PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - On Father's Day after celebrating his first major championship, Gary Woodland shared some of the perspective he has gained while dealing with tragedy. After living through the darkest moments when his wife suffered two miscarriages, Woodland said his priorities have changed. The 35-year-old, meat-and-potatoes strongman from Topeka, Kansas, held off major champion extraordinaire Brooks Koepka on Sunday to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, finishing in style with a 30-foot birdie on the 72 nd hole. Next week the Woodlands will celebrate the second birthday of their son Jaxson. And come the first week of August, Gary's wife, Gabby, is due to give birth to identical twin girls. While Gabby was home in Florida, Woodland's parents were on hand for their son's first major title. "We've had our struggles, and it's been documented, the losses that we've suffered," Woodland said. "And it was tough. We thought we were done, and the identical twin girls were a surprise. But being a father now puts life in perspective. My whole life it's all been about trying to win. And now I'm trying to make a better life for my son than I've had. "It's been a process. But today is so special from that standpoint that being a father and hopefully some day he can even see this and realize that anything is possible." Woodland hoisted the giant silver trophy after signing for a 2-under-par 69 on a cool, overcast day to finish at 13 under and three shots clear of Koepka, the world No. 1 who was trying to join Willie Anderson as the only players to win the national championship in three consecutive years. U.S. OPEN: Leaderboard | Photo gallery | Tiger closes with 69 Woodland, with rounds of 68-65-69-69, and Koepka, with rounds of 69-69-68-68, became the fourth and fifth players to shoot four rounds in the 60s in a U.S. Open. Woodland, who previously was 0-for-7 when holding a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, led by one with 18 holes to play and never buckled under the weight of the U.S. Open and the chasing pack that also featured 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose. "From a mental standpoint I was as good as I've ever been," said Woodland, who has four PGA Tour titles. "I never let myself get ahead of myself. I never thought about what would happen if I won, what comes with it. I wanted to execute every shot. I wanted to stay in the moment. I wanted to stay within myself." After he Facetimed with his son and wife in the morning, Woodland, who didn't have a three-putt all week and made just four bogeys, took a 1-shot lead to the first tee in the afternoon. After Rose caught him with a birdie on the first, Woodland regained the outright lead with birdies on the second and third. From there, he never relinquished his advantage and held off the intimidating presence of Koepka. WHAT A WAY TO FINISH! CONGRATS, GARY WOODLAND! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/aPyRmdPiCE - U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 17, 2019 "I think the big deal is to enjoy the pressure," Woodland said. "Obviously it's an uncomfortable situation leading in a major championship after 36 holes, after 54 holes. But I kept telling myself, even this morning, to enjoy this moment. Enjoy the pressure. Enjoy the stress. Enjoy being uncomfortable. "And don't shy away from it, embrace it." Woodland's signature shot came on the uphill par-5 14 th when he reached the green in two with his second shot from 249 yards, the ball hit with his 3-wood clearing by a cavernous bunker protecting the front of the green by just one yard. The shot led to a birdie and upped his lead to two shots. "It was one of the better swings I made all week," Woodland said. There was another highlight that stood out, too. On the par-3 17 th , Woodland's tee shot wound up 90 feet from the hole on the hourglass green. Using a 64-degree wedge, he chipped off the fringe to a foot to save par and maintain his two-shot lead. Then he canned the 30-footer on the last. "If I putted it, I don't think I could have got within 20 feet," he said. "Fortunately, I did have that shot earlier in the week. And I was just trying to get it down there, trying to get it past the hole so I could be putting back uphill, and it came off perfectly." Koepka, the world No. 1 who's won four of the last nine majors he's played, got within one shot on multiple occasions but couldn't catch Woodland. With a final-round 68, Koepka became the first player in U.S. Open history with five consecutive rounds in the 60s - he also shot 68 in last year's final round at Shinnecock Hills. Koepka also became the first player to shoot four rounds in the 60s and not win the U.S. Open. In his last four majors, Koepka won the PGA Championship twice and finished second in the Masters and U.S. Open. Massive congratulations @GaryWoodland @usopengolf Champion - Justin ROSE (@JustinRose99) June 17, 2019 "I played great. Nothing I could do. Gary played a great four days," Koepka said. "That's what you've got to do if you want to win a U.S. Open. Hats off to him. He deserves it, he's worked hard and I'm happy for him. "It was awesome to come this close to going three in a row. It's incredible. Anytime you can compete in a major is special and to have a chance to go back-to-back-to-back, that was pretty cool. I didn't really think about it until I was done on 18 and realized how close I actually was. "Just wasn't meant to be this week." Rose, who rode short-game magic to come within one shot of the lead through 54 holes, couldn't overcome his erratic iron play and slipped into a tie for third with a 74. Joining him at six shots back were Xander Schauffele (67), Jon Rahm (68), Chez Reavie (71). "The putter wasn't quite as warm today as it was yesterday. Took a bit of a day off," Rose said. "But I felt like I had to have a day where I pieced everything together to win. It was close. But coming in, once momentum leaves you a little bit, it just becomes hard to grind it out." Tiger Woods birdied six of his last 12 holes, but for the most part was not sharp all week and turned in a dull effort to finish in a tie for 21 st . https://compass.pressekompass.net/compasses/golfweek/how-much-would-you-pay-to-play-pebble-be MORE: Fred VanVleet had the best answer for Kawhi Leonard's free agency decision An ode to the Golden State Warriors, the team that ruined the game NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players What does Anthony Davis joining Lakers mean for Thunder? The Celtics should consider drafting Bol Bol


Kurt Busch burns it down in the No. 1 Chevrolet after beating younger brother Kyle Busch in NASCAR Overtime at Kentucky Speedway.


Alabama's legislature just passed a law that essentially bans abortions in the state . It says a doctor who performs an abortion could face up to 99 years in prison. It does not allow for an exception in the case of rape or incest. The law will wind up in court if the governor signs it. It's a horror for women's health. Particularly in the case of poor women. And there's no telling what kind of economic consequences there might be for the state. It's a grim picture, mean-spirited, cruel and something that the people who run Arizona would look upon with … envy. A dream of backroom power brokers I'm speaking about the real people who run Arizona. Behind-the-scenes power brokers like Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Policy, to whom Gov. Doug Ducey and just about every other Republican stalwart bows in fealty. The Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature have for years, at the bidding of Herrod, tried to make Arizona the most restrictive abortion state in the nation. No matter the cruelty. Like when they passed a law that lumps together those seeking abortions with those who are terminating a pregnancy (most often at a doctor's suggestion) after learning of a fatal fetal anomaly or because something has gone wrong with the fetus or the pregnancy, endangering the woman. Feeling emboldened There have been numerous other restrictions. And those pushing that agenda feel emboldened by the President Donald Trump and the conservative Supreme Court. At least as long as a legislature remains in control of Republicans. In arizonahat's not the sure bet it once was. Abortion rights groups have filed several lawsuits challenging Arizona laws. One of them said the intent of our laws is to "impede both women and medical providers so systematically that abortion becomes more onerous and even unavailable to many." Not just many   all. An unprotected class That's the goal. And depending on how things go in Alabama, Herrod and her elected minions may choose to follow Alabama's lead. Eric Johnston, head of the Alabama Pro-life Coalition explained the reasoning used to prohibit abortions for victims of rape or incest . He said, "Regardless of how the conception takes place, the product is a child, and so we're saying that that unborn child is a person entitled to protection of law. So if, be it a rape or incest conception, then it would be impossible to ask a judge which of these is protected by law and which is not." And who is definitely NOT protected? Women. Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Is Arizona the next Alabama on abortion?


Whether you're the only queen in your castle or you're flying solo in a studio apartment, there's a dog breed made for you. This is our list of the ten best dog breeds for people who live alone. Doberman Pinscher Let's kick it off with the guard dogs, because "guard dogs" has a nice "don't mess with me" ring to it. Dobermans are terrific at that not only because they are hardwired to be fearless protectors, but they look intimidating as hell. These incredibly intelligent, perceptive pups make anyone feel safer when they're around. Train 'em early, and train 'em well. Akita Akitas are big, fluffy sweethearts. Their brains are constantly focused on two things: loving and protecting their companions. Historically, Akitas were seen as symbols of good health and guardianship. They thrive when given tons of affection. Should we…keep going? Bullmastiff Another loyal breed is the Bullmastiff. Yes, these pups are huge, energetic and territorial, but they know how to calm down when you're ready to relax at home. Like Akitas, Bullmastiffs aren't afraid to show some love. One word of advice: If you have a yard, be sure to fence it; these dogs don't like anyone on their turf, which is good for you but can be scary for friendly passersby. Rottweiler Now we're moving into companionship territory. Rottweilers are definitely loyal defenders with territorial instincts, but they also seem to think they're tiny lap dogs, so expect a lot of cuddling from this big breed. Rottweilers know how to chill out, can learn quickly and enjoy hanging with you, even if you're just walking down the hall. Boston Terrier A tiny, friendly dog perfect for single life in the city. These petite dogs are outgoing, which makes having guests over easier, and alert to their surroundings, which makes going to bed alone at night feel safer (because they'll bark if something's up, not because they'll attack an intruder, but still). Maltese As we move from energetic guardians to more laid-back pals, we meet the Maltese. This gentle, fun-loving breed is perfect for anyone in search of a playful pup who doesn't require tons of activity or entertainment. They definitely need their daily walks, but these adaptable dogs are content at home all day while you're at work. Malteses are also watchful, which again, is always comforting. Pekingese Pekingeses bond closely with their favorite human and can be stubborn around others (they've been dubbed the best breed for introverts ). However, they are fairly independent and comfortable relaxing alone while you're out (aka low maintenance). They don't need tons of exercise and they aren't afraid to warn you if they sense something out of whack in their environment. Yes, you have to brush them a few times a week. Yes, you should do a face mask at the same time. Yes, this will turn into spa night with your dog. Italian Greyhound They've been dubbed "miniature versions of greyhounds," because it's true. These dogs are small ! They're also sensitive creatures bred over time to be playful sidekicks to their owners. While they enjoy chasing after toys and getting rowdy every once in a while, they love snuggling on laps and generally being low-key. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Tell us if this resonate with you: Likes walks but loves sofas. If so, get yourself a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. These calm pups are super affectionate, very easy to train and enjoy just enough exercise to be reasonable couch potatoes with you. They aren't going to attack an intruder, but they won't make you take them sprinting on the track either. Basset Hound Possibly one of the sleepiest dogs around, the basset hound is a charming loaf of an animal whose steadfast loyalty will inspire you to be a better person. They are incredibly patient and independent (it's cool you were gone all day...), yet charming and devoted (...but now let's hang out). They shed a bit, but like, who doesn't? RELATED: The Best Dog Breed for Your Personality


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Michigan's chief medical director for Medicaid   a doctor who has received honors for helping combat the state's opioid crisis   has been placed on administrative leave after being accused of negligence for allegedly over prescribing and improperly prescribing opioids. Dr. David Neff, D.O, works full time for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services but also maintains a part time medical practice of about 85 patients. About 25% of them are palliative care patients, which means they may be battling serious or terminal illness and pain associated with it. According to a complaint filed by the Michigan department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and obtained via Freedom of Information Act by Gongwer News Service, Neff failed to meet minimal standards and violated his general duty as a health care provider. Specifically, the complaint says that Neff: • Failed on "several instances" to obtain or review reports from the Michigan Automated Prescription System   which monitors prescriptions that are dispensed to patients   before prescribing more than a three-day supply of controlled substance medication • Failed to consistently use urine drug screens to monitor his patients' use of medication. Also, according to the complaint, Neff continued prescribing high dose opioids to a Patient Jane Doe 4   even though she refused to do a urine drug screen because she said she was afraid of what might show up in the results. the complaint says that prescribing high dose opioids to Patient Jane Doe 4 "fell below the standard of care." • Prescribed "several patients" opioid medication in high doses that carried "significant risks." According to the complaint Neff continued to prescribe fentanyl pain patches to Patient Jane Doe 2 even though she removed the patches frequently because they didn't adhere well to her skin. The result: unused fentanyl that could be easily diverted. The complaint also maintained that Neff failed to sufficiently monitor Patient John Doe 1, considering he had psychiatric risk factors for abuse or diversion of the medication he received. • Failed to note in a patient's file why he increased an opioid dosage. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, providers should avoid or carefully justify increasing dosages higher than 90 morphine milligram equivalents a day. The complaint says that Neff increased Patient John Doe 3's morphine dosage from 960 to 1,000 MMEs without indicating why and that the dosage John Doe 3 received "fell below the standard of care." The complaint was filed by LARA on May 1. Neff has 30 days from the date he received the complaint to respond. If he fails to respond, the complaint will be sent to a disciplinary committee for sanctions. Reached by the Free Press Thursday night, Neff's attorney, Tim Dardas, said he would be filing the response to the LARA complaint on Friday. Last year Neff delivered a presentation titled, "The Evolving Landscape of the Opioid Epidemic in 2018   What the Provider Can Do." He also received the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians and Michigan Association of Osteopathic Family Physicians 2018 Friend of Family Medicine Award for his work combating the opioid crisis. Neff was placed on paid leave from his Michigan Department of Health and Human Services job   where he makes $194,184 a year   on May 9, according to a MDHHS spokeswoman. The department learned of the complaint on May 7. Neff will remain on administrative leave until the LARA complaint is resolved. Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan doctor David Neff accused of over prescribing opioids


SEOUL (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies unveiled an open lab for next-generation 5G wireless network in South Korea on Thursday, but kept the launch low-key given its recent blacklisting by the United States, a key security ally of the Asian nation. The Chinese tech giant, the world's top producer of telecoms equipment, said it planned to invest about $5 million in the lab in the Junggu district of Seoul. It did not provide any more details on the location and did not invite media to the launch. "Based on the philosophy of "In Korea and for Korea" and the strength of its own 5G network, Huawei will build a 5G ecosystem through cooperation with a number of South Korean ICT companies and especially small-and-medium enterprises," Huawei's Korea office said in a statement. The event was, however, overshadowed by the U.S. decision earlier this month to ban American tech and telecom firms from doing business with Huawei. Washington has also been urging its allies to bar the Chinese company from their 5G networks. Huawei had initially considered inviting the press to the launch in South Korea, but after the U.S. ban it decided to keep the event low-key, a person with knowledge of the matter said. "Huawei wanted to promote the launch to as many Korean small-and-medium enterprises as possible, but it decided to keep the press out after the ban to avoid any damage to its Korean partners in case they are shown in media," the person said, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Huawei said the heads of South Korean enterprises attended the event, but did not disclose any names. The move underlines Huawei's commitment to South Korea from where it purchases components such as chips and screens. The U.S. campaign against Huawei, and the broader U.S.-China trade war, have landed export-driven South Korea in a familiar bind, caught between its crucial security ally and biggest trading partner. The lab in South Korea is Huawei's first open 5G services development center in the world that will allow other companies to test their platforms, according to the company. South Korea rolled out 5G services in April, hoping the next-generation wireless technology will spur breakthrough in fields such as autonomous cars. Currently, Huawei provides its 5G network equipment for a small South Korean carrier LG Uplus. LG Uplus has said it does not plan to remove Huawei gear, but promised to step up security checks. The two bigger carriers, SK Telecom and KT, do not use Huawei gear. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Himani Sarkar)


Many golfers have hovered at the same handicap level for so long, it's tempting to ignore their names and refer to them as a number. "Hey, 15, how's the family?" If you've been shooting the same scores for years (or decades), I'll spare you the lecture about practicing more. Instead, I'm going to offer a less-taxing solution to attaining the next level of golf. My studies on amateur and professional golfers have identified habits and skills that can significantly lower your handicap, and they don't require Malcolm Gladwell's recommended 10,000 hours of repetition to master. For example, when examining golfers who have won at least five majors, I found that all of them took no more than eight seconds to hit a shot from the time they addressed it. Another thing they all did was keep in constant motion before taking the club back. Those things are pretty easy to incorporate into your game. Here's another: Before you pull the trigger, take one last look at your target. Not a peek; give it a hard stare. Then look down at the ball and go. You'll find this makes it nearly impossible to think about swing mechanics. When you can shut down those thoughts, you're on your way to a more fluid swing and possibly your first single-digit handicap. Read on for more habits and skills to acquire.  with Ron Kaspriske DISTANCE WEDGES BRING IT IN MUCH LOWER You expect to hit the green from inside 100 yards, but I'm going to show you how to get the ball within one-putt range. It's so much easier to control distance and direction if you bring your shot trajectory down. And this shot doesn't require a ton of practice. Just play the ball back with a slightly open stance and the shaft leaning toward the target. When you swing, there are two things to emphasize: (1) Swing into the ball from inside the target line don't cut across it. (2) Scrape the ground with the club after it strikes the ball. Give the turf a trim, not a scalp. Look at me in the follow-through here. Note how my hands appear to be leading as my body rotates toward the target. This is the look of a swing designed for control. CHIPPING PAY ATTENTION TO THE WRISTS Here's my general philosophy to chipping it close: Ask yourself, What's the lowest trajectory and lowest-lofted club I can use for this shot? Once you've determined that, I want you to make a chipping stroke that has minimal wrist action. Feel like your arms are in casts, and the only way you can propel the club is to pivot your body toward the target while keeping your weight on your left side. Become an expert at this dead-handed chipping motion by practicing with a wrist band wrapped around your trail arm and shaft. Only when you get good at this technique should you add a little wrist play to vary spin and trajectory. But just remember one thing: The lead wrist should remain bowed or flat as you swing back and down. "IN THE FOUR HOURS IT TAKES TO PLAY GOLF, YOU'RE ONLY ACTUALLY PLAYING FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES. DRIVING KNOW YOUR SPRAY PATTERN Hit 20 drivers noting your average distance and the balls that were farthest left and right of your target. You can throw out one or two outliers if you really mis-hit them. The rest represent what you can expect from a typical drive. It's your spray pattern and knowing it will help you adjust your strategy to give yourself the best chance of setting up a quality second shot from the fairway. To eventually shrink your spray pattern, try this drill: Angle an alignment rod slightly upward from the turf and lie another flat on the ground along your target line. The angled rod reminds me to make a wide-and-shallow swing. The other helps create a gateway between the shafts. It reinforces the goal of swinging down on a path from inside the target line. FULL-SWING IRONS BOOST YOUR BALL-STRIKING While waiting to play, practice swinging with a purpose. Yes, that means taking a divot, paying attention to where the hole you created starts in relation to the spot you were using to represent the golf ball's location. This will help you make real-time adjustments to your swing, so the divot always comes after you strike the ball. Another thing to be aware of is your ball's start line. Stick an alignment rod in the ground about 10 yards in front of you on your target line. Depending on the predominant curve of your ball flight, you'll want to see the ball starting left or right of that rod every time. You'll find that to hit shots that land on target, the start line has to appear a lot farther left or right than you might have thought without having the alignment rod for reference. THERE'S A LOT OF DOWNTIME BETWEEN SHOTS YOU COULD USE TO PRACTICE THINGS JUST A THOUGHT." PUTTING INCREASE THE HOLE'S SIZE Amateurs usually don't play enough break when they putt. Unless you're deadly from 10 feet and in, visualize a little more movement than you think. You want to see the ball tracking toward the hole as it slows down, not slipping underneath it. The slower it's rolling when it gets to the hole, the larger the area around the rim where gravity can help it drop. Keep in mind that the speed you hit the putt determines the break. So instead of trying to make everything on the practice green before a round, take some time to work on speed. For 10-feet-and-shorter putts, roll balls that stop no farther than 14 inches past the cup. That number might seem arbitrary, but testing has shown that it's the optimum speed for making putts.


It was the perfect evening in Buffalo, NY. Reasonable temperatures, plenty of sunshine, and the return of the Buffalo Bills to New Era Field for their patented "Return of the Blue and Red" night practice. Several thousand fans showed up in their Bills jerseys, new and old, to get acquainted with this 2019 team that has many members of the "Bills Mafia" more optimistic as ever. Enjoying rest days last night were LeSean McCoy, Lorenzo Alexander, and John Brown, amongst others, leaving room for some on the bubble, to get some looks. Here are 3 takeaways from Friday: The Offensive Line isn't where it needs to be Earlier this week, it was announce that Mitch Morse had entered concussion protocol, his 4th time in 5 years, leaving a huge void on the offensive line. The void was very apparent on Friday at home, with Russell Bodine continuing to take 1st team reps in Morse's absence. Also not practicing, was Spencer Long, who was seen wearing a compression sleeve on his right leg. The offensive line couldn't withstand the defensive onslaught, that left Josh Allen scrambling often, and a rush attack that struggled to move the ball for big gains. Having an experienced O-line general is critical to issuing blocking assignments before a snap, and Mitch Morse is just that. His health and wellness will be a major key for the Bill's this year. It should be noted also that Jon Feliciano left practice early with trainers. Not a good sign for the line, which was the one of the focal points of this past offseason. Accuracy issues for Allen While a lot of this could easily be blamed on the above mentioned takeaway, Allen did struggle to make certain throws. To his credit, his decision making has improved, many times taking the short pass instead of forcing a long ball. There were a few occasions on Friday evening where those smart decisions could have appeared to be better with a touch more accuracy. Short and quick passes were under-thrown, and deep balls were overthrown , including a couple of easy interceptions for the defense. Zay Jones, who experienced an uptick of targets on Friday with John Brown's rest day, struggled early, including a contested and dropped 30-yard pass against Dean Marlowe, but eventually he made up for it with some short range receptions. All was not bad with Allen however, as he excelled in the red zone, throwing for two touchdowns to Nate Becker on play-action action. Allen also connected well on several occasions with Rookie Tight End Tommy Sweeney throughout the eveninht, who made a big grab into heavy traffic. The Defense is a well-oiled Machine It's truly hard to gauge the defensive unit as a whole, against a flawed offensive line, but from what was seen Friday, the defense can get to the quarterback. The Bills struggled to disrupt offenses much last season. This season, with addition of Ed Oliver, the defense was in Josh Allen's face most of the night. Several times, as mentioned, Josh had to scramble out of the pocket to make plays with his arm. Gaps in the trenches were filled, making the running backs earn every yard that they got. The defense also prevented touchdowns on six of the nine run plays in the red zone, which should leave much optimism for a team ranked 30th in red zone defense last season. The defense has depth, and operates well, makes critical plays and doesn't give up very many big ones. It was one of the highlights of the evening, and is a good sign going forward for that side of the ball. MORE: This Patrick Mahomes throw from Chiefs practice can't be real Five potential Jeremy Lin landing spots in free agency Dez Bryant: Saints will get first opportunity to sign me Every position's biggest winner at the halfway point of Lions training camp Packers WRs Jake Kumerow, Trevor Davis shine at Family Night Scrimmage


You can leave your umbrella at home for today, but light rainfall is in the forecast for Newark starting on Tuesday, according to the seven-day forecast from drone-powered weather service Saildrone . Wednesday's forecast shows the highest likelihood of rain at 86 percent, with rain generally expected from Tuesday through Thursday. The next few days will also see warm temperatures, expected to stick around through Sunday. The weather will bring a high temperature of 88 degrees on Thursday. Skies will be cloudy today and partly cloudy Friday and Saturday. Winds will stay somewhat calm throughout the week, with the highest speeds on Wednesday at only 10 mph. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira wants to begin talks with Newcastle United about becoming their manager but reportedly has concerns about owner Mike Ashley. Ashley has been a much-maligned figure at Tyneside since he bought the club in 2007, due to his perceived low spending in the transfer market, lack of connection to the club and its supporter base. Earlier this this week it was announced that the club couldn't come to an agreement to extend the stay of the popular Rafa Benítez, further drawing the ire of the Magpies support towards Ashley. According to  The Sun , Vieira, who is currently manager of Ligue 1 side Nice, wants to begin preliminary talks with Newcastle about becoming their new manager but has reservations about working with their owner. The former Arsenal captain is said to be keen on the challenge of managing a side in the Premier League but is happy at Nice, where according to Get French Football News , he 'remains focussed' on the future. The Sun's report states that Vieira was considered for the managerial position at St James' Park in 2016, shortly before the club gave Steve McClaren the job. Nice are determined to keep the 43-year-old who guided them to a seventh place in Ligue 1 in his sole season in charge. A possible issue of contention for Vieira at Newcastle could be the level of authority he will get over transfers. At Nice he has almost complete control in regards to recruitment with little interference from those above him. This is in stark contrast to the power struggle that seemed bring an end to the reign of Benítez. Managers at Newcastle are expected to work with managing director Lee Charnley in attempting to bring players to the club. Mike Ashley put the club up for sale in October 2017 but has not been able to find a buyer since, with the proposed takeover by Abu Dhabi-based billionaire Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan failing to materialise. Since Benítez's departure was announced, a number of different names have been linked to the managerial position at Newcastle, including former Liverpool captain and current Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, Porto's Sergio Conceicao and even former Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger.


To help save the planet -- and save some money, too. Next time you feel the urge to get away, go green! Here are 10 ways to do it. 10 Ways to Plan a More Earth-Friendly Vacation We're currently in the grip of a climate emergency, and it's something to think about as your plan your next travel adventure . Globally, the last five years were the five hottest on record . If melting ice causes a sea level rise of just a few feet, it will wipe out pretty much every single beach in the world. Not to mention the Maldives, much of the South Pacific and a good chuck of Manhattan. So, help save the planet -- and save some money, too . Next time you feel the urge to get away, go green! Here are 10 ways to do it. Eds note: Graham Hughes holds the Guinness World Record for visiting every country on Earth without flying. He hosts the Travel Channel's "Lonely Planet: Odyssey with Graham Hughes" and is the author of Man of the World. 1. Resist using the A/C This, perhaps surprisingly, is the No. 1 rule of green travel. The electrical drain of air conditioners is staggering, accounting for over a fifth of the total energy used in buildings worldwide. But that aside, the gases used in A/C units are incredibly bad for the environment. So try to stay in older buildings with high ceilings (and ceiling fans), windows that open, and rooms set around a courtyard. That setup is popular across Europe and Latin America for its natural cooling properties. When you're in a car, just roll down the windows. And if you absolutely must use the A/C, keep it to a minimum and don't ever leave it on in your room when you're not there. 2. Fly less I'm living proof that you can get to literally every country in the world without flying. That's not to say it was easy (nobody else has come close to beating my record ), but it's possible   and if we're going to tackle the current climate emergency, we need to take this matter seriously. So, do your best to keep your feet on the ground. Seriously consider the alternatives to air travel, such as taking a train or driving an electric car. Make the journey part of the adventure, not the tedious bit before the fun begins. 3. Do homestays, not hotels I'll happily admit that I intensely dislike the typical hotel experience, and, given an alternative, I'd much rather sleep pretty much anywhere else. But still, there are sound environmental reasons for opting for a homestay vacay. Couchsurfing.com, Airbnb and HomeAway will give you opportunities to stay somewhere nice without contributing to the almost industrial processes that can take place behind the scenes when you stay at a big hotel. Those include overuse of air conditioning, food wastage and an insane amount of washing. 4. Eat local Transporting food over long distances is a big problem for the environment, so don't force your meals to go that extra mile. When you travel, you should not be expecting the exact same dietary repertoire you enjoy at home. This is no big deal if you love diving into the local cuisine and trying new things. But even if you re a bit stuck in your ways, it s fairly easy to find alternatives to your usual faves. However, if you re a vegetarian or vegan there are certain countries where finding food that doesn t have meat in it can be an infuriating process. Which brings me to my next point. 5. Prep your own meals Food is one of the great joys in life, and I do enjoy cooking for my family. But cooking when you're on vacation? I can see why some people might recoil in horror at the very idea. That said, self-catering not only saves you a heap of cash, it's also heaps better for the environment than eating in cafes and restaurants every day of the week   something most of us would never dream of doing at home. So, pop down to the local minimart. Prepare your own meals. Make sandwiches for lunch. Eat fresh fruit and veggies. You'll not only be helping to reduce your carbon footprint, you'll be saving money in the bargain. 6. Use public transportation Nearly every major city around the world has a half-decent public transportation system, and it'll invariably be miles cheaper than taking taxis or renting a car. An argument that some people make is that public transit is more stressful. I can only guess these people have never driven in London, New York, Mexico City, Rome, Bangkok, Cairo   I could go on. When you drive, you must navigate unfamiliar roads (sometimes on the opposite side than you're used to), keep out of bus lanes, avoid getting caught in intersections, and not go the wrong way down a one-way street. And, parking can be a huge and expensive headache. 7. Recycle You do this at home no doubt, but when you're abroad it's often easier "when you don't know the system" to just chuck everything in the same bin. Please don't do that. Carry your used cans and glass bottles with you until you find a dedicated recycling bin   most big cities have them dotted around the place. Before booking your accommodation, check to see if it has facilities for guests to recycle their trash. And never, ever litter. Not only is it hideously disrespectful, there's a much greater chance of your garbage getting into the water system and harming marine life. 8. Say no to plastic I stayed for a few years in the beautiful tropical archipelago of Bocas Del Toro in Panama, and there was one thing that drove me mad. If you bought a canned soft drink from one of the local supermarkets, the checkout assistant would jam a plastic drinking straw under the tab and put the can in a small black plastic bag. Creating so much plastic waste less than a mile from where endangered turtles lay their eggs is beyond irresponsible. Things have greatly improved in recent years, but still, when you're traveling take your own pocket bags and take a reusable coffee cup with a lid. You can use it for hot and cold drinks wherever you go   and, more often than not, save money. 9. Reconsider that cruise Cruise ships not only burn an insane amount of fuel and rely heavily on air conditioning, but they also waste an incredible amount of resources. Anyone who has been on a cruise will tell you the food waste alone is staggering. There's also the local environmental impact of building and maintaining the massive concrete cruise ship terminals that stick out from a tropical waterfront like a septic thumb. Until green cruises become a thing (if only somebody could come up with a clever way of moving a ship using the power of the wind), I'd give cruising a swerve. 10. Make a carbon offset donation A number of websites allow you to find out the size of your carbon footprint after filling out a short questionnaire. I heartily suggest that you try this. The result might surprise you, especially if you think for a moment that I m joking about flying less. (Or not flying all!) Then, find a carbon offset program and make a donation, maybe using your credit card . Carbon offsets allow you to invest in environmental projects around the world in order to help balance out your carbon footprint. Every little bit helps.


Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, CocoCay, just got a $250 million makeover. With 13 waterslides, multiple pools, swim-up bars and margaritas aplenty, it looks like an absolute paradise for parents and kids alike. The newly-reopened island is only accessible to Royal Caribbean guests and is the first in the cruise line's "Perfect Day Island Collection" private destinations that its ships will travel to around the world. Along with massive waterslides-Daredevil's Peak is 135 feet-the private island has a wave pool, adventure pool, and freshwater pool, plus beachside cabanas and special beach areas designated for kids. There's even a hot air balloon-like experience: Up Up and Away takes you 450 feet in the air inside a helium balloon to get a perfect view of the entire island. BOOK NOW royalcaribbean.com Of course, there are plenty of places to refuel, including a swim-up bar at the Oasis Lagoon and a floating bar at South Beach. For lunch, dine at Captain Jack's for burgers, wings, and a seat at the rowboat bar, or head to Skipper's Grill for salads, sandwiches, tacos, burgers, and more. At Chill Grill, the island's largest dining venue, meals are served beachside on colorful picnic tables. Come December, Coco Beach Club will open. Its biggest draw is the overwater cabanas-each one comes with its own slide into the ocean, an overwater hammock, a shower and a dedicated attendant. Super casual. The club also boasts a 2,600-plus-foot infinity pool that I can only imagine will be the sight of a million Instagrams. You can visit CocoCay by way of Royal Caribbean cruises out of Florida and the Northeast, including 3, 4, 7, and 8-night itineraries. For shorter visits, travel onboard the Mariner of the Seas or Navigator of the Seas; for longer trips, Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships will take you there. Explore all your options here .


What causes bank stocks like Wells Fargo (WFC) to trade for significantly higher valuations than bank stocks like Bank of America (BAC)? The easy answer is that because Wells Fargo has a long history of shrewder management and higher profitability than Bank of America, it seems reasonable to expect the former to earn more money than the latter, and to thus produce a higher shareholder return going forward. While this answer captures the essence of why some banks trade at valuations that are twice or three times the valuation of other banks, this explanation is too general. A more precise answer is that different things drive bank stock valuations at different times. This is a point that Richard Bove of Rafferty Capital Markets discussed in a recent note to clients. His breakdown is excellent and well worth sharing with the broader investing world. A brief primer on book value The difference between a bank's assets and liabilities is its equity, or book value. This is the amount of money that, theoretically speaking, would be left over to distribute to shareholders after a bank sells its assets and pays its liabilities. Importantly, however, this is not what a bank is "worth" on the public markets. This estimate comes instead from a bank's market capitalization , which is its current share price multiplied by the number of outstanding shares. As you can see in the table below, there can be large differences between banks' market capitalizations and their book values. Wells Fargo's market capitalization exceeds its book value by $107 billion, or 57%. Alternatively, Bank of America's market capitalization is $65 billion, or 26%, less than its stated book value. Metric Wells Fargo Bank of America Outstanding shares 5.15 billion 10.47 billion Current price per share $57.50 $17.66 Market capitalization $296 billion $185 billion Book value $189 billion $250 billion Valuation 1.57 times book value 0.74 times book value What drives these differences? The answer is that investors aren't looking simply at a bank's current book value; they're projecting it into the future. A bank expected to grow its book value at a fast pace will trade for a higher valuation than a bank expected to boost book value at a slow pace, or perhaps even see its book value decline. What drives book value? The key to the entire analysis is to determine which factors have the biggest impact on the expansion or contraction of a bank's book value. And it's here where Bove's analysis is so insightful. Bove argues that the most important factors impacting a bank's book value are a moving target, alternating between three options: When the economy is headed into a recession, and thereby triggering higher loan losses, a bank's loan quality is the most important factor in its valuation. This is because loan charge-offs come directly out of a bank's book value. When loan quality is stable, as it is now, then the onus switches to the direction of interest rates. Although climbing rates have a tendency to depress book value in the short run, as the value of a bank's assets generally goes down when rates rise, the exact opposite is true over the long run, as asset-sensitive banks are positioned to earn more net interest income when rates are high. Finally, when both loan quality and interest rates are stable, then a bank's earnings has the biggest impact on book value, and thus becomes the most important variable for bank investors to analyze. If you think about where we are right now, this all starts to make sense. As credit losses from the financial crisis have bottomed out, most bank analysts and commentators ( me included ) have shifted to talking about the impact of higher interest rates on banks' book values and bottom lines. When I've been interviewed of late, this is always one of, if not the, principal questions I'm asked. The lesson for bank investors is accordingly twofold. First, you have to be flexible in your analysis to account for the evolving impact of credit losses, interest rates, and earnings on bank valuations. And second, you need to have a rough idea of where we're at in the credit and interest rate cycles, as that will tell you where to focus your energy and analysis.


CHICAGO   Before he became the 2019 Home Run Derby champion, Pete Alonso was a self-described "easy target" for bullying in his younger days. The New York Mets rookie phenom was bigger and taller than fellow youngsters, and even labeled himself as "awkward." And due to his personality, he didn't fight back. As he grew older, he still dealt with bullying and its side effects. "At every level of education, I faced issues whether it be middle school, high school, college. It doesn't go away," Alonso told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday. "Just because we get older, as time goes on, it doesn't go away. That's why I feel passionately about it." Alonso's passion to join the fight against bullying is why he has joined forces with No Bully and Dosomething.org to help their campaign against cyberbullying, which affects 59 percent of teens, according to data released by the Pew Research Center. Alonso and five-time X Games medalist Gus Kenworthy combined for a Shred Hate public service announcement. "It happens to everybody I feel like at some point in their life," Alonso said before the Mets faced the Chicago White Sox. "It's a good thing to be part of, and I think that in order to make a positive impact, I mean, people need to stand up and address the issue head-on and be proactive about it. That's the main thing about it. People address it after something happens, but if people can be proactive and be active and aware of certain situations, that can be really helpful in cases." Alonso, in his first year in the majors, has made it a point to try to pay it forward. He always wanted to find a way to join in on the fight against bullying, and he thought this campaign fit with his goals. While Alonso was not picked on later in life as he grew into a second-round pick, he knows that incidents can have long-ranging effects. "Even in college, it may not be physical, but it's more mental stuff," said Alonso, who was raised and attended college at the University of Florida. "Some things stay with people their entire lives. It happened all throughout school in different forms, and I think for me, I'm kind of the person I'm not trying to do harm, I'm trying to be myself, and some people didn't take a liking to it." Alonso, 24, regrets that he didn't stand up to bullies as a youngster. "If certain things happen, early in life, it can affect mental life later in life," said Alonso, who entered Tuesday tied for second with 34 homers. "If we can be proactive and spearhead the issue, lives of a lot of young people are going to be affected by that." Alonso hopes he can continue to use his celebrity status to do positive things for his community, having already donated $100,000 of his winning s from the Home Run Derby to the Wounded Warrior Project and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Joining the fight against cyberbullying only furthers that. "I want to do good," Alonso said. "There's a lot of things I feel passionately about that need to be addressed and I just want to do good and a lot of people have helped me in my life. Yes, there's been negative things that happened in my life, that's life in general. With those negative experiences, certain things I feel passionate about, I want to do good for other people. I just want to help, and I feel I have a good platform to help." More from Yahoo Sports: Rams preview: L.A. tries to take the next step U.S. Soccer breaks post-World Cup equal pay silence Hill's excuse, NFL not suspending him are both nonsense Judge orders Goodell, refs to testify on Saints-Rams non-call Related slideshow: The 2019 MLB season (Provided by imagn)


WASHINGTON   A resolution being voted on Tuesday in the House would make it easier for Democrats to sue President Donald Trump's administration and other potential witnesses who refuse to comply with subpoenas. The House resolution would authorize lawsuits against Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn for defying subpoenas pertaining to special counsel Robert Mueller's report. It would also empower committee chairmen to take legal action to enforce subpoenas in the future without a vote of the full House, so long as they have approval from a bipartisan group of House leaders. The votes aren't technically necessary, as Democrats already have the ability to go to court. But a House vote will give them increased standing if they do decide to file lawsuits. It's unclear how quickly Democrats will act once the resolution is approved. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler signaled Monday that they will hold off on suing Barr after the panel struck a deal with the Justice Department to receive some underlying materials from Mueller's report. Nadler said the Justice Department will provide some of Mueller's "most important files" and all members of the committee will be able to view them. In response to the agreement, Nadler said the panel will not vote to hold Barr in criminal contempt, for now. But the House will still vote Tuesday on the resolution to authorize civil legal action. That was the expected outcome even before the deal, as Democrats have shifted their strategy toward lawsuits and away from criminal contempt. Criminal contempt would be referred to the Justice Department, where it would certainly be rejected. And Democrats have been encouraged by some early wins in court as Trump has broadly fought congressional oversight. Nadler said he would give the Justice Department some time to comply. "If the department proceeds in good faith and we are able to obtain everything that we need, then there will be no need to take further steps," Nadler said in a statement. "If important information is held back, then we will have no choice but to enforce our subpoena in court and consider other remedies." A court case could come more quickly for McGahn, who has defied subpoenas for documents and testimony at the behest of the White House. Democrats are ramping up action related to Mueller's Trump-Russia probe this week as they try to focus more public attention on the report, which was released in redacted form in April. Mueller wrote that there was not enough evidence to establish that there was a conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russia, the original question that launched the investigation, but he also said he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. The report examined several episodes in which Trump attempted to influence Mueller's probe. On Monday, the Judiciary panel heard testimony from John Dean, a White House counsel under Richard Nixon who helped bring down his presidency. Dean testified that Mueller has provided Congress with a "road map" for investigating Trump. He said he saw parallels between Mueller's findings regarding Trump and those of congressional investigators looking into Nixon's administration decades ago. He pointed to the way the presidents used their pardon power in an attempt to influence witness testimony, and their efforts to seize control of the investigation and direct the efforts of prosecutors. Trump, apparently watching the televised hearing, tweeted, "Can't believe they are bringing in John Dean, the disgraced Nixon White House Counsel." He added his oft-repeated claim, "No Collusion - No Obstruction!" The focus on Mueller will continue Wednesday, when the House Intelligence Committee is scheduled to review the counterintelligence implications of Russia's interference in the 2016 election, as detailed in Mueller's report. The procession of hearings and votes in the week ahead is partly designed to mollify anxious Democrats who have tried to pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to begin impeachment proceedings immediately. Pelosi, D-Calif., prefers to continue the investigations and see where they lead. Republicans have criticized the hearings as a waste of time and have called for Democrats to move on. "The chairman wants to talk about anything that might sway opinion against the president before the 2020 election," Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel, said at Monday's hearing. "That's why these proceedings are moving so slowly: Robert Mueller closed up shop a little too early in the election cycle."


A Greek-Cypriot army officer has been handed multiple life sentences for the premeditated murder of five foreign women and two of their children. Nikos Metaxas, 35, pled guilty in court on Monday to 12 charges relating to the abduction and killing of seven women and girls in Cyprus over three years. In tears, he apologised to the victims' families and said he did not know why he committed the "hateful crimes". The case, Cyprus's first trial of a serial killer, has stunned the island. "Cypriot society will be wondering how one of its members reached this point," he told the court in the capital Nicosia, adding: "I have also asked myself why; I have not yet managed to find an answer." The sentence handed to Metaxas, who wore a bullet-proof vest in the courtroom, is the toughest ever imposed by the Cypriot justice system. In sentencing, a panel of three judges said the former army captain had "embarked on a campaign to kill defenceless women". The killings took place between September 2016 and August 2018. Of his victims, three of the women were from the Philippines, one from Nepal and one from Romania. Most were working as housekeepers. The two children were aged six and eight. The country's police chief was later sacked and the justice minister resigned over the failure to properly investigate following the missing persons reports. How did the killings unfold? The case first came to light in April, when the bodies of two women - Marry Rose Tiburcio, 38, and Arian Palanas Lozano, 28, both from the Philippines - were discovered. One of the bodies was spotted by tourists down a mine shaft that had flooded following heavy rains. The discoveries triggered an investigation and, after tracking Ms Tiburcio's online messages, police arrested Metaxas on suspicion of murder. At first he denied killing a third Filipino woman, Maricar Valtez Arquiola, 31, who was reported missing in 2017, but then changed his testimony and confessed. The other victims were Ms Tiburcio's daugther Sierra Graze Seucalliuc, Livia Florentina Bunea and her daughter Elena Natalia Bunea, and Asmita Khadka Bista , Cyprus news agency KNews reported. Following his arrest, Metaxas showed investigators to a well at an army firing range where the body of one of the victims was discovered. Authorities then scoured two lakes in the south for two other bodies. Metaxas reportedly gave police detailed information about how he disposed of the bodies.


Pro Football Focus' Michael Renner identified the NFL's most underrated player at each position and Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay was featured on the list. No this isn't a repeated article. Earlier in the week, it was Justin Coleman who was named an "underrated talent" at slot cornerback by PFF, giving the Lions a nice tandem of players in their secondary that aren't getting the credit they deserve. pic.twitter.com/roQ6TS17tj - PFF DET Lions (@PFF_Lions) June 28, 2019 "Over the past four seasons," Renner said, "Slay has earned a 90.5 coverage grade with his lowest single-season grade over that span being 77.0. When debating the top-10 cornerbacks in the NFL though, Slay's name is routinely left out of the discussion." Prior to 2018, Slay routinely found himself on his fair share of Top-cornerback lists but after a down season, Renner is correct, it's hard to find Slay's name in these type of articles. For example, Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire - a brother site of Lions Wire - delivered a Top-11 outside cornerbacks list that Slay was excluded from, yet a year earlier Slay came in at No. 5 on Farrar's list from a Bleacher Report article. Even the opening line from the 2018 BR list from Farrar supports the idea that Slay is underrated, "Of everyone featured here, Darius Slay is likely talked about the least." When researching the frequency of Slay making any top-cornerback lists in 2019, he only appeared on two of them. The first was at Ranker.com which is a website where fans get to vote on lists, which appears as reliable as a Twitter poll. While the second list was the Madden video game rankings where Slay came in seventh and even received a special boost in this year's version of the game . Slay surely would like to be on all the top-cornerbacks lists written this offseason, but more importantly, he wants to be near the top of is NFL contracts list. According to Over The Cap , Slay's contract averages $12,000,000, good for 13th highest in the league at cornerback, but because of how the contract is structured, he currently has the highest cap hit $15,934,375 among the position group . Despite coming off a down season and two years remaining on his current deal, Slay is trying to capitalize on his talent and held out of Spring OTAs and minicamp . " Time will tell " if he holds out training camp - which starts in less than a month - but the Lions surely would like to have him back in uniform, regardless of where he falls on any lists. MORE: Max Kellerman doubles down on Tom Brady take, says QB is a 'game manager' Danny Green: 'This is the time where I need to maximize the dollars on the longest amount of years that I can do' Vegas Sportsbook moves up Lakers title odds due to Kawhi Leonard rumors Francis Ellis Fired from Barstool Sports [UPDATE] Are Giants a legitimate worst-to-first candidate?


A head-on crash that killed one person and caused a significant traffic mess in Charles County was caused by a wrong-way driver who may have been under the influence of alcohol, Maryland State Police said. Officials with the MSP said the crash happened around 2 a.m. Thursday when a driver travelling southbound in the northbound lanes of Leonardtown Road and Maryland Route 5 struck a vehicle travelling northbound. The impact killed the northbound driver, police said. That person has not yet been identified. The wrong-way driver was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover, police said. A MSP crash reconstruction team worked throughout the night investigating the scene, which blocked all northbound lanes of Leonardtown Road as well as one southbound lane for several hours. All travel lanes reopened around 6:15 a.m. Although the cause of the crash is still being investigated, MSP officials said alcohol was likely a factor. The investigation is ongoing.


How are Disneyland and Disney World different? The two Disney theme parks have distinctive rides, restaurants and personalities. How are Disneyland and Disney World different? To the casual observer, there's no real difference between Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida , and Disneyland in Anaheim, California . Sure, Walt Disney World has four parks to Disneyland's two parks, but at the end of the day, they both have castles and churros and Mickey Mouse. You could really go to either park and have the same vacation, right? Wrong. While both coasts do have Mickey-shaped snacks and Space Mountain, there are notable differences between the two vacation destinations that you need to know about. The two resorts have a major size difference The No. 1 difference between Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida is size. Walt Disney World Resort is a massive property, with four theme parks, dozens of hotels and other experiences spanning across about 30,000 acres. Meanwhile, Disneyland Resort has two theme parks and three hotels, all within about 500 acres. Walt Disney World features two water parks Walt Disney World features four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom), but those aren't the only park experiences on property. Walt Disney World also has two water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Meanwhile, if you want to spend a day in the water at Disneyland, you'll have to take a dip in your hotel pool . Walt Disney World has so much more to do The theme parks and water parks only tell part of the story about all of the things there are to do at Walt Disney World. The resort also has four golf courses, two mini-golf courses, boats for rent, trails for hiking, a game-filled boardwalk for strolling and so many more things you can do without even buying a Disney theme park ticket . Disneyland is in the middle of a city One park secret Disney doesn't want you to know : Walt Disney World is its own city with its own small government, called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. That means when you're in Walt Disney World, you're not just in Orlando, you are in Disney-owned property for as far as the eye can see. Meanwhile, Disneyland is in the very center of bustling Anaheim, California. You don't have to drive very far to reach non-Disney hotels, restaurants or other fun non-Disney things to do in California . Accommodations are very different Disney owns just three hotels at Disneyland: Paradise Pier, the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian. So, chances are, if you're spending a few days at Disneyland, you're staying at one of the many, many motels nearby in downtown Anaheim. But, once again, Walt Disney World has the gift of size with over 20 distinctive hotels (and more on the way). The themes of the Disney World hotels are markedly unique. Hotel concepts include Disney animation (Art of Animation), New Orleans (Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter), the savanna (Animal Kingdom Lodge) and the Pacific Northwest (Wilderness Lodge). The shopping districts are totally different Walt Disney World and Disneyland each have shopping districts, with Disney-themed stores, other popular retail outlets (think Sephora, the LEGO Store and Pandora) and dining options. But like everything else at Walt Disney World, Disney Springs in Florida is much, much larger than Downtown Disney in California. While Downtown Disney has just a handful of shops and restaurants, Disney Springs is so big it's separated into four different districts, each with its own theming and personality. Getting around is much easier at Disneyland Because Walt Disney World is so expansive, it takes time and some know-how to get from place to place, and there are a lot of options to get from your hotel to a theme park to Disney Springs or wherever else you want to go. You can travel by bus, boat, car, Lyft or the air bucket-style system dubbed the Skyliner (open in September 2019). Meanwhile, Disneyland is so compact, you can just walk wherever you want to go. Even if you're riding Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin at the very back of Disneyland, you can make it to the Incredicoaster at the far end of Disney California Adventure in less than 20 minutes on foot. Downtown Disney, with all of the dining and Disney-themed shopping options you could want, is also just steps away from the parks' gates. Disneyland has rich history Walt Disney World is no spring chicken; the Florida resort will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2021. But Disneyland has a much longer and richer history. It opened on July 17, 1955, and was designed and built under the supervision of Walt Disney himself. Some of the original 1955 attractions are still running today, including Autopia, the Disneyland Railroad, Jungle Cruise, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats and more. It may sound funny, but Disneyland is one of the most historic places to visit in America . Disneyland Park has more attractions than Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World may have more acreage than Disneyland Park, but it actually has fewer rides. Disneyland is a dense park; look no further than Fantasyland, where the Alice in Wonderland dark ride sits on top of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Additionally, the two castle parks share some of the same rides (Space Mountain, It's a Small World, Dumbo, etc.), but Disneyland Park has Pinnocchio's Daring Journey, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and more, which are some of the most unique Disney rides in the world . The Fastpass processes are different Both Disneyland and Walt Disney World offer Fastpasses to guests, which allow you to skip the line on select attractions for free, but they work very differently. At Walt Disney World, Disney hotel guests can book three Fastpasses 60 days before the first day of their trip using the My Disney Experience app. Non-hotel guests book their three Fastpasses 30 days before they go to the parks. This system is called Fastpass+. Meanwhile, Disneyland has a paper Fastpass system, where you go to a Fastpass machine near the ride you want to go on, scan your ticket and get a return time; these reservations are done day-of. Walt Disney World has Magic Bands Disneyland is a classic theme park, and the tickets reflect that; you buy a paper ticket that you use for park entry and to redeem your Fastpasses. (However, you can also scan your ticket into the Disneyland app and use your smartphone.) Meanwhile, Walt Disney World has Magic Bands. These bands are linked to your My Disney Experience app and serve as your theme park ticket, Fastpass, hotel room key and restaurant reservation holder during your trip. You can also link your credit card to your Magic Band and have anything you purchase on your vacation charged through it. Walt Disney World requires much more forward planning At Walt Disney World, you can make restaurant reservations 180 days before you dine. And if you're staying at a Disney-owned or affiliated hotel, Fastpass reservations are made 60 days before your trip begins. That's a lot of forward thinking and planning, and that doesn't even count all the work you put in to knowing how to budget for your Disney vacation ! Meanwhile, at Disneyland, dining reservations open up 60 days out and you make other Fastpass plans while you are in the theme parks themselves. It's much easier to plan a last-minute trip to California and still have the vacation of your dreams than it is to just drop into Disney World. You need much more time at Walt Disney World Disneyland Park may have more attractions, and Disney California Adventure has its fair share of thrills, delights and bites too, but if you really know how to plan, you can accomplish everything that you want to in Anaheim over a long weekend. Meanwhile, one of the tips Walt Disney World regulars will tell you is that you simply cannot do it all, even in a 10-day trip. There are so many restaurants, rides and places to explore that you'll find new things to do every time you visit. The food and restaurants are completely different If you want to find the best Disney food in America, you're going to have to bounce from coast to coast. Because of its history, a lot of the food at Disneyland Park is classic and comforting. You'll find bread bowls filled with hearty stews, hand-battered and fried corn dogs and grilled cheese on the West Coast. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World has its own distinctive dining culture; look no further than the 20-plus restaurants at Epcot , featuring cuisine from 11 different countries. Both coasts also have elevated experiences that are truly one-of-a-kind. At Disneyland, you can eat at the Blue Bayou restaurant, which is inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction or you can sit pierside at the Lamplight Lounge at Disney California Adventure. Magic Kingdom features Cinderella's Royal Table, where you can eat inside the castle. While there are endless differences between the two coasts' foods, luckily both theme parks have identical versions of Mickey-shaped pretzels, classic pineapple Dole Whip and the other most iconic Disney theme park snacks . Both resorts have unique attractions You'll find Soarin', Dumbo, Mickey's Philharmagic, Star Tours and more bucket list Disney rides on each coast. But Disneyland and Walt Disney World both have attractions unique to their own parks. You won't find a ride quite like Disney California Adventure's Incredicoaster or Disneyland's Pixar Pal-Around at any other Disney theme park in the world. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World has its own fair share of one-of-a-kind rides, such as Flight of Passage, Spaceship Earth, Slinky Dog Dash and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Even the 'same' rides have notable differences Some of the best attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are the same. Both coasts have Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World, for instance. And while these rides have the same general themes and characters, the way they are laid out and the guest experiences are markedly different. For instance, the Pirates of the Caribbean in California is nearly twice the length of the East Coast attraction and features one more hill and an extended storyline about the spooky skeleton pirates. And that's just the beginning of the differences between the rides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World . More of Disneyland's attractions are outdoors "It never rains in Southern California," or so they say, but it rains in Florida all the time. Because the weather in Anaheim is usually sunny and pleasant year-round, much of Disneyland was built to be experienced outdoors. Most of the ride queues are outside at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, and even rides that are similar on both coasts have differences in surroundings. For instance, all of It's a Small World on the East Coast is indoors, but the West Coast version's queue and the first portion of the ride are outside. Similarly, Mad Tea Party is covered in Florida, but the spinning teacups are underneath trees at Disneyland. Nighttime shows and fireworks vary The rides aren't the only theme park experiences that are different at the two American Disney resorts. The shows and parades are unique as well. For instance, the Magic Kingdom has the nightly fireworks show Happily Ever After and Disneyland Park has Disneyland Forever. The two shows have their own soundtracks, projections and pyrotechnics and fireworks. Disney California Adventure also has the nighttime water show World of Color, while Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot have their own distinctive nightly spectaculars. The castles are very, very different Both Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom are so-called "castle parks," meaning their signature icon is a stunning castle based on a Disney princess. Disneyland has Sleeping Beauty Castle, a charming, 77-foot-tall pink and purple castle that you need to walk down Main Street U.S.A. to see. Meanwhile, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World has the towering, 189-foot Cinderella Castle, which can be seen far beyond the park's boundaries. Disneyland has a distinctive charm The smaller castle and 60-year-old dark rides mean one thing: Disneyland is distinctively charming. Once you walk through the gates, you can just feel the old-fashioned wonder. Is it the trees with the twinkling lights? The horses clopping down the street? Mickey Mouse and friends greeting visitors right behind the gates? Whatever it is, the magic at Disneyland is undeniable. And while the Magic Kingdom and the rest of Walt Disney World has its charm and wonder, confusing it with Disneyland is one of the biggest Disney park rookie mistakes you can make .


There are five weeks to go until the trade deadline, but which teams are buying, selling, or holding? Last week, I laid out where every squad falls on the trade spectrum . This week, I'm revisiting my picks to see if anyone's jumped from one group to another or who's close to moving up or falling out of their spots. All stats and records are through games from Tuesday, June 25. BUYERS Atlanta Braves (47 33) Boston Red Sox (44 37) Chicago Cubs (43 36) Cleveland Indians (43 36) Houston Astros (50 30) Los Angeles Dodgers (55 26) Milwaukee Brewers (42 37) Minnesota Twins (51 27) New York Yankees (51 28) Philadelphia Phillies (41 38) Tampa Bay Rays (45 34) Are you ready to believe in Cleveland? The Indians are the new addition to the buyers group thanks to a June surge 15 7 on the month that's seen them climb into the second wild-card spot. And the schedule is heavily in their favor: After their current set with the Royals wraps up on Wednesday, the Indians get three at Baltimore, three more with Kansas City and a pair against Cincinnati before the All-Star break. In other words, don't be surprised if Cleveland is in prime playoff position at and after the Midsummer Classic. Things will get mighty tough in August, though: the Astros, Angels, Rangers, Twins, Red Sox and Yankees all await in a row. If the Indians want to hold onto their gains, they need to make some moves before the deadline. The imminent return of Mike Clevinger from the injured list (again) from a sprained ankle should be a boost, as will the promotion of top prospect Bobby Bradley and the resurgence of Jose Ramirez (.326/.388/.558 over the last two weeks). But adding help in the outfield and second base still seems prudent, as well as pitching depth, be it rotation or bullpen, if possible. Do I think the Indians will actually be buyers? Given the team's reluctance to spend this winter, I'm skeptical. I also imagine that, if they were to make closer Brad Hand available, the potential return might swing Cleveland toward selling. But the window is there to make a charge after a dismal first two months, so I'll be optimistic and assume the Indians want to go for it. If nothing else, given the horrible competition they face, they may end up having no other choice but to try. As for the rest, I was tempted to drop the Phillies out of this group given their absolute freefall of late: 8 14 in June, losers of nine of their last 12, 5 ½ games out of first in the NL East, and recently swept in a dismal three-game series by the Marlins. But there are no useful free agents-to-be on Philadelphia's roster, and it's hard to imagine that a team that went all-in on the offseason is going to give up that quickly. Given that general manager Matt Klentak has said that no massive trade is forthcoming , though, this may be a situation where the Phillies spend the deadline in a holding pattern. Stay tuned. SELLERS Baltimore Orioles (22 57) Chicago White Sox (36 41) Detroit Tigers (26 48) Kansas City Royals (28 52) Miami Marlins (30 47) Pittsburgh Pirates (36 41) San Diego Padres (38 40) San Francisco Giants (34 44) Seattle Mariners (36 47) Toronto Blue Jays (29 51) San Diego is the only squad here with any real chance of climbing out of this group, but I don't buy the Friars as a contender. Their Pythagorean record is a grisly 35 43; they have the fourth-fewest runs scored in the National League; and both their rotation and bullpen lack depth. Manny Machado finally getting hot after a slow start could help turn things around, but it may already be too late for a San Diego team that has more of a 2020 and beyond feel to it. The newest member of the seller club, meanwhile, is Chicago. I wrote last week that the South Siders' unexpected success (relative to what their rebuilding roster suggested) was a mirage, and that the roster had so many holes that buying would be practically impossible and that was before Tim Anderson suffered an ankle sprain on Tuesday that will likely sideline him for several weeks. Since then, the Sox have dropped four of their last five games, pushing them five games under .500, six games out of the second wild card, and I imagine firmly into sell mode. IN THE MIDDLE Arizona Diamondbacks (40 41) Cincinnati Reds (36 41) Colorado Rockies (41 38) Los Angeles Angels (40 40) New York Mets (37 43) Oakland Athletics (42 38) St. Louis Cardinals (40 38) Texas Rangers (43 36) Washington Nationals (38 40) Aside from Cleveland ascending to the buyer ranks and the White Sox being shifted to the sellers, this group stays the same. The Mets, though, will probably join Chicago by this time next week. Back-to-back series this week against the Phillies and Braves will go a long way toward determining their division fate and it's off to a terrible start, as they've blown back-to-back games against Philadelphia yet the math is already deeply against them. They're already 10 back of Atlanta for first, and their chances of winning the East are hovering around 2%, according to FanGraphs' projections. New York's overall playoff odds, meanwhile, aren't much rosier at 10.9%. Series losses to Philadelphia and Atlanta may put the final nails in the 2019 coffin. Likewise, I'm losing hope for the Reds, who continue to be thoroughly inconsistent. A rousing three-game sweep of Houston and brief six-game win streak have given way to a three-game slide, costing Cincinnati a chance to make up precious ground in the Central, where its deficit is a manageable-yet-not-insignificant six games. The end of June and beginning of July offer the best shot yet at closing that gap, featuring seven games at home against the Cubs and Brewers. If they can't capitalize on that, it'll likely be time to sell in the Queen City. Related slideshow: 2019 MLB Season (Provided by imagn)


A 21-year-old man in Utah has been charged with aggravated murder in the case of his 5-year-old niece who has been missing for days, police announced Wednesday. Elizabeth Jessica Shelley was reported missing on May 25, according to the Logan City Police Department. Logan City Police Chief Gary Jensen appeared emotional during a news conference on Wednesday when he announced that Cash County prosecutors had charged Elizabeth's uncle, Alex Whipple, with aggravated murder, child kidnapping, desecration of a body and two counts of obstructing justice. (MORE: 'Strong evidence' connecting uncle to missing Utah girl Elizabeth Shelley as search intensifies, police say) Whipple did not live with his sister or his sister's daughter, Elizabeth, but had stayed at their home on the night of May 24, according to a probable cause affidavit. Whipple, Elizabeth's mother and her boyfriend drank alcohol together that night. The next morning, both Whipple and Elizabeth were gone, court documents said. Whipple , the sole suspect in Elizabeth's disappearance, was taken into custody on Saturday, police said. When he was in custody, Whipple "began licking his hands and trying to wipe his hands clean," court documents said. He told police he left his sister's home shortly before sunrise on May 25 and that he never saw Elizabeth the night before because she was already in bed when he arrived, the documents said. (MORE: 5-year-old Utah girl Elizabeth Jessica Shelley missing, uncle in custody) Whipple told police that "alcohol makes him 'black out' and sometimes he does 'criminal things' when he blacks out," the documents said. Evidence in the case includes a bloody knife with Elizabeth's DNA profile on it, which was recovered in a parking lot, according to the court documents. The knife matched the brand of knives in Elizabeth's family's home and the knife block in that home was found to be missing a knife, the documents said. Slideshow by USA TODAY Whipple's watch and sweatshirt were also found to have his 5-year-old niece's DNA profile, according to the documents. (MORE: Texas investigators say they're unlikely to find 4-year-old Maleah Davis alive) Investigators also recovered a PVC pipe with a partial palm print matching Whipple's, documents said. It was not immediately clear when Whipple was due to appear in court on these charges. A motive was still unknown, Jensen said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing search for Elizabeth's body, Jensen said on Wednesday, adding, "We're all living this together and we're doing the best we can to bring this to a close."


The Summer League in the NBA provides young players with an opportunity to fulfill their dreams of making it to the NBA level. For undrafted rookie Ky Bowman, he showed enough in Las Vegas to earn himself another chance. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Warriors will sign Bowman to a two-way deal. This would give him a chance to continue to grow and develop with the G-League Warriors down in Santa Cruz. He averaged 2.3 points and two assists in four games in Vegas and despite shooting just 22 percent, he showed off enough to the Warriors brass to give him another look and keep him in their system. Undrafted Boston College guard Ky Bowman has signed a two-way NBA contract with the Golden State Warriors, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium . - Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 24, 2019 Bowman showed off more scoring chops in college averaging 19 points in his final season at Boston College and he shot 37.4 percent from deep. Over three seasons in college, he averaged 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. So even though he did not show off the scoring ability in the Summer League, he has that type of ability. This gives the Warriors, and Bowman himself, a shot to get things right. MORE: LeBron celebrated Taco Tuesday in the new Tune Squad jersey for 'Space Jam 2' NBA trade rumor rankings: What's up with CP3? The 21 dumbest ideas in NFL history VIDEO: Steve Austin Cut a Killer Promo at WWE Raw Reunion Ravens have another shot to land WR Allen Hurns, this time for cheap


Kyrgyz elite security forces attempted to arrest former president Almazbek Atambayev at his house, but his supporters kept them at bay and killed at least one operative, local media and authorities reported. Supporters of Kyrgyz former President Almazbek Atambayev guard his house during an operation of state security forces to detain Atambayev, who was accused of corruption, with a flame seen in the background, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. Kyrgyz elite security forces attempted to arrest Atambayev at his house on Wednesday, but his supporters kept them at bay and killed at least one operative, local media and authorities reported. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev guard his house in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. Parliament accused Atambayev of corruption and stripped him of immunity from prosecution in June after he fell out with current president Sooronbai Jeenbekov in the former Soviet republic that is closely allied with Moscow. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Armed supporters of Almazbek Atambayev guard his house in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. The Kyrgyz State Committee on National Security confirmed its special forces unit was seeking to detain Atambayev at the village outside the capital Bishkek and had used rubber bullets. An Atambayev-controlled television station, April, broadcast footage in which gunshots could be heard and armed men seen around the building wearing camouflage and bulletproof vests. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev surround a member of state security forces, who was injured during an operation to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov A still image taken from a video footage shows armed members of state security forces during an operation to detain Almazbek Atambayev in the village of Koy-Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. APRIL TV/Handout via REUTERS TV Armed supporters of Almazbek Atambayev guard his house during an operation of state security forces to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev stand near a member of state security forces, who was injured during an operation to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev guard his house during an operation of state security forces to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev react after repelling the offensive operation of state security forces to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev react after repelling the offensive operation of state security forces to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev react after repelling the offensive operation of state security forces to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev surround a member of state security forces, who was injured during an operation to detain Atambayev, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov Supporters of Almazbek Atambayev guard his house during an operation of state security forces to detain Atambayev, with a flame seen in the background, in the village of Koi Tash near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov


FARMINGDALE, N.Y.   Jordan Spieth's rehabbed game wasn't yet ready for the spotlight. In contention on the weekend for the first time this season, Spieth carded a 2-over 72 while in the final pairing and dropped into a tie for eighth. Spieth was apparently so frustrated by his performance that he declined to talk to reporters afterward. After a Friday 66 put him within seven shots of Brooks Koepka's lead heading into the third round, Spieth warned that he needed to strike the ball better and couldn't rely solely on his red-hot putter. That proved prophetic, as Spieth played his first 11 holes in 3 over par to extinguish any hopes of claiming the final leg of the career Grand Slam. Once again it was a struggle with his ball-striking, as he hit only 10 greens and this time sank just 70 feet worth of putts   half his total from his sizzling second round. Even after a rough day, Spieth remains in line for his best finish of the season. He hasn't yet finished inside the top 20 in any event.


"Seizing our newborn infants, Blighting their lives with pain; Filling their veins with poison, Tainting each tender brain" So go the lyrics of the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination Hymn, circulated not by the modern-day anti-vaccine band the Refusers but by the Anti-Vaccination Society of America. The group's members campaigned against the life-saving smallpox vaccine in the late 1800s, a turbulent time when a nation grappling with the aftermath of slavery responded with "black codes" and Jim Crow laws that pushed a divided society even further apart. Sound familiar? Vaccine resistance in America has frequently coincided with periods of great angst and resentment toward a government that seems bent on micromanaging citizens' lives. As the country faces the largest outbreak of measles since the disease was deemed eliminated in 2000, epidemiologists and medical ethicists say they are not surprised to see an us-versus-them mentality fueling the rise of vaccine opponents once again. "This is a broader symptom of distrusting our institutions," said Richard Carpiano, a medical sociologist at the University of California, Riverside. Those who object to the measles vaccine aren't just questioning the safety of the shot. They're challenging the state's authority to require it. "It's no longer a lack of trust in the vaccine, but the vaccinator," Nicholas Evans, a bioethicist at University of Massachusetts Lowell. At least 764 people in 23 states have contracted measles in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About half of those sickened have been children under the age of 4. An infection is never an individualistic affair. The virus that causes measles is more contagious than Ebola or Zika, and it remains suspended in the air for two hours after an infected person has coughed or sneezed. To prevent a single case from ballooning into an outbreak, between 90% and 95% of the population must be immunized. "It's that simple: The more that are vaccinated, the more people who will be saved," said Gil F. Chavez, deputy director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the California Department of Public Health. There have always been pockets of vaccine resistance. But today they can be found on both ends of the political spectrum. "There's the liberal 'I define what's healthy for me' people, and the conservative 'the government can't tell me what to do' view," said Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, a bioethicist at Georgetown University. "They come together in very American ways." Perhaps no part of the country typifies the liberal objection to mandatory vaccines better than the Pacific Northwest, where hundreds of activists rallied at the Washington state Capitol with posters that proclaimed, "My child, my choice." Many parents with a strong commitment to pro-choice ideals and an organic lifestyle believe a bout of measles, like chickenpox, is a time-honored childhood rite of passage. About 2,800 miles and many ideological degrees away, ultra-Orthodox Jewish families in New York's Rockland County are citing "individual autonomy" and "free exercise of religion" as reasons for refusing mandatory vaccinations. Despite 224 measles cases and counting in that outbreak, the conservative community bristles at the government's attempt to interfere in their lives. Public health authorities have long restricted individual liberties for the sake of the common good. Smoking is prohibited in most public spaces. Tuberculosis patients who refuse medication can be forcibly detained. That thinking holds for vaccines as well. In 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a father in Cambridge, Mass., who was fined $5 for refusing to have his son inoculated against smallpox. The court's 7-2 opinion made clear that states have the authority to mandate vaccinations because society bears the cost when people opt out. But anti-government sentiment tends to flourish when the fabric of society is frayed, as it is now. Civic discord undermines faith in public institutions, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Americans are now more polarized in their views on a variety of core issues than they've been in at least 25 years, according to the Pew Research Center. This tension helps explain why resistance to the measles vaccine is so strong. "Right now, we seem to be fighting about just about everything," said Elena Conis, a public health historian at the University of California, Berkeley. "Compulsory vaccination is no longer simply a medical act, it's a political act." This division provides fertile ground for activists. For example, a group called Parents Educating and Advocating for Children's Health, or PEACH, has been working to influence Orthodox Jews with conference calls and handbooks that accuse the government of exaggerating the benefits of vaccines while lying about the risks. On its website, PEACH says it "supports religious, philosophical, and medical choice," and that it isn't "'anti' anything." But it does offer parents a simple form to request vaccine exemptions, which drive down vaccination rates. In Rockland County, about 28% of children were unvaccinated as of earlier this year, according to state health officials. The technique has worked before. After anti-vaccine activists visited a cluster of Somali immigrants in Minnesota, the number of children who received the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella dropped from 92% to 45% over a decade, according to state's health department. A subsequent measles outbreak in 2017 sickened 79 people. Other politically conservative regions of the United States are at risk. In Texas, the number of children with personal-belief exemptions increased from 3,000 in 2003 to more than 56,000 in 2018. In Arizona, lawmakers have pushed back on vaccine enforcement legislation, including one who called it "communist." "It's the rise of individualism," said bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York University's Langone Medical Center. "That's Trumpism - that's what the president represents." Indeed, President Donald Trump has endorsed the discredited idea that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Before taking office, he held high-profile meetings with prominent anti-vaccine activists. But as the number of measles cases passed 700, the president revised his stance. "The vaccinations are so important," he said on the White House lawn last week. Children "have to get their shot." Individualism also motivates those on the left whose aversion to authority is reminiscent of the turbulent 1960s and '70s, Evans said. They are asking the same questions about vaccines that feminists once asked about birth control pills: Are they necessary? Are they safe? The sentiment is apparent in the school records of Clark County, Wash., the epicenter of an outbreak that sickened 71 people. Nearly 1 in 4 kindergartners began the 2017-18 school year without all their recommended shots, according to state health department data. After a bill to end philosophical exemptions to vaccines passed the state Senate in April, some residents vowed to move elsewhere if the measure becomes law. Those anti-establishment attitudes are often grounded in the conviction that individuals know better than experts, who may be in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies and therefore discount the healing power of "fresh air and exercise," Caplan said. "You're going to hear, 'Nature wouldn't give us challenges we couldn't handle,' which I find hilarious, because nature is trying to kill us about 80% of the time," he said. Political and social upheaval have gone hand in hand with the most raucous spans of anti-vaccination culture - beginning with the era of the hymn about injecting poison into newborns. After the Civil War, the federal government flexed its power over states to protect the rights of African Americans. When Reconstruction ended and that force was withdrawn, the backlash sparked a wave of individualism. It was hardly an ideal climate for the doctors and drugmakers promoting smallpox vaccines in the early 1900s. Although the disease was killing roughly 1,500 Americans each year, skeptical families didn't see a need for the shot. Outposts of the Anti-Vaccination Society of America and similarly named groups sprang up in several states, and their members helped overturn mandatory vaccination laws from California to West Virginia. A fresh wave of resistance arose in the 1970s, fueled by the zeitgeist of the counterculture that "encouraged Americans to question authority and traditional sources of expertise," Conis said. The environmental movement taught people to be skeptical of the chemicals in their everyday lives, and advocates for reproductive rights encouraged women to exercise authority over their bodies rather than letting lawmakers make decisions for them. "Women pushed back against patriarchy. Environmentalists pushed back against industry. Patients pushed back against doctors," Conis said. "When you put those movements together, you get a skepticism on the left, which bubbles up and combines with the long-held anti-vaccination views of libertarians on the right." The CDC missed its goal of eradicating measles in the U.S. by 1982. Other failed attempts followed. "Whenever political support went away, the cases tended to tick back up again," she said. Health officials finally succeeded in 2000, but that victory is now in jeopardy. Experts fear measles outbreaks will continue until Americans return to the middle ground where facts are trusted and expertise is valued. "In a politically polarized country," Conis said, "vaccination is as charged and divisive as any other issue." Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com


FARMINGTON HILLS (WWJ) - Police in Farmington Hills are searching for a group of suspects who stole a puppy from a man who was walking his dogs in a subdivision. Police say the incident happened around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at Lochmoor and Queensboro streets, in a neighborhood along Middlebelt Road between Northwestern Highway and 14 Mile Road. The victim said he was walking his two dogs when two or three suspects exited a passing vehicle, grabbed the animals and tried to drive away. The victim was able to retrieve one dog and held onto the fleeing vehicle in an attempt to retrieve the other dog, a 1-year-old Maltese/Yorkie mix named Hennessy. The man was dragged for a short distance before letting go, unable to get Hennessy back. The vehicle fled the scene. The suspects are described as black males in their teens or early twenties. The driver of the vehicle is described as a black female in her teens or early twenties. The vehicle is described as a silver sub-compact possibly a Chevy, Aveo or Spark. Hennessy is described as 5-pounds with brown hair. Detectives are actively investigating this report and officers will be conducting increased patrols in the area. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 248-871-2610.