Video by CBS Baltimore The Baltimore Sun editorial board lit up President Trump Saturday night for his Twitter tirade against their city and Rep. Elijah Cummings, the powerful Democrat who represents Maryland's Seventh District. Cummings, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, has over the last two weeks has both authorized subpoenas for senior White House staffers' communications and ripped into acting Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan over the conditions of the government camps for migrants at the border. Trump responded Saturday morning shortly after a Fox News segment showed piles of trash in Baltimore , "Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA," adding, "Cumming [sic] District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place." Baltimore officials and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Maryland native, rebuked the president's comments about the district where 55 percent of residents are African-American before the Sun criticized Trump at length . "It's not hard to see what's going on here," wrote the paper. "The congressman has been a thorn in this president's side, and Mr. Trump sees attacking African American members of Congress as good politics, as it both warms the cockles of the white supremacists who love him and causes so many of the thoughtful people who don't to scream." Trump has spent most of July embroiled in a feud with four Democratic congresswomen of color, saying that if they have any criticisms of the United States they should leave. The seventh district of Maryland   which Cummings has represented from 1996 and the president excoriated via Twitter   is in the United States, a fact the paper mentioned. "We would above all remind Mr. Trump that the 7th District, Baltimore included, is part of the United States that he is supposedly governing. The White House has far more power to affect change in this city, for good or ill, than any single member of Congress including Mr. Cummings. If there are problems here, rodents included, they are as much his responsibility as anyone's, perhaps more because he holds the most powerful office in the land." The district covers parts of downtown Baltimore and the surrounding suburbs, and includes Johns Hopkins University and the Inner Harbor, a major tourist attractions. According to Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com it has the second-highest average income of any majority-black district in the country. This isn't the first time Trump has attacked a black congressman over the "horrible" and "crime infested" conditions in his district. In the earlier instance he was denouncing Rep. John Lewis, whose Georgia district includes much of Atlanta and some of the surrounding suburbs. "Finally," concluded the editorial, "while we would not sink to name-calling in the Trumpian manner   or ruefully point out that he failed to spell the congressman's name correctly (it's Cummings, not Cumming)   we would tell the most dishonest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, the mocker of war heroes, the gleeful grabber of women's private parts, the serial bankrupter of businesses, the useful idiot of Vladimir Putin and the guy who insisted there are 'good people' among murderous neo-Nazis that he's still not fooling most Americans into believing he's even slightly competent in his current post. Or that he possesses a scintilla of integrity. Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one." _____ Download the Yahoo News app to customize your experience. Read more from Yahoo News: The true origins of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory Drone shootdown highlights history of U.S. incursions into Iran's airspace Trump admits his Cabinet had 'some clinkers' Study: Climate change can be reversed by planting a forest nearly double the size of the U.S. Betsy Ross shoe: Did Nike cave to PC culture? PHOTOS: Real-life Lion King


More than 1,500 people have died in a nearly 10-month-old outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the health ministry said Monday. As of Sunday, 1,506 people have died out of 2,239 recorded cases, it said. Earlier this month, the virus claimed two lives in neighbouring Uganda among a family who had travelled to the DRC. Nearly 141,000 people have been vaccinated in the affected eastern DRC provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, the epicentre of the oubreak. Ebola spreads among humans through close contact with the blood, body fluids, secretions or organs of an infected person, or objects contaminated by such fluids. The current outbreak in the DRC is the worst on record after an epidemic that struck mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone between 2014-2016, killing more than 11,300 people. Chronic violence and militia activity in Ituri and North Kivu as well as hostility to medical teams among local people have hampered the response. The United Nations in May nominated an emergency coordinator to deal with the crisis. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this month the outbreak currently did not represent a global threat.


Humans don't yet possess the technology required to visit neighboring stars, but astronomers can still learn a great deal about them just by looking. The brightness and color of a star can reveal what stage of life it's in, and even allow scientists to predict what will happen to the star in the future. Our Sun's brightness may seem constant but it actually changes from time to time, and those peaks and valleys are common in other stars as well. However, some stars flicker or pulse differently than others, and researchers just discovered a new, particularly intense kind of "pulsator" that nobody had predicted. The scientists, who wrote about their discovery in a new paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters , spotted this new class of star on accident while attempting to study rapidly-rotating binary stars. The team noticed that a handful of the stars they were observing were flashing rapidly, shining brightly and then dimming slightly every few minutes. These heavy-breathing stars are now believed to be subdwarfs, or tiny, incredibly hot stars with masses less than half that of our own Sun but temperatures many times hotter. "These stars have certainly completed fusing all of the hydrogen in their core into helium, explaining why they are so small and can oscillate so rapidly," Lars Bildsten of UC Santa Barbara said in a statement . Because of their rapid pulsing, the researchers were able to get a very good idea of the size and structure of the stars. Using simulations and models, the scientists now believe the starts have dense helium in their cores. The researchers suggest that additional sky surveys could yield the discovery of even more new star variants in the not-so-distant future. Sign up for BGR's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .


ASHEVILLE - A 44-year-old man accused of harassing a juror in the Nathaniel Dixon trial was arrested and held in Buncombe County jail overnight before being released the next day and having his lone felony charge dismissed. Beyond that, details are slim. After multiple attempts over several days by the Citizen Times to obtain court records related to the man's arrest, a Superior Court judge sealed the case. The documents now are unavailable to the public. It's unclear why. A message left with the office of Judge Greg Horne, who's presiding over the Dixon case, was not returned. A 12-person jury on June 26 found Dixon guilty of murdering his 22-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Candace Pickens, and seriously injuring her 3-year-old son. He was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and malicious maiming. The jury acquitted him of murder of an unborn child and child abuse while inflicting serious injury. Pickens was in her first trimester of pregnancy when she was murdered. The sealed case is the latest twist in a nine-week trial that's included the murder of a witness and the dismissal of several jurors. What we know about the man's arrest A police report shows the man accused of harassing the juror was arrested about an hour after the jury's verdict was announced. The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, which served the bench warrant, lists the location of the arrest as the county courthouse. The Citizen Times is not naming the man because it didn't previously report his arrest and the charge was quickly dismissed. The single court record available to the public shows he is accused of committing the crime June 22, during a weekend. That's two days before Horne released a juror who expressed safety concerns. The Superior Court clerk's system includes a note that the "state is not going to proceed with charge," though it indicates the case was dismissed by the court. District Attorney Todd Williams declined to comment when reached by the Citizen Times. His office since has filed court records indicating it no longer will pursue the death penalty against Dixon. Because the court records are sealed, the nature of the alleged harassment is unclear. State law describes the offense as harassing, intimidating or communicating with a juror or his or her spouse "with intent to influence the official action." Dustin Dow, who's listed as the man's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment. Buncombe sheriff's spokesman Aaron Sarver said the man was released shortly before 8 p.m. June 27. His arrest was the result of "a valid warrant signed by a judicial official," Sarver said. A dwindling number of jurors The 12-person jury now is without alternates. In addition to the latest dismissal, one juror was released after he raised fears for his safety following the killing of a state witness; another had suffered a serious medical issue in the family; and another was dismissed because of concerns regarding his attentiveness. MORE: ► Evidence doubts, all-white jury: Attorneys make final case to jurors in Dixon trial ► After 3rd mistrial request is denied, Dixon's attorneys ask judge to recuse himself ► 3-year-old Zachaeus was in shock, needed surgeries after shooting, doctors testify Dixon's attorneys thrice motioned for a mistrial, the first request coming the day after the Asheville Police Department announced the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Tiyquasha Antwonique Simuel. Simuel testified as a subpoenaed state witness about two weeks before she died of multiple gunshot wounds, and the defense argued news media coverage had inexplicably tied Dixon to the killing . Dixon has been held in Buncombe County jail since his 2016 arrest. APD has declined to say whether police believe Simuel's killing is connected to her participation in the trial, and have made no arrests. Simuel's boyfriend, who was with her when she was shot multiple times, told the Citizen Times he does not believe she was the intended target. ► Judge Horne will remain on Nathaniel Dixon murder trial, sentencing delayed Williams' office initially sought the death penalty against Dixon, forcing a longer jury selection period and extensive arguments by both sides. Prosecutors spent about two weeks alone calling witnesses and experts. Dixon is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. July 16 during a sentencing hearing in front of Horne. Court records indicate Pickens' family is in support of Dixon serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. But two weeks after the verdict, the DA's office filed court documents July 10 stating it will no longer pursue the death penalty . A sentencing hearing in front of Horne is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. July 16. Help the Asheville Citizen Times continue to provide in-depth reporting like this. Find our latest subscription options and special offers here. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Dixon murder trial: Judge seals records on juror harassment arrest


In a July 8 speech dedicated to the environment, President Donald Trump made a series of misleading or false statements as he played up the U.S.'s environmental achievements, many of which predate his time as commander-in-chief. The president falsely claimed that in 2018 the EPA "completed more Superfund hazardous waste clean-ups than any year of the previous administrations." There were more deletions every year between 1995 and 2001. Trump misleadingly claimed that the U.S. since 2000 has reduced energy-related carbon emissions "more than any other country on Earth." That's true, but only on an absolute basis   more than 10 other countries have larger percent declines. Trump also took credit for projected emissions declines in 2019 and 2020, even though the U.S. Energy Information Administration says those drops are expected because of "milder weather … and, consequently, less energy consumption." Trump boasted about a newly completed regulation that would decrease exposure to lead dust. He neglected to mention that EPA action on the issue was court-ordered. The president claimed credit for the U.S.'s top ranking in access to clean drinking water, but the scores were based on data from 2016   before Trump entered office. Trump repeated his misleading and exaggerated claim that the Green New Deal would "cost our economy nearly $100 trillion." As a nonbinding resolution, the measure itself would not cost anything. The estimate, produced by conservative think tank, includes costs but not economic benefits. Trump said particulate matter, a form of air pollution, is "six times lower here than the global average." That's correct, but the global average is bumped up by high levels of dust coming from the Sahara Desert. In remarks at the White House, the president and his top aides cast the administration's environmental record in a positive light. "We're making tremendous environmental progress under President Trump, and the public needs to know that," said Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler , who was a lobbyist for coal and other energy companies. But many of the environmental victories Trump cited have been in the works for years or decades, such as the cleanup of Superfund sites or the court-ordered EPA regulations. The president spoke of "revising the past administration's misguided regulations to better protect the environment and to protect our American workers," without specifying the impact of his many regulatory rollbacks . Trump has declined to support or sought to undo many of President Barack Obama's signature environmental policies, including the Clean Power Plan. By the EPA's own calculations, Trump's replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, provides very few carbon emissions reductions. The Trump administration has also proposed freezing fuel economy standards at 2020 levels through 2026   an action the EPA says would increase CO2 emissions by 7.4 billion metric tons by the year 2100. The president also did not mention that he has proposed hefty cuts to the EPA's budget each year, most recently proposing a 31% cut in fiscal year 2020   including a 9 percent cut , or $109 million, to the Superfund program that Trump touted in his speech. Superfund Cleanups The president falsely claimed that his administration last year completed a record number of Superfund cleanups. "We've refocused the EPA back on its core mission," he said, "and, last year, the agency completed more Superfund hazardous waste cleanups than any year of the previous administrations and set records in almost every year. We have done tremendous work on Superfunds." But there are several other years when the agency has removed more sites from the Superfund list than it did in 2018. By calendar year, 2018 had 17 full site deletions ; by fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018, there were 18. When including partial deletions, the tally rises to 22 for fiscal year 2018 . This is the number the EPA likes to cite , noting that it is more deletions in any year since fiscal year 2005. An EPA spokesman told us this is what the president was referring to. But the figure is not a historical record. In calendar year 1996, the EPA removed 45 Superfund sites , or 34 when counting by fiscal year. Fiscal years 1997 and 2001 also each had more than 30 Superfund deletions. And every calendar year between 1995 and 2001 had at least 19 deletions. In 2017, there were just three calendar year deletions and two fiscal year deletions. So far in 2019, only one site has been deleted. As we've also noted before , Superfund cleanups often take decades to complete, so it's inaccurate for Trump to take full credit for these deletions. In fact, of the 18 fully deleted sites in fiscal year 2018, all completed physical cleanup before 2016 and only two were made ready for reuse after 2016. The ready-for-reuse stage, regional EPA spokespeople previously told us, occurs when all of the remediation is complete and what's left is contamination monitoring and paperwork. Carbon Emissions Trump did not once say "climate change" in his speech. But he did tout the nation's progress over the past nearly two decades on reducing carbon dioxide emissions   even though Energy Information Administration data show energy-related CO2 emissions were 1.9% higher in 2018 than they were in 2016. Trump, July 8: Since 2000, our nation's energy-related carbon emissions have declined more than any other country on Earth. Think of that. Emissions are projected to drop in 2019 and 2020. We're doing a very tough job and not everybody knows it, and that's one of the reasons we're here today to speak to you. Every single one of the signatories to the Paris Climate Accord lags behind America in overall emissions reductions. Trump's statistic is accurate, but it's misleading because it refers to an absolute reduction in emissions, rather than a percent reduction. Absolute reductions fail to account for differences in population size or starting levels of emissions, rendering international comparisons meaningless. The factoid may have come from the International Energy Agency, which noted in its 2018 report that despite rising in 2018, "emissions in the United States remain around their 1990 levels, 14% and 800 Mt [million metric tons] of CO2 below their peak in 2000. This is the largest absolute decline among all countries since 2000." (Note: While IEA data shows that peak emissions were in 2000, the EIA says that milestone occurred in 2007 . Either way, the drop is around 14%.) While impressive, more than 10 other nations participating in the Paris Agreement have posted higher percent declines. IEA data, for example, shows Denmark 's emissions fell a whopping 34% between 2000 and 2016, while the United Kingdom and France posted declines of 29% and 20%, respectively. Many industrialized nations taking part in the Paris Agreement have no chance of besting the U.S. on this particular bragging right. That's because most of these nations are small relative to the U.S., and their residents already produce relatively few emissions per capita. In some cases, it's not even possible. In 2000, for example, France's total emissions couldn't have dropped by 800 million metric tons because they were only 365 million metric tons to begin with. As the IEA report highlights, Trump also omits the fact that CO2 emissions rose in 2018, which the EIA attributed to "weather and continued economic growth." Finally, Trump took credit for expected emissions reductions this and next year. "Emissions are projected to drop in 2019 and 2020," he said. "We're doing a very tough job and not everybody knows it, and that's one of the reasons we're here today to speak to you." But according to the EIA, those drops are expected because of "milder weather … and, consequently, less energy consumption." The agency says that even with two back-to-back declines, emissions are not projected to fall below 2017 levels. Lead Regulations The president also highlighted some recent EPA regulations designed to protect children from lead exposure. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there is no safe blood lead level in children. Trump, July 8: And for the first time in nearly 30 years, we're in the process of strengthening national drinking water standards to protect vulnerable children from lead and copper exposure   something that has not been done, and we're doing it. And last month, our EPA took the first major action in nearly two decades to reduce exposure to lead-contaminated dust. Trump may very well be the first administration in almost three decades to substantially update the lead and copper rule, a 1991 regulation pertaining to drinking water. A proposed rule is expected in July. But that doesn't tell the whole story. According to the EPA, there were revisions to the rule in 2007 "to enhance implementation in the areas of monitoring, treatment, customer awareness, and lead service line replacement." And the Obama administration conducted many of the preliminary actions , including a 2016 white paper outlining potential revisions. The Trump EPA repeatedly has delayed issuing the standards. Trump also presents the rule on lead dust as an administrative initiative. But the lead-dust regulation was court-ordered, and health advocates say the resulting standards don't go far enough. The final lead dust rule , which the EPA announced on June 21 and has yet to take effect, lowers the amount of lead dust allowed on floors and window sills in childcare centers and homes built before 1978   the year the federal government banned lead paint in homes. In December 2017, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the agency to review the standards "in light of the obvious need." The lawsuit was filed during the Obama administration. But the Trump EPA fought the petition in June of 2017, and according to the decision, offered "a vague intention to issue a proposed rule in four years and a final rule in six"   a timeline the court considered "unreasonable." The court gave the EPA 90 days to produce a proposed rule and an additional year to produce a final rule. The new rule lowers the hazard levels, making them more stringent. But it kept in place higher clearance levels, or the standards that would have to be met after a lead removal project. T his discrepancy has activists concerned that the regulation will fail to keep kids safe, according to E&E News , an energy and environment news site. Drinking Water Trump suggested that his administration was responsible for the U.S. placing first in drinking water rankings determined by university researchers. "And today, the United States is ranked   listen to this   number one in the world for access to clean drinking water," Trump said, after mentioning several things he said happened since he was elected or became president. The White House told us Trump was referring to the 2018 Environmental Performance Index , which scores countries based on their performances in a number of categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality. It is jointly produced by Yale and Columbia universities in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The most recent EPI does show that the U.S. was tops in drinking water along with nine other countries. The drinking water indicator, the report says, is measured "as the proportion of a country's population exposed to health risks from their access to drinking water, defined by the primary water source used by households and the household water treatment, or the treatment that happens at the point of water collection." But America's score is not based on anything Trump has done as president. The 2018 EPI report   which was published in January 2018   says the data used for the sanitation and drinking water indicators predates the Trump administration. The EPI's technical appendix designates 2016 as the year supporting the current scores for the drinking water category. Green New Deal Trump repeated his misleading and exaggerated claim that the Green New Deal will "cost our economy nearly $100 trillion." As we have written , Trump is referring to a nonbinding resolution introduced in the House by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. As a " simple resolution ," Ocasio-Cortez's measure would not cost anything. The House hasn't taken up the resolution but, even if it passed, it would not go the Senate or to the president for his signature. It merely recognizes that climate change is a problem and calls for the U.S. to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions through a "10-year national mobilization." In addition, the $100 trillion is a high-end, rounded up estimate that comes from a conservative nonprofit policy group and coauthored by John McCain's chief economic adviser during the 2008 presidential campaign. The estimate   which actually ranges from $51 trillion to $93 trillion between 2020 and 2029   only includes costs, and doesn't account for economic benefits or other effects. Experts have told us that attempting to put a specific price on the resolution is misleading, since the Green New Deal is so vague. The Senate resolution , which was introduced by Sen. Ed Markey, failed to get a single supporter in a procedural vote taken in March. Particulate Matter In claiming that his administration is "proving" that "a strong economy and a vibrant energy sector" is compatible with "a healthy environment," t he president boasted that the level for particulate matter is "six times lower here than the global average." The U.S. level is low, but the global average he cites is skewed by high levels of dust in countries located in North Africa and the Middle East. Trump, July 8: One of the main [measures] of air pollution   particulate matter   is six times lower here than the global average. So we hear so much about some countries and what everyone is doing. We're six times lower than the average. That's a tremendous number. The EPA told us that Trump was referring to a World Health Organization's 2019 global air quality report on fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, which are particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. Trump has a point. "The 10 countries with the lowest national PM2.5 exposure levels were the Maldives, the United States, Norway, Estonia, Iceland, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Brunei, and Finland. Population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations averaged 8 µg/m3 or less in these countries," according to the 2019 report , which was based on 2017 data. The global average, weighted by population, was 46 micrograms per cubic meter, or ug/m3, which is about six times higher than the U.S. level of 7.4 ug/m3. However, the report also indicates that the global average is skewed by high levels of dust   not industrial pollution   in some countries. "The sources responsible for PM2.5 pollution vary within and between countries and regions," the report said. "Dust from the Sahara Desert contributes to the high particulate matter concentrations in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as to the high concentrations in some countries in western sub-Saharan Africa." The regional average levels were higher than the global averages in North Africa and the Middle East (55 micrograms per cubic meter) and the western sub-Saharan Africa (59 micrograms per cubic meter). That includes countries such as Niger (94 ug/m3), Egypt (87 ug/m3) and Chad (66 ug/m3). By contrast, the regional average for Western Europe was just 12 ug/m3, and includes four countries   Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden   that had lower levels of PM2.5 pollution than the United States. The post Trump Twists Facts in Environmental Speech appeared first on FactCheck.org .


Instead of paying a fine or spending a few days in jail for minor crimes, some first-time offenders in St. Paul will soon have the option of being sent to "circle" instead. There, they'll be met by community members from the neighborhood where the offense took place as well as facilitators trained in restorative-justice practices. Group members will literally form a circle alongside the offender. The goal will be to engage him or her in a conversation about what happened and how that type of crime affects victims and a community, say St. Paul officials and community members involved in creating the city's latest crime diversion program. Called the Neighborhood Justice Program, it will begin in September in two yet-to-be-determined high-crime neighborhoods. Organizers hope to expand it to all seven of St. Paul's wards. A series of feedback sessions on the proposal will begin next week. The process will take place in lieu of traditional prosecution, meaning offenders who qualify and choose it won't be charged or convicted of a crime if they successfully complete the program. Only first-time offenders who commit low-level, nonviolent crimes would be eligible, such as stealing or criminal damage to property. The victim must also be on board with the diversion program. The initiative is modeled after programs in California and New York that have seen great success, said St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson. She adds that rates of recidivism for offenders in such programs are far lower than for those who go through traditional prosecution. SEEKING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO CRIME The aim is to create a more meaningful, effective response to low-level, nonviolent crime that better meets the needs of victims, neighborhoods and offenders, according to Olson. "The idea is to try and hold people accountable in a way that allows them to reintegrate into the community so they can be law-abiding productive members … instead of (putting them on a path) that ostracizes them and leaves them feeling like their best option is to re-offend," Olson said. Her office is rolling out the program, which will be operated in partnership with the Dispute Resolution Center and the Circle of Peace Movement, two St. Paul nonprofits with histories steeped in restorative-justice practices. By giving offenders a voice in the circle, they can explain why they did what they did and explore how past experiences have shaped their lives, and they are also forced to take responsibility for criminal conduct in a more meaningful way, Olson said. In some cases, the victim may choose to participate in the circle, meaning the offender would have to face him or her. Offenders would also have a say in deciding the best way to right their wrong, Olson said. If someone broke into a car in hopes of finding cash to pay for drugs, for example, the offender and circle members might decide that treatment and writing an apology letter to the car owner is the best recourse. The circle will also help identify any "root causes" that might be behind certain behavior and help connect the offender to the education, resources and support to address them. 'A WAY OF COMING TOGETHER' As a founding member of the Circle of Peace Movement in St. Paul, Russel Balenger has participated in countless circles. He and another started the organization in response to violence in the Rondo neighborhood back in 2010. They gathered members from six families connected to various gangs to have a conversation about what was happening. When it started to get a little chaotic, Balenger relied on his experience with peace circles from his work volunteering in prisons. Nine years later, the circle still meets. It held its 435th circle a couple of weeks ago. "The circle is an ancient way of having a talk and getting work done," Balenger said. "It's a way of coming together." Related Articles Report: $500K settlement reached in Ramsey County jail inmate's beating Judge dismisses lawsuit brought by St. Paul man detained in a hot police squad Suspect was searching for someone else when he fatally shot St. Paul man in his home, charges say Community gathering Saturday for St. Paul mayor's guard who died suddenly Have a minor outstanding warrant? Take care of it Saturday in St. Paul He and Tamara Mattison, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center in St. Paul, will train community members who volunteer to participate in the circles. Their staff will also serve as facilitators. She's been involved in circles for over 15 years and is a firm believer in their ability to create meaningful healing in a way traditional prosecution can't. She said restorative justice practices are key to addressing the over-representation of people of color in the criminal justice system because they help stop the cycle of crime. "The restorative process brings about healing and forgiveness by bringing the parties together to repair the harm," Mattison said. "Research shows it's a lot more effective than locking someone away and saying don't do this again." It's not concrete, she added, and there is no fixed formula for success. "Whatever happens in circle is what's supposed to happen. … We have never seen circle not produce an amazing outcome," she said. Those who don't take it seriously, or fail to attend, will be charged for the crime instead, Olson said. The program is an expansion to the diversion program the city already has in place for low-level offenders, though that one provides participants with a path to getting a charge dropped from their record in the future, not avoid one in the first place, Olson added. It also lacks the flexibility to tailor outcomes to individual cases. WHERE COMMUNITIES ARE HEADED The program is the first of its kind in the Twin Cities, but local officials involved in criminal justice say it's where communities across the country are headed. The idea is to help people reconnect to their communities so they don't continue to make the same or worse mistakes down the road, said St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. Just because it's less punishment-focused doesn't mean the program is soft on crime, he added. "We have to decide what our goal is. If the most important thing is to just punish people as much as possible, then we should just continue along the road (we've been on)," he said. "But if our goal is to … reduce the likelihood that it will happen again, then this is the only approach to take." While St. Paul police declined to comment on the program   its representatives said they didn't want to "influence the process"   Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said he is a fan. Paying fines and spending a few days in jail doesn't connect an offender in a meaningful way to the impact their crime had on a victim or a community, he said, adding that without that, the chances of altering someone's behavior through those mechanisms are slim. He added that he hopes to see this type of programming expand to juveniles caught in the cycle of violent crime and people who commit higher-level drug crimes. "The entire system needs to be revamped at the local level," he said, adding that the shift to the circle method will take a lot of time and people to pull off well. CHOI: SUCH PROGRAMS 'SMART ON CRIME' Ramsey County Attorney John Choi commended the program. The county attorney's office offers its own assortment of diversion options for offenders, including specialized courts for addicts, veterans and those struggling with mental health issues. It's looking to expand in other areas in the future, Choi added. Related Articles Report: $500K settlement reached in Ramsey County jail inmate's beating Judge dismisses lawsuit brought by St. Paul man detained in a hot police squad Suspect was searching for someone else when he fatally shot St. Paul man in his home, charges say Have a minor outstanding warrant? Take care of it Saturday in St. Paul Minneapolis police investigate homicide near East Lake Street Rather than being soft on crime, diversion programs, he said, are "smart on crime." "Handling cases outside the traditional criminal justice response is actually often more effective when done right," Choi said. "Doing it right," means being "transparent about the outcomes" of these alternative approaches and measuring them against the community's goals, he added. The city intends to hire a legal assistant to help run the program for about $40,000 a year, according to city staff. Startup expenses are expected to cost an additional $30,000 to $40,000. HOW TO HAVE A SAY Community members are invited to attend feedback sessions to learn more about the program and provide input about its development. The sessions will be held: June 3, 5 to 7 p.m. at Wilder Foundation, 451 N. Lexington Parkway. June 4, 5 to 7 p.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 700 S. Snelling Ave. June 13, 5 to 7 p.m. at St. Anthony Park Library, 2245 Como Ave. June 18, 5 to 7 p.m. at Sun Ray Library, 2105 Wilson Ave. June 25, 5 to 7 p.m. at Rice Street Library, 1011 Rice St. June 26, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Arlington Hills Community Center, 1200 Payne Ave. June 27, 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Riverview Library, 1 E. George St.


Baltimore police confirmed Deputy Commissioner Daniel Murphy and his wife were robbed at gunpoint Friday night near Patterson Park by several men who were in an SUV. City police said officers were called around 9 p.m. to the 2200 block of East Pratt Street to investigate a reported robbery. Police said Murphy and his wife told investigators that a white SUV with four occupants pulled up to them as they were walking. Two men about 18 years old got out of the SUV and approached them. A handgun was displayed and the suspects demanded the victims' property. A purse, wallet, cash and cellphones were taken, police said. The suspects fled northbound on Patterson Park Avenue. The victims were not injured, and a police spokesman said both Murphy and his wife are OK. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call robbery detectives at 410-396-2422, Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP, or text a tip to 443-902-4824. Murphy is from New Orleans, and is in charge of the BPD's Consent Decree compliance READ MORE: BPD deputy commissioner, wife robbed at gunpoint CHECK OUT WBAL: Get all the latest Baltimore news, weather and sports. WBAL-TV brings you the best in Maryland news online, anytime.


Charlotte will see a return of last week's hot temperatures today and tomorrow, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Temperatures will reach a high of 94 degrees on Wednesday, then drop a bit from Friday to Tuesday. Also expect rain later in the week. Sunday's forecast shows the highest likelihood of rain at 72 percent, with expected rainfall of 0.04 inches. Skies will be partly cloudy today and mostly cloudy tomorrow. Winds will remain fairly calm over the course of the week, with the highest speeds tomorrow at only 11 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.


SANDUSKY, Ohio. (WWJ) - It was a "scary moment," a witness said, when one roller coaster train crashed into another at Cedar Point. It happened Wednesday on Valravn, one of the popular amusement park's newer rides. Tweeting a photo snapped in the Valravn station, CP guest Robbie DiPaola said he was waiting to ride the coaster when it broke down. Then, he said, about 20 minutes after the ride resumed operations, one train "slammer into" another. Scary moment at @cedarpoint . While waiting for Valravn the ride broke down. My sister & I decided to wait, and about 20 minutes later the ride resumed. However, after just one train the breaks failed and one train slammed into another in the station. pic.twitter.com/Ruf6iBI6DO -- Robbie DiPaola (@R_DiPaola16) June 26, 2019 According to a short statement issued by the park said a Valravn train bumped a parked train in the loading station. "Guests in both trains were evaluated by the park's First Aid team and escorted safely off the ride. Valravn is currently closed while the incident is under review," the statement continued. Asked by WWJ Newsrdio 950 to clarify whether or not anyone was injured, a spokesman for the park said in an email that there is no further information available at this time. Valravn was billed as the world's tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster when it debuted as the Sandusky, Ohio park's 18th coaster in 2016. No timetable was offered as to when the ride will reopen. Get more information on Cedar Point's rides, along with park hours and prices, at cedarpoint.com .


The motive behind the Gilroy Garlic Festival rampage that left three dead remained a mystery Wednesday, with federal authorities saying literature found in searches of gunman Santino William Legan's homes ran the gamut from left to right. John Bennett, FBI special agent in charge, said they had not determined the ideology of the Gilroy shooter and had recovered "conflicting literature" during searches in Nevada and Gilroy. Authorities are bringing in two profilers to help build a picture of the gunman. Among the "information we are collecting, there is conflicting literature ... everything from left to right." So, Bennett said, investigators do not feel they can "put this person in a box. I wouldn't say it was extreme views. It is writings and books that we have found through some of the search warrants. ... We are trying to go through all the literature and make sense of it." Authorities in Nevada searched a triplex unit where Legan lived. Court documents showed they retrieved items including a bulletproof vest, empty weapon and ammunition boxes, a pocketknife, a gun light, a camouflage backpack, pamphlets on guns, a sack of ammo casings, a gas mask and gloves. They also took electronics: three hard drives, three thumb drives, a flip phone and a computer tower. They found a letter to Legan from a woman, according to the court records. Legan's home in Gilroy was also searched. Authorities hope his electronic footprint will yield clues. Before the attack, Legan posted a photo on Instagram of a Smokey Bear sign warning about fire danger, with a caption instructing people to read an obscure novel glorified by white supremacists: "Might Is Right" published under the pseudonym Ragnar Redbeard. The book, published in 1890, includes discredited principles related to social Darwinism that have been used to justify racism, slavery and colonialism, said Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. A study published by the Cal State San Bernardino's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism this month found that mass shooters frequently used sites such as 8chan, Telegram, Gab and Facebook around the time of their attacks. It remains unclear whether Legan used any of these sites, authorities say. "Over the last decade," Levin said, "many of the most notorious extremist mass killers have participated in, or were influenced by, bigoted content on social media before undertaking attacks in their home regions." He cautioned that there were a lot of factors that could spur someone to carry out a violent act, not just one motivating cause. But young people who don't belong to a specific hate group can self-radicalize through content from those groups easily found online, Levin said. Bennett, the FBI official, said authorities had not determined that Legan had white supremacist leanings. Michael Downing, a retired deputy chief with the Los Angeles Police Department's counter-terrorism unit, said digital footprints were a "critical tool" for law enforcement in shooting investigations where the gunman had died. Downing, currently chief security officer with Oak View Group, said the individual's online presence could be telling for investigators who were tasked with piecing together the person's motivations without being able to speak with him. "A digital footprint shows what they are reading, who they are associating with and who they are influenced by," he said.


DETROIT (WWJ) -- Fire crews were called to the scene of a fire at a restaurant in downtown Detroit Tuesday afternoon. Photos and videos posted to Twitter show the Parc restaurant, located on the west side of Campus Martius Park, apparently on fire as multiple fire trucks were in the area. Deputy Commissioner Dave Fornell told WWJ the fire was contained to the ceiling of the building and it was put out, though there was residual smoke still in the area. Parc restaurant in Campus Martius on fire. @CityofDetroit #detroit pic.twitter.com/NGMAtmzhzA -- Colton Dale ---- (@iamcoltondale) July 16, 2019 Detroit firefighters lockdown Campus Martius after restaurant #Parc catches a blaze. @detroitnews pic.twitter.com/UWB1iNrAEs -- Sarah Rahal (@SarahRahal_) July 16, 2019 Fornell said the fire broke out around 4:30 p.m. and crews were finishing up at the scene around 5 p.m. There were no injuries reported. Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest on this developing story. >>> LISTEN LIVE


Frivolous lawsuits make strange bedfellows. The Saints and the NFL have had a rocky relationship to say the least in recent years, starting with the bounty scandal and continuing with the badly-blown call at the end of regulation in the NFC Championship loss to the Rams. On the question of whether a ticket holder should be able to sue over the outcome of a sporting event, the Saints and the NFL are on the same page. Whereas the NFL submitted a 34-page brief in support of the effort to persuade the Louisiana Supreme Court to pull the plug on a lawsuit that has survived to date in the lower courts, the Saints submitted a three-pages-and-change document echoing the league's bottom-line concern that spectator lawsuits aren't good for the bottom line. "While the Saints appreciate the fervor and dedication of their deep and passionate fan-base, allowing such claims to proceed in court would open the door to countless legal claims brought by passionate sports fans that would inundate the courts and overburden sports leagues and their member teams, including the Saints," the team's brief explains. "Such endless litigation could also hinder efforts to bring other major sporting events to our state." That's a good point. If Louisiana permits spectator lawsuits, sports leagues would be less inclined to stage major events, like the Super Bowl or the Final Four, at the Superdome. Still, it's not an easy balance for the Saints to strike between business considerations and fan loyalty. "The Saints appreciate the fervor and dedication that this commitment engenders in their deep and passionate fan-base," the team's brief states in its conclusion. "The Saints appreciate that those fans are willing to take up what they may perceive to be the Saints' cause. But taking up such a cause in this forum, in the courts, is not warranted, and is not in the Saints' interests. The Saints should be the sole advocate of their interest in the fair conduct of the events in which they participate. Louisiana law is clear that non-participant spectators and even the most dedicated of fans may not take up that mantel." Later today, we'll take a closer look at the specific arguments made by the plaintiffs and the NFL. The case has survived through multiple levels of the Louisiana court system for a reason; a dismissal at the highest judicial level in Louisiana should hardly be regarded as a slam-dunk proposition.


ROANNE, France (AP)   Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome will miss this year's race after a "bad crash" in training on Wednesday. Team INEOS leader Dave Brailsford said Froome sustained a suspected fractured femur in a 60 kph (40 mph) crash. The British rider was being airlifted to a hospital, Brailsford said at the Criterium du Dauphine race in southeastern France. Chris is in surgery at the moment to repair the multiple fractures, please keep him in your thoughts. I hope to be able to share a message from him tomorrow morning - MF   Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 12, 2019 Froome was practicing on the route of the 26-kilometer (16-mile) fourth stage of the eight-day Dauphine race, which would have been the 34-year-old rider's first time-trial test this season. Brailsford said Froome was riding in gusty winds and seemed to lose control of his front wheel when trying to clear his nose. Froome received treatment quickly from medical staff with a race ambulance that was near the scene of the crash, Brailsford said. Seeking a fourth win in the key preparation race, Froome was eighth in the Dauphine standings, 24 seconds behind leader Dylan Teuns of Belgium. Froome won the Dauphine before his Tour wins in 2013, '15 and '16. He also won the 2017 Tour. The three-week Tour de France starts on July 6. Long-time Froome teammate Geraint Thomas is the defending champion.


As the Eastern Conference finals shift to Toronto for Game 3, the Raptors are in a tough spot. Down 2-0 to a Milwaukee Bucks team that has lost just once in the playoffs, the Raptors need to somehow win four out of five games if they want to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In order to try and jumpstart a turnaround, Raptors coach Nick Nurse admitted on Saturday that he's contemplated multiple lineup changes. However, he hasn't made up his mind about altering the starting lineup because he has a lot of faith in his first unit. Via NBA.com: "I think there could be more than one lineup change coming at us." "I think your question here is this: Are you going to dance with the one you bring to the ball? It's not easy. You think certain series aren't for certain guys, et cetera, but I also think that we've had bad biorhythms a couple times, maybe three or four times in the playoffs, and then the next game our biorhythms were back in tact." "So I kind of trust these guys, know who they are, believe in them and know they're better than they played last night and have shown that in bounce-back situations usually." Marc Gasol , in particular, was poor in Game 2, going 1-of-9 from the field for two points in 19 minutes of action. Likewise, Danny Green continued to struggle on the offensive end; he's shot just 6-of-22 over the last four games. Considering the Bucks' outside-in approach on offense, and the demand for athletic defenders, as well as the Raptors' need to hit outside shots, it's easy to understand calls for Nurse to insert Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell -- shooting 4-of-8 from 3 in this series -- into the starting lineup. But in addition to matchups and form, Nurse must also contend with how changing the starting lineup would impact the dynamic of the team. Plus, as Nurse mentioned, these are the starters that got them to this point, and there's a reason that's the case. At this point, though, it doesn't seem like Nurse himself knows whether or not he'll go through with changes, so it will be interesting to see what lineup they roll out to start Game 3 on Sunday evening. Related slideshow: Best of the NBA playoffs (Provided by imagn)


Dirk Nowitzki recently commented on the many obstacles that Steve Nash had to overcome to be one of the best ever in the NBA. What do you make of Dirk's comments?


Video by CBS News Attorney General William Barr says he believes special counsel Robert Mueller could have reached a decision on whether President Trump obstructed justice during the course of his 22-month-long investigation. "I personally felt he could've reached a decision," Barr told CBS on Thursday . Barr pointed to Justice Department guidance that says a sitting president cannot be indicted, adding that Mueller "could've reached a decision as to whether there was criminal activity." Mueller said Wednesday in remarks from the Justice Department that the guidance prevented his team from charging Trump with a crime, but said that "if we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that." This developing report will be updated.


As fishermen deep in the Louisiana bayou, Kindra Arnesen and her family have faced their share of life-altering challenges in recent years. First came Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 monster storm that devastated her small fishing community in Plaquemines Parish before roaring up the Gulf Coast, killing more than 1,800 people and destroying $125 billion in property. Five years later, BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded 40 miles offshore, spewing nearly 200 million gallons of crude. The fisheries have not fully recovered more than nine years later, nor has her family. But this year may be worse. A historic slow-moving flood of polluted Mississippi River water loaded with chemicals, pesticides and human waste from 31 states and two Canadian provinces is draining straight into the marshes and bayous of the Gulf of Mexico   the nurseries of Arnesen's fishing grounds   upsetting the delicate balance of salinity and destroying the fragile ecosystem in the process. As the Gulf waters warm this summer, algae feed on the freshwater brew, smothering oxygen-starved marine life. And as of Wednesday, an advancing storm looks likely to turn into a tropical storm or hurricane by the weekend, with the potential to bring torrential downpours and more freshwater flooding. Fishermen and state government officials agree this long, hot summer may go down in history as one of the most destructive years for Gulf fisheries. The torrent of river water pushing into Gulf estuaries is decimating crab, oyster and shrimp populations. The brown shrimp catch this spring in Louisiana and Mississippi is already down by an estimated 80%, and oysters are completely wiped out in some of the most productive fishing grounds in the country, according to state and industry officials. The polluted freshwater has also triggered algae blooms, which have led to beach closures across Mississippi. "The Army Corps of Engineers says we had the most rainfall in 124 years," said Joe Spraggins, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. "Shrimpers and crabbers are struggling. Oystermen are almost nonexistent. … It's not going to get better soon." "I've had grown men call me on the phone and cry," said Arnesen, who serves on the board of the Louisiana Shrimp Association and works on state coastal management issues. "This feels like the height of the BP oil spill." Mississippi and Louisiana have already started the process of requesting federal disaster assistance for damaged fisheries. But it will likely be a long while before any money reaches the fishermen whose nets are coming up empty. To officially apply for disaster relief, Louisiana state officials say they need more data, which will take months to compile. "We are seeing impacts across the coast in all sectors of the fishing communities," said Patrick Banks, assistant secretary for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "We will continue to collect data to support a disaster declaration." It's not just fisheries that are suffering. Dolphins have been dying in huge numbers across the region   nearly 300 this year already, which is three times the number in a normal year, according to federal and state officials. Fishermen report finding dead dolphins floating in water near shore or beached in the marshes, covered in painful skin lesions that scientists have linked to freshwater exposure. One fisherman reported finding a mother dolphin pushing her dead baby along in the water. "Their skin looks like a Brillo pad," said Louisiana charter boat captain George Ricks, who heads the Save Louisiana Coalition, a coastal management advocacy organization. Ricks and many other fishermen blame the unprecedented deluge of freshwater pouring into the Gulf. The Bonnet Carre, a huge spillway that protects New Orleans, has already opened an unprecedented two times this year to divert surging Mississippi River water and is currently pouring more than 100,000 cubic feet per second into Lake Pontchartrain. Being able to close the spillway again depends on rainfall upriver. The Army Corps of Engineers operates the spillway and says it has no choice but to keep it open to protect property upstream. The Corps argues that some of this flooding can be beneficial to the ecosystem. " The introduction of fresh water during leakage events simulates the natural cycle of overbank flooding and provides numerous ecosystem benefits to the aquatic and terrestrial resources in the spillway," the agency notes on its website. But some marine biologists say the flood of freshwater can be catastrophic for species such as bottlenose dolphins, which are very territorial and are reluctant to leave their spawning grounds even when salinity levels become toxic. Endangered species like Kemp's ridley turtles are also threatened by river water exposure, since they depend on rich Gulf marshlands to grow and develop. "We are experiencing a Cat 5 aquatic hurricane," said Dr. Moby Solangi, director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi. Dolphins are particularly vulnerable to incursions of river water, he said. "Every time they open the Bonnet Carre spillway, we see a spike in deaths." Solangi's team recently found a stranded dolphin on a Gulfport beach, breathing slowly and covered in freshwater lesions. It died a short time later. "Dolphins are like the black box found on airplanes," Solangi said. "They tell you what's happening in the environment. When dolphins are doing well, the environment is doing well." By all accounts, the Gulf marine environment is not well. Scientists predict the annual dead zone   a giant blob of polluted, deoxygenated water linked to algae blooms   will grow to the size of Massachusetts and suffocate even more marine life later in the Gulf this summer. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared the bottlenose dolphin deaths an " Unusual Mortality Event " in February, and its investigation is ongoing. Officials say higher-than-normal dolphin strandings spiked in May, when there were 88 discovered along the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coasts. That's nearly eight times the average monthly number of dolphin mortalities during the BP spill from 2010 to 2014. Total dolphin strandings have not reached the levels seen at the height of the BP spill, and there were fewer in June. Dr. Teri Rowles, NOAA's marine mammal health and stranding program coordinator, said that researchers know freshwater exposure could be contributing to the health concerns, but that it's too early in their investigation to pinpoint an exact cause. "We do see dolphins with freshwater lesions, but not all the animals have skin lesions," said Rowles. Some dolphin populations have yet to recover from the BP oil spill, Rowles said, mainly due to reproductive problems. NOAA reports dolphins in heavily oiled areas are still suffering from chronic health problems and higher rates of failed pregnancies and mortalities. But many fishermen who have worked in these areas for generations suspect something else is threatening their future: politics. As part of a plan to save Louisiana's rapidly sinking coastline, state agencies want to pump in more sediment-heavy river water to help rebuild the disappearing land. Fishermen question the efficacy of freshwater diversions and worry about the dangers to fisheries and marine life posed by these projects. They question why NOAA would grant waivers to Louisiana last year to bypass the Marine Mammal Protection Act and allow the freshwater diversion construction to proceed. Meanwhile, fishermen know a changing climate is not working in their favor. Scientists say the Mississippi River is expected to continue to flood in future years as the atmosphere heats up and produces stronger storms and more rainfall. Barry, the storm heading for the coast right now, is the latest to threaten the Gulf ecosystem, but certainly not the last. All of this worries Acy Cooper, a fourth-generation fisherman and president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association who is leading a delegation of fishermen to Washington this month to plead their case for disaster assistance. He blames the Army Corps for not adequately managing the river and controlling and dredging the river passes that empty into the Gulf, making the effects of freshwater worse. But his biggest worry is for his family and future generations. He comes from a long line of fishing families who have prospered and persevered in one of the most bountiful fisheries in the world, and he doesn't want to be the last. "My sons can't make enough to feed their families," he said. "What's going to happen to them?" Arnesen worries about this as well. "If we keep operating like this, we're going to kill the estuaries and the oceans, yet they still dismiss us," she said. "Our fish feed America. That should matter to everyone." This article originally appeared on HuffPost .


Tips for early retirement This is what we'd change if we got a do-over My husband Mark and I retired early a little more than a year ago when I was 38 and Mark was 41, after saving aggressively for six years. Along the way, we made plenty of mistakes, both financial and mental. And if I can spare you a little stress by sharing them, then I'm glad to do it! This is what we'd change if we got a do-over, some of which I discuss in more detail in Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way. 1. Use all of our vacation time The entire point of retiring early was to have more time away from work, and yet as we got closer and closer to achieving our goal, we got so focused on reaching it that we didn't want to take time away from earning as much as we could. That came to a head in our second-to-last year of work, when we both hit a point of total burnout, and weren't even sure if we could make it through our last year of work. The reason? We took hardly any vacation that year. If we had it all to do over again, we would slow down just a little and use all of our vacation time along the way, because resting and relaxing are super important, and we forgot just how important self-care is on your journey. In our last year of work, we did it right and used all of our vacation time, including taking a two-week trip to Japan that was beyond wonderful. If you're pursuing a similar goal, focus on pacing yourself, and on living a life you enjoy while you're saving, rather than deferring all joy to the future. That future is never guaranteed, after all. 2. Institute a work complaint ban sooner One of the very best things we did to help us along on our saving journey was institute what we called the " work complaint ban ." Just as you are what you eat, you are what you think, and when we complain about things, we focus our minds on the negative rather than the positive. So we banned all complaining about work. We were allowed to recount things that had happened and if something was truly egregious, we could complain about that in a very small dose, but we stopped allowing ourselves to complain about the fact that we had to work, the annoyances that would be normal in any job and the annoyances specific to our jobs that would always be true. The result: We actually enjoyed work more and found that the journey to save for early retirement passed a lot more quickly. We instituted the ban with about two years left to work, and if we had it to do again, we would have put this rule into place much, much sooner. 3. Appreciate work more, sooner Similarly, in addition to stopping our complaints, we also would have taken the time sooner to appreciate our work. During my last year of work especially, I started practicing something I called "nostalgia in advance," and it worked miraculously well to help me enjoy the work and feel more grateful for it. Whenever something I enjoyed at work was happening, I'd start a mental video recorder and say to myself, "I'll look back on this fondly one day." It really helped me appreciate those good moments, but even more, it helped me get through the bad ones. When times were stressful, I'd tell myself, "Someday soon I'll look back on this and laugh about how serious it felt at the time, but how insignificant it was in the long run." And reminding myself of that helped me keep the bad moments in perspective, which made the whole journey more enjoyable. 4. Invest more in Roth IRAs On the financial side, our biggest mistake was not taking advantage of Roth IRAs while we were income eligible. We were fortunate to earn six figures each in our last several years of work (unlike our early years, when we each earned peanuts while living in DC and LA, two expensive cities), and it wasn't until we were in that income bracket that we realized how helpful Roth IRA savings can be. By then, it was too late to take advantage of them. We consider this a good problem to have, because obviously, we were better off earning more than we would have been earning less but saving in Roths, but still… hindsight is 20/20. If we'd gotten wise earlier on, we might have put money into Roths rather than spending that money in our lower earning years. 5. Not waste energy clipping coupons Before we got all gung-ho on saving for our work-optional life, we were gung-ho on saving to buy our first home in Los Angeles where property is super expensive. And before that, I was really focused on paying off my credit card, car loan, and student loan debt. In many ways, saving for retirement is exactly the same as pursuing those other financial goals, it's just a smidge more ambitious. But during those earlier saving periods, I took a very penny-pinching approach to saving and spent huge amounts of time trying to track down the best grocery deals, which involved clipping coupons, matching them to the best deals, and shopping at multiple stores every week. (And, in all honesty, it also involved walking around our neighborhood in LA to find coupon flyers our neighbors did not pick up, so I could have multiples of every coupon) And it's true that while I shopped that way, we were spending very little on groceries… but I was also spending a ton of time on all of it and we were eating a lot of junk food because that's what coupons tend to be for. Looking back, it wasn't worth it. Now we'll happily pay a bit more for groceries but eat healthier stuff and avoid wasting all that time tracking down deals and driving all over town. I learned an important lesson from it all that it's far better to look for the big opportunities to save money   like by minimizing housing and transportation costs   and to skip the savings methods that only save you a few pennies at a time, especially if those methods consume a lot of time. Your time has value, too! (That's why "non-penny-pinching" is in the title of the book!) 6. Not stock up right before we left work In the months before we quit working, I started to worry that we'd never be able to buy anything again, and I stocked up on a bunch of things, including new socks, underwear, soap, shampoo, and a few other random things. In hindsight, that was so silly! We built a strong and conservative early retirement financial plan, and we'll always be able to afford those things and much more. But the gravity of what we were doing   walking away from well-paid careers and leaping into the great unknown   got to me a bit and made me take on a scarcity mentality temporarily. Fortunately, I learned from that and got over it quickly. 7. Be smart about airline and hotel points sooner We retired with about 3 million hotel and airline points banked, thanks to a lot of work travel over a lot of years. I was always smart about sticking with one airline, and we each had United credit cards, but we didn't pay attention to other travel hacking opportunities until our last few years of work. Unfortunately, we squandered a ton of hotel points by not focusing on one or two chains. We even let some points expire. If we had it to do again, we'd focus on staying with one hotel chain and making sure we didn't lose any points due to inactivity. We could probably have another million or more hotel points if we'd done that! 8. Enjoy the journey more Honestly, the biggest thing we'd change is not financial. It's that we'd let ourselves enjoy the journey more. It's so easy to get impatient when you see that an exit from mandatory work is possible, and we let ourselves get impatient. We had great careers with great employers, and even if that hadn't been true, we wish we'd been in less of a hurry and had focused the entire time on enjoying our lives in the moment, rather than focusing so hard on the future. Sure, that future focus helped propel us, but if we'd taken seven or eight years to reach our goal instead of six, we still would have retired incredibly early compared to the norm. We could have spent a few thousand dollars more a year on things we enjoyed and not slowed ourselves down all that much, and we could have appreciated work more. We're still ultimately proud of what we've accomplished, and thrilled to be living work-optional lives now, but if I could go back and share one lesson with past us at the beginning of the journey, it would be: "Don't forget to look around and enjoy the present, even if it means going a little slower." This article originally appeared on WalletHacks.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.


The chemical giant DuPont deliberately saddled its "fraudulent" spinoff company Chemours with billions of dollars in debt and environmental liabilities in an attempt to shed its expensive toxic cleanups, such as one in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey officials allege in recently filed court papers. The new claims by the state attorney general's office were quietly added as amendments to a lawsuit filed against DuPont and Chemours seeking financial damages for widespread pollution in Pompton Lakes This includes a neighborhood where residents have had to endure cancer-causing solvents that migrated for decades beneath their homes from a now-shuttered DuPont explosives factory. Like dozens of sites across the U.S., the cleanup in Pompton Lakes had long been DuPont's responsibility. That changed in July 2015, when DuPont created Chemours as a spinoff company that took over the bulk of the DuPont's environmental liabilities. But two separate lawsuits against DuPont   one by New Jersey officials and another by Chemours itself   allege what many in Pompton Lakes feared at the time of the spinoff: DuPont created Chemours to insulate itself from future cleanup and natural resource damage claims, and left Chemours vulnerable to financial problems that could put cleanup efforts at risk in New Jersey and across the country. Story continues below video player: "We warned everybody of this," said Lisa Riggiola, a longtime community activist whose mother still lives in the Pompton Lakes neighborhood. "What we predicted is unfolding and coming true." TOXIC SECRETS: Pollution, evasion and fear in North Jersey 'RAIN TAX': Lake Hopatcong's toxic algae bloom renews fight over stormwater law The lawsuits allege that DuPont saddled Chemours with almost $4 billion in debt, refused cash advances and grossly undervalued how much liability Chemours would take on from all the former DuPont toxic sites. Dan Turner, a DuPont spokesman, would not comment on the New Jersey lawsuit. He referenced a statement DuPont issued last month in response to the Chemours lawsuit. "We have no reason to believe Chemours is insolvent or otherwise unable to manage the liabilities allocated to it in the Separation Agreement   either today or at any point since it became an independent company," the statement reads. In its lawsuit, New Jersey officials said they are concerned over the solvency of Chemours and its ability to carry out the monitoring and cleanup in Pompton Lakes as well as its ability to possibly pay damages from the state's lawsuit. Tayler Covington, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would not comment on the pending litigation but said her agency would ensure the companies live up to their environmental responsibilities. The site is covered by an EPA permit and New Jersey consent order, "both of which include financial assurance requirements," she said. Lee Moore, a spokesman for the New Jersey attorney general's office, said the agency would not comment on the legal proceedings. The language in New Jersey's amended lawsuit is not as restrained. A new section dealing with the creation of Chemours is titled, "The Fraudulent Spinoff of DuPont's Specialty Chemical Business." Creating Chemours While New Jersey's amended lawsuit delves deeply into how Chemours was created, Chemours' 64-page lawsuit provides even more details on how its executives argue it was set up to fail by DuPont. DuPont had fought to keep the lawsuit sealed from public view before a Delaware judge ruled otherwise. The suit was made public last month. The genesis of Chemours dates back to 2013, when DuPont began an initiative code named "Project Beta" that focused on what to do with the company's performance chemicals unit, according to the Chemours lawsuit. That unit manufactured industrial chemicals and was responsible for much of DuPont's widespread pollution across the nation. DuPont figured no one wanted to buy the division with such significant environmental liabilities, so it began toying with the idea of a spinoff, the lawsuit states. At the time, DuPont was facing criticism from a New York hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, which had taken a stake in the Delaware company. DuPont planned a $5 billion stock buyback to appease shareholders. To cover the cost of the buyback, DuPont arranged to have Chemours pay DuPont a dividend of $3.9 billion when the spinoff was completed. The management team assembled to lead Chemours was meanwhile kept in the dark about the new company's financial situation, the Chemours suit alleges. In June 2015, just weeks before the spinoff was finalized, Chemours' CFO sent an email saying he needed $200 million to $300 million in cash reserves to operate on Day One. DuPont rejected the request, and castigated the Chemours CFO for putting the request in an email, creating a paper trail, according to the Chemours lawsuit. Chemours received 19 percent of DuPont's business lines, but was saddled with two-thirds of its environmental liabilities and 90 percent of DuPont's pending litigation, according to the Chemours lawsuit. Liabilities exceeded earnings by 5.5 to 1 at the time of the spinoff. Furthermore, the lawsuit said DuPont's estimates for what Chemours would have to pay in environmental damages and lawsuits "were systematically and spectacularly wrong." For instance, DuPont estimated that three lawsuits against it over contamination from the toxic chemical PFOA would cost no more than $128 million. They were settled by Chemours for $671 million less than two years later. Cleaning up DuPont discharges into North Carolina's Cape Fear River was estimated to cost no more than $2 million. Costs now stand at $200 million, according to the Chemours lawsuit. DuPont "dumped the maximum possible environmental liability" on Chemours while "extracting the pre-ordained $4 billion payment," the lawsuit states. NJ goes after DuPont, Chemours Among the 80 toxic sites inherited by Chemours was the former Pompton Lakes munitions plant where for decades DuPont workers disposed of solvents used to clean machine parts by dumping them into unlined lagoons on the company's 600-acre campus. The plant closed in 1994 after almost a century of manufacturing. The solvents that had been dumped into the lagoons migrated into groundwater, which carried the cancer-causing pollutants under an adjacent neighborhood of 450 homes just south of the plant. Elevated rates of kidney cancer and lymphoma have been found in the neighborhood. An award-winning 2018 series by NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey showed how DuPont worked behind the scenes for more than three decades to keep secret and then downplay the extent of overall contamination from the site and the potential health risks they posed to neighboring residents. The series was credited by state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in March for his decision to file four lawsuits against DuPont, Chemours and 3M to recover damages to the state's air, soil and water by DuPont pollution at four sites across the state. The lawsuit was amended on May 31, around the same time that Chemours filed its lawsuit. New Jersey's lawsuit detailed how DuPont executives since at least 2000 were concerned about liability from the toxic chemical PFOA, used to make one of DuPont's signature products, Teflon, for non-stick pans and other products. It was the wave of lawsuits, fines and investigations over widespread PFOA contamination that led DuPont to create Chemours to "protect its assets," the New Jersey lawsuit states. DuPont underestimated the amount Chemours would have to shell out to cover environmental lawsuits, cleanup costs and fines, the New Jersey lawsuit states, echoing the same argument as Chemours. How will this affect Pompton Lakes? Even though PFOA is not a contaminant at Pompton Lakes, its affect on Chemours' finances has led New Jersey officials to question the company's ability to carry out the monitoring and cleanup of Pompton Lakes. Chemours' initial stock price of $21 in July 2015 dropped to $11.48 within a month, and then plummeted to $3.16 in six months   an 85 percent decline. That forced Chemours to lay off 1,000 employees, close manufacturing plants, undertake two corporate restructurings and amend its credit agreements, according to Chemours' lawsuit. Concerns about Chemours' financial position were raised as far back as 2016, when well-known short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research published a report calling Chemours a "bankruptcy waiting to happen." Chemours' stock price roared back up to more than $57 a share in October 2017. It has since fallen to about $20, as of last week. Still, Chemours CEO Mark Vergnano said in a January speech that "no way" was Chemours set up to fail   despite the allegations in his company's lawsuit months later. Chemours executives did not answer questions about its lawsuit or whether the company will be able to monitor and remediate the Pompton Lakes site, which includes the 600-acre former campus, the plume of contaminated groundwater under 450 nearby homes and a lake that had been contaminated with mercury and lead from the site and which was recently dredged to remove contaminated sediment. In a statement, the company said it has spent $100 million on cleanup efforts in New Jersey since Chemours was formed in 2015 and has "worked with developers to revitalize several of these sites for commercial use, creating New Jersey jobs." Despite assurances from EPA officials, other spinoffs have failed under the burden of a parent company's environmental liabilities, leading to lengthy litigation   and slowing cleanups. Some measures are in place   from policies to case law   that can help the government secure cleanup money from a bankrupt polluter, but the process is still prone to onerous litigation that can go on for years, delaying cleanups. Residents have said little has changed since Chemours took over the DuPont site in Pompton Lakes, considering the site is still overseen by former DuPont employees, and many of the same questionable practices and controversial clean up methods continued. State environmental regulators last year shot down a Chemours plan originated under DuPont to pump clean water into the ground in hopes of providing a protective barrier between Pompton Lakes homes and contamination. And residents have criticized the $50 million project that ended last year after 130,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment was dredged from Pompton Lake, saying the project left too much polluton in the lake. Recent zoning changes to make the Pompton Lakes site a hybrid industrial district were criticized by many current and former residents , who say the changes allow Chemours to conduct a less comprehensive cleanup because the standards are not nearly as strict. The state Department of Environmental Protection says levels of the cancer-causing TCE and PCE are decreasing in the groundwater beneath the affected homes and has not required Chemours to do a more aggressive cleanup. "Where does this leave the people living in Pompton Lakes?" Riggiola asked. "They're still there with their elevated rates of cancer. And what happens to all the other sites across New Jersey and the U.S.?" Support local journalism Investigations into local topics take time and resources. Readers help support these efforts with their subscriptions. Support our journalism and become a subscriber today. Click here for our special offers. This article originally appeared on North Jersey Record: NJ officials: Company charged with cleaning Pompton Lakes pollution was set up to fail by DuPont


The announcement this week came with the dry title " Department of Energy Authorizes Additional LNG Exports from Freeport LNG ." "Increasing export capacity from the Freeport LNG project is critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world by giving America's allies a diverse and affordable source of clean energy," it quoted Energy Undersecretary Mark Menezes as saying in explaining why the Energy Department was approving expansion of exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Yes, he said "freedom gas." The announcement goes on to quote Steven Winberg, the Energy Department's assistant secretary for fossil energy, as saying: "With the U.S. in another year of record-setting natural gas production, I am pleased that the Department of Energy is doing what it can to promote an efficient regulatory system that allows for molecules of U.S. freedom to be exported to the world." The constructions aren't new. When he signed similar orders early this month, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told reporters in Brussels that "the United States is again delivering a form of freedom to the European continent. ... And rather than in the form of young American soldiers, it's in the form of liquefied natural gas." According to Energy News Bulletin , a trade journal, a reporter asked Perry whether he thought "freedom gas" was an appropriate name for liquefied natural gas. "Yes, I think you may be correct in your observation," he replied. Liquefied natural gas is a big deal right now. The United States and China have been in a trade war ever since President Donald Trump raised import tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports last year, to which the Chinese government responded by raising tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods. One of the casualties of the trade war is the liquefied natural gas industry, on which China   the world's second-biggest importer of the fuel   raised tariffs by 25 percent. U.S. jobs are at stake, and in a tradition stretching back more than a century, the United States is deploying heavy ammunition: the dictionary. "Freedom gas" and "molecules of U.S. freedom" join a long history of patriotic renaming of goods and products associated with countries with which the United States isn't on particularly good terms with. The most famous example is probably the House cafeteria's renaming of french fries as "freedom fries" in 2003, when the French government opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq. (Depending on whom you believe, french fries aren't even French   they're Belgian. Other derivations argue that they're so called because they were originally prepared by "frenching," or slicing potatoes into thin strips and sautéing them in a pan.) French fries returned to the cafeteria with little fanfare three years later. Less well remembered is that the cafeteria also renamed French toast   which dates to a fourth- or fifth-century book of Roman recipes called "Apicius" and was popularized in France during the 15th century   as "freedom toast." It wasn't an original idea. Americans have been calling call hot dogs hot dogs since as early as the 1890s; references from the time mention "hot-dogs" as a joking name for what were, at the time, called "dachsund sausages" or "frankfurters," which were imported from Germany in the early 19th century, according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council . The new name really took off during World War I amid a frenzy of anti-German sentiment, when the government sought to get Americans to call frankfurters "liberty sausages." Patriotic Americans even sent the Food Administration (now the Food and Drug Administration) a petition to rename sauerkraut as "liberty cabbage." Likewise Salisbury steak, which until World War I was generally called "Hamburg steak" or "Hamburg-style American fillet" after it was brought to the United States by immigrants from Hamburg, Germany, during the first half of the 19th century, according to " The Hamburger: A History ," published by Yale University Press in 2008. So "freedom this" and "freedom that" are American traditions. But don't count Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democratic candidate for president, as among those impressed by "freedom gas" or "molecules of U.S. freedom." Inslee, who has made clean energy to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels a centerpiece of his campaign, ridiculed the appellations Wednesday on Twitter, first tweeting " This has to be a joke " and following up in a more serious vein: %3Cblockquote%20class=%22twitter-tweet%22%20data-lang=%22en%22%3E%3Cp%20lang=%22en%22%20dir=%22ltr%22%3EFreedom%20gas?%20Freedom%20is%20generally%20good,%20but%20freedom%20from%20glaciers,%20freedom%20from%20clean%20air,%20freedom%20from%20healthy%20forests%20that%20aren't%20on%20fire,%20and%20freedom%20from%20the%20world%20we%20know%20and%20cherish%20is%20not%20what%20we%20seek.%3C/p%3E %20Jay%20Inslee%20(@JayInslee)%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://twitter.com/JayInslee/status/1133806183024693248?ref_src=twsrc%255Etfw%22%3EMay%2029,%202019%3C/a%3E%3C/blockquote%3E%3Cscript%20async%20src=%22https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js%22%20charset=%22utf-8%22%3E%3C/script%3E


Now that mandatory minicamps have wrapped up around the league, it's time to take a first look at the NFL's potentially toughest divisions this upcoming season. NFL.com writer Gregg Rosenthal ranked all four divisions in the AFC and NFC based on which teams had the best shot of making the Super Bowl in February. The NFC North came out the clear winner, featuring the Bears, Packers, Vikings and Lions. The NFC West landed at No. 4 overall. "The Seahawks have been the best NFC team of the decade under Pete Carroll and last season's playoff appearance showed the coach's resourcefulness," Rosenthal wrote of Seattle. I lean NFC North as football's best division for 2019, but still roll with the NFC South for the best QBs, food and consistently entertaining games. https://t.co/ikbpm0Mari pic.twitter.com/W5YULlmceB - Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) June 18, 2019 Here's what he had to say about the Seahawks' division rivals this year. "The Rams have won 24 regular-season games in two years under Sean McVay and there's little reason to think they'll suddenly crumble," Rosenthal noted. "The Cardinals have a chance to be the worst team in the NFC, but this division's ranking was helped by the 49ers' ceiling. Perhaps no team in the NFL has a bigger boom-or-bust potential. "Twelve wins or 10 losses would not be a surprise, but anything close to the former projection would give this division three dangerous teams." MORE: Kyle Kuzma is already trash-talking his former Lakers teammate News: Elliott holdout concern re-emerges from Bristol, Cowboys new DE impresses Packers DL Tyler Lancaster working on pass-rushing in Year 2 Luke Bowanko: what the Lions are getting with their new OL NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players


Bail is set at $2 million for an 18-year-old accused of killing a teen at a Louisville park. Police said Brandon Briceno fatally shot Devin Swann, 17, on the basketball court at Victory Park Monday night. Briceno is charged with murder. Police said he shot Swann when a fight broke out following a gun sale. Briceno told police Swann shot him as well but investigators didn't find any evidence to support that claim. READ MORE: $2M bail set for teen accused in murder at Victory Park basketball court CHECK OUT WLKY: Live. Local. Late-Breaking. Get the top Louisville news, weather and sports from the team at WLKY   online, anytime.


Greyson Sigg shot 12-under 59 in Sunday's final round of the Mackenzie Tour's GolfBC Championship. The 24-year-old former Georgia player made 12 birdies and no bogeys at Gallagher's Canyon Golf and Country Club in Kelowna, British Columbia. He needed just nine putts during a back-nine 28 and 23 putts total. The 59 is only the second sub-60 score in Mackenzie Tour history. Jason Bohn shot 58 in 2001 before the Canadian Tour was an official world-ranked tour. This was just Sigg's third Mackenzie Tour start of the year. He is ranked 1,334th in the Official World Golf Ranking.


The Cavaliers continue to view Kevin Love as an important part of their rotation and are unlikely to make him available in trade talks this summer, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com . In addition to his on-court production, Cavs management likes having the five-time All-Star around as a veteran leader as the team continues to rebuild after losing LeBron James . Fedor adds that when the front office gave Love a four-year extension last summer, it viewed him as part of the foundation for the future, along with Collin Sexton , Cedi Osman , Larry Nance Jr. and this year's first-rounder, which landed at No. 9. Love played just 22 games last season, and Fedor doesn't believe it's likely that a team would make a significant offers to the Cavaliers given Love's age, contract and injury risk. There's more from the Central Division: Jordan Clarkson could be a valuable trade piece heading into the final year of his contract, and the Cavaliers may start talks as early as this summer, Fedor adds in the same piece. Clarkson averaged a career-high 16.8 points per game off the bench this season and has an affordable $13.4M salary for next year. Fedor states that Cleveland may have to take on long-term salary, but he expects the organization to receive a first-round pick or a pair of second-rounders in exchange for Clarkson. With the Pacers facing six important free agent decisions this summer, J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star examines the pros and cons of keeping each player. What the team does with Thaddeus Young , Cory Joseph , Darren Collison , Kyle O'Quinn , Bojan Bogdanovic and Wesley Matthews will shape the offseason, and it could create about $45M in cap room by letting them all go. The city of Milwaukee is considering a $400K settlement with Sterling Brown regarding an incident in which police officers allegedly used a stun gun to arrest him over a parking violation, writes Ivan Moreno of The Associated Press . Brown, who sued the city over the incident, received an apology from Police Chief Alfonso Morales. Milwaukee's Common Council has a June 10 vote scheduled on the proposed settlement. Related slideshow: Best of the NBA Finals (Provided by imagn)


The Philadelphia Eagles made a roster move on Wednesday, signing safety Trae Elston to a deal. To make room on the roster, the Birds waived linebacker, B.J. Bello. Roster Move: #Eagles have signed S Trae Elston and waived LB B.J. Bello. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/miimCeHj33 - Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) June 5, 2019 The addition of Elston means that Ryan Cyprien won't be signing with the team after working out on Tuesday, and it also means that conversations with Malcolm Jenkins aren't going as well as Eagles fans may hope. Elston played one game with the Birds in 2017, before moving on to the Bills. Elston posted 18 tackles and an interception in 13 appearances with the Bills. MORE: Heavyweight champ Andy Ruiz hits back at Stephen A. Smith after 'Butter Bean' comment These five upcoming NBA free agents helped themselves in the playoffs Roundup: New Black Mirror Season Premieres; Trump Imposes Cuban Travel Restrictions; Manafort Sent to Rikers Return of NASCAR: Packers planning ways to get 4 OLBs on the field together Drew Lock trucked a defender at Broncos' opening minicamp practice


"I'm a hometown hero, baby!!" That Pat Maroon yell at the Blues championship rally is now iconic. The Oakville kid got to live out every St. Louis kid's dreams as he hoisted the Stanley Cup in his hometown. Now, almost two months removed from the run of a lifetime, Maroon is still basking in the Stanley Cup glory, while waiting to find out what his future holds. Maroon sat down with our Frank Cusumano on Monday. Watch: Pat Maroon talks about being a hometown hero, what might come next For a lot of us, the fact the Blues actually won the Stanley Cup is still surreal. Well, it's surreal for Maroon, too. "There's times when I'm sitting there at the gym and I'm like, 'I can't believe we won the Stanley Cup'. It's insane to me. It's real life," Maroon said. "My name gets to go on the Stanley Cup. A St. Louis born player with the St. Louis Blues. sometimes it doesn't all click." RELATED: Maroon still open to return to Blues if opportunity is there RELATED: Pat Maroon, Laila Anderson eat toasted ravioli out of the Cup RELATED: Breakfast of champs | Patrick Maroon and son eat cereal out of Stanley Cup RELATED: Pat Maroon stops by home of Langsdorf family RELATED: Will 'hometown hero' Pat Maroon and Blues part ways after storybook 2019? "This is everything I've ever dreamed of. Coming home, winning the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues, the team I grew up watching, doing it front of my fiance and her family and my family and my son gets to see me every day. The Stanley Cup was the icing on the cake. It's unbelievable," Maroon said. Maroon also talked a bit about his whirlwind day with the Stanley Cup just a couple of weeks ago. "The day comes with a lot of stress," Maroon said. "It's like planning a wedding, but everything turned out amazing." Watch: "I'm a hometown hero, baby!" Although we can't officially confirm it, we do believe Maroon is the first person to ever eat toasted ravioli out of the Stanley Cup. From the hockey standpoint, Maroon is still searching for a job. His one year deal with the Blues gave him everything he could've dreamed of, but now it's time for the next chapter. "For me, it's a waiting game. Teams are still trying to make moves," Maroon said. "We've got a lot of interest and teams are still kind of waiting. I get it." The 31-year-old said he hasn't ruled the Blues out of the picture, but he's waiting for the right opportunity. "I'm keeping my options open. It's been a slow free agency I'd say. There's still a lot of guys out there that haven't signed," Maroon said. "I'm not really thinking about it too much, and letting my summer play out and just get ready for September 15." RELATED: Who cleans up the Stanley Cup after Blues players do "things" to it? RELATED: Sports Plus Podcast: Mizzou football preview and Cards deadline dread RELATED: Blues Stanley Cup Championship movie now on sale RELATED: Review | '2019 Stanley Cup Champions' Blu-ray brings back surreal euphoria of the Blues' miraculous run RELATED: Stanley Cup champion Ryan O'Reilly reunites with 99-year-old granny


Set to be revealed next week, the Galaxy Note 10 is expected to carry a sky-high price tag, just like most other recent flagship phones. But the phone might be slightly cheaper than initially believed, at least according to a leaker who has posted accurate information about numerous mobile devices in the past. Pricing for the 256GB Galaxy Note 10 would start at €999 in Germany , a previous leak said, with the Plus model supposedly being priced at €1,149. But Ishan Agarwal says the phones will be €50 cheaper: The 256GB Note 10 would cost €949, while the Note 10+ with the same capacity would be €150 more expensive. If you need more built-in storage for the Note 10+, you'd have to pay €1,199 for the 512GB version. Pricing will supposedly differ in different European countries, the leaker noted. The Note 10 will be available in a 512GB version as well, while storage on the Note 10+ goes all the way up to 1TB, not including microSD memory expansion. If these figures are accurate, then the Note 10 series might start at $949 or $1,099, depending on size. But they might be even cheaper than that. That's because the cost between the two continents differs, however, as European prices also include sales tax, while US prices don't. No matter what the entry price of the Note 10 will be, you'll likely be able to take advantage of some sweet deals during preorders. Samsung already has its trade-in page up , and carriers are working on BOGO deals for the handset. On top of that, you might be offered free accessories with your Note 10 preorder, including a choice between Galaxy Buds earphones or the Galaxy Watch. That's something Samsung has yet to confirm, but leaked Note 10 imagery points in that direction. Not to mention that Samsung offered free Galaxy Buds during Galaxy S10 preorders as well. Online sales will likely start soon after the press event next Wednesday, with the phone expected to ship on August 23rd. Sign up for BGR's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .


Police in Phoenix arrested Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Philon for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly threatening to shoot a woman outside a strip club, TMZ.com reports. Philon, 25, was taken to the Maricopa County Jail on Friday morning. He stands accused of pointing a handgun at a dancer in the parking lot of the VLive strip club on May 17, according to a police report obtained by TMZ. The alleged victim told police Philon requested that she and another female follow him to his vehicle where he kept his money, according to TMZ. While at his BMW, Philon allegedly pulled a handgun and pointed it at the alleged victim's chest, asking, "which one of you wants a bullet?" Philon lowered the weapon but pointed it at the women a second time before she returned to the club and Philon drove away, per TMZ. Philon signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Cardinals in the offseason, leaving the Chargers after four seasons. The Chargers made him a sixth-round choice in 2015.