fortune ox 7788
A 199-foot-tall wireless service cell tower has received a special exception permit from Amherst County to locate on a property close to the intersection of U.S. 29 and Virginia 151. The Amherst County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Dec. 17 to approve the permit for Arcola Towers 2, LLP to place the communications tower at 299 Toytown Road on 23 acres zoned A-1, agricultural residential. A sawmill also is located on the property in northern Amherst County just outside the town of Amherst limits. Tyler Creasy, director of community development, said the board should consider two major factors in reviewing the tower: the efforts to improve the county’s information technology and wireless communication coverage infrastructure and the effects on residents’ scenic views. “These towers are fairly tall, so they will have a detriment on viewsheds,” Creasy said. The proposed tower is a low-intensity commercial use that does not conflict with the A1 district and will support emergency services, businesses, residents and travelers in the area, Arcola Towers states in its application. “The applicant has indicated the need for the tower due to poor coverage in the vicinity,” Creasy said. “However, it is expected the viewshed of the surrounding community will be impacted by this proposal.” Jonathan Yates, of Arcola Towers, said Verizon Wireless has a definite need to boost coverage in that general area and the tower is set back off the sawmill operation that has been in place for decades and will continue. “It’s the perfect piece of property,” Yates said. “It is right where Verizon needed to be ... It’s just a win-win.” Much of the equipment on the tower is monitored remotely for the most part and it will not cause any noise, odor or lighting issues, Yates said. The tower is crucial for emergency calls and communications between the public and first responders in a busy stretch of U.S. 29 and surrounding areas, he said. “Sometimes wireless is now called the fourth utility — we’ve become ubiquitous,” Yates said. “It connects people, it gives them access to other people and help when they need it.” The monopole initially will be equipped with panel antennas, radios and associated components for Verizon Wireless’s use, according to a project narrative from Arcola Towers. The tower will expand Verizon’s network of services into a part of the county that currently has “low to marginal levels of wireless coverage” while also meeting the needs for increased network capacity in the surrounding areas that being served by existing, neighboring facilities that are currently overstressed, Arcola Towers wrote in the application. The proposed facility will not be artificially lit and will include a 50-by-50-foot compound containing cabinets, utility stands, emergency backup power generators and equipment that will not exceed 12 feet in height. No one spoke for or against the zoning request during a public hearing on Dec. 17. Supervisor Tom Martin, who represents that part of the county, said he thinks the most “intrusive” effects on views will be along U.S. 29 and weighed the need for good infrastructure in voicing support for it. He said he appreciates a balloon test that was done to show how the tower’s height would be noticeable. “...There’s competing interests here with protecting our viewsheds and having good wireless communications,” Martin said. In a separate matter during the board’s final meeting of 2024, Chairman Drew Wade spoke of attending a Dec. 5 open house Appalachian Power Company held on plans to bring a small modular reactor (SMRs) project to Campbell County, a few miles down the James River from Lynchburg. The open house attracted close to a hundred people to the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance building in downtown Lynchburg where the public learned about SMR technology, how the spent nuclear fuel from the reactors would be stored onsite, and the project’s estimated economic impact on Campbell County and the Lynchburg area. The SMR project would be built on company-owned property in the Joshua Falls area of Campbell County. This site, off Mt. Athos Road, already houses a 765-kilovolt substation and nearby roadways that can support moving the necessary equipment on site, according to APCo. Wade said he thought the company did a great job walking people through the process and noted the project’s importance to the region. He asked county staff to inquire about having a presentation done in early 2025 on the plan during a county board meeting. “Nuclear is, in my opinion, the future for energy,” Wade said.The Giants were a no-show against the Bucs after releasing quarterback Daniel JonesSuper Micro extends last week's gain, wounding short sellers
TCU's TD barrage breaks open tight game vs. ArizonaForteza kicks six field goals to lift Laval to 22-17 win over Laurier in Vanier Cup
Kyrie Irving had 32 points, six assists and seven rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Atlanta Hawks 129-119 on Monday night without star Luka Doncic. Jaden Hardy had a season-high 23 points in his first start of the season for Dallas, which has won five of six. Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie had 22 points each. Irving had 10 points at halftime after being stifled by Hawks guard Dyson Daniels but heated up in the second half, including a stretch where he hit five consecutive field goals. Doncic missed his third straight game with a right wrist strain. Jalen Johnson had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who have lost four of five. Trae Young had 18 points and 16 assists.Piemonte Holding launches an asset management company with an initial capital raise of R$1 billion.A report from the charity on hurricanes, floods, typhoons and storms influenced by climate change warns that the top 10 disasters each cost more than 4 billion US dollars in damage (£3.2 billion). The figures are based mostly on insured losses, so the true costs are likely to be even higher, Christian Aid said, as it called for action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and finance for poor countries to cope with climate change. Politicians who “downplay the urgency of the climate crisis only serve to harm their own people and cause untold suffering around the world”, climate expert Joanna Haigh said. While developed countries feature heavily in the list of costliest weather extremes, as they have higher property values and can afford insurance, the charity also highlighted another 10 disasters which did not rack up such costs but were just as devastating, often hitting poorer countries. Most extreme weather events show “clear fingerprints” of climate change, which is driving more extreme weather events, making them more intense and frequent, experts said. The single most costly event in 2024 was Hurricane Milton, which scientists say was made windier, wetter and more destructive by global warming, and which caused 60 billion US dollars (£48 billion) of damage when it hit the US in October. That is closely followed by Hurricane Helene, which cost 55 billion US dollars (£44 billion) when it hit the US, Mexico and Cuba just two weeks before Milton in late September. The US was hit by so many costly storms throughout the year that even when hurricanes are removed, other storms cost more than 60 billion US dollars in damage, the report said. Three of the costliest 10 climate extremes hit Europe, including the floods from Storm Boris which devastated central European countries in September and deadly flooding in Valencia in October which killed 226 people. In other parts of the world, floods in June and July in China killed 315 people and racked up costs of 15.6 billion US dollars (£12.4 billion), while Typhoon Yagi, which hit south-west Asia in September, killed more than 800 people and cost 12.6 billion dollars (£10 billion). Events which were not among the most costly in financial terms but which have still been devastating include Cyclone Chido which hit Mayotte in December and may have killed more than 1,000 people, Christian Aid said. Meanwhile, heatwaves affected 33 million people in Bangladesh and worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, flooding affected 6.6 million people in West Africa and the worst drought in living memory affected more than 14 million in Zambia, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe, the charity said. Christian Aid chief executive Patrick Watt said: “There is nothing natural about the growing severity and frequency of droughts, floods and storms. “Disasters are being supercharged by decisions to keep burning fossil fuels, and to allow emissions to rise. “And they’re being made worse by the consistent failure to deliver on financial commitments to the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries. “In 2025 we need to see governments leading, and taking action to accelerate the green transition, reduce emissions, and fund their promises.” Dr Mariam Zachariah, World Weather Attribution researcher who analyses extreme events in near-real time to discern the role of climate change, at Imperial College London, said: “This report is just a snapshot of climate devastation in 2024. “There are many more droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and floods not included that are becoming more frequent and intense. “Most of these disasters show clear fingerprints of climate change. “Extreme weather is clearly causing incredible suffering in all corners of the world. Behind the billion-dollar figures are lost lives and livelihoods.” And Prof Haigh, emeritus professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London, said: “The economic impact of these extreme weather events should be a wake-up call. “The good news is that ever-worsening crises doesn’t have to be our long-term future. “The technologies of a clean energy economy exist, but we need leaders to invest in them and roll them out at scale.” The 10 costliest climate disasters of 2024 were: – US storms, December to January, more than 60 billion US dollars; – Hurricane Milton in the US, October 9-13, 60 billion US dollars (£48 billion); – Hurricane Helene in the US, Mexico, Cuba, 55 billion US dollars (£44 billion); – China floods, June 9-July 14, 15.6 billion US dollars (£12.4 billion); – Typhoon Yagi, which hit south-west Asia from September 1 to 9, 12.6 billion US dollars (£10 billion); – Hurricane Beryl, in the US, Mexico and Caribbean islands from July 1-11, 6.7 billion US dollars (£5.3 billion); – Storm Boris in central Europe, September 12-16, 5.2 billion US dollars (£4.1 billion); – Rio Grande do Sul floods in Brazil, April 28-May 3, 5 billion US dollars (£4 billion); – Bavaria floods, Germany, June 1-7, 4.45 billion US dollars (£3.5 billion); – Valencia floods, Spain, on October 29, 4.22 billion US dollars (£3.4 billion).
KINGSTON, Ont. — Felipe Forteza went from delivering hits to making kicks for the Laval Rouge et Or this season. The linebacker-turned-kicker showed a veteran's poise with his boot on Saturday, kicking a Vanier Cup record six field goals to lift Laval to a 22-17 win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at Richardson Stadium. "The defence did its job and the offence put me in the right position to do it," said Forteza, who was named game MVP. "So I'm stoked." Quarterback Arnaud Desjardins was 34 of 42 for 320 passing yards to help the Rouge et Or win their second Vanier Cup in three years and record 12th overall. It was the first loss of the year for the Golden Hawks, who last won a Canadian university football title in 2005. Laval set the early tone with some big defensive plays and Desjardins was in fine early form, completing his first 22 pass attempts. Forteza split the uprights five times in the first half as Laval took a 17-7 lead into the intermission. Forteza broke the record with his sixth field goal with 2:31 remaining. His only miss was a 32-yard attempt in the final minute. The Golden Hawks ran the ball out of the end zone but didn't threaten again. "We didn't score touchdowns but we moved the ball very well," said Laval coach Glen Constantin. "We flipped the field on these guys." Forteza did some part-time kicking in high school but this was his first season kicking field goals on a regular basis. The Rouge et Or coaching staff liked his powerful leg and helped him with the transition. "It was a bit heartbreaking for me because I like hitting people," Forteza said. "I like being intense and that job is really about being calm and trying to stay healthy." "I like the position," he added. "I like the pressure of it and I like the preparation. I like the hard work and being able to kick that (well) during a game." Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma, who won the Hec Crighton Trophy as most outstanding player this season, had a quiet opening quarter before settling in and throwing touchdown passes to Ryan Hughes and Jaxon Stebbings. Elgersma was 23 of 34 for 246 yards but was sacked five times. "Our game plan was just to be us and execute," he said. "Obviously we didn't do that well enough today." Laurier had an 8-0 record in the regular season and outscored its opposition 128-76 over its first three playoff wins. Laval entered at 10-1 overall (7-1, 3-0) and was coming off two close victories over the last two weeks. A near-capacity crowd at the 8,000-seat Queen's University venue had an even split of Laurier and Laval supporters. The weather co-operated after two days of showers in the area. It was cloudy and 8 C at kickoff. Desjardins marched the Rouge et Or deep into Laurier territory on Laval's first possession before settling for an 18-yard field goal by Forteza. Laval used a no-huddle offence in the early going with Desjardins frequently using dump passes to great effect. A 15-yarder from Forteza with 2:54 left in the first quarter made it 6-0. The potent Rouge et Or defence, which led U Sports with just 106 points allowed in the regular season, showed its form as Jordan Lessard forced a fumble from Elgersma that the Golden Hawks recovered. On the next play, Ndeki Garant-Doumambila walloped the Laurier pivot with a ferocious sack. "We know what it takes to get here and what it takes to win these games," he said. Laurier didn't record a first down until late in the first quarter. Laval's special-teams play was also on point. Forteza booted a 65-yard punt and the Rouge et Or coverage swarmed returner Tayshaun Jackson, forcing him down at the Laurier one-yard line. The Golden Hawks would concede a safety to make it 8-0. Forteza added to the lead at 7:01 with a 35-yard field goal. Jackson gave Laurier some life when he broke for a 51-yard run to the Laval five-yard line. Hughes took a shovel pass from Elgersma and sprinted for the corner of the end zone to put Laurier on the scoreboard with 4:57 left in the half. Forteza made a 32-yard field goal with 2:33 remaining. After a Jackson fumble, he added a 42-yard kick 24 seconds later to make it 17-7. The Golden Hawks came out with more jump in the third quarter. Elgersma found Ethan Jordan for a 45-yard reception to highlight a 93-yard drive capped by Stebbings' three-yard TD catch and a Dawson Hodge conversion. Laval took a 19-14 lead when Laurier conceded a safety to open the fourth quarter. Hodge made it a two-point game when he hit a 34-yard field goal with 8:26 left. A pivotal play came with 4:57 remaining when Laval's Loic Brodeur forced a fumble at midfield. He knocked the ball out of Elgersma's hands and Garant-Doumambila recovered. "We focused, we believed in it, and experience," Garant-Doumambila said. "That's what did it for us." The Golden Hawks fell to 2-4 in national championship game appearances while Laval improved to 12-2. The 2025 Vanier Cup will be played in Regina. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2024. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on X. Gregory Strong, The Canadian PressNo. 22 Xavier aims to keep its perfect record intact Monday night in Fort Myers, Fla., when it takes on South Carolina in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. The Musketeers (5-0) are coming off an 80-55 victory on Wednesday over Siena, while the Gamecocks (3-2) beat Mercer on Thursday 84-72. Against Mercer, South Carolina sank a season-best 12 3-pointers -- tied for the fourth-most in a single game under third-year coach Lamont Paris. Jamarii Thomas, a senior transfer from Norfolk State, had 19 points and swished 4 of 5 shots from behind the arc. "Thomas got some good, clean looks," Paris said. "It was good to see those guys make their shots. Hopefully it gets those guys going in the right direction." On the season, the Gamecocks are making 7.8 3-pointers per game and shooting 32.5 percent from deep. Senior guard Jacobi Wright makes a team-best 1.8 3-pointers per game and shoots 37.5 percent from behind the arc. At 13.0 ppg, he is second on the team behind Collin Murray-Boyles (15.8). Xavier is allowing eight makes from deep per game and is letting opponents shoot 38.5 percent from behind the arc, which ranks 337th in the country. And despite an undefeated record so far for the Musketeers, third-year coach Sean Miller is worried about his players developing bad habits. "We have a virus that everybody is looking at the stat sheet, trying to get as many points as they possibly can," Miller said after the win over Siena. "They want to win, but they really want to win and score. We need a couple of guys that are willing to rebound, defend, make the extra pass, play at a high level defensively and understand what makes a team great." Marcus Foster did a decent job of doing a little bit of everything for Xavier against Siena, piling up 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal. It was the first double-digit scoring outing for Foster -- a grad transfer from Furman -- in a Xavier uniform. Since 2008, Xavier is 25-11 against teams from the Southeastern Conference, but it hasn't played South Carolina in that stretch. --Field Level Media
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term. Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning re-election despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country’s constitutional foundations. “I persevered, against all odds, and WON,” Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters’ own verdict. In court filings, Smith’s team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” prosecutors said in one of their filings. They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.” In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded. Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Steven Cheung, Trump’s incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters’ violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. In asking for the election case to be dismissed, prosecutors requested that Chutkan do it “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump again after he leaves office. But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office. The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings. In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort. Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime. The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump’s lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict.” Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.Southeastern Grocers gives customers extra jingle in their pockets with over $50,000 in free groceries