, you know, with the nerves or excitement or whatever you may want to call it, just of the anticipation of coming down here,” quarterback Desmond Ridder said Monday.

These Bearcats aren’t nervous about the biggest game week in program history and facing the top-ranked defending national champion in the playoff semifinal Cotton Bowl on Friday.

With Ridder and former Alabama running back Jerome Ford, Cincinnati (13-0) is the only team to win every game this season. That included a validating victory at Notre Dame nearly three months ago before sweeping through the American Athletic Conference.

“We had a nice season, undefeated season … (we) need to be us and do what we do. We don’t need to do anything extra, just pretty much be us,” Ford said. “And I feel like being us will be enough to prove that we belong here and we should be here.”

While the Cotton Bowl is their last guaranteed opportunity to play together, especially for the more than 30 seniors, the Bearcats know it doesn’t have to be the end of what has already been an epic journey.

“Their attitudes have been great,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. “I think they really understand the opportunity they have in front of them, and these situations and these things don’t come around every year.”

Unless, of course, it’s Alabama, which is making its seventh appearance in the eight seasons of the four-team CFP format and will play its 12th playoff game. The Crimson Tide are 13 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Fickell was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator when the eventual champion Buckeyes beat the top-seeded Crimson Tide in a semifinal game during the inaugural playoff seven years ago.

“I want them to enjoy the moment. I want them to enjoy what it is that they’ve created,” Fickell said of his Bearcats. “But I also don’t need to worry about them losing focus because that’s who they are. They’re excited about the opportunity. They’re excited about the challenge.”

Tide coach Nick Saban, who has won three of his six titles at Alabama during the short CFP era, said Cincinnati players do a great job of executing what they do.

“So it’s not going to be easy,” Saban said. “It will be a real battle, and, you know, our players have to prepare themselves the right way for that.”

Ridder said Christmas was a little more exciting when opening up presents with his family before driving back to Cincinnati and then traveling with the team to North Texas. He went to the Dallas Cowboys’ game on Sunday night in the stadium where he will be one of the main attractions Friday.

The Bearcats won 24-13 on Oct. 2 at Notre Dame. That was the only loss for the Fighting Irish, who finished fifth and were the first team out of the playoff in the final CFP ranking revealed Dec. 5.

After a couple of lopsided wins to start conference play, Cincinnati had close calls against Navy and Tulsa in a midseason stretch when the lack of consistent blowouts against non-P5 teams raised questions about whether an outsider really did deserve to make the playoffs.

“We had to go through a period of time there where we had to figure out who we were and what we really wanted to be, and quit trying to be something else that somebody else wanted us to be,” Fickell said. “I think we kind of got into that groove and really had a chance to kind of enjoy the last few weeks of the season playing better, better football and winning a championship.”

The Bearcats were the last undefeated team standing after a 35-20 win in the AAC title game over Houston, which had an 11-game winning streak and was the only ranked team other than Notre Dame they played.

“We’re excited to get down here and play Alabama and show not only ourselves, but everyone in the country, you know, what we can do against a top team,” Ridder said.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said there is a constant reminder to the players of the hard work they have done to have this opportunity, including last year’s undefeated regular season before losing to Georgia on a last-second field goal in the Peach Bowl. He said they have done a great job of staying focused.

“As a football team, we feel like we’ve earned our way here. We feel like and know we belong here,” said Denbrock, in his fifth season at Cincinnati after coming from Notre Dame. “This group of seniors, and this football team in particular, did everything that people asked them to do to get to this point.”

Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC.

John Madden dies at 85

fox all madden special 97809 c0 79 3944

Super Bowl-winning coach and legendary broadcaster John Madden died Tuesday, the NFL announced.

He was 85.

“Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will be forever indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

There was no immediate word on cause of death, or on memorial services.

As coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, he led the team to seven AFC West titles, seven AFC title games, and one Super Bowl victory — in 1977 over the Minnesota Vikings. His regular-season record of 103-32-7 gives him the highest-ever winning percentage (.759) of all NFL head coaches with more than 100 games on the sidelines.

He quickly moved over the broadcast booth and he became the best-known color commentator in the sport, working at all four major broadcast networks at one time or another over the next three decades. He called 11 Super Bowls, including at least one for all four major networks — the only man to do so.

His big personality, knowledge of the game’s Xs and Os, and unpretentious manner — he famously dressed down — made him his own brand for decades even after leaving coaching, winning an unprecedented 16 Emmy awards for outstanding sports analyst/personality.

“I am not aware of anyone who has made a more meaningful impact on the National Football League than John Madden, and I know of no one who loved the game more,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement.

Madden was one of the first analysts to use telestrators to analyze and break down plays, and punctuated him with exclamations for hits like “Bam!” “Doink!” and “Pow!”

He also created such traditions as the light-hearted “All-Madden Team” (one year it was nothing but middle linebackers), and the turkey (or turducken) prize to the best player on the Thanksgiving Day games he would call.

“For me, TV is really an extension of coaching,” Madden wrote in his best-selling book “Hey, Wait a Minute! (I Wrote a Book!).” “My knowledge of football has come from coaching. And on TV, all I’m trying to do is pass on some of that knowledge to viewers.”

He has lent his face and voice to the “Madden NFL” games from EA Sports since 1988, hosted “Saturday Night Live” and became a legendary pitchman for restaurants and other sports-related products, including an early Miller Lite commercial.

Madden‘s legendary fear of flying — which precipitated his leaving the Raiders — lasted his adult life and led to another element of his public face — the Madden Cruiser, a customized coach bus that allowed him to travel and see the country between broadcasts.

But when he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, he said, “people always ask, ‘are you a coach or a broadcaster or a video game guy?’ I’m a coach, always been a coach.”

Madden is survived by his wife, the former Virginia Fields and sons, Joseph and Michael, both of whom played football at Ivy League schools.

HOW NEW-AGE ORGANIZATIONS ARE DRIVING SOCIAL IMPACT THROUGH CSR INITIATIVES

AiTrillion final blue logo

Introduction

Many companies are looking to give back to the society in a meaningful way. While every company may look at CSR through a different lens, the end objective is always the same: Giving back is about making the difference by doing good. The value of being socially responsible cannot be undermined. As the companies have realized the difference they can make, they want to integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. The popular triple bottom-line approach can help a company achieve balance of economic, environmental, and social imperatives, while managing business productivity.

Technology has always been an enabler, more so across the societal structure. By leveraging digital strategies, enterprises can create a wide array of opportunities for growth and prosperity for the communities around them. As a global company, AiTrillion has a holistic approach which can be seen through the commitments, with a strong emphasis on its employees, community, and the environment at large. We believe that implementing extensive corporate social responsibility programs can help us support a larger purpose, along with maintaining profitability and business continuity.

CSR PIC Body of PR 1

How are we creating a positive impact in the society?

Apart from addressing some of the most critical development challenges in the areas of Education, Rural Development, Gender Equality & Women Empowerment, Environment Sustainability, Hunger, Poverty, Malnutrition, and Health, we believe in giving back to the society from a larger perspective. The 3 core themes at the heart of our CSR strategy are:

  • Empowering Communities: Striving for development that positively impacts society and brings about a lasting change in the life of the community.
  • Providing Basic Healthcare: Participating in the programs that allow a portion of the proceeds from nutritionally balanced meals provided at the orphanage that helps to reduce lifestyle diseases.

• Supporting Children in India & Globally: Providing hygienic environment for the underprivileged children and healthcare workers, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic through many partner organizations.

(i) We are part of global NGO Greenpeace, Indian NGO CRY (Child Rights and You), Vatsalya Kanakpura NGO situated in Kanakpura, Bangalore, and donate regularly for the well-being of underprivileged kids. During Diwali, we distributed sweets, gifts for 500 kids under two programs for both Anubhuti Vision Sanstha and Maharshi Drishtiheen Kalyan Sangh (NGOs in Indore, India).

(ii) We help our Admin staff’s child with tuition fees.

(iii) We are associated with Chai for Cancer (a fundraising and awareness building campaign across the Indian community about the needs of cancer survivors and raise funds for their support) to share the medication costs of the cancer patients and provide them emotional support.

(iv) We are an active member of Round Table India (part of global organization Round Table International – an institute of young non-political and non-sectarian men that aims at promoting service, and goodwill in national and international affairs) to promote education through its National Project- Freedom Through Education (FTE). Round Table India has built 7505 Classrooms impacting 7.90 million Children under this national FTE project.

Investing in a right CSR model increases acceleration of change and progress throughout the region we choose, which often involves helping people with few or no resources. As with our clients or customers, so with employees. Here is a quick snapshot of initiatives we have done for our employees, especially during the pandemic:

  • Diversity & Inclusion: From driving the employee experience through a digital way, or establishing mechanisms to ensure gender balance, we are imbibing the principles of diversity, inclusivity, and togetherness in our team. We give equal opportunities to women, encouraging them to participate in decision making and lead at the CXO level. With an aim to leverage the best of talent to grow our business, we are screening profiles on official social networking and recruitment sites. We have retained high performers with a more than 5 years of stint. Our attrition rate is below 10%.
  • Collaboration & Team Bonding: We promote high collaboration and team bonding in an open environment. While we have flexible working hours, we want to avoid silos and provide an environment of connectivity for our folks.

What next?

As we march cautiously into the post-pandemic ‘new next,’ it is imperative to recognize that the shift to digital models, diverse teams, and empowered CSR experiences that would have conventionally taken years to manifested. Introducing this level of involvement in social initiatives has been primarily driven by our leadership.

AiTrillion sees the value in the CSR programs and wants to demonstrate a deep and abiding commitment to drive social change. While we manage our workforce seamlessly with new-age technology, we want to extend our contribution to make the world around us a safer, cleaner, and brighter place to live.

AiTrillion’s CSR Activity Partners

Grow Your Ecommerce Sales and Engagement with AiTrillion:

About AiTrillion:

AiTrillion is the first-ever SaaS-based Artificial Intelligence enabled, an all-in-one marketing platform for eCommerce sellers. AiTrillion derives its AI power for over 200M+ verified online consumer data, 180,000+ Seller Network & $14B+ USD worth transactions analyzed & counting. AiTrillion’s 11+ customer engagement features integrated with analytics built for the eCommerce industry, we at AiTrillion specialize at connecting the dots between millions of customers across 175+ countries.

AiTrillion aims to boost the impact of eCommerce marketing across the entire customer lifecycle by leveraging user data, automation, AI/ML, and personalized techniques in a seamlessly integrated & automated enterprise-level platform for both enterprises as well as starters seamlessly.

Visit AiTrillion
Visit AiTrillion’s CSR Page
Know more about AiTrillion Product
Read AiTrillion Product Review on Shopify
AiTrillion Product Review on G2

Greg Monroe, other forgotten veterans get new chance in NBA amid pandemic

cavaliers celtics basketball 35846 c0 145 3482

Greg Monroe arrived in Minneapolis only hours before tip-off Monday, so forgive him for not knowing every single one of his new teammates. Signed recently to a 10-day contract by the Timberwolves, the 31-year-old recognized most of the names and faces — he‘d played in the league throughout the 2010s. 

But Monroe, who has been out of the NBA for the last two-and-a-half years, wasn’t up to speed on everyone — including that night’s leading scorer. 

“Not gonna lie,” Monroe said, “Jaylen Nowell played awesome tonight, but I had no idea who that was.”

Monroe’s unfamiliarity was understandable. Nowell, a second-round pick in 2019, didn’t make his NBA debut until Monroe was already playing overseas. The former Georgetown star ended up in Germany and Russia after being cast aside by a league that seemingly had no more use for him

But this season, it turns out, there’s a place in the NBA for Monroe — and other veterans like him, as teams scramble to fill holes in their lineups as rosters are decimated by COVID-19.

Before the Timberwolves signed him, Monroe was tolling away in the G-League for the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ minor-league affiliate.

According to ESPN, Monroe’s appearance with the Timberwolves made him the 541st player to appear in a game this season — an NBA record. His return came 960 days since his last NBA game, when he logged just 1:41 for the Philadelphia 76ers on May 19, 2019 in a Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

He’s far from alone when it comes to his length of absence. Other veterans who have recently signed after being more than a year away include Lance Stephenson (Atlanta Hawks), Darren Collision (Los Angeles Lakers) Brandon Knight (Dallas Mavericks) and Joe Johnson and C.J. Miles (Boston Celtics).

Johnson, a seven-time All-Star, is 40 and hadn’t appeared in a regular-season game since 2017-18. 

“Sometimes these guys are (out of the league) before they’re ready to be done,” Go-Go general manager Amber Nichols told The Washington Times. “Just because they’re done doesn’t mean they don’t have anything left in the tank. … To see Joe Johnson, (Isaiah Thomas) and Greg and guys like that be able to come in and fill in on a whim, I just think it speaks to this idea that you just never know. 

“It’s all about guys taking advantage of their opportunities.”

Nichols, the G-League’s second female general manager, said Monroe had been nothing but a professional during his time with the Go-Go. Though Nichols knew Monroe’s ultimate goal was to make it back to the NBA, she praised the way Monroe bought into his role with the Go-Go and mentored the team’s younger players.

“What kind of intrigued me about Greg is first and foremost, he just wanted to play basketball,” Nichols said. 

Nichols said it makes sense why some teams have opted to lean on veterans as replacements during the pandemic. For one, their experience paves the way for coaches to trust them more, she said. And in turn, they’ll be able to adequately fill in for spot minutes.  She added that their veteran savviness can help guide younger players through an unprecedented situation.

“It’s killing two birds with one stone,” Nichols said. 

Earlier this month, the NBA adjusted its coronavirus protocols — now requiring teams to sign at least one new player after two on a roster have tested positive. That number then becomes two upon three testing positive and three upon four or more. A team is granted a roster spot for each positive test — so, if six players test positive, a team can then sign six replacements. 

The measure, in place until at least Jan. 19, is aimed at cutting down on postponements. Still, the league has been forced to postpone nine games in 2021-22 — all this month. 

The G-League, meanwhile, has provided a showcase for veterans to show teams they’re still worthy of earning a call-up. Before the Lakers signed Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract, which expired Sunday, the former Wizards point guard went off for 42 points in his G-League debut for the Grand Rapids Gold on Dec. 15. The Lakers signed Thomas, who appeared in only three games last season, to a deal the next day.

Teams can poach players off any G-League team as long as that player isn’t on a two-way contract or a standard NBA deal. The Timberwolves, for instance, were able to sign Monroe from the Go-Go despite having their own G-League affiliate in the Iowa Wolves.

Some teams like the Wizards have opted to go the more conventional route by taking flyers on younger prospects. With eight players placed in protocols in the past week — including Tuesday’s addition of Montrezl Harrell and Rui Hachimura — the Wizards have called up forward Jordan Goodwin and Jordan Schakel from the Go-Go and signed 25-year-old Alize Johnson.

Such moves, however, don’t tend to carry the same type of intrigue that signing players as Monroe and Johnson tend to bring. During Johnson’s first game back with the Celtics — the team that drafted him almost 20 years ago — the Boston crowd broke out into a “We Want Joe” chant late in the fourth quarter.

Celtics coach Ime Udoka obliged. And shortly after stepping onto the floor, Johnson — nicknamed “Iso Joe” — delivered: He crafted his way around the defense and scored an isolation bucket over his defender. 

Not bad for a guy who thought his NBA career was all but done. 

“I wouldn’t say give up, but I didn’t have high hopes (of making a return),” Johnson told reporters. “My son’s 14, so he keeps me in the gym. We work and work and work, and I always talk to him [and say], ‘Just work. Even when you can’t see what’s next, you just gotta continue to work.’

“At my age, man, you just try to relish every moment,” he added later. 

Correction: Due to an editing error, Monroe was misspelled in one instance. 

Aaron Rodgers: Science that ‘can’t be questioned’ is ‘propaganda’

Packers Ravens Football 68471.jpg ec72f c0 171 3067

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is continuing to criticize the NFL’s and the country’s handling of COVID-19, saying in an interview Tuesday that it had become unscientific dogma.

In the interview on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the football star noted that his resistance to vaccine mandates had become a cause and produced social-media calls for his silencing or punishment by the league or Silicon Valley.

“If science can’t be questioned, it’s not science anymore; it’s propaganda and that’s the truth,” he said.

Rodgers noted that many NFL teams are quietly experimenting with various treatments unannounced.

“When did science become this blind agreement and then not having any debate over what can actually heal people and work for people. That makes no sense to me,” he said.

This tendency to censor had made Rodgers, and many others, skeptical about a lot of the discussions around COVID-19 and treatment options.

“When did we lose the ability to respect somebody’s opinion. My thoughts on COVID are my opinion. Why can’t we have more conversations between people with different opinions?” he asked rhetorically.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

CDC lowers estimate of omicron spread, says variant wasn’t dominant before Christmas

canceled climate conference 78795.jpg 2021.10.29 2021.%25i.1635556116.5 c0 240 5760

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday significantly revised downward its estimate of the percentage of new COVID-19 infections in the U.S. caused by the omicron variant, raising questions about the agency’s understanding of the new strain.

The CDC said omicron accounted for 22.5% of all COVID-19 cases for the week ending Dec. 18, a stunning drop from its initial estimate of 73% of all cases.

The agency said omicron accounted for about 59% of all U.S. infections as of Saturday, meaning that the delta variant still accounted for about 41% of infections.

The earlier estimate from the CDC’s Nowcast model, which is based on genomic-sequencing data, caused alarm by indicating that omicron had spiked from 3% of all cases in the U.S. to 73% nearly overnight.

A CDC spokeswoman attributed the major disparity to “a wide predictive interval posted in last week’s chart, in part because of the speed at which omicron was increasing.”

“We had more data come in from that timeframe and there was a reduced proportion of omicron,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “It’s important to note that we’re still seeing steady increase in the proportion of omicron.”

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottleib said on Twitter: “Setting aside the question of how the initial estimate was so inaccurate, if CDC’s new estimate of Omicron prevalence is precise then it suggests that a good portion of the current hospitalizations we’re seeing from Covid may still be driven by Delta infections.”

The new estimate prompted more criticism of the CDC. New York state Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, a Democrat from Greenburgh, said on Twitter that the federal government “prematurely cut supply of now desperately needed but unavailable monoclonal antibody treatments for delta patients when CDC wrongly estimated omicron was 73% not 23%.”

Health officials were reportedly stockpiling the monoclonal antibody treatment sotrovimab after Thanksgiving in preparation for the variant to become dominant in the U.S.

The major revision on omicron’s spread comes a day after U.S. health officials cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and they similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine. The CDC said there’s growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.

Early research suggests omicron may cause milder illnesses than other versions of the coronavirus. But the sheer number of people becoming infected — and therefore having to isolate or quarantine — threatens to crush the ability of hospitals, airlines and other businesses to stay open, according to experts.

Omicron is highly contagious, and pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19 are rising nationwide. But New York City has far outpaced the nation, with a 400% increase in pediatric hospitalizations for the virus in December.

New York City will ramp up testing of public school students for COVID-19 next week and will stop its policy of quarantining whole classrooms of exposed students in an effort to keep schools open, officials said Tuesday, even as pediatric hospitalizations are rising.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, called remote learning “a failed experiment” as she announced the state will provide city schools with 2 million at-home test kits. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mayor-elect Eric Adams said the tests can be sent home with students if a classmate tests positive, and students who test negative won’t need to quarantine.

“Your children are safer in school, the numbers speak for themselves,” Mr. Adams said.

Meanwhile, President Biden on Tuesday revoked travel restrictions that his administration imposed on eight countries in southern Africa where the omicron variant was first detected.

He said U.S. health officials “have made substantial progress in understanding” the fast-spreading variant.

“Importantly, scientific experts have determined that people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the omicron variant,” Mr. Biden said. “Moreover, the omicron variant has now spread to more than 100 countries, and it is prevalent in the United States.”

Despite the early indications of milder symptoms with omicron, the spread of the new variant is having a broad impact across the U.S. over the holidays.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Philadelphia reached a high this week of 1,407 new cases per day, eclipsing the previous record of 1,235 set on Dec. 8, 2020, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Apple closed all of its roughly one dozen New York City locations to browsing, saying the stores will be limited to picking up online orders and walk-in services such as the Genius Bar.

“We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust both our health measures and store services to support the wellbeing of customers and employees,” the company said in a statement.

In Atlanta, Emory University’s president said the school is switching to virtual classes to start the spring semester because of a national surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant.

The judge presiding over the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell cited an “astronomical spike” in the number of coronavirus cases in New York City as she explained Tuesday why she was urging jurors to work longer hours.

Judge Alison J. Nathan said aloud what had largely gone unmentioned in her previous requests to get the jury to work an extra day last week and longer hours this week as it decides whether Ms. Maxwell recruited and groomed teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein. The jury declined to work an extra day last week.

Maryland’s judiciary announced the postponement of jury trials and reduced other court operations. Jury trials scheduled between Wednesday and Feb. 8 will be rescheduled.

On Monday, state health officials reported 5,376 new cases, an increase in hospitalizations to 1,714 and an increase in the seven-day testing positivity rate to more than 16.5%.

Longtime U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, Illinois Democrat, said late Monday that he tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. The 75-year-old cancer survivor said he was “feeling fine” and had no symptoms.

The U.S. late last month had restricted travel from eight African countries — Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe — after scientists in southern Africa first discovered the omicron variant.

Biden administration officials defended the move, arguing it allowed more time to prepare for the spread of the omicron variant before it reached the U.S.

• This article is based in part on wire-service reports.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

Health, The New York Today

Andrew Cuomo won’t face charges over two women’s allegations, DA says

cuomo sexual harassment 91665 c0 91 2000

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A county prosecutor said Tuesday that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won’t face criminal charges stemming from allegations of unwanted kissing by two women, one of them a state trooper assigned to his detail.

Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that while there was evidence to conclude the conduct the women described did occur, the office could not pursue criminal charges.

“In both instances, my office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and the conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York,” Rocah said in a statement.

A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for Cuomo.

Last week, a Long Island prosecutor said Cuomo wouldn’t face criminal charges after the same trooper said she felt “completely violated” by his unwanted touching at an event at Belmont Park in September 2019. Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said the allegations were credible and troubling but not criminal under state law.

A report in August by Attorney General Letitia James chronicled accusations from 11 women against Cuomo and led to his resignation from office, although he has attacked the findings as biased and inaccurate.

In October, the Albany County sheriff’s office filed a misdemeanor groping complaint against Cuomo, but a week later the district attorney asked a judge for more time to evaluate the evidence.

The district attorney said the sheriff’s one-page criminal complaint, based on allegations from a woman who said Cuomo slid his hand up her blouse and grabbed her breast at the governor’s mansion in late 2020, was “potentially defective.”

At the prosecutor’s request, a court delayed Cuomo’s scheduled arraignment until Jan. 7.

The alleged Westchester County incident involving the trooper occurred at Cuomo‘s home in Mount Kisco, according to the district attorney’s office. The trooper told investigators that after she asked the governor if he needed anything, he responded by asking her if he could kiss her.

The trooper was concerned about what would happen if she declined, so she told investigators she answered, “Sure.”

In the other incident, Cuomo allegedly greeted the woman by grabbing her arm, pulling her toward him and kissing her on the cheek while the two were at an event at White Plains High School, according to the district attorney’s office.

Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC.

Riot Games to Pay $100 Million in Gender Discrimination Case

28riot top2 facebookJumbo

Riot Games, the video game maker behind popular titles like League of Legends and Valorant, said on Monday evening that it had agreed to pay $100 million to settle a gender discrimination suit with more than 2,000 current and former female employees.

The class-action lawsuit, which was filed in 2018, was originally on track for a $10 million settlement, but in early 2020 two California employment agencies took the unusual step of intervening to block the settlement, arguing that the women could be entitled to over $400 million. Separate of the lawsuit, the state had been investigating the company after claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, unequal pay and retaliation against women.

If the settlement is approved by the Los Angeles Superior Court, it will “send the message that all industries in California, including the gaming industry, must provide equal pay and workplaces free from discrimination and harassment,” Kevin Kish, the director of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, said in a statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, more than 1,000 full-time employees and 1,300 contractors dating back to November 2014 would split $80 million, with an additional $20 million going to lawyers’ fees and other costs. Riot also agreed to fund a diversity and inclusion program and consented to a three-year, third-party analysis of gender equity in employee pay and job assignments, as well as to an audit of workplace investigations.

“We believe this is the right thing to do, for both the company and those whose experiences at Riot fell short of our standards and values,” the company said in a statement. Riot added that it had improved its company culture over the past three years and hoped that “demonstrates our desire to lead by example in our industry.”

Riot, which is owned by the Chinese internet giant Tencent, is one of the world’s most prominent gaming publishers. Its flagship League of Legends game made nearly $2 billion in revenue last year, according to an estimate from the research firm SuperData, which was the gaming research division at Nielsen.

But like many other gaming publishers — including Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard — Riot has also contended with frequent accusations of harassment and a work environment that women described as sexist and toxic.

This year, Riot’s chief executive, Nicolo Laurent, was sued over claims he sexually harassed his former executive assistant. That case is still pending. A committee formed by the company’s board of directors later said it had found no evidence of the claims against Mr. Laurent.

In an email to the company’s employees viewed by The New York Times, sent minutes before the settlement announcement, Mr. Laurent wrote that the timing “isn’t ideal” but that the “final details of the agreement came together quickly.” He said he hoped the settlement “symbolizes a moment where we move forward as a united company.”

The proposed settlement on Monday was hailed as a win for women at Riot.

“I hope this case serves as an example for other studios and an inspiration for women in the industry at large,” one plaintiff, Jes Negron, said in a statement issued through a lawyer. “Women in gaming do not have to suffer inequity and harassment in silence — change is possible.”

Better Living Through Stoicism, From Seneca to Modern Interpreters

28STOICS facebookJumbo

Stoicism is also a protocol of attentiveness, which makes it an attractive remedy for those who feel absented and estranged from themselves or the world. One of the recommended practices is the “daily review,” in which you take a moment each evening to reflect on the previous waking hours. The idea is not to flog yourself for mistakes but to acknowledge them with future improvements in mind. I find this to be a crafty psychological maneuver: Knowing, each morning, that I’ll have to reflect upon my day in detail that evening functions as a prophylactic against messing up too badly. (Sometimes.)

To the Stoics, lack of attentiveness amounted to psychological slavery. Both Epictetus, a former slave whose name means “owned,” and Seneca used the metaphor with an intent to startle. (Epictetus in particular enjoyed telling his wealthy aristocratic students that they were “slaves.”) The modern equivalent is probably the framework of addiction; today you’re less likely to complain about being “enslaved” by your phone than “addicted” to it. In both metaphors the absence of self-mastery and freedom derive from an external agent: for the enslaved person, his owner; for the addict, his substance.

When I first read Seneca in translation a few years ago, what I noted was less the content than the easygoing conversational style. “I am far from being a tolerable person, much less a perfect one,” he admitted to his friend Lucilius, to whom the “Letters From a Stoic” are addressed. I loved how he ended all of his dispatches with the word “Farewell” (vale in Latin), and it occurred to me at the time that “farewell” would make a nice email valediction, offering more warmth than a simple dash and communicating politeness without the formality of “best” or the mawkishness of “sincerely” or the overpromise of “yours.” I liked the way Seneca’s letters delivered their lessons succinctly, with no throat-clearing at the start or denouement at the finish. After a spiel about education in Letter 88, for example, he wraps up with:

“I cannot readily say whether I am more vexed at those who would have it that we know nothing, or with those who would not leave us even this privilege. Farewell.”

When I revisited the Stoics at the onset of the pandemic, it was with the more serious intention of seeking instruction at a time of fear. But it was Seneca, again, who vibrated my heartstrings. His “Letters” were written to Lucilius while the latter was undergoing what we’d now call a midlife crisis, and they brim with both affection and rigor. “There are more things, Lucilius, likely to frighten us than there are to crush us,” Seneca wrote. “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

Some contemporary proponents of Stoicism, like Massimo Pigliucci, present it as a strategy for living a meaningful secular existence, as though Stoicism might be swapped in for religion like Lactaid for regular milk. (Got a God intolerance? Try Epictetus!) Many emphasize the philosophy’s practical orientation. In “Breakfast With Seneca,” David Fideler calls it a “supremely practical philosophy.” In “The Daily Stoic,” Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman propose Stoicism as “a set of practical tools meant for daily use.”

It would be a mistake to conflate “practical” with “easy.” As Pigliucci points out in “How to Be a Stoic,” “Philosophy is no miracle cure, and it should not be treated as one.” Pigliucci’s book does an excellent job writing about each stage of wrestling with a philosophical system, starting with what I’d call the “life hack” stage and progressing through the interrogation stage, the reconciling-of-internal-contradictions (especially between the earlier Greek Stoics and the later Roman Stoics) stage and, finally, into the actual adoption of Stoic exercises, of which he offers a large menu.

U.S. move to shorten COVID-19 isolation stirs confusion, doubt

virus outbreak 00114 c0 250 6000

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials’ decision to shorten the recommended COVID-19 isolation and quarantine period from 10 days to five is drawing criticism from some medical experts and could create confusion among many Americans.

The move has raised questions about how the guidance was crafted and why it was changed now, in the middle of another wintertime spike in cases, this one driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant.

Monday’s action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut in half the recommended isolation time for Americans who are infected with the coronavirus but have no symptoms. The CDC similarly shortened the amount of time people who have come into close contact with an infected person need to quarantine.

The new guidance was issued amid warnings from the business community that the spike in cases could soon cause widespread staffing shortages because of workers being forced to stay home. Already, thousands of airline flights have been canceled over the past few days in a mess blamed on omicron.

CDC officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the virus are most infectious in the first few days.

But other medical experts questioned why the agency’s guidelines allow people to leave isolation without testing.

“It’s frankly, reckless to proceed like this,” said Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. “Using a rapid test or some type of test to validate that the person isn’t infectious is vital.”

“There’s no evidence, no data to support this,” he added.

Just last week, the CDC loosened rules that previously called on health care workers to stay off the job for 10 days if they test positive. The new recommendations said workers could go back after seven days if they test negative and don’t have symptoms.

Early research suggests omicron may cause milder illnesses than earlier versions. But the sheer number of people becoming infected – and therefore having to isolate or quarantine – threatens to crush the ability of hospitals, airlines and other businesses to stay open, experts say.

“Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact, many are going to be asymptomatic,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday. “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”

Louis Mansky, director of the Institute for Molecular Virology at the University of Minnesota, said there is a scientific basis to the CDC’s recommendations.

“When somebody gets infected, when are they most likely to transmit the virus to another person?” he said. “It’s usually in the earlier course of the illness, which is typically a day or two before they actually develop symptoms and then a couple of days to three days after that.”

Research, including a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in August, backs that up, though medical experts cautioned that nearly all of the data predates omicron.

The CDC has been under pressure from the public and the private sector, including Delta Air Lines, to explore ways to shorten the isolation time. Airline officials earlier this month sent a letter to the CDC proposing five days of isolation for fully vaccinated people who become infected, with a “testing protocol” to leave isolation.

Mansky said CDC probably didn’t include exit testing in its guidelines for logistical reasons: There is a run on COVID-19 rapid tests amid the spike in cases and the busy holiday travel season. In many places, at-home tests are difficult or impossible to find.

The CDC is “driven by the science, but they also have to be cognizant of the fact of, you know, what are they going to tell the public that they’ll do,” Mansky said. “That would undermine CDC if they had guidance that everybody was ignoring.”

Marshall Hatch, senior pastor of New Mount Pilgrim Church on Chicago’s West Side, said he is bracing for some confusion in his congregation. The church has been a strong advocate for testing, vaccinations and booster shots.

Hatch said the CDC’s latest guidance is confusing and “a little incongruous.”

“Either we’re in a surge that we need to take very seriously or are we winding down the pandemic and that’s why we’re shortening the isolation and quarantine times,” he said Tuesday. “They might want to give us a little more information to go with.”

Hatch said some members of the largely Black congregation, particularly senior citizens, are skeptical of information from government.

The CDC move follows global efforts to adjust isolation rules, with policies differing from country to country.

England last week trimmed its self-isolation period for vaccinated people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to seven days in many cases, provided two negative lateral flow tests are taken a day apart.

The French government said Monday that it will soon relax its isolation rules, although by exactly how much isn’t yet clear.

Health Minister Olivier Veran said the rule changes will be aimed at warding off “paralysis” of public and private services. By some estimates, France could be registering more than 250,000 new infections per day by January.

Italy, meanwhile, is considering doing away with a quarantine altogether for those who have had close contact with an infected person as long they have had a booster shot. Projections indicate as many as 2 million Italians could be put in quarantine over the next two weeks as the virus spreads.

The U.S. airline industry applauded the CDC move.

“The decision is the right one based upon science,” said the lobbying group Airlines for America.

But the head of a flight attendants union criticized the change, saying it could lead businesses to pressure sick employees to come back before they are well.

If that happens, “we will make clear it is an unsafe work environment, which will cause a much greater disruption than any ‘staffing shortages,’” warned Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International.

___

Associated Press writers Laura Ungar in Louisville, Kentucky; Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy; and Tali Arbel and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed.

Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC.

Health, The New York Today