By DEWEY TERRILL JC Post

JUNCTION CITY —&nbsp;Justin Aaron of Junction City has advanced into the live round of "The 
Voice" on NBC. Aaron said there are four contestants on each team for a 
total of 16 contestants. 

"In the live playoffs, which happen Monday, every
 act gets to sing a song and after they sing the voting lines are open. 
Everyone go out and download 'The Voice' official app." 

You can vote 10&nbsp; times for your favorite artist.

"In the top 16 round, you are 
actually able to vote for two artists on each team. With that being said,&nbsp; the two artists with the highest number of votes on the Tuesday 
elimination show automatically move through. The bottom two stand before
 the coaches and each coach is able to pick one contestant. That will be
 the top three on each team."

Live rounds go from the top 16 down to the end of the season in mid-December when the next winner of "The Voice" is crowned.

By DEWEY TERRILL JC PostJUNCTION CITY —&nbsp;Justin Aaron of Junction City has advanced into the live round of "The 
Voice" on NBC. Aaron said there are four contestants on each team for a 
total of 16 contestants. "In the live playoffs, which happen Monday, every
 act gets to sing a song and after they sing the voting lines are open. 
Everyone go out and download 'The Voice' official app." You can vote 10&nbsp; times for your favorite artist."In the top 16 round, you are 
actually able to vote for two artists on each team. With that being said,&nbsp; the two artists with the highest number of votes on the Tuesday 
elimination show automatically move through. The bottom two stand before
 the coaches and each coach is able to pick one contestant. That will be
 the top three on each team."Live rounds go from the top 16 down to the end of the season in mid-December when the next winner of "The Voice" is crowned.

Kansas man will perform in the live playoff round of 'The Voice'

LONDON (AP) — Just minutes after finishing the last Premier League match before the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a>, Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen both questioned the decision to stage the tournament in Qatar.

Fernandes
 said the World Cup “should be done in a better way,” criticizing the 
timing of the tournament and highlighting Qatar's treatment of migrant 
workers.

The Qatar World Cup — which starts next weekend — is the 
first to be played in November and December rather than in June-July 
because of the desert nation's searing heat in the summer. Qatar has 
also faced intense scrutiny of its treatment of the hundreds of 
thousands of migrant workers who were needed in the tiny emirate since 
the World Cup hosting rights were won 12 years ago. Amnesty 
International says dozens may have died from apparent heat stroke.

Qatar's
 views on homosexuality — which is criminalized in the country — has 
also been heavily criticized and the comments by Fernandes indicated 
that players will not hesitate to speak up about issues even as the 
tournament draws near.

“It’s not exactly the time we want to be 
playing in the World Cup,” Fernandes, who plays for Portugal, told Sky 
Sports after a 2-1 win over Fulham. “We know the surroundings of the 
World Cup, what has been in the past few weeks, past few months, about 
the people that have died on the construction of the stadiums. We are 
not happy about that at all. ... We want football to be for everyone, 
everyone has to be included and involved in a World Cup because a World 
Cup is the world. It’s for everyone, it doesn’t matter who. But for a 
World Cup it’s more than football, it’s a party for fans, players, 
something that’s a joy to watch, (it) should be done in a better way."

Eriksen,
 who will play for Denmark in Qatar after recovering from suffering 
cardiac arrest during a game at last year's European Championship, 
echoed Fernandes' comments.

“I totally agree with Bruno. There is a
 lot of focus on it, how the World Cup has happened and why it is in 
Qatar. Everyone agrees it hasn’t been done in the right way," Eriksen 
said. “We are footballers, we play football — politics is about 
something above us to make that decision. Of course we try to say our 
thing and do what we can. We want to get focus on it, but the change has
 to come from somewhere else.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668448327601.jpeg" alt="Fulham's head coach Marco Silva, left, speaks with Manchester United's Christian Eriksen during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Manchester United at the Craven Cottage stadium in London, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Leila Coker)" />
 <figcaption>Fulham's head coach Marco Silva, left, speaks with Manchester United's Christian Eriksen during the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Manchester United at the Craven Cottage stadium in London, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Leila Coker)</figcaption>
 </figure>LONDON (AP) — Just minutes after finishing the last Premier League match before the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a>, Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen both questioned the decision to stage the tournament in Qatar.Fernandes
 said the World Cup “should be done in a better way,” criticizing the 
timing of the tournament and highlighting Qatar's treatment of migrant 
workers.The Qatar World Cup — which starts next weekend — is the 
first to be played in November and December rather than in June-July 
because of the desert nation's searing heat in the summer. Qatar has 
also faced intense scrutiny of its treatment of the hundreds of 
thousands of migrant workers who were needed in the tiny emirate since 
the World Cup hosting rights were won 12 years ago. Amnesty 
International says dozens may have died from apparent heat stroke.Qatar's
 views on homosexuality — which is criminalized in the country — has 
also been heavily criticized and the comments by Fernandes indicated 
that players will not hesitate to speak up about issues even as the 
tournament draws near.“It’s not exactly the time we want to be 
playing in the World Cup,” Fernandes, who plays for Portugal, told Sky 
Sports after a 2-1 win over Fulham. “We know the surroundings of the 
World Cup, what has been in the past few weeks, past few months, about 
the people that have died on the construction of the stadiums. We are 
not happy about that at all. ... We want football to be for everyone, 
everyone has to be included and involved in a World Cup because a World 
Cup is the world. It’s for everyone, it doesn’t matter who. But for a 
World Cup it’s more than football, it’s a party for fans, players, 
something that’s a joy to watch, (it) should be done in a better way."Eriksen,
 who will play for Denmark in Qatar after recovering from suffering 
cardiac arrest during a game at last year's European Championship, 
echoed Fernandes' comments.“I totally agree with Bruno. There is a
 lot of focus on it, how the World Cup has happened and why it is in 
Qatar. Everyone agrees it hasn’t been done in the right way," Eriksen 
said. “We are footballers, we play football — politics is about 
something above us to make that decision. Of course we try to say our 
thing and do what we can. We want to get focus on it, but the change has
 to come from somewhere else.”

'Not happy': Man United duo criticizes Qatar World Cup

By YUKO SATO <a href="https://theconversation.com/bird-flu-has-made-a-comeback-driving-up-prices-for-holiday-turkeys-193995">The Conversation</a>

An <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-commercial-backyard-flocks">outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza</a>
 has spread through chicken and turkey flocks in 46 states since it was 
first detected in Indiana on Feb. 8, 2022. The outbreak is also taking a
 heavy toll in <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/bird-flu-cases-on-the-rise-what-this-means-for-poultry-and-egg-prices-1.6095332">Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/2021-2022-data-show-largest-avian-flu-epidemic-europe-ever">Europe</a>.

Better known as bird flu, avian influenza is a family of highly 
contagious viruses that are not harmful to wild birds that transmit it 
but are deadly to domesticated birds. The virus spreads quickly through 
poultry flocks and almost always causes severe disease or death, so when
 it is detected, officials quarantine the site and cull all the birds in
 the infected flock.

As of early November, this outbreak had led to the culling of 
over 50 million birds from Maine to Oregon, driving up prices for eggs 
and poultry – <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/02/turkey-shortage-thanksgiving-2022">including holiday turkeys</a>. This matches the toll from a <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=86281">2014-2015 bird flu outbreak</a> that previously was considered the most significant animal disease event in U.S. history. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lLdLWigAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Yuko Sato</a>,
 an associate professor of veterinary medicine who works with poultry 
producers, explains why so many birds are getting sick and whether the 
outbreak threatens human health.

Why is avian influenza so deadly for domesticated birds but not for wild birds that carry it?

Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious virus that affects all birds. 
There are two groups of aviain influenza viruses that cause disease in 
chickens: highly pathogenic AI (HPAI) and low pathogenic AI (LPAI). 

HPAI viruses cause high mortality in poultry, and occasionally in 
some wild birds. LPAI can cause mild to moderate disease in poultry, and
 usually little to no clinical signs of illness in wild birds. 

The primary <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section10.html">natural hosts and reservoir</a>
 of AI viruses are wild waterfowl, such as ducks and geese. This means 
that the virus is well adapted to them, and these birds do not typically
 get sick when they are infected with it.

But when domesticated poultry, such as chickens and turkeys, come in 
direct or indirect contact with feces of infected wild birds, they 
become infected and start to show symptoms, such as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/hpai/hpai-background-clinical-illness.htm">lethargy, coughing and sneezing and sudden death</a>.

There are multiple strains of avian influenza. What type is this outbreak, and is it dangerous to humans?

The virus of concern in this outbreak is a Eurasian H5N1 HPAI virus 
that causes high mortality and severe clinical signs in domesticated 
poultry. Scientists who <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/avian-influenza-surveillance">monitor wild bird flocks</a> have also detected a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/genetic-reassortment">reassortant virus</a>
 that contains genes from both the Eurasian H5 and low pathogenic North 
American viruses. Reassortment happens when multiple strains of the 
virus circulating in the bird population exchange genes to create a new 
strain of the virus, much as new strains of COVID-19 like omicron and 
delta have emerged during the ongoing pandemic.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2021-2022/h5n1-low-risk-public.htm">the risk to public health from this outbreak is low</a>. No human illnesses were associated with the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2015/update-h5-outbreak-birds.htm">2014-2015 H5N1 outbreak in the U.S.</a>

The only known human case in the U.S. during the current outbreak was found in a man in Colorado who <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0428-avian-flu.html">had contact with infected birds</a>.
 The man tested positive once, then negative on follow-up tests, and 
reported only mild symptoms, so health experts theorized that the virus 
may have been present in his nose <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2022/04/29/10-people-under-watch-after-bird-flu-detected-in-man/">without actually causing an infection</a>.

Are these outbreaks connected to wild bird migration?

Yes, wild bird migration has been an important factor in this 
outbreak. Scientists have detected the same H5N1 virus that is infecting
 poultry in <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds">more than 3,000 wild birds</a>
 during this outbreak, compared with 75 detections during the 2014-2015 
outbreak. This tells us that the virus is highly prevalent in wild bird 
populations. While most detections occur in ducks and geese, the virus 
has also been found in other bird species, including raptors, such as 
eagles and vultures, and other waterfowl, such as swans and <a href="https://www.mycouriertribune.com/outdoors/pelican-found-in-county-with-bird-flu">pelicans</a>.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service conducts targeted sampling to test wild birds in fall
 and early winter, which <a href="https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/">correlates with migration season</a>.
 This helps scientists and wildlife managers understand where avian flu 
viruses may be introduced to domestic flocks, track their spread and 
monitor for any reassortment.

Because there are high amounts of virus circulating, wildlife agencies advise against <a href="https://wildlife.utah.gov/avian-influenza.html">handling or eating game birds that appear sick</a>.
 Waterfowl can also be infected, with no signs of illness, so hunters 
need to be especially careful not to handle or eat game birds without 
properly cleaning their clothing and equipment afterward and ensuring 
the birds are cooked to an <a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/avian-influenza-guidance-for-waterfowl-hunters">internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 C)</a> before consuming them.

Hunters and other members of the public are advised not to approach 
any wild animals that are acting strange and to report any such 
sightings to officials. In some cases, avian flu viruses have spilled 
over to other wild animals, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2711.211281">red foxes</a>, <a href="https://wdfw.medium.com/avian-influenza-common-questions-and-answers-regarding-transmission-to-mammals-b70a73d53a66">raccoons</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/health/avian-flu-h5n1-foxes.html">skunks, opossums and bobcats</a>. We did not see this trend in 2014-15.

HPAI is a transboundary disease, which means it is highly contagious 
and spreads rapidly across national borders. Some research indicates 
that detection of HPAI viruses in wild birds <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22171">has become more common</a>.

Detection of HPAI in wild birds is seasonal, with a peak in February and a low point in September. Many migratory bird species <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/avian-influenza">travel thousands of miles between continents</a>, posing a continuing risk of AI virus transmission.

On the positive side, we have better diagnostic tests for much more 
rapid and improved detection of avian influenza compared to 20 to 30 
years ago, and can use molecular diagnostics such as <a href="https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-glossary#1">polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests</a> – the same method labs use to detect COVID-19 infections.

How are poultry farmers affected when HPAI is detected in their flocks?

To detect AI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees routine 
testing of flocks by farmers and carries out federal inspection programs
 to ensure that eggs and birds are safe and free of virus. When H5N1 is 
diagnosed on a farm or in a backyard flock, state and federal officials 
will quarantine the site and cull and dispose of all the birds in the 
infected flock. Then the site is cleaned and decontaminated, a process 
that includes removing organic materials like manure and chicken feed 
that can <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/creating-a-farm-plan-for-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza">harbor virus particles</a>.

After <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/pos-hpai-stop-avian-influenza-outbreaks.508.pdf">several weeks</a>
 without new virus detections, the area is required to test negative in
 order to be deemed free of infection. We call this process the four D’s
 of outbreak control: diagnosis, depopulation, disposal and 
decontamination.

Flock owners are eligible for federal <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/fs-hpai-indemnity-and-compensation.508.pdf">indemnity payments</a>
 for birds and eggs that have to be destroyed because of avian 
influenza, as well as for the costs of removing birds and cleaning and 
disinfecting their farms. This support is designed to help producers 
move past an outbreak, get their farms back in condition for restocking 
and get back into business as soon as possible.

But these payments <a href="https://www.fcsamerica.com/resources/education/common-ground/common-ground/2022/05/24/financial-best-practices-in-the-face-of-avian-influenza">almost never cover all of farmers’ expenses</a>. Poultry farms can’t always recover financially from major bird flu outbreaks. That makes it especially important to focus on <a href="http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/information-sheets/biosecurity-measures-combat-avian-influenza-threat">prevention strategies</a> to keep the virus out.

Yuko Sato is an Associate Professor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668447622071.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By YUKO SATO <a href="https://theconversation.com/bird-flu-has-made-a-comeback-driving-up-prices-for-holiday-turkeys-193995">The Conversation</a>An <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-commercial-backyard-flocks">outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza</a>
 has spread through chicken and turkey flocks in 46 states since it was 
first detected in Indiana on Feb. 8, 2022. The outbreak is also taking a
 heavy toll in <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/bird-flu-cases-on-the-rise-what-this-means-for-poultry-and-egg-prices-1.6095332">Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/2021-2022-data-show-largest-avian-flu-epidemic-europe-ever">Europe</a>. Better known as bird flu, avian influenza is a family of highly 
contagious viruses that are not harmful to wild birds that transmit it 
but are deadly to domesticated birds. The virus spreads quickly through 
poultry flocks and almost always causes severe disease or death, so when
 it is detected, officials quarantine the site and cull all the birds in
 the infected flock. As of early November, this outbreak had led to the culling of 
over 50 million birds from Maine to Oregon, driving up prices for eggs 
and poultry – <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/02/turkey-shortage-thanksgiving-2022">including holiday turkeys</a>. This matches the toll from a <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=86281">2014-2015 bird flu outbreak</a> that previously was considered the most significant animal disease event in U.S. history. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lLdLWigAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Yuko Sato</a>,
 an associate professor of veterinary medicine who works with poultry 
producers, explains why so many birds are getting sick and whether the 
outbreak threatens human health.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">This year’s outbreak of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HPAI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HPAI</a> was the latest blow to US turkey supplies. The combination of dwindling supplies and strong holiday demand will send retail <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/turkey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#turkey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/prices?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#prices</a> to record highs this year. CoBank’s <a href="https://twitter.com/brearnest1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brearnest1</a> shares insights in his new report: <a href="https://t.co/e98QwEtsgG">https://t.co/e98QwEtsgG</a> <a href="https://t.co/t37DrgZN9o">pic.twitter.com/t37DrgZN9o</a>&mdash; CoBank (@CoBank) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoBank/status/1590030204226785280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>Why is avian influenza so deadly for domesticated birds but not for wild birds that carry it?</h2>Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious virus that affects all birds. 
There are two groups of aviain influenza viruses that cause disease in 
chickens: highly pathogenic AI (HPAI) and low pathogenic AI (LPAI). HPAI viruses cause high mortality in poultry, and occasionally in 
some wild birds. LPAI can cause mild to moderate disease in poultry, and
 usually little to no clinical signs of illness in wild birds. The primary <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section10.html">natural hosts and reservoir</a>
 of AI viruses are wild waterfowl, such as ducks and geese. This means 
that the virus is well adapted to them, and these birds do not typically
 get sick when they are infected with it. But when domesticated poultry, such as chickens and turkeys, come in 
direct or indirect contact with feces of infected wild birds, they 
become infected and start to show symptoms, such as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/hpai/hpai-background-clinical-illness.htm">lethargy, coughing and sneezing and sudden death</a>. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668447709325.png" alt=" Migrating wild birds, most of which are not harmed by avian influenza, are known to spread the disease to commercial and backyard flocks. USGS " />
 <figcaption> Migrating wild birds, most of which are not harmed by avian influenza, are known to spread the disease to commercial and backyard flocks. USGS </figcaption>
 </figure><h2>There are multiple strains of avian influenza. What type is this outbreak, and is it dangerous to humans?</h2>The virus of concern in this outbreak is a Eurasian H5N1 HPAI virus 
that causes high mortality and severe clinical signs in domesticated 
poultry. Scientists who <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/avian-influenza-surveillance">monitor wild bird flocks</a> have also detected a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/genetic-reassortment">reassortant virus</a>
 that contains genes from both the Eurasian H5 and low pathogenic North 
American viruses. Reassortment happens when multiple strains of the 
virus circulating in the bird population exchange genes to create a new 
strain of the virus, much as new strains of COVID-19 like omicron and 
delta have emerged during the ongoing pandemic.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2021-2022/h5n1-low-risk-public.htm">the risk to public health from this outbreak is low</a>. No human illnesses were associated with the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2015/update-h5-outbreak-birds.htm">2014-2015 H5N1 outbreak in the U.S.</a>The only known human case in the U.S. during the current outbreak was found in a man in Colorado who <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0428-avian-flu.html">had contact with infected birds</a>.
 The man tested positive once, then negative on follow-up tests, and 
reported only mild symptoms, so health experts theorized that the virus 
may have been present in his nose <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2022/04/29/10-people-under-watch-after-bird-flu-detected-in-man/">without actually causing an infection</a>. <figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/acK6c8BTtv4"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Are these outbreaks connected to wild bird migration?</h2>Yes, wild bird migration has been an important factor in this 
outbreak. Scientists have detected the same H5N1 virus that is infecting
 poultry in <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds">more than 3,000 wild birds</a>
 during this outbreak, compared with 75 detections during the 2014-2015 
outbreak. This tells us that the virus is highly prevalent in wild bird 
populations. While most detections occur in ducks and geese, the virus 
has also been found in other bird species, including raptors, such as 
eagles and vultures, and other waterfowl, such as swans and <a href="https://www.mycouriertribune.com/outdoors/pelican-found-in-county-with-bird-flu">pelicans</a>.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service conducts targeted sampling to test wild birds in fall
 and early winter, which <a href="https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/">correlates with migration season</a>.
 This helps scientists and wildlife managers understand where avian flu 
viruses may be introduced to domestic flocks, track their spread and 
monitor for any reassortment.Because there are high amounts of virus circulating, wildlife agencies advise against <a href="https://wildlife.utah.gov/avian-influenza.html">handling or eating game birds that appear sick</a>.
 Waterfowl can also be infected, with no signs of illness, so hunters 
need to be especially careful not to handle or eat game birds without 
properly cleaning their clothing and equipment afterward and ensuring 
the birds are cooked to an <a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/avian-influenza-guidance-for-waterfowl-hunters">internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 C)</a> before consuming them.Hunters and other members of the public are advised not to approach 
any wild animals that are acting strange and to report any such 
sightings to officials. In some cases, avian flu viruses have spilled 
over to other wild animals, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2711.211281">red foxes</a>, <a href="https://wdfw.medium.com/avian-influenza-common-questions-and-answers-regarding-transmission-to-mammals-b70a73d53a66">raccoons</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/health/avian-flu-h5n1-foxes.html">skunks, opossums and bobcats</a>. We did not see this trend in 2014-15.HPAI is a transboundary disease, which means it is highly contagious 
and spreads rapidly across national borders. Some research indicates 
that detection of HPAI viruses in wild birds <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22171">has become more common</a>. Detection of HPAI in wild birds is seasonal, with a peak in February and a low point in September. Many migratory bird species <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/avian-influenza">travel thousands of miles between continents</a>, posing a continuing risk of AI virus transmission.On the positive side, we have better diagnostic tests for much more 
rapid and improved detection of avian influenza compared to 20 to 30 
years ago, and can use molecular diagnostics such as <a href="https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-glossary#1">polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests</a> – the same method labs use to detect COVID-19 infections. <h2>How are poultry farmers affected when HPAI is detected in their flocks?</h2>To detect AI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees routine 
testing of flocks by farmers and carries out federal inspection programs
 to ensure that eggs and birds are safe and free of virus. When H5N1 is 
diagnosed on a farm or in a backyard flock, state and federal officials 
will quarantine the site and cull and dispose of all the birds in the 
infected flock. Then the site is cleaned and decontaminated, a process 
that includes removing organic materials like manure and chicken feed 
that can <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/creating-a-farm-plan-for-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza">harbor virus particles</a>. After <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/pos-hpai-stop-avian-influenza-outbreaks.508.pdf">several weeks</a>
 without new virus detections, the area is required to test negative in
 order to be deemed free of infection. We call this process the four D’s
 of outbreak control: diagnosis, depopulation, disposal and 
decontamination.Flock owners are eligible for federal <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/fs-hpai-indemnity-and-compensation.508.pdf">indemnity payments</a>
 for birds and eggs that have to be destroyed because of avian 
influenza, as well as for the costs of removing birds and cleaning and 
disinfecting their farms. This support is designed to help producers 
move past an outbreak, get their farms back in condition for restocking 
and get back into business as soon as possible. But these payments <a href="https://www.fcsamerica.com/resources/education/common-ground/common-ground/2022/05/24/financial-best-practices-in-the-face-of-avian-influenza">almost never cover all of farmers’ expenses</a>. Poultry farms can’t always recover financially from major bird flu outbreaks. That makes it especially important to focus on <a href="http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/information-sheets/biosecurity-measures-combat-avian-influenza-threat">prevention strategies</a> to keep the virus out. Yuko Sato is an Associate Professor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193995/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

🎥 Bird flu comeback driving up prices for holiday turkeys

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Conroy, the prolific voice actor whose gravely delivery on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrmUk2YUm14">“Batman: The Animated Series"</a> was — for many Batman fans — the definite sound of the Caped Crusader, has died at 66.

Conroy died Thursday after a battle with cancer, series producer Warner Bros. announced Friday.

Conroy
 was the voice of Batman on the acclaimed animated series that ran from 
1992-1996, often acting opposite Mark Hamill's Joker. Conroy continued 
on as the almost exclusive animated voice of Batman, including some 15 
films, 400 episodes of television and two dozen videogames, including 
the “Batman: Arkham” and “Injustice” franchises.

In the eight-decade history of Batman, no one played the Dark Knight more.

“For
 several generations, he has been the definitive Batman,” Hamill in a 
statement. “It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the 
exact right guy for the right part, and the world was better for it."

“He will always be my Batman,” Hamill said.

Conroy's
 popularity with fans made him a sought-after personality on the 
comic-con circuit. In the often tumultuous world of DC Comics, Conroy 
was a mainstay and widely beloved. In a statement, Warner Bros. 
Animation said Conroy's performance “will forever stand among the 
greatest portrayals of the Dark Knight in any medium.”

“Kevin 
brought a light with him everywhere, whether in the recording booth 
giving it his all or feeding first-responders during 9/11 or making sure
 every fan who ever waited for him had a moment with their Batman," said
 Paul Dini, producer of the animated show. ”A hero in every sense of the
 word."

Born in in Westbury, New York, and raised in Westport, 
Connecticut, Conroy started out as well-trained theater actor. He 
attended Julliard and roomed with Robin Williams. After graduating, he 
toured with John Houseman's acting group, the Acting Company. He 
performed in “A Midsummer Night's Dream” at the Public Theater and in 
“Eastern Standard" on Broadway. At the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, 
California, he performed in “Hamlet.”

The 1980s production of 
“Eastern Standard," in which Conroy played a TV producer secretly living
 with AIDS, had particular meaning to him. Conroy, who was gay, said at 
the time he was regularly attending funerals for friends who died of 
AIDS. He poured out his anguish nightly on stage.

In 1980, Conroy 
moved to Los Angeles, began acting in soap operas and booked appearances
 on TV series including “Cheers," “Tour of Duty” and “Murphy Brown.” In 
1991, when casting director Andrea Romano was scouting her lead actor 
for “Batman: The Animated Series,” she went through hundreds of 
auditions before Conroy came in. He was there on a friend's 
recommendation — and cast immediately.

Conroy began the role 
without any background in comics and as a novice in voice acting. His 
Batman was husky, brooding and dark. His Bruce Wayne was light and 
dashing. His inspiration for the contrasting voices, he said, came from 
the 1930s film, “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” about an English aristocrat who
 leads a double life.

“It’s so much fun as an actor to sink your teeth into,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/arts/television/batman-the-killing-joke-kevin-conroy-alan-moore.html">Conroy told The New York Times in 2016.</a> “Calling it animation doesn’t do it justice. It’s more like mythology.”

As
 Conroy's performance evolved over the years, it sometimes connected to 
his own life. Conroy described his own father as an alcoholic and said 
his family disintegrated while he was in high school. He channeled those
 emotions into the 1993 animated film “Mast of the Phantasm,” which 
revolved around Bruce Wayne's unsettled issues with his parents.

“Andrea
 came in after the recording and grabbed me in a hug,” Conroy told The 
Hollywood Reporter in 2018. “Andrea said, ‘I don’t know where you went, 
but it was a beautiful performance.’ She knew I was drawing on 
something.”

Conroy is survived by his husband, Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy and brother Tom Conroy.

In <a href="https://why-i-love-comics.tumblr.com/post/686429424926736384/dc-pride-1-finding-batman-2022-written-by">“Finding Batman,”</a> released earlier this year, Conroy penned a comic about his unlikely journey with the character and as a gay man in Hollywood.

“I've
 often marveled as how appropriate it was that I should land this role,”
 he wrote. “As a gay boy growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s in a devoutly 
Catholic family, I’d grown adept at concealing parts of myself.”

The
 voice that emerged from Conroy for Batman, he said, was one he didn't 
recognize — a voice that “seemed to roar from 30 years of frustration, 
confusion, denial, love, yearning."

“I felt Batman rising from deep within."

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Conroy, the prolific voice actor whose gravely delivery on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrmUk2YUm14">“Batman: The Animated Series"</a> was — for many Batman fans — the definite sound of the Caped Crusader, has died at 66.Conroy died Thursday after a battle with cancer, series producer Warner Bros. announced Friday.Conroy
 was the voice of Batman on the acclaimed animated series that ran from 
1992-1996, often acting opposite Mark Hamill's Joker. Conroy continued 
on as the almost exclusive animated voice of Batman, including some 15 
films, 400 episodes of television and two dozen videogames, including 
the “Batman: Arkham” and “Injustice” franchises.In the eight-decade history of Batman, no one played the Dark Knight more.“For
 several generations, he has been the definitive Batman,” Hamill in a 
statement. “It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the 
exact right guy for the right part, and the world was better for it."“He will always be my Batman,” Hamill said.Conroy's
 popularity with fans made him a sought-after personality on the 
comic-con circuit. In the often tumultuous world of DC Comics, Conroy 
was a mainstay and widely beloved. In a statement, Warner Bros. 
Animation said Conroy's performance “will forever stand among the 
greatest portrayals of the Dark Knight in any medium.”“Kevin 
brought a light with him everywhere, whether in the recording booth 
giving it his all or feeding first-responders during 9/11 or making sure
 every fan who ever waited for him had a moment with their Batman," said
 Paul Dini, producer of the animated show. ”A hero in every sense of the
 word."Born in in Westbury, New York, and raised in Westport, 
Connecticut, Conroy started out as well-trained theater actor. He 
attended Julliard and roomed with Robin Williams. After graduating, he 
toured with John Houseman's acting group, the Acting Company. He 
performed in “A Midsummer Night's Dream” at the Public Theater and in 
“Eastern Standard" on Broadway. At the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, 
California, he performed in “Hamlet.”The 1980s production of 
“Eastern Standard," in which Conroy played a TV producer secretly living
 with AIDS, had particular meaning to him. Conroy, who was gay, said at 
the time he was regularly attending funerals for friends who died of 
AIDS. He poured out his anguish nightly on stage.In 1980, Conroy 
moved to Los Angeles, began acting in soap operas and booked appearances
 on TV series including “Cheers," “Tour of Duty” and “Murphy Brown.” In 
1991, when casting director Andrea Romano was scouting her lead actor 
for “Batman: The Animated Series,” she went through hundreds of 
auditions before Conroy came in. He was there on a friend's 
recommendation — and cast immediately.Conroy began the role 
without any background in comics and as a novice in voice acting. His 
Batman was husky, brooding and dark. His Bruce Wayne was light and 
dashing. His inspiration for the contrasting voices, he said, came from 
the 1930s film, “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” about an English aristocrat who
 leads a double life.“It’s so much fun as an actor to sink your teeth into,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/arts/television/batman-the-killing-joke-kevin-conroy-alan-moore.html">Conroy told The New York Times in 2016.</a> “Calling it animation doesn’t do it justice. It’s more like mythology.”As
 Conroy's performance evolved over the years, it sometimes connected to 
his own life. Conroy described his own father as an alcoholic and said 
his family disintegrated while he was in high school. He channeled those
 emotions into the 1993 animated film “Mast of the Phantasm,” which 
revolved around Bruce Wayne's unsettled issues with his parents.“Andrea
 came in after the recording and grabbed me in a hug,” Conroy told The 
Hollywood Reporter in 2018. “Andrea said, ‘I don’t know where you went, 
but it was a beautiful performance.’ She knew I was drawing on 
something.”Conroy is survived by his husband, Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy and brother Tom Conroy.In <a href="https://why-i-love-comics.tumblr.com/post/686429424926736384/dc-pride-1-finding-batman-2022-written-by">“Finding Batman,”</a> released earlier this year, Conroy penned a comic about his unlikely journey with the character and as a gay man in Hollywood.“I've
 often marveled as how appropriate it was that I should land this role,”
 he wrote. “As a gay boy growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s in a devoutly 
Catholic family, I’d grown adept at concealing parts of myself.”The
 voice that emerged from Conroy for Batman, he said, was one he didn't 
recognize — a voice that “seemed to roar from 30 years of frustration, 
confusion, denial, love, yearning."“I felt Batman rising from deep within."

Kevin Conroy, a defining voice of Batman, dies at 66

By MARK PRATT Associated Press

A
 deeply personal collection of love letters in which a teenage Bob Dylan
 tells his high-school sweetheart that he envisions changing his name 
and selling a million records is going up for sale in Boston.

The 
Hibbing, Minnesota, boy — still known then as Bob Zimmerman — wrote the 
42 letters totaling 150 pages to Barbara Ann Hewitt between 1957 and 
1959. The missives, to be auctioned by RR Auction, have never before 
been made public and shed light on a period in the folk-rock icon’s life
 for which not much firsthand information is known.

“This archive 
is one of the most culturally important of the 20th century we have ever
 offered,” said RR Auction Executive Vice President Bobby Livingston, a 
big Dylan fan.

The collection, including a lavish Valentine's card, is a “first-person account of Dylan's formative years,” he said.

Hewitt's
 daughter found the letters after her mother died in 2020. They, along 
with the original envelopes addressed in Dylan's handwriting, are being 
offered as a single lot with a starting bid of $250,000. Bidding closes 
on Nov. 17.

RR Auction is not releasing the exact content of the 
letters ahead of time, but they deal with timeless and universal teenage
 concerns: clothes, cars, and musical tastes, the auction house said.

Dylan,
 now 81, also included snippets of poetry and professed his love for 
Hewitt. Perhaps most impressively, he also imagined his future success.

In
 one letter, he asks Hewitt for feedback about changing his name (Little
 Willie and Elston are mentioned in the letters), and writes about 
selling a million records (he's actually sold about 125 million) and 
appearing on “American Bandstand" in front of throngs of screaming 
girls.

“They really give an insight into how he's going to present
 himself," Livingston said. “It shows that Dylan dreamed all this up, 
and it all came true — he foresaw it."

Alas, like most teenage 
romances, it came to an end. In one of the last letters, the future 
Nobel laureate asks Hewitt to return the photographs he sent her.

But
 it seems likely Dylan did not forget her. Hewitt's daughter told RR 
Auction that Dylan called her mother sometime in the late 1960s after 
he'd hit the big time and asked her to come to California. She turned 
him down.

Hewitt was a redhead, and Livingston speculates that 
Dylan's references to redheaded or auburn-haired women in some songs 
were inspired by Hewitt, including “Tangled Up in Blue” where in one 
line he wonders “if her hair was still red."

Hewitt moved on, 
apparently. She married another Hibbing man, but divorced in the late 
1970s after seven years and never remarried, her daughter told the 
auction house.

By MARK PRATT Associated PressA
 deeply personal collection of love letters in which a teenage Bob Dylan
 tells his high-school sweetheart that he envisions changing his name 
and selling a million records is going up for sale in Boston.The 
Hibbing, Minnesota, boy — still known then as Bob Zimmerman — wrote the 
42 letters totaling 150 pages to Barbara Ann Hewitt between 1957 and 
1959. The missives, to be auctioned by RR Auction, have never before 
been made public and shed light on a period in the folk-rock icon’s life
 for which not much firsthand information is known.“This archive 
is one of the most culturally important of the 20th century we have ever
 offered,” said RR Auction Executive Vice President Bobby Livingston, a 
big Dylan fan.The collection, including a lavish Valentine's card, is a “first-person account of Dylan's formative years,” he said.Hewitt's
 daughter found the letters after her mother died in 2020. They, along 
with the original envelopes addressed in Dylan's handwriting, are being 
offered as a single lot with a starting bid of $250,000. Bidding closes 
on Nov. 17.RR Auction is not releasing the exact content of the 
letters ahead of time, but they deal with timeless and universal teenage
 concerns: clothes, cars, and musical tastes, the auction house said.Dylan,
 now 81, also included snippets of poetry and professed his love for 
Hewitt. Perhaps most impressively, he also imagined his future success.In
 one letter, he asks Hewitt for feedback about changing his name (Little
 Willie and Elston are mentioned in the letters), and writes about 
selling a million records (he's actually sold about 125 million) and 
appearing on “American Bandstand" in front of throngs of screaming 
girls.“They really give an insight into how he's going to present
 himself," Livingston said. “It shows that Dylan dreamed all this up, 
and it all came true — he foresaw it."Alas, like most teenage 
romances, it came to an end. In one of the last letters, the future 
Nobel laureate asks Hewitt to return the photographs he sent her.But
 it seems likely Dylan did not forget her. Hewitt's daughter told RR 
Auction that Dylan called her mother sometime in the late 1960s after 
he'd hit the big time and asked her to come to California. She turned 
him down.Hewitt was a redhead, and Livingston speculates that 
Dylan's references to redheaded or auburn-haired women in some songs 
were inspired by Hewitt, including “Tangled Up in Blue” where in one 
line he wonders “if her hair was still red."Hewitt moved on, 
apparently. She married another Hibbing man, but divorced in the late 
1970s after seven years and never remarried, her daughter told the 
auction house.

'Love Sick': Trove of Dylan's teenage love letters for sale

Arizona officials correct false claims about ballot issues

CLAIM:
 When ballots were rejected by tabulators at some voting locations 
across Maricopa County on Election Day, an alternate solution for voters
 to drop ballots in a secure drop box onsite resulted in the ballots 
getting shredded, thrown in the trash, or marked for Democrats.

THE
 FACTS: Ballots submitted in this way were counted just as absentee 
ballots or mail-in ballots are, according to county officials. They 
weren't discarded or altered. When a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-arizona-4e15278b82452878d6f6aa45b2984579">printing problem</a>
 caused tabulators to reject ballots in at least 70 of 223 polling sites
 in Arizona's largest county on Tuesday, county officials offered a few 
alternate solutions. Voters could wait and try another machine, cancel 
their vote and go to another vote center, or drop their ballot in a 
secure drop box referred to as “door 3” or “box 3.” Some social media 
user falsely claimed that using this drop box would allow county 
officials to rig those votes by manually changing them or discarding 
them. However, county elections department spokesperson Megan Gilbertson
 explained that ballots placed in these drop boxes were machine-counted 
at the central tabulation center in downtown Phoenix, just as all 
mail-in and absentee ballots are. At the end of the voting day, a 
bipartisan team collected all the voted ballots from voting centers, 
sealed them and transported them by truck to the tabulation center for 
counting. This is the same process used for early voting and is the same
 methodology used on Election Day by most counties, including Pima 
County and Yavapai County, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said 
in a statement Tuesday.

— Associated Press writers Josh Kelety in Phoenix and Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.

Clip shows poll worker in Wisconsin, not ‘cheating’ in Philadelphia

CLAIM: Video shows masked man at polling site “cheating” in front of cameras in Philadelphia.

THE
 FACTS: The video shows a poll worker in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
 He was initialing ballots to be handed out to voters, a standard 
procedure mandated by state law, according to the county clerk. Social 
media users on Election Day distorted a clip of the Madison poll worker 
doing his job to falsely claim it showed election fraud in Philadelphia.
 The video, which aired on Fox News on Tuesday, shows a man wearing a 
cloth face mask flipping through ballots and writing on them. “Masked 
man cheating in front of the cameras on the mainstream media,” read a 
widely shared tweet with the video. But the original footage shows the 
video was filmed in Madison, not Pennsylvania. Immediately before Fox 
News showed the clip in Madison, the network showed the exterior of 
Philadelphia’s East Passyunk Community Center with a graphic labeling 
that location. The broadcast then showed the clip of the poll worker and
 changed the location in the label to Madison. Social media versions of 
the video cropped out the location. A reverse-image search of the 
building’s interior revealed that the clip was filmed at Olbrich 
Botanical Gardens in Madison, which served as a polling location for 
Tuesday’s election. Scott McDonell, the Dane County clerk, said the man 
is a poll worker, and the video shows him initialing ballots before they
 were handed out to voters. He was also circling the ward in which the 
ballots were issued. It’s part of the process of preparing the ballots 
for voters, McDonell said. Another poll worker also initialed the 
ballots before they were handed to voters. “You need to have those 
signatures to show that two people saw the blank ballot and handed it to
 the voter,” McDonell said. “This is a standard operating procedure. 
It’s done in public so that anyone can watch it. It’s mandated by state 
law. It’s a check and balance on the system.” Barry Burden, a University
 of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and the director of 
the Elections Research Project, agreed that the video showed standard 
procedures for poll workers in Madison. <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/7">Wisconsin election law explains</a>
 that at polling places with paper ballots, two inspectors “shall write 
their initials on the back of each ballot and deliver to each elector as
 he or she enters the voting booth.” Philadelphia’s city commissioner on
 Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SethBluestein/status/1590132036874170369?s=20&amp;t=ccmwvF3WAlHo2DVy6CM1uA">debunked the false claims</a>
 that the video showed a polling site in his city. Nick Custodio, deputy
 commissioner with Philadelphia’s elections board, told the AP that 
Philadelphia does not use paper voting booths such as those shown in the
 video, and that the “I voted” stickers in the video also do not match 
those used in Philadelphia.

— Associated Press writers Arijeta 
Lajka and Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report with 
additional reporting from Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Claudia Lauer 
in Philadelphia.

No voters turned away over Detroit absentee ballot glitch

CLAIM:
 Voters in Detroit were prevented from casting ballots on Election Day 
after officials mistakenly said they’d already voted by absentee ballot.

THE
 FACTS: No eligible voters were prevented from casting a ballot at 
Detroit polling locations that experienced the data glitch on Tuesday 
morning, state and city officials confirmed. As voters nationwide went 
to the polls, there was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-909279666c18777c44a9fad6754f3de7">heightened focus on voting problems and irregularities</a>.
 One of the places election watchers sounded the alarm early on was the 
battleground state of Michigan. “People are showing up to vote in 
Detroit only to be told that they already voted via absentee ballots and
 are being turned away,” wrote one Twitter user. “Citizens are being 
told they voted already absentee,” wrote Kristina Karamo, a Republican 
candidate for Michigan secretary of state, in widely shared posts on 
Twitter and Facebook. Former President Donald Trump also amplified the 
claims on Truth Social. But state and city officials said the issue 
stemmed from an election software problem and was quickly resolved 
without anyone being disenfranchised. Corwin Smidt, a political science 
professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, said the 
situation demonstrated the voting system worked properly. “It certainly 
slowed down voting there, but the reasons for the slowdown were that the
 system caught an error, and that error was then fixed,” he wrote in an 
email. Liette Gidlow, a history professor at Wayne State University in 
Detroit who focuses on U.S. politics and voting rights, agreed. “Minor 
technical glitches are not unusual in any precinct because administering
 elections is a complex business,” she wrote in an email. Detroit’s 
elections department said the problem was caused by computer software 
used by election workers to check in voters as they entered the polling 
location. The agency said the program wrongly flagged some residents as 
having requested an absentee ballot, which would make them ineligible to
 cast a ballot in-person. Matthew Friedman, a department spokesperson, 
said the issue was resolved within an hour and all eligible residents 
were able to vote. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whose 
office assisted the city in addressing the issue, also stressed that no 
voters were disenfranchised. “In all circumstances, eligible voters were
 able to vote,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MichSoS/status/1590133571175739394">the office said in a statement</a>.
 The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, which observed the 
voting process, said it spoke with multiple city election officials and 
was satisfied with the response. Spokespersons for Trump and Karamo did 
not respond to messages seeking comment.

— Associated Press writer Philip Marcelo in New York contributed this report.

CLAIM: A Pennsylvania judge ruled that ballots received up until Nov. 14 will count in the 2022 midterm elections.

THE FACTS: Pennsylvania ballots, including mail-in and absentee ballots, <a href="https://www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx">must be received by county election offices</a>
 by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8, to be counted, according to the 
state’s Department of State. As voters went to the polls on Tuesday, 
misleading information about Pennsylvania’s vote-counting deadlines 
gained traction. “This just in: Pennsylvania Judge allows ballots to 
count that are received up until November 14th,” read one post. “This is
 unconstitutional.” The message, shared in several Instagram posts, is a
 screenshot of a tweet that was later deleted. The Twitter user who 
first posted it acknowledged in a follow-up that the information was 
incorrect. Existing law requires that Pennsylvania voters’ ballots be 
received by county election workers by Nov. 8, <a href="https://www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx">the Department of State explains</a>. Unlike <a href="https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/general-election-nov-8-2022">some other states</a>,
 Pennsylvania allots no extra time for mail-in ballots — what counts is 
the day the ballot actually made it to election officials, not when the 
ballot was postmarked. The Twitter user who first made the claim said in
 a follow-up post that the court case he was referring to was a recent 
decision by a Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court. However, the case in 
question has nothing to do with ballot submission deadlines. It 
concerned the cross-checking procedure that Pennsylvania uses to prevent
 duplicate votes from being counted, according to Kevin Feeley, 
spokesperson for the Philadelphia City Commissioners, which oversees 
elections in the city. The city had <a href="https://vote.phila.gov/media/Agenda_for_11_02_22.pdf">sought to delay that process</a>
 until after the initial ballot count, in an effort to get ballots 
counted more quickly. He said that no duplicate votes had been found in 
the last three elections. The court <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/philadelphia-poll-book-reconciliation-double-votes-court-ruling-20221107.html">granted the city the right to delay</a> the reconciliation process, but the judge in the case was “highly critical" of the idea, Feeley said. So the <a href="https://vote.phila.gov/media/Agenda-for-11-8-2022.pdf">City Commission opted Tuesday</a> to revert to doing reconciliation as usual. Feeley confirmed that the case did not mean voting can occur through Nov. 14.

—
 Associated Press writer Graph Massara in San Francisco contributed this
 report with additional reporting from Melissa Goldin in New York.

Large numbers of mailed ballots not evidence of election fraud

CLAIM: A candidate winning an election with a majority of mailed ballots is proof of fraud.

THE FACTS: There is no evidence that mail-in voting has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-voting-ee8dd4051a53b5e7471c8a6a2ca1b8f3">historically caused widespread voter fraud</a>, and fraud related to mail-in voting is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-voter-registration-government-and-politics-609866267baef89dd1513e7c9e2f7509">exceedingly rare,</a>
 the AP has reported. Some on social media have posited that if a 
candidate who receives a significant chunk of their votes through 
mail-in voting wins, their victory is inherently fraudulent. An 
Instagram post features results reporting that incumbent Kelly Skidmore,
 a Democrat, beat Dorcas Hernandez, a Republican, in the race for state 
representative in Florida’s 92nd House District. It shows Skidmore with 
57.51% of the vote, including 31,405 mailed ballots, and Hernandez with 
42.9% and 10,297 mailed ballots. “This is what textbook election theft 
via vote by mail ballot looks like,” the post states. The numbers in the
 Instagram post are from <a href="https://enr.electionsfl.org/PAL/3278/Reports/">the state’s unofficial results</a>,
 as published online by county boards of elections. However, the fact 
that some candidates are reported as having won after receiving a 
majority of mailed ballots does not prove election fraud. Claims that 
mail-in voting has caused widespread voter fraud in the past are 
unsubstantiated, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-voting-ee8dd4051a53b5e7471c8a6a2ca1b8f3">according to reporting by the AP.</a> After reviewing every potential case of voter fraud in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-wisconsin-c61fa93a12a1a51d6d9f4e0a21fa3b75">AP found far too few</a>
 to affect the outcome of the 2020 election. Additionally, an AP survey 
of state election officials across the U.S. found that the expanded use 
of drop boxes during the 2020 race did not lead to cases of fraud that 
could have impacted the results. Different states have different <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-14-how-states-verify-voted-absentee.aspx">ballot verification protocols</a>, but all states <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-voter-registration-government-and-politics-609866267baef89dd1513e7c9e2f7509">vet mailed and absentee ballots.</a>
 Every state requires voters to sign their ballots. Some have additional
 precautions, like having bipartisan teams compare the signature on the 
ballot with one on file, requiring the signature on the ballot to be 
notarized or requiring a witness to sign the ballot. Other forms of 
verification can include requiring proof of voter registration, a copy 
of an ID, a driver’s license number or a Social Security number. Ballot 
security features and ballot sorting at election offices would help weed
 out any counterfeits. There are harsh penalties for voter fraud by 
mailed ballot, such as a fine, prison time or both.

— Associated Press writers Melissa Goldin and Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.

Associated PressArizona officials correct false claims about ballot issuesCLAIM:
 When ballots were rejected by tabulators at some voting locations 
across Maricopa County on Election Day, an alternate solution for voters
 to drop ballots in a secure drop box onsite resulted in the ballots 
getting shredded, thrown in the trash, or marked for Democrats.THE
 FACTS: Ballots submitted in this way were counted just as absentee 
ballots or mail-in ballots are, according to county officials. They 
weren't discarded or altered. When a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-arizona-4e15278b82452878d6f6aa45b2984579">printing problem</a>
 caused tabulators to reject ballots in at least 70 of 223 polling sites
 in Arizona's largest county on Tuesday, county officials offered a few 
alternate solutions. Voters could wait and try another machine, cancel 
their vote and go to another vote center, or drop their ballot in a 
secure drop box referred to as “door 3” or “box 3.” Some social media 
user falsely claimed that using this drop box would allow county 
officials to rig those votes by manually changing them or discarding 
them. However, county elections department spokesperson Megan Gilbertson
 explained that ballots placed in these drop boxes were machine-counted 
at the central tabulation center in downtown Phoenix, just as all 
mail-in and absentee ballots are. At the end of the voting day, a 
bipartisan team collected all the voted ballots from voting centers, 
sealed them and transported them by truck to the tabulation center for 
counting. This is the same process used for early voting and is the same
 methodology used on Election Day by most counties, including Pima 
County and Yavapai County, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said 
in a statement Tuesday.— Associated Press writers Josh Kelety in Phoenix and Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.___Clip shows poll worker in Wisconsin, not ‘cheating’ in PhiladelphiaCLAIM: Video shows masked man at polling site “cheating” in front of cameras in Philadelphia.THE
 FACTS: The video shows a poll worker in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
 He was initialing ballots to be handed out to voters, a standard 
procedure mandated by state law, according to the county clerk. Social 
media users on Election Day distorted a clip of the Madison poll worker 
doing his job to falsely claim it showed election fraud in Philadelphia.
 The video, which aired on Fox News on Tuesday, shows a man wearing a 
cloth face mask flipping through ballots and writing on them. “Masked 
man cheating in front of the cameras on the mainstream media,” read a 
widely shared tweet with the video. But the original footage shows the 
video was filmed in Madison, not Pennsylvania. Immediately before Fox 
News showed the clip in Madison, the network showed the exterior of 
Philadelphia’s East Passyunk Community Center with a graphic labeling 
that location. The broadcast then showed the clip of the poll worker and
 changed the location in the label to Madison. Social media versions of 
the video cropped out the location. A reverse-image search of the 
building’s interior revealed that the clip was filmed at Olbrich 
Botanical Gardens in Madison, which served as a polling location for 
Tuesday’s election. Scott McDonell, the Dane County clerk, said the man 
is a poll worker, and the video shows him initialing ballots before they
 were handed out to voters. He was also circling the ward in which the 
ballots were issued. It’s part of the process of preparing the ballots 
for voters, McDonell said. Another poll worker also initialed the 
ballots before they were handed to voters. “You need to have those 
signatures to show that two people saw the blank ballot and handed it to
 the voter,” McDonell said. “This is a standard operating procedure. 
It’s done in public so that anyone can watch it. It’s mandated by state 
law. It’s a check and balance on the system.” Barry Burden, a University
 of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and the director of 
the Elections Research Project, agreed that the video showed standard 
procedures for poll workers in Madison. <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/7">Wisconsin election law explains</a>
 that at polling places with paper ballots, two inspectors “shall write 
their initials on the back of each ballot and deliver to each elector as
 he or she enters the voting booth.” Philadelphia’s city commissioner on
 Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SethBluestein/status/1590132036874170369?s=20&amp;t=ccmwvF3WAlHo2DVy6CM1uA">debunked the false claims</a>
 that the video showed a polling site in his city. Nick Custodio, deputy
 commissioner with Philadelphia’s elections board, told the AP that 
Philadelphia does not use paper voting booths such as those shown in the
 video, and that the “I voted” stickers in the video also do not match 
those used in Philadelphia.— Associated Press writers Arijeta 
Lajka and Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report with 
additional reporting from Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Claudia Lauer 
in Philadelphia.___No voters turned away over Detroit absentee ballot glitchCLAIM:
 Voters in Detroit were prevented from casting ballots on Election Day 
after officials mistakenly said they’d already voted by absentee ballot.THE
 FACTS: No eligible voters were prevented from casting a ballot at 
Detroit polling locations that experienced the data glitch on Tuesday 
morning, state and city officials confirmed. As voters nationwide went 
to the polls, there was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-909279666c18777c44a9fad6754f3de7">heightened focus on voting problems and irregularities</a>.
 One of the places election watchers sounded the alarm early on was the 
battleground state of Michigan. “People are showing up to vote in 
Detroit only to be told that they already voted via absentee ballots and
 are being turned away,” wrote one Twitter user. “Citizens are being 
told they voted already absentee,” wrote Kristina Karamo, a Republican 
candidate for Michigan secretary of state, in widely shared posts on 
Twitter and Facebook. Former President Donald Trump also amplified the 
claims on Truth Social. But state and city officials said the issue 
stemmed from an election software problem and was quickly resolved 
without anyone being disenfranchised. Corwin Smidt, a political science 
professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, said the 
situation demonstrated the voting system worked properly. “It certainly 
slowed down voting there, but the reasons for the slowdown were that the
 system caught an error, and that error was then fixed,” he wrote in an 
email. Liette Gidlow, a history professor at Wayne State University in 
Detroit who focuses on U.S. politics and voting rights, agreed. “Minor 
technical glitches are not unusual in any precinct because administering
 elections is a complex business,” she wrote in an email. Detroit’s 
elections department said the problem was caused by computer software 
used by election workers to check in voters as they entered the polling 
location. The agency said the program wrongly flagged some residents as 
having requested an absentee ballot, which would make them ineligible to
 cast a ballot in-person. Matthew Friedman, a department spokesperson, 
said the issue was resolved within an hour and all eligible residents 
were able to vote. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whose 
office assisted the city in addressing the issue, also stressed that no 
voters were disenfranchised. “In all circumstances, eligible voters were
 able to vote,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MichSoS/status/1590133571175739394">the office said in a statement</a>.
 The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, which observed the 
voting process, said it spoke with multiple city election officials and 
was satisfied with the response. Spokespersons for Trump and Karamo did 
not respond to messages seeking comment.— Associated Press writer Philip Marcelo in New York contributed this report.___CLAIM: A Pennsylvania judge ruled that ballots received up until Nov. 14 will count in the 2022 midterm elections.THE FACTS: Pennsylvania ballots, including mail-in and absentee ballots, <a href="https://www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx">must be received by county election offices</a>
 by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8, to be counted, according to the 
state’s Department of State. As voters went to the polls on Tuesday, 
misleading information about Pennsylvania’s vote-counting deadlines 
gained traction. “This just in: Pennsylvania Judge allows ballots to 
count that are received up until November 14th,” read one post. “This is
 unconstitutional.” The message, shared in several Instagram posts, is a
 screenshot of a tweet that was later deleted. The Twitter user who 
first posted it acknowledged in a follow-up that the information was 
incorrect. Existing law requires that Pennsylvania voters’ ballots be 
received by county election workers by Nov. 8, <a href="https://www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx">the Department of State explains</a>. Unlike <a href="https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/general-election-nov-8-2022">some other states</a>,
 Pennsylvania allots no extra time for mail-in ballots — what counts is 
the day the ballot actually made it to election officials, not when the 
ballot was postmarked. The Twitter user who first made the claim said in
 a follow-up post that the court case he was referring to was a recent 
decision by a Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court. However, the case in 
question has nothing to do with ballot submission deadlines. It 
concerned the cross-checking procedure that Pennsylvania uses to prevent
 duplicate votes from being counted, according to Kevin Feeley, 
spokesperson for the Philadelphia City Commissioners, which oversees 
elections in the city. The city had <a href="https://vote.phila.gov/media/Agenda_for_11_02_22.pdf">sought to delay that process</a>
 until after the initial ballot count, in an effort to get ballots 
counted more quickly. He said that no duplicate votes had been found in 
the last three elections. The court <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/philadelphia-poll-book-reconciliation-double-votes-court-ruling-20221107.html">granted the city the right to delay</a> the reconciliation process, but the judge in the case was “highly critical" of the idea, Feeley said. So the <a href="https://vote.phila.gov/media/Agenda-for-11-8-2022.pdf">City Commission opted Tuesday</a> to revert to doing reconciliation as usual. Feeley confirmed that the case did not mean voting can occur through Nov. 14.—
 Associated Press writer Graph Massara in San Francisco contributed this
 report with additional reporting from Melissa Goldin in New York.___Large numbers of mailed ballots not evidence of election fraudCLAIM: A candidate winning an election with a majority of mailed ballots is proof of fraud.THE FACTS: There is no evidence that mail-in voting has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-voting-ee8dd4051a53b5e7471c8a6a2ca1b8f3">historically caused widespread voter fraud</a>, and fraud related to mail-in voting is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-voter-registration-government-and-politics-609866267baef89dd1513e7c9e2f7509">exceedingly rare,</a>
 the AP has reported. Some on social media have posited that if a 
candidate who receives a significant chunk of their votes through 
mail-in voting wins, their victory is inherently fraudulent. An 
Instagram post features results reporting that incumbent Kelly Skidmore,
 a Democrat, beat Dorcas Hernandez, a Republican, in the race for state 
representative in Florida’s 92nd House District. It shows Skidmore with 
57.51% of the vote, including 31,405 mailed ballots, and Hernandez with 
42.9% and 10,297 mailed ballots. “This is what textbook election theft 
via vote by mail ballot looks like,” the post states. The numbers in the
 Instagram post are from <a href="https://enr.electionsfl.org/PAL/3278/Reports/">the state’s unofficial results</a>,
 as published online by county boards of elections. However, the fact 
that some candidates are reported as having won after receiving a 
majority of mailed ballots does not prove election fraud. Claims that 
mail-in voting has caused widespread voter fraud in the past are 
unsubstantiated, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-voting-ee8dd4051a53b5e7471c8a6a2ca1b8f3">according to reporting by the AP.</a> After reviewing every potential case of voter fraud in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-wisconsin-c61fa93a12a1a51d6d9f4e0a21fa3b75">AP found far too few</a>
 to affect the outcome of the 2020 election. Additionally, an AP survey 
of state election officials across the U.S. found that the expanded use 
of drop boxes during the 2020 race did not lead to cases of fraud that 
could have impacted the results. Different states have different <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-14-how-states-verify-voted-absentee.aspx">ballot verification protocols</a>, but all states <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-voter-registration-government-and-politics-609866267baef89dd1513e7c9e2f7509">vet mailed and absentee ballots.</a>
 Every state requires voters to sign their ballots. Some have additional
 precautions, like having bipartisan teams compare the signature on the 
ballot with one on file, requiring the signature on the ballot to be 
notarized or requiring a witness to sign the ballot. Other forms of 
verification can include requiring proof of voter registration, a copy 
of an ID, a driver’s license number or a Social Security number. Ballot 
security features and ballot sorting at election offices would help weed
 out any counterfeits. There are harsh penalties for voter fraud by 
mailed ballot, such as a fine, prison time or both.— Associated Press writers Melissa Goldin and Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

Instances of racial slurs have soared on <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-twitter-inc-technology-europe-30b55f9c3cbe64c0b98d0cfbe7ab5a9f">Twitter</a> since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-business-0d3d4618a3f4631dfd253ae8798c5196">Elon Musk</a>
 purchased the influential platform, despite assurances from the 
platform that it had reduced hateful activity, a digital civil rights 
group reported Thursday.

Researchers at the <a href="https://counterhate.com/">Center for Countering Digital Hate</a> found that the number of tweets containing one of several different racial slurs soared in the week after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-timeline-e0b41992f178a5221dd0410321068eb2">Musk bought Twitter</a>.

A
 racial epithet used to attack Black people was found more than 26,000 
times, three times the average for 2022. Use of a slur that targets 
trans people increased 53%, while instances of an offensive term for 
homosexual men went up 39% over the yearly average.

Examples of offensive terms used to target Jews and Hispanics also increased.

All
 told, the researchers looked at nearly 80,000 English-language tweets 
and retweets from around the world that contained one of the offensive 
terms they searched for.

“The figures show that despite claims 
from Twitter’s Head of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth, that the platform 
had succeeded in reducing the number of times hate speech was being seen
 on Twitter’s search and trending page, the actual volume of hateful 
tweets has spiked,” according to the analysis from the center, a 
nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

Roth <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-business-0d3d4618a3f4631dfd253ae8798c5196">resigned Thursday,</a> joining the large number of Twitter employees who have either resigned from Twitter or been <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-business-layoffs-c0334da78b3af9faf2f43cf3f6e52ffa">laid off</a> since Musk took control.

A
 day before, Roth acknowledged the recent increase in hate speech on the
 site but said the platform had made significant progress in bringing 
the numbers down.

“We’ve put a stop to the spike in hateful 
conduct, but that the level of hateful activity on the service is now 
about 95% lower than it was before the acquisition,” Roth said in 
remarks broadcast live on Twitter. “Changes that we’ve made and the 
proactive enforcement that we carried out are making Twitter safer 
relative to where it was before.”

An executive confirmed Roth’s resignation to coworkers on an internal messaging board seen by The Associated Press on Thursday.

On
 Oct. 31, Twitter announced that 1,500 accounts had been removed for 
posting hate speech. The company also said it had greatly reduced the 
visibility of posts containing slurs, making them harder to find on the 
platform.

“We have actually seen hateful speech at times this week
 decline (asterisk)below(asterisk) our prior norms, contrary to what you
 may read in the press,” Musk tweeted last week.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-cbd873f1bd81fa4356b81f89c4c5ebed">Musk</a>
 has described himself as a free speech absolutist, and he is widely 
expected to revamp Twitter's content moderation policies. While he said 
no changes have been made so far, Musk has made <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-business-layoffs-c0334da78b3af9faf2f43cf3f6e52ffa">significant layoffs</a> at the company, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-dd4273dbda5b15343753f56c1f43a659">raising questions about its ability to police misinformation</a> and hate speech before Tuesday's midterm election.

It
 may take some time to accurately assess the platform's performance in 
the election and to determine whether Twitter has adopted a different 
strategy for content that violates its policies, said Renee DiResta, 
research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory.

“The civic 
integrity policy was unchanged,” DiResta said of Twitter under its new 
ownership. "Now, there is a difference between having a policy and 
enforcing a policy.”

Shortly after Musk purchased Twitter, some 
users posted hate speech, seemingly to test the boundaries of the 
platform under its new owner.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-elon-musk-technology-misinformation-nancy-pelosi-42c1a39e8df739065abd70c400240d84">Within just 12 hours of Musk’s purchase</a>
 being finalized, references to a specific racist epithet used to demean
 Black people shot up by 500%, according to an analysis conducted by the
 Network Contagion Research Institute, a Princeton, New Jersey-based 
firm that tracks disinformation.

Twitter did not immediately respond Thursday to messages seeking comment on the findings of the new report.

Associated PressInstances of racial slurs have soared on <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-twitter-inc-technology-europe-30b55f9c3cbe64c0b98d0cfbe7ab5a9f">Twitter</a> since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-business-0d3d4618a3f4631dfd253ae8798c5196">Elon Musk</a>
 purchased the influential platform, despite assurances from the 
platform that it had reduced hateful activity, a digital civil rights 
group reported Thursday.Researchers at the <a href="https://counterhate.com/">Center for Countering Digital Hate</a> found that the number of tweets containing one of several different racial slurs soared in the week after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-timeline-e0b41992f178a5221dd0410321068eb2">Musk bought Twitter</a>.A
 racial epithet used to attack Black people was found more than 26,000 
times, three times the average for 2022. Use of a slur that targets 
trans people increased 53%, while instances of an offensive term for 
homosexual men went up 39% over the yearly average.Examples of offensive terms used to target Jews and Hispanics also increased.All
 told, the researchers looked at nearly 80,000 English-language tweets 
and retweets from around the world that contained one of the offensive 
terms they searched for.“The figures show that despite claims 
from Twitter’s Head of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth, that the platform 
had succeeded in reducing the number of times hate speech was being seen
 on Twitter’s search and trending page, the actual volume of hateful 
tweets has spiked,” according to the analysis from the center, a 
nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom.Roth <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-business-0d3d4618a3f4631dfd253ae8798c5196">resigned Thursday,</a> joining the large number of Twitter employees who have either resigned from Twitter or been <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-business-layoffs-c0334da78b3af9faf2f43cf3f6e52ffa">laid off</a> since Musk took control.A
 day before, Roth acknowledged the recent increase in hate speech on the
 site but said the platform had made significant progress in bringing 
the numbers down.“We’ve put a stop to the spike in hateful 
conduct, but that the level of hateful activity on the service is now 
about 95% lower than it was before the acquisition,” Roth said in 
remarks broadcast live on Twitter. “Changes that we’ve made and the 
proactive enforcement that we carried out are making Twitter safer 
relative to where it was before.”An executive confirmed Roth’s resignation to coworkers on an internal messaging board seen by The Associated Press on Thursday.On
 Oct. 31, Twitter announced that 1,500 accounts had been removed for 
posting hate speech. The company also said it had greatly reduced the 
visibility of posts containing slurs, making them harder to find on the 
platform.“We have actually seen hateful speech at times this week
 decline (asterisk)below(asterisk) our prior norms, contrary to what you
 may read in the press,” Musk tweeted last week.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-cbd873f1bd81fa4356b81f89c4c5ebed">Musk</a>
 has described himself as a free speech absolutist, and he is widely 
expected to revamp Twitter's content moderation policies. While he said 
no changes have been made so far, Musk has made <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-business-layoffs-c0334da78b3af9faf2f43cf3f6e52ffa">significant layoffs</a> at the company, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-dd4273dbda5b15343753f56c1f43a659">raising questions about its ability to police misinformation</a> and hate speech before Tuesday's midterm election.It
 may take some time to accurately assess the platform's performance in 
the election and to determine whether Twitter has adopted a different 
strategy for content that violates its policies, said Renee DiResta, 
research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory.“The civic 
integrity policy was unchanged,” DiResta said of Twitter under its new 
ownership. "Now, there is a difference between having a policy and 
enforcing a policy.”Shortly after Musk purchased Twitter, some 
users posted hate speech, seemingly to test the boundaries of the 
platform under its new owner.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-elon-musk-technology-misinformation-nancy-pelosi-42c1a39e8df739065abd70c400240d84">Within just 12 hours of Musk’s purchase</a>
 being finalized, references to a specific racist epithet used to demean
 Black people shot up by 500%, according to an analysis conducted by the
 Network Contagion Research Institute, a Princeton, New Jersey-based 
firm that tracks disinformation.Twitter did not immediately respond Thursday to messages seeking comment on the findings of the new report.

Report: Tweets with racial slurs soar since Musk takeover

BERLIN
 (AP) — KFC has apologized for accidentally sending an automated push 
alert to its app users in Germany that appeared to urge people to order 
food to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-germany-europe-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-04718e1a2ffd6ce701e9c15871d34a2e">commemorate the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht</a> — the “Night of Broken Glass” — when Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria.

The
 company faced an outcry for the alert that went out Wednesday at a time
 when Jewish groups are warning of rising antisemitism. According to 
screenshots shared online, the app alert said, “Memorial day for the 
Reich pogrom night. Treat yourself to more tender cheese on your crispy 
chicken. Now at KFCheese!”

KFC Germany said the notification was an “unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message and for this we sincerely apologize."

“We
 use a semi-automated content creation process linked to calendars that 
include national observances. In this instance, our internal review 
process was not properly followed, resulting in a non-approved 
notification being shared," the company said in a statement Thursday.

The
 chicken chain says it's halted app communications and is reviewing its 
policies to avoid similar notifications in the future, adding that “we 
understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain 
committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for all."

The 
notification led to outcry from Jewish groups, with Dalia Grinfeld, 
associate director of European affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, <a href="https://twitter.com/DaliaGrinfeld/status/1590337407135625217">tweeting in German</a>: “How wrong can you get on Reich pogrom night, @KFCDeutschland (@kfc)?! Shame on you!”

The
 alert came on the anniversary of Nov. 9, 1938, when the Nazis, among 
them many ordinary Germans, killed at least 91 people and vandalized 
7,500 Jewish businesses during Kristallnacht pogroms across Germany and 
Austria. They also burned more than 1,400 synagogues, according to 
Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. In Germany, the event is more 
commonly known as Reich pogrom night.

To mark the day, Holocaust survivors from around the world <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClaimsConference/videos/894562671517046/">warned about the reemergence of antisemitism</a> in a campaign called #ItStartedWithWords. Jewish groups say attacks and incidents of bias and hate speech have been rising.

Brands have recently cut ties with celebrities over antisemitic comments, including <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kanye-west-europe-business-germany-c91f86580521fa81920b4f69e100f6ec">German sportswear company Adidas</a> and others with the <a href="https://apnews.com/7425f65ea39f7bbdd02d0e033d9be4b8">rapper formerly known as Kanye West</a> and Nike with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-kyrie-irving-racial-injustice-972e41eed3debbd9a548433c78227f05">NBA player Kyrie Irving</a>.

BERLIN
 (AP) — KFC has apologized for accidentally sending an automated push 
alert to its app users in Germany that appeared to urge people to order 
food to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-germany-europe-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-04718e1a2ffd6ce701e9c15871d34a2e">commemorate the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht</a> — the “Night of Broken Glass” — when Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria.The
 company faced an outcry for the alert that went out Wednesday at a time
 when Jewish groups are warning of rising antisemitism. According to 
screenshots shared online, the app alert said, “Memorial day for the 
Reich pogrom night. Treat yourself to more tender cheese on your crispy 
chicken. Now at KFCheese!”KFC Germany said the notification was an “unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message and for this we sincerely apologize."“We
 use a semi-automated content creation process linked to calendars that 
include national observances. In this instance, our internal review 
process was not properly followed, resulting in a non-approved 
notification being shared," the company said in a statement Thursday.The
 chicken chain says it's halted app communications and is reviewing its 
policies to avoid similar notifications in the future, adding that “we 
understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain 
committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for all."The 
notification led to outcry from Jewish groups, with Dalia Grinfeld, 
associate director of European affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, <a href="https://twitter.com/DaliaGrinfeld/status/1590337407135625217">tweeting in German</a>: “How wrong can you get on Reich pogrom night, @KFCDeutschland (@kfc)?! Shame on you!”The
 alert came on the anniversary of Nov. 9, 1938, when the Nazis, among 
them many ordinary Germans, killed at least 91 people and vandalized 
7,500 Jewish businesses during Kristallnacht pogroms across Germany and 
Austria. They also burned more than 1,400 synagogues, according to 
Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. In Germany, the event is more 
commonly known as Reich pogrom night.To mark the day, Holocaust survivors from around the world <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClaimsConference/videos/894562671517046/">warned about the reemergence of antisemitism</a> in a campaign called #ItStartedWithWords. Jewish groups say attacks and incidents of bias and hate speech have been rising.Brands have recently cut ties with celebrities over antisemitic comments, including <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kanye-west-europe-business-germany-c91f86580521fa81920b4f69e100f6ec">German sportswear company Adidas</a> and others with the <a href="https://apnews.com/7425f65ea39f7bbdd02d0e033d9be4b8">rapper formerly known as Kanye West</a> and Nike with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-kyrie-irving-racial-injustice-972e41eed3debbd9a548433c78227f05">NBA player Kyrie Irving</a>.

KFC apologizes for app alert urging orders for Kristallnacht

I don’t know about you, but personally, I have a love-hate relationship with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

I mean, don’t get me wrong—it seems pretty great at first: belly full of stuffing, new fall trends on sale, Christmas shopping done early, decompressing after too much time with that one relative . . .&nbsp;

But what’s wrong with this picture? For one, you probably weren’t considering the obvious risks of holiday impulsive shopping, not to mention slick marketing tactics and bad spending habits. Half the time I feel like I’ve outsmarted this consumer-culture phenomenon, and the other half . . . Well, like a wise little league baseball coach once said: You can’t win ‘em all, kid.

We’ve all made our share of shopping mistakes on that fateful weekend after Thanksgiving, but not this year, my friends. Today, I’m sharing six money-saving tips that will make these sales work for&nbsp;you, not the other way around.&nbsp;

Boom! There you have it. Six steps that set you up for spending (and saving) success. Let’s make sure you and I both have no regrets (or “no ragrets” for fans of&nbsp;We’re the Millers) this shopping season. And if you’re looking for more Black Friday shopping tips, check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/budgeting/7-ways-to-stay-sane-black-friday">this article</a>&nbsp;from my friend Rachel Cruze.

Bonus Challenge:&nbsp;Make it a social affair! Send this article to someone you wouldn’t mind tackling Black Friday and Cyber Monday with. And who knows, maybe your chosen sidekick will have their own strategies to share. No gatekeeping here, folks!

George Kamel&nbsp;is a personal finance expert with a countercultural approach to money. He’s the host of The Fine Print podcast and The EntreLeadership Podcast on the Ramsey Network. Since 2013, George has served at Ramsey Solutions, where his goal is to help people spend less, save more, and avoid consumer traps so they can make the most of their money. Follow George on<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeKamel?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/georgekamel/?hl=en">Instagram</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGeorgeKamel">Facebook</a>&nbsp;or find out more about him online at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/personalities">ramseysolutions.com/personalities</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636603961231.jpeg" alt="George Kamel&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>George Kamel&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By GEORGE KAMELI don’t know about you, but personally, I have a love-hate relationship with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.I mean, don’t get me wrong—it seems pretty great at first: belly full of stuffing, new fall trends on sale, Christmas shopping done early, decompressing after too much time with that one relative . . .&nbsp;But what’s wrong with this picture? For one, you probably weren’t considering the obvious risks of holiday impulsive shopping, not to mention slick marketing tactics and bad spending habits. Half the time I feel like I’ve outsmarted this consumer-culture phenomenon, and the other half . . . Well, like a wise little league baseball coach once said: You can’t win ‘em all, kid.We’ve all made our share of shopping mistakes on that fateful weekend after Thanksgiving, but not this year, my friends. Today, I’m sharing six money-saving tips that will make these sales work for&nbsp;you, not the other way around.&nbsp;<ol>
 <li>Choose budgeting over browsing.&nbsp;Yep, you already knew this one was coming. And sure, this may seem like overkill for one tiny weekend of shopping, but the truth is: Structure sets us free. Just like your monthly budget puts you back in control of your money, making a Black Friday budget gives you the freedom to decide how much you spend on who and what (and when and where and why).</li><li>Map it out.&nbsp;Most of my Black Friday and Cyber Monday fails have happened because I didn’t have a strategy ahead of time. After you’ve listed your buying goals in the budget, decide which stores and sites should take priority. Will you shop for big-ticket items only? Will you buy gifts for others first, then make personal purchases second? Do what makes sense (and what you can afford), then stick to the plan.</li><li>Flag your favorite emails.&nbsp;We all know there are an obnoxious amount of ad emails coming your way as the big weekend approaches. That marketer’s mama didn’t raise no fool! But you can take the power back by starring the ones you’re interested in and deleting the ones you’re not. This way, you won’t be tempted to click, scroll and buy before the sales even begin. Take inventory now, and revisit your flagged favorites after you’ve had some turkey and time to process.</li><li>Shop for quality over quantity.&nbsp;On this iconic weekend of spending, lots of deals are going to seem epic. But before you buy into every offer you see, use “quality over quantity” as your centering mantra. Go ahead, take a cleansing breath and repeat after me: “Namaste&nbsp;away&nbsp;from pointless purchases.” You do not need 47 candles from Bath &amp; Body Works. You may, however, want to restock your fancy shampoo while it’s on mega sale.</li><li>Use the two-year rule.&nbsp;Buyer’s rush feels great in the moment, but you want to be wise about the future. Ask yourself,Two years from now, will I still be enjoying this purchase?&nbsp;If the answer is no, you may want to reconsider.</li><li>Debt is always a no.&nbsp;No matter where you find yourself in your financial journey, Black Friday and Cyber Monday shouldn’t reverse your progress. That cozy cashmere sweater is tempting as cooler temperatures creep in, but it’s going to get ugly real fast when the new year also brings with it a new credit card bill. Turns out you can still go broke while “saving” money. So, whatever you do, don’t convince yourself you’re saving if you’re actually spending and going into more debt.</li>
 </ol>Boom! There you have it. Six steps that set you up for spending (and saving) success. Let’s make sure you and I both have no regrets (or “no ragrets” for fans of&nbsp;We’re the Millers) this shopping season. And if you’re looking for more Black Friday shopping tips, check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/budgeting/7-ways-to-stay-sane-black-friday">this article</a>&nbsp;from my friend Rachel Cruze.Bonus Challenge:&nbsp;Make it a social affair! Send this article to someone you wouldn’t mind tackling Black Friday and Cyber Monday with. And who knows, maybe your chosen sidekick will have their own strategies to share. No gatekeeping here, folks!George Kamel&nbsp;is a personal finance expert with a countercultural approach to money. He’s the host of The Fine Print podcast and The EntreLeadership Podcast on the Ramsey Network. Since 2013, George has served at Ramsey Solutions, where his goal is to help people spend less, save more, and avoid consumer traps so they can make the most of their money. Follow George on<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeKamel?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/georgekamel/?hl=en">Instagram</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGeorgeKamel">Facebook</a>&nbsp;or find out more about him online at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/personalities">ramseysolutions.com/personalities</a>.

KAMEL: Making the most out of Black Friday, Cyber Monday marketing schemes

The singer and Hays PD continue light-hearted jabs in latest round.

<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHaysPD%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0fvepjnPBXV6TUwtTAK2zmDBoAmaht9RaLjR3She1Bmy2PHvazyHiquAaym4wGBml&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="505" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>The singer and Hays PD continue light-hearted jabs in latest round.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHaysPD%2Fposts%2Fpfbid033gLoPaAuoHW3JviBsM4zuXiRqMYeL5YhA1D6doMVUoVCQRdTNwTADxuoyTqzV3Psl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="521" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>

Ward Davis: Back on the Hays PD Facebook page

By STEFAN SZYMANSKI <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-maradonas-hand-of-god-goal-is-priceless-and-unforgettable-193760">The Conversation</a>

Football has “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLsFSsHnoxM">The Catch</a>,” baseball has “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrI7dVj90zs">The Shot Heard ‘Round the World</a>,” and basketball has “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zd62MxKXp8">The Block</a>.”

For soccer, it is Diego Maradona’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq0P03i4L-w">Hand of God</a>” – a sporting moment captured in time, the mere mention of which can conjure up strong emotions among supporters.

Such is its legacy, that some 36 years after bouncing into the back of the net, the soccer ball involved is set to be <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/football/diego-maradona-ball-auction-spt-intl">sold at auction on Nov. 16, 2022</a>, at an expected price of up to US$3.3 million.

So why does this goal, which should not even have been a goal, carry so much significance? As an <a href="https://www.kines.umich.edu/directory/stefan-szymanski">economist who studies sport</a>,
 I’ve long believed that you have to grasp the cultural significance to 
understand the financial dimension of sports. This goal was one of 
soccer’s most iconic events for a number of reasons.

The goal in question was scored by Argentinian great Maradona against
 England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup. It was the second 
half, no goals had been scored, and Argentina’s team was passing the 
ball around the edge of the England penalty box.

England midfielder Steve Hodge tried to clear the ball but only 
succeeded in kicking high above the goalkeeper. Normally one would 
expect the goalkeeper to catch it, especially against the 5-foot-5-inch 
Maradona. But somehow the ball ended up in the back of the net.

At first, it seemed that Maradona had headed the ball, but replays 
clearly showed him steering the ball with his clenched fist. This was 
three decades before the use of <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/1293321">video assistant referee</a>,
 or VAR, in soccer. There was no way to review. The referee’s vision was
 blocked, and he looked to the linesman for guidance – but the linesman 
saw nothing wrong, and the goal was allowed to stand.

Speaking after the game, Maradona told reporters that the goal was 
scored “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de 
Dios,” or in the English translation, “a little with the head of 
Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” The phrase stuck, and with 
it the legend of the goal.

The Argentina team of 1986 was not a great team. Rather, it was an 
average team combined with the greatest player in the world at the time,
 and many would say the <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/diego-maradona-greatest-player-time-23086411">most talented footballer ever to grace a pitch</a>.

England were probably a better team if you took Maradona out of the game. So that is what <a href="https://www.givemesport.com/1807805-diego-maradona-viral-video-of-england-fouling-him-in-hand-of-god-game-is-eyeopening">England’s defenders tried to do</a>:
 shut him out by fair means or foul. England’s plan was to make it the 
responsibility of almost every player on the field to track him and try 
to stop him from advancing. They tried, but it was impossible.

Four minutes after the first goal, Maradona took the ball and at 
lightning pace skipped past three defenders and the England goalkeeper 
to score again. The goal was voted “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da_CDPRG2j0">the goal of the [20th] century</a>” in a 2002 FIFA poll.

Argentina would go on to win the final in what is still known as “Maradona’s World Cup.”

3. No, it’s all about Argentina’s revenge!

There was no escaping <a href="https://theconversation.com/maradona-why-the-english-cant-let-go-of-the-hand-of-god-and-latin-americans-love-it-151011">the political context</a> of the game – or the goal. In 1982, <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-short-history-of-the-falklands-conflict">Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands</a>,
 or Las Malvinas – the name you use determines your allegiance – a 
British overseas territory some 300 miles off the Argentinian coast.

The islands had been occupied by the British since 1833, and former 
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher cemented her image as “The Iron Lady” 
by <a href="https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/sovereignty-since-the-ceasefire-the-falklands-40-years-on/#:%7E:text=The%20Falkland%20Islands%20has%20a,which%20calls%20them%20Las%20Malvinas.">sending a military task force 8,000 miles</a>
 across the Atlantic to recapture the islands. The U.K. claimed its 
primary motivation was respecting the self-determination of the 
islanders, but <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dc041686576e854f22e81a85c95c7951">valuable fishing rights</a> and a seat at the table in the administration of the Antarctic were also at stake. Among the neutrals, there was <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2015/gaspd580.doc.htm">considerable sympathy for the Argentine cause</a> in what seemed like an anachronistic act of colonial imperialism by the British.

The humiliation for Argentinian generals likely <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/falklands-defeat-ended-generals-plan-for-30-year-junta-mqddljchzx3">hastened the end of the military dictatorship</a>
 and the restoration of democracy in Argentina. But it bred resentment 
against the English – Argentinians believe in their heart that Las 
Malvinas belong to them, not to Britain – and that colored the build-up 
to the 1986 game, as <a href="https://hir.harvard.edu/from-defending-islands-to-defending-the-soccer-pitch-history-of-the-1986-england-argentina-world-cup/#:%7E:text=In%20his%20memoir%2C%20Yo%20Soy,%2C%20the%20survivors.%E2%80%9D%20Maradona's%20memoir">Maradona later recalled</a> in his memoir “Yo Soy El Diego,” or “I Am The Diego:”

“Somehow we blamed the English players for everything that had 
happened, for everything that the Argentinian people had suffered … we 
were defending our flag, the dead kids, the survivors.”

4. OK, it’s because Diego Maradona really is the GOAT

Few players have stamped their presence on a World Cup quite like 
Maradona. His performance in the England game stands as a memorial to 
his greatness, and the phrase “Hand of God” neatly puts his name in the 
same sentence as divinity. It wasn’t a one-off – the entire tournament 
became a showground for his outrageous skill – and he fittingly raised 
the trophy at the end.

But Maradona – who died in 2020 at age 60 – was also a troubled genius. A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/sports/soccer/diego-maradona-dead.html">child of the slums of Buenos Aires</a>,
 he never lost the anxiety that he would not receive his due. He became 
addicted to drugs – potentially as a result of all the painkillers he 
needed to keep playing in an era in which defenders were prone to 
bone-crunching tackles – and <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/09/26/how-cocaine-fame-and-the-mafia-destroyed-diego-maradona/">struggled with cocaine</a>.

He was frequently <a href="https://www.dailybreeze.com/2014/08/11/argentine-soccer-player-diego-maradona-slaps-reporters-face-outside-theater/">abusive toward the media</a>, was <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/diego-maradona-accused-violence-partner-25124560">accused of assaulting one girlfriend</a>, and he was alleged to have <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/09/26/how-cocaine-fame-and-the-mafia-destroyed-diego-maradona/">close connections to the mafia</a>.

But for most soccer enthusiasts, none of this really detracts from his greatness as a player.

There are simply some players – a very small number indeed – whose 
story transcends right and wrong and whose acts are forever remembered 
like the heroes of ancient Greek epics. Maradona is one such player. 
Like Achilles or Odysseus, his name will live on, remembered in the 
“Hand of God” goal.

Stefan Szymanski is a Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan

<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ccNkksrfls"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By STEFAN SZYMANSKI <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-maradonas-hand-of-god-goal-is-priceless-and-unforgettable-193760">The Conversation</a>Football has “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLsFSsHnoxM">The Catch</a>,” baseball has “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrI7dVj90zs">The Shot Heard ‘Round the World</a>,” and basketball has “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zd62MxKXp8">The Block</a>.” For soccer, it is Diego Maradona’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq0P03i4L-w">Hand of God</a>” – a sporting moment captured in time, the mere mention of which can conjure up strong emotions among supporters.Such is its legacy, that some 36 years after bouncing into the back of the net, the soccer ball involved is set to be <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/football/diego-maradona-ball-auction-spt-intl">sold at auction on Nov. 16, 2022</a>, at an expected price of up to US$3.3 million.So why does this goal, which should not even have been a goal, carry so much significance? As an <a href="https://www.kines.umich.edu/directory/stefan-szymanski">economist who studies sport</a>,
 I’ve long believed that you have to grasp the cultural significance to 
understand the financial dimension of sports. This goal was one of 
soccer’s most iconic events for a number of reasons.<h2>1. It’s about the controversy</h2>The goal in question was scored by Argentinian great Maradona against
 England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup. It was the second 
half, no goals had been scored, and Argentina’s team was passing the 
ball around the edge of the England penalty box.England midfielder Steve Hodge tried to clear the ball but only 
succeeded in kicking high above the goalkeeper. Normally one would 
expect the goalkeeper to catch it, especially against the 5-foot-5-inch 
Maradona. But somehow the ball ended up in the back of the net.At first, it seemed that Maradona had headed the ball, but replays 
clearly showed him steering the ball with his clenched fist. This was 
three decades before the use of <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/1293321">video assistant referee</a>,
 or VAR, in soccer. There was no way to review. The referee’s vision was
 blocked, and he looked to the linesman for guidance – but the linesman 
saw nothing wrong, and the goal was allowed to stand.Speaking after the game, Maradona told reporters that the goal was 
scored “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de 
Dios,” or in the English translation, “a little with the head of 
Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” The phrase stuck, and with 
it the legend of the goal.<h2>2. It’s really about that second goal</h2>The Argentina team of 1986 was not a great team. Rather, it was an 
average team combined with the greatest player in the world at the time,
 and many would say the <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/diego-maradona-greatest-player-time-23086411">most talented footballer ever to grace a pitch</a>. <figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1wVho3I0NtU"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>England were probably a better team if you took Maradona out of the game. So that is what <a href="https://www.givemesport.com/1807805-diego-maradona-viral-video-of-england-fouling-him-in-hand-of-god-game-is-eyeopening">England’s defenders tried to do</a>:
 shut him out by fair means or foul. England’s plan was to make it the 
responsibility of almost every player on the field to track him and try 
to stop him from advancing. They tried, but it was impossible.Four minutes after the first goal, Maradona took the ball and at 
lightning pace skipped past three defenders and the England goalkeeper 
to score again. The goal was voted “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da_CDPRG2j0">the goal of the [20th] century</a>” in a 2002 FIFA poll.Argentina would go on to win the final in what is still known as “Maradona’s World Cup.”<h2>3. No, it’s all about Argentina’s revenge!</h2>There was no escaping <a href="https://theconversation.com/maradona-why-the-english-cant-let-go-of-the-hand-of-god-and-latin-americans-love-it-151011">the political context</a> of the game – or the goal. In 1982, <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-short-history-of-the-falklands-conflict">Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands</a>,
 or Las Malvinas – the name you use determines your allegiance – a 
British overseas territory some 300 miles off the Argentinian coast.The islands had been occupied by the British since 1833, and former 
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher cemented her image as “The Iron Lady” 
by <a href="https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/sovereignty-since-the-ceasefire-the-falklands-40-years-on/#:%7E:text=The%20Falkland%20Islands%20has%20a,which%20calls%20them%20Las%20Malvinas.">sending a military task force 8,000 miles</a>
 across the Atlantic to recapture the islands. The U.K. claimed its 
primary motivation was respecting the self-determination of the 
islanders, but <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dc041686576e854f22e81a85c95c7951">valuable fishing rights</a> and a seat at the table in the administration of the Antarctic were also at stake. Among the neutrals, there was <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2015/gaspd580.doc.htm">considerable sympathy for the Argentine cause</a> in what seemed like an anachronistic act of colonial imperialism by the British.The humiliation for Argentinian generals likely <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/falklands-defeat-ended-generals-plan-for-30-year-junta-mqddljchzx3">hastened the end of the military dictatorship</a>
 and the restoration of democracy in Argentina. But it bred resentment 
against the English – Argentinians believe in their heart that Las 
Malvinas belong to them, not to Britain – and that colored the build-up 
to the 1986 game, as <a href="https://hir.harvard.edu/from-defending-islands-to-defending-the-soccer-pitch-history-of-the-1986-england-argentina-world-cup/#:%7E:text=In%20his%20memoir%2C%20Yo%20Soy,%2C%20the%20survivors.%E2%80%9D%20Maradona's%20memoir">Maradona later recalled</a> in his memoir “Yo Soy El Diego,” or “I Am The Diego:”“Somehow we blamed the English players for everything that had 
happened, for everything that the Argentinian people had suffered … we 
were defending our flag, the dead kids, the survivors.”<h2>4. OK, it’s because Diego Maradona really is the GOAT</h2>Few players have stamped their presence on a World Cup quite like 
Maradona. His performance in the England game stands as a memorial to 
his greatness, and the phrase “Hand of God” neatly puts his name in the 
same sentence as divinity. It wasn’t a one-off – the entire tournament 
became a showground for his outrageous skill – and he fittingly raised 
the trophy at the end.But Maradona – who died in 2020 at age 60 – was also a troubled genius. A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/sports/soccer/diego-maradona-dead.html">child of the slums of Buenos Aires</a>,
 he never lost the anxiety that he would not receive his due. He became 
addicted to drugs – potentially as a result of all the painkillers he 
needed to keep playing in an era in which defenders were prone to 
bone-crunching tackles – and <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/09/26/how-cocaine-fame-and-the-mafia-destroyed-diego-maradona/">struggled with cocaine</a>. He was frequently <a href="https://www.dailybreeze.com/2014/08/11/argentine-soccer-player-diego-maradona-slaps-reporters-face-outside-theater/">abusive toward the media</a>, was <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/diego-maradona-accused-violence-partner-25124560">accused of assaulting one girlfriend</a>, and he was alleged to have <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/09/26/how-cocaine-fame-and-the-mafia-destroyed-diego-maradona/">close connections to the mafia</a>.But for most soccer enthusiasts, none of this really detracts from his greatness as a player.There are simply some players – a very small number indeed – whose 
story transcends right and wrong and whose acts are forever remembered 
like the heroes of ancient Greek epics. Maradona is one such player. 
Like Achilles or Odysseus, his name will live on, remembered in the 
“Hand of God” goal.Stefan Szymanski is a Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan
 <div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193760/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

🎥 Why Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal is priceless – and unforgettable

NEW YORK (AP) — The swift collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX 
sent more shockwaves through the crypto world on Thursday, with 
authorities now investigating the firm for potential securities 
violations and analysts bracing for a further downturn in crypto prices.

FTX
 had agreed earlier this week to sell itself to bigger rival Binance 
after experiencing the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. 
Customers fled the exchange after becoming concerned about whether FTX 
had sufficient capital.

A person familiar with matter said that 
the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are
 examining FTX to determine whether any criminal activity or securities 
offenses were committed. The person could not discuss details of the 
investigations publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition 
of anonymity.

This week's developments marked a shocking turn of 
events for FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was hailed as 
somewhat of a savior earlier this year when he helped shore up a number 
of cryptocurrency companies that ran into financial trouble.

The 
investigation into Bankman-Fried and FTX by those in the crypto world as
 well as securities regulators is centering on the possibility that the 
firm may have used customers’ deposits to fund bets at Bankman-Fried’s 
hedge fund, Alameda Research. In traditional markets, brokers are 
expected to separate client funds from other company assets. Violations 
can be punished by regulators.

Meanwhile, investors in popular 
digital currencies got some relief from the latest crypto crisis 
Thursday after days of selling. Bitcoin rose to $17,691 after dropping 
as low as $15,512 on Wednesday. Ethereum rose 12%. The gains came after a
 government report showing inflation cooled a bit last month gave a lift
 to riskier assets.

The crypto world had hoped that Binance, the 
world's largest crypto exchange, might be able to rescue FTX and its 
depositors. However, after Binance had a chance to look at the books of 
FTX, it became clear that the smaller exchange's problems were too big 
to solve.

A person familiar with the dealings between FTX and 
Binance described the books as a “black hole” where it was impossible to
 differentiate between the assets and liabilities of FTX the exchange 
and those of Alameda Research. This person spoke on condition of 
anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the 
matter.

This person said Bankman-Fried committed the “ultimate sin” by tapping into FTX's custodial assets to fund Alameda Research.

In
 a further illustration of FTX’s financial straits, Bankman-Fried asked 
his investors Wednesday for $8 billion to cover withdrawal requests, 
according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources.

In a
 series of Tweets on Thursday, the FTX founder and CEO said that he did 
not have enough liquidity to cover withdrawals and that he was more 
leveraged than he had thought.

“I f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)ed up, and should have done better,” he said.

The
 latest crisis in the crypto industry prompted renewed calls for 
stricter regulation. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said
 the FTX developments "highlights why prudent regulation of 
cryptocurrencies is indeed needed. The White House, along with the 
relevant agencies, will again closely monitor the situation as it 
develops.”

The collapse of the cryptocurrency’s third largest 
exchange is likely to cause further disruption across the entire crypto 
world, analysts say, meaning Thursday's rally could be temporary.

"The
 unwinding of FTX, as well as its shock of confidence to the system, 
will cause crypto prices to fall even further leading to “a new cascade 
of margin calls,” said analysts at J.P. Morgan in a note to investors. 
This would be similar to the selloff that happened after the collapse of
 the stable coin Terra earlier this year, where prices continued to 
decline weeks after its failure.

“This deleveraging is likely to 
last for at least a few weeks unless a rescue for Alameda Research and 
FTX is agreed quickly,” J.P. Morgan analysts wrote.

The crypto 
industry is waiting to see what other companies are impacted by the FTX 
collapse. The venture capital fund Sequoia Capital said Thursday it is 
writing down its entire $150 million investment in FTX.

NEW YORK (AP) — The swift collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX 
sent more shockwaves through the crypto world on Thursday, with 
authorities now investigating the firm for potential securities 
violations and analysts bracing for a further downturn in crypto prices.FTX
 had agreed earlier this week to sell itself to bigger rival Binance 
after experiencing the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. 
Customers fled the exchange after becoming concerned about whether FTX 
had sufficient capital.A person familiar with matter said that 
the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are
 examining FTX to determine whether any criminal activity or securities 
offenses were committed. The person could not discuss details of the 
investigations publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition 
of anonymity.This week's developments marked a shocking turn of 
events for FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was hailed as 
somewhat of a savior earlier this year when he helped shore up a number 
of cryptocurrency companies that ran into financial trouble.The 
investigation into Bankman-Fried and FTX by those in the crypto world as
 well as securities regulators is centering on the possibility that the 
firm may have used customers’ deposits to fund bets at Bankman-Fried’s 
hedge fund, Alameda Research. In traditional markets, brokers are 
expected to separate client funds from other company assets. Violations 
can be punished by regulators.Meanwhile, investors in popular 
digital currencies got some relief from the latest crypto crisis 
Thursday after days of selling. Bitcoin rose to $17,691 after dropping 
as low as $15,512 on Wednesday. Ethereum rose 12%. The gains came after a
 government report showing inflation cooled a bit last month gave a lift
 to riskier assets.The crypto world had hoped that Binance, the 
world's largest crypto exchange, might be able to rescue FTX and its 
depositors. However, after Binance had a chance to look at the books of 
FTX, it became clear that the smaller exchange's problems were too big 
to solve.A person familiar with the dealings between FTX and 
Binance described the books as a “black hole” where it was impossible to
 differentiate between the assets and liabilities of FTX the exchange 
and those of Alameda Research. This person spoke on condition of 
anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the 
matter.This person said Bankman-Fried committed the “ultimate sin” by tapping into FTX's custodial assets to fund Alameda Research.In
 a further illustration of FTX’s financial straits, Bankman-Fried asked 
his investors Wednesday for $8 billion to cover withdrawal requests, 
according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources.In a
 series of Tweets on Thursday, the FTX founder and CEO said that he did 
not have enough liquidity to cover withdrawals and that he was more 
leveraged than he had thought.“I f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)ed up, and should have done better,” he said.The
 latest crisis in the crypto industry prompted renewed calls for 
stricter regulation. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said
 the FTX developments "highlights why prudent regulation of 
cryptocurrencies is indeed needed. The White House, along with the 
relevant agencies, will again closely monitor the situation as it 
develops.”The collapse of the cryptocurrency’s third largest 
exchange is likely to cause further disruption across the entire crypto 
world, analysts say, meaning Thursday's rally could be temporary."The
 unwinding of FTX, as well as its shock of confidence to the system, 
will cause crypto prices to fall even further leading to “a new cascade 
of margin calls,” said analysts at J.P. Morgan in a note to investors. 
This would be similar to the selloff that happened after the collapse of
 the stable coin Terra earlier this year, where prices continued to 
decline weeks after its failure.“This deleveraging is likely to 
last for at least a few weeks unless a rescue for Alameda Research and 
FTX is agreed quickly,” J.P. Morgan analysts wrote.The crypto 
industry is waiting to see what other companies are impacted by the FTX 
collapse. The venture capital fund Sequoia Capital said Thursday it is 
writing down its entire $150 million investment in FTX.

AP source: US authorities investigate crypto exchange FTX

ROCHESTER,
 N.Y. (AP) — The National Toy Hall of Fame's new honorees include an 
object dating to ancient times, a line of muscle-bound action figures 
and an iconic art set whose medium is colorful pegs. The hall on 
Thursday announced the top, Masters of the Universe and Lite-Brite as 
this year's inductees.

The trio was chosen from a field of 12 
finalists that also included bingo, Breyer Horses, Catan, Nerf, the 
piñata, Phase 10, Pound Puppies, Rack-O and Spirograph.

The Toy 
Hall of Fame inducts a new class of toys each year in a ceremony at The 
Strong museum in Rochester, where the hall is housed.

The top 
earned a place by being a childhood staple of cultures in Asia, Europe, 
the Americas, and Australia, according to the hall, which noted that 
ancient Greek pottery shows people playing with the twirling objects 
more than 2,000 years ago.

“The top is one of the oldest toys and 
an integral part of many cultures, where it developed independently as a
 plaything,” Chief Curator Christopher Bensch said in a news release. 
“With more than 5,000 years of history behind it, it’s about time that 
the top spun its way into the National Toy Hall of Fame!”

The hall recognizes toys that have inspired creativity and endured over time.

Hasbro’s
 Lite-Brite has maintained its popularity for more than 50 years, after 
being introduced 1966. Marketed in 1968 as a “magic light box,” the toy 
encourages kids to create glowing pictures by pushing colorful pegs into
 an illuminated black background.

ROCHESTER,
 N.Y. (AP) — The National Toy Hall of Fame's new honorees include an 
object dating to ancient times, a line of muscle-bound action figures 
and an iconic art set whose medium is colorful pegs. The hall on 
Thursday announced the top, Masters of the Universe and Lite-Brite as 
this year's inductees.The trio was chosen from a field of 12 
finalists that also included bingo, Breyer Horses, Catan, Nerf, the 
piñata, Phase 10, Pound Puppies, Rack-O and Spirograph.The Toy 
Hall of Fame inducts a new class of toys each year in a ceremony at The 
Strong museum in Rochester, where the hall is housed.The top 
earned a place by being a childhood staple of cultures in Asia, Europe, 
the Americas, and Australia, according to the hall, which noted that 
ancient Greek pottery shows people playing with the twirling objects 
more than 2,000 years ago.“The top is one of the oldest toys and 
an integral part of many cultures, where it developed independently as a
 plaything,” Chief Curator Christopher Bensch said in a news release. 
“With more than 5,000 years of history behind it, it’s about time that 
the top spun its way into the National Toy Hall of Fame!”The hall recognizes toys that have inspired creativity and endured over time.Hasbro’s
 Lite-Brite has maintained its popularity for more than 50 years, after 
being introduced 1966. Marketed in 1968 as a “magic light box,” the toy 
encourages kids to create glowing pictures by pushing colorful pegs into
 an illuminated black background.Masters of the Universe grew in 
popularity in the 1980s, when the cartoon series “He-Man and the Masters
 of the Universe” allowed Mattel to introduce new characters and toys to
 the line, hall of fame experts said. A 2021 Netflix series underscored 
the franchise’s staying power.“The team at Mattel understood that
 kids spend lots of time in fantasy play and like the opportunity to 
project themselves into the role of the hero,” curator Michelle 
Parnett-Dwyer said. “Masters of the Universe characters had the 
strength, weapons, and power to defeat the villain—and give kids 
confidence.”The new inductees will be displayed alongside past 
honorees that range from everyday objects like the stick and cardboard 
box to technologic entries like Nintendo's Game Boy. American Girl 
Dolls, Risk and sand were inducted last year.Anyone can nominate a toy. A panel of experts votes in the winners.The
 Strong museum also houses the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian 
Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, the Woodbury School, and the 
American Journal of Play.

Misc