MADRID (AP) — Getafe scored twice in three minutes midway through the second half to beat struggling Valladolid 2-0 and record only its second win in La Liga on Friday. The victory ended Getafe’s five-game winless run and lifted it into 15th place in the 20-team standings. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
As a winter storm bears down on Michigan , drivers could face a $100 ticket if they follow a snowplow too closely not just during this storm but all winter. The civil infraction is new this year after being signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July in an effort to reduce winter crashes. Under the law, people can face a $100 ticket if they drive less than 200 feet behind a snowplow that is actively salting, sanding, snowplowing or otherwise trying to remove snow and ice. The distance rule doesn’t apply when drivers are attempting to pass a snowplow. And the required separation distance behind a plow reduces to 20 feet when the plow is stopped at or in an intersection. The rule also only applies when plows have their operating lights active and are working on behalf of the state or a local municipality. More than half of Michigan is currently under a winter storm warning Wednesday afternoon , with much of the remainder of the state under a winter weather advisory. Meteorologists say the storm could bring an additional 10 to 14 inches of snow to some areas of the state, create whiteout conditions on roadways and potentially result in power outages from wind gusts topping 40 mph. Related: Winter Storm Warnings now cover half of Michigan: Prepare for a multi-hazard weather event ahead Wednesday evening and Thursday morning commutes are expected to be the most impacted by the storm, with snow and wind still expected to affect the Thursday evening commute, according to the National Weather Service. Over the last five years, there were 114 crashes involving snowplows, according to state data. That included 20 crashes in 2021 and 19 in 2022. The crashes stem from causes including poor visibility and icy roads, which make it difficult for a driver to brake in time to prevent the crash, according to previous Senate testimony. The hope is that drivers abide by the restricted distance between personal vehicles and snowplows, giving them more time to stop in poor conditions.
How to Restore and Modernize Antique Lamps for the Holidays
Many people are wondering: how is it that, in 2024, voters in the United States elected a twice-impeached convicted felon with multiple indictments in other cases — who led an insurrection to overthrow the U.S. government on Jan. 6, 2021 — to lead us again? The answer is multi-layered, but there’s no doubt that “low-information voters” — those who pay little attention to politics — were courted by Trump even more aggressively this time, and to great effect. Gaslighting, lies and disinformation have been a tactic of the Republican Party for years, but Trump and his team took this to new levels. Certainly the case can be made that, if low-information voters had truly been voting for a better economy and their own self-interests, they would have cast their ballots for Kamala Harris, not Donald Trump. Instead, it was Trump’s messaging that prevailed. During his first term, Trump presided over the “deconstruction of the administrative state.” This included, in 2018, disbanding the pandemic response unit established by President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the Ebola epidemic. Housed within the National Security Council, its purpose was to help prevent and mitigate global outbreaks of disease. Two years later we experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to more than 400,000 deaths during Trump’s administration. Trump’s deregulation agenda, underplaying of the pandemic, unwillingness to implement federal mask and vaccine mandates, and stream of misinformation about the virus further spiraled the economy. That decline prolonged the pandemic and exacerbated an economic downturn that resulted in high inflation and supply chain issues across the globe. While the Republicans blame President Joe Biden for inflation, supply shortages imposed by the pandemic and exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war are ultimately to blame, as is corporate greed. Moreover, 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists have warned that Trump’s promised tariff policies will increase inflation. The American economy under Biden is, by all economic indicators, actually thriving, with low unemployment, rising wages and steep stock market gains. Low-information voters were played. The modern Republican Party is the party of the wealthy and big business. It aims to reduce corporate income tax and income tax on the highest earning individuals, passing these costs on to the middle class and downsizing much-needed programs including Medicare and Social Security. The national debt increased significantly during Trump’s term in office, as it has under previous Republican presidents. That’s because Republican administrations continue to spend, while lowering revenues by cutting taxes for high-earners and corporations. The national debt under Ronald Reagan rose by more than $1.6 trillion, or 160.8 percent; Trump added $6.7 trillion or 33.1 percent in his four years. Maybe that’s why Republicans no longer talk about the national debt. While it will take many years and a massive effort to inform and educate the low-information voter, the Democratic Party must begin now if it is to have any chance of success. The forces of dark money in politics, misinformation and disinformation, conspiracy theories, tribalism, vast ignorance and anti-intellectualism are stacked against us. One thing is certain: if the Democratic Party doesn’t revamp its messaging strategy, it will continue to suffer at the polls, and the country will continue its downward slide toward authoritarianism and dysfunction. The Democratic establishment must give way to new ideas on how to educate working-class and low-information voters.
Tescha Hawley (right) and her mother, Janice Hawley, serve food from Tescha’s nonprofit to cross-country teams at the Harlem Invitational in Harlem, Montana. Tescha began the Day Eagle Hope Project to improve the health of her community after seeing how hard it was to access care when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. (Jessica Plance/KFF Health News/TNS) Tescha Hawley, a citizen of the Gros Ventre Tribe who lives on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana, is among the patients who say they were stuck with medical debt that the Indian Health Service should have paid. (Jessica Plance/KFF Health News/TNS) Tescha Hawley (center) sits for a portrait with her children, Tearia Sunchild (left) and Trayce Sunchild, near Jim Brown Creek on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana. Tescha says hospital bills from her son’s birth that the Indian Health Service promised to pay were sent to debt collectors in her name. The financial consequences lasted years. (Jessica Plance/KFF Health News/TNS) Tescha Hawley (right) and her mother, Janice Hawley, serve food from Tescha’s nonprofit to cross-country teams at the Harlem Invitational in Harlem, Montana. Tescha began the Day Eagle Hope Project to improve the health of her community after seeing how hard it was to access care when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. (Jessica Plance/KFF Health News/TNS) Tescha Hawley (right) and her mother, Janice Hawley, serve food from Tescha’s nonprofit to cross-country teams at the Harlem Invitational in Harlem, Montana. Tescha began the Day Eagle Hope Project to improve the health of her community after seeing how hard it was to access care when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. (Jessica Plance/KFF Health News/TNS) Tescha Hawley learned that hospital bills from her son’s birth had been sent to debt collectors only when she checked her credit score while attending a home-buying class. The new mom’s plans to buy a house stalled. Hawley said she didn’t owe those thousands of dollars in debts. The federal government did. Hawley, a citizen of the Gros Ventre Tribe, lives on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana. The Indian Health Service is a federal agency that provides free health care to Native Americans, but its services are limited by a chronic shortage of funding and staff. Hawley’s local Indian Health Service hospital wasn’t equipped to deliver babies. But she said staff there agreed that the agency would pay for her care at a privately owned hospital more than an hour away. That arrangement came through the Purchased/Referred Care program, which pays for services Native Americans can’t get through an agency-funded clinic or hospital. stresses that patients approved for the program aren’t responsible for any of the costs. But tribal leaders, health officials, and a new federal report say patients are routinely billed anyway as a result of backlogs or mistakes from the Indian Health Service, financial middlemen, hospitals, and clinics. The financial consequences for patients can last years. Those sent to collections can face damaged credit scores, which can prevent them from securing loans or require them to pay higher interest rates. , by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, found these long-standing problems contribute to people in Native American-majority communities being nearly twice as likely to have medical debt in collections compared with the national average. And their amount of medical debt is significantly higher. The report found the program is often late to pay bills. In some cases, hospitals or collection agencies hound tribal citizens for more money after bills are paid. Hawley’s son was born in 2003. She had to wait another year to buy a home, as she struggled to pay off the debt. It took seven years for it to drop from her credit report. “I don’t think a person ever recovers from debt,” Hawley said. Hawley, a cancer survivor, still must navigate the referral program. In 2024 alone, she received two notices from clinics about overdue bills. Frank White Clay, chairman of the Crow Tribe in Montana, of wrongful billing during a U.S. House committee hearing in April. He shared stories of veterans rejected for home loans, elders whose Social Security benefits were reduced, and students denied college loans and federal aid. “Some of the most vulnerable people are being harassed daily by debt collectors,” White Clay said. No one is immune from the risk. A high-ranking Indian Health Service official learned during her job’s background check that her credit report contained referred-care debt, the federal report found. Native Americans face disproportionately high rates of , which researchers link to limited access to health care and the of . White Clay is among many who say problems with the referred-care program are an example of the U.S. government violating treaties that promised to provide for the health and welfare of tribes in return for their land. The chairman’s testimony came during a hearing on the which would require the Indian Health Service to create a reimbursement process for patients who were wrongfully billed. Committee members approved the bill in November and sent it for consideration by the full House. A second federal bill, the , would prevent debt like Hawley’s from affecting patients’ credit scores. The bipartisan bill hadn’t had a hearing by mid-December. The exact number of people wrongfully billed isn’t clear, but the Indian Health Service has acknowledged it has The agency is developing a dashboard to help workers track referrals and to speed up bill processing, spokesperson Brendan White said. It’s also trying to hire more referred-care staff, to address vacancy rates of more than 30%. Officials say problems with the program also stem from outside health providers that don’t follow the rules. Melanie Egorin, an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said at the hearing that the proposed legislation doesn’t include consequences for “bad actors” — health facilities that repeatedly bill patients when they shouldn’t. “The lack of enforcement is definitely a challenge,” she said. But tribal leaders warned that penalties could backfire. White Clay told lawmakers that some clinics already refuse to see patients if the Indian Health Service hasn’t paid for their previous appointments. He’s worried the threat of penalties would lead to more refusals. If that happens, White Clay said, Crow tribal members who already travel hours to access specialty treatment would have to go even farther. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report found clinics are already refusing to see any referred-care patients due to the program’s payment problems. The bureau and the Indian Health Service also recently urging health care providers and debt collectors not to hold patients accountable for program-approved care. White, the Indian Health Service spokesperson, said the agency recently updated the referred-care forms sent to outside hospitals and clinics to include billing instructions and to stress that patients aren’t liable for any out-of-pocket costs. And he said the staff can help patients get reimbursed if they have already paid for services that were supposed to be covered. Joe Bryant, an Indian Health Service official who oversees efforts to improve the referral program, said patients can ask credit bureaus to from their reports if the agency should have covered their bills. Leaders with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state helped shape the proposed legislation after their citizens were repeatedly harmed by wrongful billing. Tribal Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson said problems began in 2017, when a regional Indian Health Service office took over the referred-care program from local staff. It “created a domino effect of negative outcomes,” Erickson wrote in a letter to Congress. He said some tribal members whose finances were damaged stopped using the Indian Health Service. Others avoided health care altogether. Responsibility for the Colville Reservation program transferred back to local staff in 2022. Staffers found the billing process hadn’t been completed for thousands of cases, worth an estimated $24 million in medical care, . Workers are making progress on the backlog and they have explained the rules to outside hospitals and clinics, Erickson said. But he said there are still cases of wrongful billing, such as a tribal member who was sent to collections after receiving a $17,000 bill for chemotherapy that the agency was supposed to pay for. Erickson said the tribe is in the process of taking over its health care facilities instead of having the Indian Health Service run them. He and others who work in Native American health said tribally managed units — which are still funded by the federal agency — tend to have fewer problems with their referred-care programs. For example, they have more oversight over staff and flexibility to create their own payment tracking systems. But some Native Americans because they feel it releases the federal government from its obligations. Beyond wrongful billing, because of underfunding from Congress. The $1 billion budget this year is $9 billion short of the need, according to a committee report by tribal health and government leaders. Donald Warne, a physician and member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, called the proposed legislation a “band-aid.” He said the ultimate solution is for Congress to fully fund the Indian Health Service, which would reduce the need for the referred-care program. Back in Montana, Hawley said she braces for a fight each time she gets a bill that the referral program was supposed to cover. “I’ve learned not to trust the process,” Hawley said.SEIC Stock Soars to All-Time High, Reaching $83.16
White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign
Shares of Nvidia fell Monday after China said it is investigating the high-flying U.S. microchip company over suspected violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws. In a brief news release with few details, Chinese regulators appear to be focusing on Nvidia's $6.9 billion acquisition of network and data transmission company Mellanox in 2019. Nvidia shares about 3% Monday. They are still up 179% so far this year. Considered a bellwether for artificial intelligence demand, Nvidia has led the AI sector to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies, as tech giants spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. Nvidia's shares have surged this year along with the California company's revenue and profit due to AI demand. According to data firm FactSet, about 16% of Nvidia's revenue comes from China, second only to its U.S.-generated revenue. A spokesperson for the company based in Santa Clara, California, said in an emailed statement that Nvidia is “happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business.” In its most recent earnings release, Nvidia posted revenue of $35.08 billion, up 94% from $18.12 billion a year ago. Nvidia earned $19.31 billion in the quarter, more than double the $9.24 billion it posted in last year’s third quarter. The earnings release did not break out revenue from China. The company's market value rocketed to $3.5 trillion recently, passing Microsoft and briefly overtaking Apple as the world's most valuable company. China’s antitrust investigation follows a report this summer by technology news site The Information that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating complaints from rivals that Nvidia was abusing its market dominance in the chip sector. The allegations reported include Nvidia threatening to punish those who buy products from both itself and its competitors at the same time. David Bieri, an international finance expert at Virginia Tech, said that China’s investigation is “not about what Nvidia is doing in China, per se” but rather a signal to the incoming Trump administration. China, Bieri said, is looking to set the tone of future relations. The Chinese government, he said, is telling the U.S. “don’t mess with us, because all of your darling corporations that your version of capitalism needs to prosper have entanglements” with China. Nvidia will have to revise its strategy in China or come up with provisions in their budgets for the type of uncertainty business with China will bring, Bieri said. “I don’t think this is something that they can shake off,” he said. “I also have a tremendous amount of faith in the brilliance of the management strategy of a corporation like Nvidia to not only pay attention to credit risk, market risk and operational risk, but also to political risk.” Nvidia’s invention of graphics processor chips, or GPUs, in 1999 helped spark the growth of the PC gaming market and redefined computer graphics. Last month, it replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ending the pioneering semiconductor company's 25-year run on the index. Unlike Intel, Nvidia designs but doesn’t manufacture its own chips, relying heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an Intel rival. ___ Associated Press Technology Writer Sarah Parvini in Los Angeles contributed to this report.UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Rescuers contemplated the safest way Wednesday to search for a woman who apparently fell into a Pennsylvania sinkhole while looking for her lost cat, saying a crumbling old coal mine beneath the surface complicated efforts and endangered workers. Crews worked through the night in the Unity Township community of Marguerite to find Elizabeth Pollard, 64. A state police spokesperson said early Wednesday they were reassessing their tactics to avoid putting the rescuers in danger. "The integrity of that mine is starting to become compromised," Trooper Steve Limani told reporters at the scene about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. Rescue workers continue to search for Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have disappeared in a sinkhole while looking for her cat, Wednesday in Marguerite, Pa. Sinkholes occur in the area because of subsidence from coal mining activity. Rescuers used water to break down and remove clay and dirt from the mine, which has been closed since the 1950s, but that increased the risk "for potential other mine subsidence to take place," Limani said. "We're probably going to have to switch gears" and do a more complicated dig, he said. On Tuesday, crews lowered a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, but it detected nothing. Another camera lowered into the hole showed what could be a shoe about 30 feet below the surface, Limani said. Searchers also deployed drones and thermal imaging equipment to no avail. Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham, the incident commander, said access to the immediate area surrounding the hole was tightly controlled and monitored, with rescuers attached by harness. "We cannot judge as to what's going on underneath us. Again, you had a small hole on top but as soon as you stuck a camera down through to look, you had this big void," Graham said. "And it was all different depths. The process is long, is tedious. We have to make sure that we are keeping safety in the forefront as well as the rescue effort." Rescue workers search through the night in a sinkhole for Elizabeth Pollard, who disappeared while looking for her cat, Tuesday in Marguerite, Pa. Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha, the operations officer at the scene, said they were "hoping that there's a void that she could still be in." Pollard's family called police about 1 a.m. on Tuesday to say she had not been seen since going out Monday evening to search for Pepper, her cat. The temperature dropped well below freezing that night. In an interview with CBS News, Pollard's son, Axel Hayes, said he is experiencing a mix of emotions. "I'm upset that she hasn't been found yet, and I'm really just worried about whether she's still down there, where she is down there, or she went somewhere and found somewhere safer," Hayes said. "Right now, I just hope she's alive and well, that she's going to make it, that my niece still has a grandmother, that I still have a mother that I can talk to." The top of a sinkhole is seen Tuesday in the village of Marguerite, Pa., where rescuers searched for a woman who disappeared. Police said they found Pollard's car parked behind Monday's Union Restaurant in Marguerite, about 20 feet from the sinkhole. Hunters and restaurant workers in the area said they didn't notice the manhole-size opening in the hours before Pollard disappeared, leading rescuers to speculate that the sinkhole was new. "It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it," Limani said. Searchers accessed the mine late Tuesday afternoon and dug a separate entrance out of concern that the ground around the sinkhole opening was not stable. Pollard lives in a small neighborhood across the street from where her car and granddaughter were located, Limani said. The young girl "nodded off in the car and woke up. Grandma never came back," Limani said. The child stayed in the car until two troopers rescued her. It's not clear what happened to Pepper. In an era of rapid technological advancement and environmental change, American agriculture is undergoing a revolution that reaches far beyond the farm gate. From the food on consumer plates to the economic health of rural communities, the transformation of U.S. farming practices is reshaping the nation's landscape in ways both visible and hidden. LandTrust explores how these changes impact everyone, whether they live in the heartland or the heart of the city. The image of the small family farm, while still a reality for many, is increasingly giving way to larger, more technologically advanced operations. According to the USDA, the number of farms in the U.S. has fallen from 6.8 million in 1935 to about 2 million today, with the average farm size growing from 155 acres to 444 acres. This shift has profound implications for rural communities and the food system as a whole. Despite these changes, diversity in farming practices is on the rise. A landmark study published in Science , involving data from over 2,000 farms across 11 countries, found that diversifying farmland simultaneously delivers environmental and social benefits. This challenges the longstanding idea that practices boosting biodiversity must come at a cost to yields and food security. The adoption of precision agriculture technologies is transforming how farmers manage their land and resources. GPS-guided tractors, drone surveillance, and AI-powered crop management systems are becoming commonplace on many farms. These technologies allow farmers to apply water, fertilizers, and pesticides with pinpoint accuracy, reducing waste and environmental impact while improving yields. However, the digital divide remains a challenge. More than 22% of rural communities lack reliable broadband internet access, hindering the widespread implementation of AI and other advanced technologies in agriculture. While technology offers new opportunities, farmers are also facing significant economic challenges. The USDA's 2024 farm income forecast projects a 4.4% decline in net farm income from 2023, following a sharp 19.5% drop from 2022 to 2023. This financial pressure is compounded by rising production costs and market volatility. Climate variability adds another layer of complexity. Extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, and shifting growing seasons are forcing farmers to adapt quickly. These factors could reduce agricultural productivity by up to 25% over the coming decades without significant adaptation measures. But adapting requires additional financial resources, further straining farm profitability. In the face of these challenges, many farmers are turning to diversification as a strategy for resilience and profitability. The Science study mentioned earlier found that farms integrating several diversification methods supported more biodiversity while seeing simultaneous increases in human well-being and food security. Agritourism is one popular diversification strategy. In 2022, 28,600 U.S. farms reported agritourism income, averaging gross revenue of $44,000 from these activities. Activities like farm tours, pick-your-own operations, and seasonal festivals not only provide additional income but also foster a deeper connection between consumers and agriculture. The changing face of agriculture is directly impacting consumers. The rise of farm-to-table and local food movements reflects a growing interest in where our food comes from and how it's produced. If every U.S. household spent just $10 per week on locally grown food, it would generate billions of dollars for local economies. However, the larger challenges in agriculture can also lead to price fluctuations at the grocery store. The USDA's Economic Research Service projects that food-at-home prices will increase between 1.2% and 2.2% in 2024. Looking ahead, several innovations are poised to reshape agriculture: The transformation of American agriculture affects everyone, from the food we eat to the health of our environment and rural communities. Consumers have the power to support sustainable and diverse farming practices through our purchasing decisions. As citizens, they can advocate for policies that support farmers in adopting innovative and sustainable practices. The challenges facing agriculture are complex, but they also present opportunities for innovation and positive change. By understanding and engaging with these issues, everyone can play a part in shaping a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system for the future. This story was produced by LandTrust and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The team looking for a missing Pennsylvania woman believed to have fallen into a sinkhole has determined that an abandoned coal mine is too unstable for people to safely search underground, authorities said Wednesday while still expressing hope Elizabeth Pollard will be found alive. Rescue workers continue to search for Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have disappeared in a sinkhole while looking for her cat, Wednesday in Marguerite, Pa. Emergency crews and others have been trying to find Pollard, 64, for two days. Her relatives reported her missing early Tuesday and her vehicle with her unharmed 5-year-old granddaughter inside was found about two hours later, near what is thought to be a freshly opened sinkhole above the long closed, crumbling mine. Authorities said in a noon update that the roof of the mine collapsed in several places and is not stable. The sinkhole is in the village of Marguerite, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. “We did get, you know, where we wanted, where we thought that she was at. We’ve been to that spot," said Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha, the incident's operations officer. “What happened at that point, I don’t know, maybe the slurry of mud pushed her one direction. There were several different seams of that mine, shafts that all came together where this happened at.” Trooper Cliff Greenfield said crews were still actively searching for Pollard. “We are hopeful that she’s found alive,” Greenfield said. Searchers were using electronic devices and cameras as surface digging continued with the use of heavy equipment, Bacha said. Search dogs may also be used. Rescue workers search through the night in a sinkhole for Elizabeth Pollard, who disappeared while looking for her cat, Tuesday in Marguerite, Pa. On Wednesday afternoon, machinery was removing material from the area around the hole while police and other government vehicles blocked a clear view of the scene. Sinkholes occur in the area because of subsidence from coal mining activity. Rescuers had been using water to break down and remove clay and dirt from the mine, which has been closed since the 1950s, but that increased the risk “for potential other mine subsidence to take place," Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper Steve Limani said. Crews lowered a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, but it detected nothing. Another camera lowered into the hole showed what could be a shoe about 30 feet below the surface, Limani said. Searchers have also deployed drones and thermal imaging equipment, to no avail. Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham, the incident commander, said access to the immediate area surrounding the hole was being tightly controlled and monitored, with rescuers attached by harness. The top of a sinkhole is seen Tuesday in the village of Marguerite, Pa., where rescuers searched for a woman who disappeared. “We cannot judge as to what’s going on underneath us. Again, you had a small hole on top but as soon as you stuck a camera down through to look, you had this big void,” Graham said. “And it was all different depths. The process is long, is tedious. We have to make sure that we are keeping safety in the forefront as well as the rescue effort.” Bacha said they were “hoping that there’s a void that she could still be in.” Pollard's family called police at about 1 a.m. Tuesday to say she had not been seen since going out at about 5 p.m. Monday to search for Pepper, her cat. The temperature dropped well below freezing that night. Her son, Axel Hayes, said Pollard is a happy woman who likes going out to have fun. She and her husband adopted Hayes and his twin brother when they were infants. Hayes called Pollard “a great person overall, a great mother” who “never really did anybody wrong.” He said at one point Pollard had about 10 cats. “Every cat that she’s ever come in contact with, she has a close bond with them,” Hayes said. His mother worked for many years at Walmart but recently was not employed, he said. “I’m just hoping right now that she’s still with us and she’s able to come back to us,” he said. Police said they found Pollard's car parked behind Monday's Union Restaurant in Marguerite, about 20 feet from the sinkhole. Hunters and restaurant workers in the area said they had not noticed the manhole-size opening in the hours before Pollard disappeared, leading rescuers to speculate that the sinkhole was new. “It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it,” Limani said. Searchers accessed the mine late Tuesday afternoon and dug a separate entrance out of concern that the ground around the sinkhole opening was not stable. “Let’s be honest, we need to get a little bit lucky, right?” Limani said Wednesday. “We need a little bit of luck on our side. We need a little bit of God’s good blessing on our side.” Pollard lives in a small neighborhood across the street from where her car and granddaughter were located, Limani said. The young girl “nodded off in the car and woke up. Grandma never came back," Limani said. The child stayed in the car until two troopers rescued her. It's not clear what happened to Pepper. In an era of rapid technological advancement and environmental change, American agriculture is undergoing a revolution that reaches far beyond the farm gate. From the food on consumer plates to the economic health of rural communities, the transformation of U.S. farming practices is reshaping the nation's landscape in ways both visible and hidden. LandTrust explores how these changes impact everyone, whether they live in the heartland or the heart of the city. The image of the small family farm, while still a reality for many, is increasingly giving way to larger, more technologically advanced operations. According to the USDA, the number of farms in the U.S. has fallen from 6.8 million in 1935 to about 2 million today, with the average farm size growing from 155 acres to 444 acres. This shift has profound implications for rural communities and the food system as a whole. Despite these changes, diversity in farming practices is on the rise. A landmark study published in Science , involving data from over 2,000 farms across 11 countries, found that diversifying farmland simultaneously delivers environmental and social benefits. This challenges the longstanding idea that practices boosting biodiversity must come at a cost to yields and food security. The adoption of precision agriculture technologies is transforming how farmers manage their land and resources. GPS-guided tractors, drone surveillance, and AI-powered crop management systems are becoming commonplace on many farms. These technologies allow farmers to apply water, fertilizers, and pesticides with pinpoint accuracy, reducing waste and environmental impact while improving yields. However, the digital divide remains a challenge. More than 22% of rural communities lack reliable broadband internet access, hindering the widespread implementation of AI and other advanced technologies in agriculture. While technology offers new opportunities, farmers are also facing significant economic challenges. The USDA's 2024 farm income forecast projects a 4.4% decline in net farm income from 2023, following a sharp 19.5% drop from 2022 to 2023. This financial pressure is compounded by rising production costs and market volatility. Climate variability adds another layer of complexity. Extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, and shifting growing seasons are forcing farmers to adapt quickly. These factors could reduce agricultural productivity by up to 25% over the coming decades without significant adaptation measures. But adapting requires additional financial resources, further straining farm profitability. In the face of these challenges, many farmers are turning to diversification as a strategy for resilience and profitability. The Science study mentioned earlier found that farms integrating several diversification methods supported more biodiversity while seeing simultaneous increases in human well-being and food security. Agritourism is one popular diversification strategy. In 2022, 28,600 U.S. farms reported agritourism income, averaging gross revenue of $44,000 from these activities. Activities like farm tours, pick-your-own operations, and seasonal festivals not only provide additional income but also foster a deeper connection between consumers and agriculture. The changing face of agriculture is directly impacting consumers. The rise of farm-to-table and local food movements reflects a growing interest in where our food comes from and how it's produced. If every U.S. household spent just $10 per week on locally grown food, it would generate billions of dollars for local economies. However, the larger challenges in agriculture can also lead to price fluctuations at the grocery store. The USDA's Economic Research Service projects that food-at-home prices will increase between 1.2% and 2.2% in 2024. Looking ahead, several innovations are poised to reshape agriculture: The transformation of American agriculture affects everyone, from the food we eat to the health of our environment and rural communities. Consumers have the power to support sustainable and diverse farming practices through our purchasing decisions. As citizens, they can advocate for policies that support farmers in adopting innovative and sustainable practices. The challenges facing agriculture are complex, but they also present opportunities for innovation and positive change. By understanding and engaging with these issues, everyone can play a part in shaping a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system for the future. This story was produced by LandTrust and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Stay wide awake. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a relentless game about trekking through the most hazardous place on earth. Almost everything in this hazardous hellscape can (and will) slaughter you, and that’s if its distressed denizens don’t finish the job first. But that’s not to say there isn’t beauty in this wasteland. The Zone is full of scenic spots perfect for taking a beat from the horrors. And no place is this more true than the Poppy Field. Don’t get me wrong: this place will still end you. But it's still a gorgeous sight to behold. Lucky for players just jumping in, an early quest sends Skif to this dream-like location in search of an ally’s lost heirloom. There are few decisions to make when setting off to the Poppy Field, so it doesn’t hurt to get a little help. Fortunately, here’s a guide for completing The Poppy Field questline. Starting S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s The Poppy Field Quest Mityay will be seated right by the entrance/exit of the building where Skif’s bed and stash is. He will be seated across the room from Hamster the weapons merchant. Players can start The Poppy Field once they’ve settled into Zalissya. In the same building where Hamster the weapons trader is (and the player’s bed and stash are) is an NPC and fellow Stalker named Mityay seated by the exit to the village. If you speak to Mityay, he reveals that years ago his family lost a Religious Icon that was important to them. Agree to fetch the long-lost item to kick things off. If you do, he’ll share the coordinates for where it was last seen. The Poppy Field is northwest of Zalissya. Before heading that way, however, make sure you’re fully stocked up on Non-Stop Energy Drinks (at least six) if you don’t already have a bunch in your inventory. You should be able to purchase them from Warlock, the barkeep. The canned refreshers will be crucial for completing the quest. We also highly recommend giving Hamster a visit to restock on ammo. If you have the extra koupons, it is also worth stopping next door by Lens the Technician’s shop to repair your primary firearm. There’s no telling what you may bump into between Zalissya and The Poppy Field, and being prepared is better than being stuck. Finding Pomar In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s Poppy Field Pomar will offer you the exact coordinates for the Religious Icon’s location if you gather some weapons scattered throughout the deadly Poppy Fields. If you make it to Mityay’s coordinates in one piece, you’ll come across a suspiciously quaint field of red. Resist the urge to frolic through the inviting scene before you — standing among the flowers will gradually lull you to sleep. The permanent kind. Feel free to stop for a second to take it all in, but you’ll want to head towards the home on the east side of this abandoned village to progress the quest. Inside, you’ll find a man named Pomar. Speak to him to get the full explanation of what the Poppy Field is (the lore here is pretty cool, actually) before mentioning that you’re here to help a fellow Stalker find a Religious Icon. Pomar reveals that he knows exactly where the heirloom is, but he’s not going to just give up that information without getting something in exchange. The player has three choices: do him a solid by collecting a bunch of weapons from the hapless souls who met their demise peacefully in the Poppy Field, pay up 2,000 coupons for its location, or venture out alone searching for the item yourself. Doing Pomar’s bidding will open an alternate way to finish the quest. Searching for the quest item alone isn’t impossible, but can be much more frustrating due to the location’s trippy effects. Let’s start with the latter. Into The Poppy Field in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Pomar will give you five coordinates where the missing weapons are throughout the Poppy Fields. No matter which option you choose, players have to contend with surviving the fields. Doing so is relatively simple — slam energy drinks often. Walking through the field will cause Skif to doze off and hear voices speaking to him. He may even close his eyes fully only to wake up in an entirely different part of the field. There’s no way to determine when the field is about to claim you, so the best course of action is to keep an eye on the blue energy meter below your health bar and to crack open a can every few dozen seconds. You should also hot key the item to avoid wasting precious seconds scurrying through your backpack. If you choose to help Pomar, make your way to the five coordinates he’s given littered throughout the field. Collect the rifles and ammo on each of these bodies before making your way back. You’ll likely be thrown back to the start a few times while exploring the field, but be persistent. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for energy drinks stored in some of the village homes as you can never have too many to stave off the deep sleep. Once you have all of the weapons, return them back to Pomar in exchange for the icon’s exact location. For the more self-minded Stalkers out there, we can just tell you where the Religious Icon is . Locating the cellar When leaving Pomar’s house, make your way between these two homes in the distance. The religious con can be found in a cellar located here on your map. There will be a ladder leading to the cellar here. Head towards the two abandoned homes in the distance across the field, and drink one energy drink on the way. Walking between both of them, you’ll notice the ground slope downward. Face west, then just one notch towards the east on your compass. Continue to follow the slope until you notice a hole in the ground. There’s a ladder leading down into the cellar where the religious icon is waiting to be picked up. The quest isn’t over just yet. Decide The Fate Of The Religious Icon in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Players will decide where to give the Icon to Mityay or Pomar. There are two options once you have the quest item in your possession. The first is to return it back to Mityay as promised. However, Pomar is willing to hand over a valuable AR416 rifle in exchange for the icon. We’d recommend returning the item to Mityay. He rewards the player with 1000 koupons upon completing the quest as originally planned. While Pomar’s offer is a solid one for Stalkers early on in the game, players will have to spend cash at a technician to repair it upfront. You’re better off finding more useful weapons adventuring elsewhere in The Zone. Video Games Horror Xbox