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Police chase, standoff closes Lake Shore Drive for several hours
March 16, 2014 (CHICAGO)
PHOTOS: Police chase, standoff closes Lake Shore Drive
Just before 5 p.m., SWAT teams moved in and surrounded the black vehicle where the suspect is believed to be contained.
The police pursuit began just after noon on Sunday in south suburban Harvey, where sources say police were helping to apprehend a murder suspect from Georgia. Police pursued his car up the Dan Ryan to Lake Shore Drive, where the crash occurred that injured a Chicago police officer.
The car police were pursuing crashed on a grassy area east of Lake Shore Drive, just north of the Theater on the Lake. Police demanded through a loudspeaker that the man inside the car to "show me your hands" and "put your hands up."
Standoff centers on Ga. murder suspect
The police chase started in south suburban Harvey at 148th Street and Myrtle, just one block from the suspect's childhood home. Harvey police say they located 43-year-old Joseph Felton, thanks to GPS information provided by police in Georgia, who called just before 12:30 Sunday requesting their help. Felton is being sought in connection to his wife's murder. She was found dead inside the couple's Hampton, Ga. home on Sunday.
"Family was worried and went to check up on her. When they couldn't get in, they forced their way inside," said Sgt. Joey Smith, Hampton, Ga. Police Dept.
"It's crazy. It's crazy. That's all I can say. I never expected this," said Meshak Johnson, suspect's friend.
Police say Felton and his wife, Sheray-Mays Felton, moved from University Park, Illinois to the suburbs of Atlanta back in November. In January, police were called to their home and Felton arrested as a result of a domestic incident. In University Park on Sunday, former next door neighbor Abdul Mahdi says in the two years they lived here police came knocking on his door twice after being called out by Felton's wife.
"Two times. Obviously they had been fighting. She probably told the police he didn't live there. So they wanted to know, I told them I saw him on a regular basis. I don't know their domestic issues," said Mahdi.
While Felton still has family in Chicago, why he was in Harvey on Sunday is not known. A former friend of the family tells ABC7 tonight they've been gone for years-- the family home foreclosed upon after the parents' death. Meanwhile, police in Georgia will not reveal the way in which Felton's wife was killed, but say they are confident he is their man.
"There was enough evidence at the scene to lead us to obtaining a charge for murder," said Sgt. Smith.
The Chicago Police officer injured in this pursuit and crash is in good condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital in Lakeview, fire officials said.
Chicago police had no immediate comment.
Standoff creates traffic nightmare on North Side
The standoff was creating a traffic nightmare on Lake Shore Drive, where the southbound lanes have been closed from Belmont to North Avenue, and the northbound lanes are closed from Monroe to Belmont. Drivers are being asked to avoid the area if possible.
Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd Ward, says the following locations have also been closed: Lincoln Park, Peggy Notebaert Nature museum, and area bike and running trails. A Lincoln Park Zoo official says the zoo is open.
"We wanted to abandon the car several times and run, we could have walked at this pace to get where we were going and back. It's really crazy, and people are running all the lights because there's no way to get through them," said Greta Giesen, motorist.
Giesen said her trip from Dearborn and Division to Belmont and Lake Shore Drive normally takes 20 minutes, but on Sunday, it took her an hour and a half.


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April Ross and Alix Klineman are headed to beach volleyball's gold medal game.
By prairiefirenewsPosted on August 5, 2021
April Ross is going to play for her third Olympic medal in beach volleyball.
On Thursday morning, as the sand baked in the sun and a speckling of spectators looked for patches of shade, the American pair of Ross and Alix Klineman defeated Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joana Heidrich of Switzerland in two sets, 21-12, 21-11, to advance to the gold medal game.
Ross won a silver medal at the 2012 Games in London with her partner Jen Kessy, and a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games with Kerri Walsh Jennings.
Now with Klineman, an indoor volleyball player who made the transition to beach volleyball in 2017, Ross is looking to add an elusive gold medal to her collection.
They expected their semifinal match to be a difficult one. Vergé-Dépré and Heidrich had advanced to the semifinals with an impressive run, defeating Brazil, 21-19, 18-21, 15-12, on Tuesday.
When asked if going for any Olympic medal was getting to be old news, Ross laughed.
"No!" she said emphatically. "We are going to prepare as hard as we can and recover as hard as we can for tomorrow."
That rest will have to come quickly. The final will be played in the midday Tokyo sun. But Ross and Klineman do not seem worried. They are getting used to the heat, they said, and are mentally prepared for the sweltering conditions expected during the final.
They will face the Australians Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy, who hope to follow in the footsteps of Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst, the last Australian duo to win an Olympic medal in the sport, a gold in 2000.
See also U.S. broadcast coverage on Monday includes beach volleyball and track and field.
The gold medal game is set for 11:30 a.m. on Friday in Tokyo, 10:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday.
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These geese march to the beat of their own drum
Move over, elephants.
Michelle Jaworski
Published Jun 9, 2014 Updated May 31, 2021, 4:22 am CDT
Elephants aren't the only ones on parade.
Tourists and people out and about in Heerewaarden, the Netherlands, were recently treated to a literal parade of geese. It's not just that they were walking together in an adorable little group, many of them impressively in-step. A drum major with a glockenspiel led the profession while a drummer, who played a snare drum, blocks, and a bass, trailed the procession—on purpose.
De Ganzenfanfare, which is on the back of the drum, roughly translates to "geese fanfare."
This is hardly the first parade of geese to hit YouTube. Back in 2011, another comparable video went viral, gaining over 1.3 million views. It's a different duo playing the music, but they certainly had the same idea.
And as one redditor demonstrated by linking to almost five dozen separate videos of geese parades throughout Belgium and the Netherlands, it's been something occurring for quite some time. It should be enough to send you down a goose-sized rabbit hole for the morning.
According to ganzenfanfare.nl, the geese parade has its origins in "the age-old tradition of goose herding," and they perform at just about every occasion.
So now you know what to get for that friend's upcoming wedding.
H/T Daily Picks and Flicks | Photo via okjellno/YouTube
*First Published: Jun 9, 2014, 10:23 am CDT
Michelle Jaworski is a staff writer and TV/film critic at the Daily Dot. She covers entertainment, geek culture, and pop culture and has covered everything from the Sundance Film Festival, NYFF, and Tribeca to New York Comic Con and Con of Thrones. She is based in Brooklyn.
'Asking for a frap is the worst thing you can do at Starbucks': Workers put customers who order Frappuccinos on blast in viral TikTok
'It's actually kind of insane just how much pet food I've rescued': TikToker reveals how much pet food she found while dumpster diving in viral video
The 'West Elm Caleb' TikTok saga escalated way too quickly


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Alpinresort Praebichl, LLC announces the Launch of their Crowdfunding Campaign
Madrid, Spain, 19 July 2021, ZEXPRWIRE, A total of one main building, 9 chalets, and a wellness chalet with an outdoor pool will be built. The traffic development takes place via a direct access road. The basis form flat foundations on frost-free and sustainable substrates, a base plate, or strip foundations in all buildings.
The construction is carried out in solid construction in reinforced concrete and brick masonry with roof structures made of wood and a roof covering made of gray fiber cement panels.
The facades are plastered white and partly provided with vertical wooden formwork in a natural look. The catering area will be barrier-free. Enclosures are carried out in crash-prone places with wire mesh fences. The heating is carried out via wood-pellet heating, whereby in the chalets additional stoves (piece wood) are integrated. The power supply is provided by "Energy Steiermark".
ALPINRESORT PRAEBICHL, LLC ("ARP") mission statement is the following:
– The mission of APR is to become the number one lodge of choice with visitors to Styria/ Steiermark area.
– With the Alpinchalet Resort AM PRÄ, a modern chalet village in an upscale 4 superior category including a restaurant is to be built and operated in the immediate vicinity of the valley station of the Styrian ski area Praebichl In addition, the "Polster Schutzhaus" a shelter at the mountain station will be included in the overall concept and modernized in the course of the project.
The objectives of the APR for the first three years of operation include:
– Exceeding customer's expectations for luxury accommodations.
– Maintaining an 90% occupancy rate during the peak periods.
– Assembling an experienced and effective staff.
Management Team:
The US-Invest/Co. is owned by the following Members:
– 100% Member Units = ALPINRESORT PRAEBICHL GmbH, Austria.
Mr. Markus Schlager is acting as CEO & CFO in the company. This company is capitalized by one single stockholder. The CEO & CFO of this firm is Mr. Markus Schlager.
Financial Overview:
Sales Forecasts / EBITA:
ARP expects a strong rate of growth at the start of operations. Below are the expected financials for our next years:
Sales Forecast:
2022 – €136.985.00 / $1,341,642.00 US Dollar
2023 – €1.563.853.00 / $1,845,347.00 US Dollar
EBITA:
2022 – €287,846.00 / $339,658.00 US Dollar
2025 – €1,014,730.00 / $1,197,381.00 US Dollar
Total Projected Cost:
Total estimated costs before getting cash positive in 2022 are expected to be approximately: US$10,000,000 US Dollar.
ALPINRESORT PRAEBICHL, LLC is committed to obtaining and providing the monies necessary to institute and complete this project in a timely manner.
ALPINRESORT PRAEBICHL, LLC – Equity Crowdfunding Campaign:
https://www.equitynet.com/c/alpinresort-praebichl-llc
Launch Campaign at:
Alpinresort Praebichl , LLC will launch their Equity Crowdfunding campaign in the End of JULY 2021via the Equity Crowdfunding Platform: www.Equitynet.com
Contact Name: Markus Schlager, CEO & CFO
Phone: +1-302-397 0565 or +43 – 664 4001392
The post Alpinresort Praebichl, LLC announces the Launch of their Crowdfunding Campaign appeared first on Zex PR Wire.


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Lana Del Rey's 20 Shadiest Moments
Jack Irvin
Stephanie Keith, Getty Images
Lana Del Rey's shadiest moments, along with her trademark sad girl aesthetic and effortless silvery vocals, have shaped her as one of the most iconic figures in pop music.
Since her 2012 debut, Del Rey has seamlessly blended genres, defied standard release schedules and collaborated with unexpected artists (see her upcoming Charlie's Angels soundtrack single with Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande). She's taught us that we know nothing about her next move — like when she set up a witchy lair in the H of the Hollywood sign, or dropped a killer Sublime cover out of the blue that saved our collective summer.
What we have come to expect from the "Video Games" singer, however, is an endless amount of shade ready to be thrown whenever it's called for. Some have had to learn the hard way that Lana Del Rey is not one to be messed with. She tells it like it is, and she's ready to give you "the addy" and permission to "pull up anytime."
Below, check out 20 of Lana Del Rey's best shady moments.
Lana Del Rey's Shadiest Moments
Source: Lana Del Rey's 20 Shadiest Moments
Filed Under: lana del Rey
Categories: Celebrity News
Ariana Grande Teases New 'Charlie's Angels' Song
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Home » Picks » UFC Fight Night 162: Askren vs. Maia Betting Prediction 10/26/2019
UFC Fight Night 162: Askren vs. Maia Betting Prediction 10/26/2019
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The UFC Fight Night 162 will be the next event of the famous UFC, in which we will be able to enjoy a principal combat between the ex challenger of the weight welter Demian Maia and the excampeón of the company Bellator Ben Askren. Maia seems a long way from his best, but Askren, who was undefeated until his previous fight, comes from falling into the UFC's fastest knockout. The evening will be played at Singapore's covered Stadium and will be completed with a lightweight bout between Michael Johnson and Stevie Ray.
Ben Askren vs. Demian Maia
Ben Askren is a college wrestler who landed at the UFC after walking through various mixed martial arts companies. In one of them, Bellator won the welterweight title, which he defended successfully on 5 occasions. At that time Askren was an undefeated fighter and maintained that unbeatability in his next company, the ONE Championship, where he fought 7 times. With a partial of 19 victories, 0 defeats and a nil combat, Ben Askren debuted in the UFC in March of this year.
We're talking about a complete fighter, fast, with a punch and great agility in the ground fight. His first fight in the UFC resulted in a strangulation victory over Robbie Lawler. His second fight, in UFC 239, was the first defeat of his entire career. Jorge Masvidal knocked him out on one knee in just five seconds, making him the fastest knockout in UFC history.
Demian Maia is one of those beloved and renowned fighters who has been part of the UFC since time immemorial. His first in-company fight took place in 2007 at UFC 77. At 41, Demian Maia has fought 36 times, winning 27 and losing 9. The highlight of his career came in 2017 when he faced Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title. He ended up losing by unanimous decision and entered a spiral of defeats that led him to lose three consecutive fights.
Many gave him for "dead" sportsmanly speaking but has resurfaced with strength winning their 2 clashes in 2019, against Lyman Good with rear strangulation and against Anthony Rocco Martin by unanimous decision.
Expert Prediction
Ben Askren is a younger and more powerful fighter, and, if his recent blistering defeat does not affect him psychologically, he should take this fight with relative ease. It's true that Maia has experience on her side, but Askren has proven to be more versatile and our experts believe she'll win, although it's hard to predict the method by which she'll do it.
Michael Johnson vs. Stevie Ray
Michael Johnson is an especially irregular wrestler. As soon as he offers memorable combats, as he leads quasi-unexplained defeats. He has accumulated 33 fights, with 19 victories and 14 defeats. As a fighter, he is an outstanding fighter, with a punch but also a good scorer. On the contrary, the ground fight is his great weakness, and it is the method by which he has lost in 8 of his 14 defeats. He comes from falling to Josh Emmett in his only fight in 2019, which has also been his only defeat in 3 fights.
Stevie Ray is only 29 years old, but he has been a mixed martial art professional for 9 years now. He has fought 31 times, with 22 wins and 9 losses. He is in what is probably the worst moment of his career, with only 1 victory in 4 fights. He is not a bad fighter, but his strong point is key work and ground fighting. Up to 8 of his 22 victories have come by submission. He has just fallen to Leonardo Santos 2 minutes and 17 seconds after the first round.
In this case, we will see a clear fight of styles, as Johnson will foreseeably look for the fight to take place vertically and with the largest possible exchange of blows. For his part, Stevie Ray will try to find the opportunity to bring down his rival and take advantage of his superior level in the floor fight. With all this in mind, at Odds Shark we think that the victory will be for Michael Johnson, who could be imposed by KO.
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Williams v. Illinois – Bullcoming on the defensive
Last week I wrote about the decision of the Supreme Court in Bullcoming v. New Mexico. Everyone who participated (I helped to author the amicus brief filed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – NACDL) was thrilled. The Supreme Court held that a surrogate chemist could not testify to a blood alcohol reading when he did not supervise or observe the chemist performing the analysis without violating the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause. This outcome was in doubt due to the replacement of two of the five justices in the majority in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, Justices Stevens and Souter. They were replaced by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan. Melendez-Diaz held that the chemist had to actually come to court and that a report would not suffice for confrontation purposes.
Melendez-Diaz was a 5-4 decision. The opinion, written by Justice Scalia, was joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg. The dissenters were Justices Kennedy, Breyer, Roberts and Alito. After Melendez-Diaz was decided, on June 25, 2009, the dissenters did not waste any time trying to get it overruled, perhaps to see if they could garner the vote of the justice who would replace Justice Souter, Justice Sotomayor. On the same day as the decision in Melendez-Diaz, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Briscoe v. Virginia. Unfortunately for the dissenters, Briscoe, which challenged Virginia's permutation of a notice and demand statute, and required the defense to call the opposing witness in its case, turned out to be a dud. On January 25, 2010, the Supreme Court followed Melendez-Diaz and issue a per curiam reversal in Briscoe. Justice Sotomayor had clearly sided with the Melendez-Diaz majority.
In Bullcoming, Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Thomas were aligned with the majority, but how long they will remain is yet to be seen. Justice Thomas's adherence seems to be based on his interpretation of the Sixth Amendment prohibiting the use of formal documents in place of testimony. Justice Sotomayor wrote a concurring opinion, noting four possible exceptions to the Bullcoming rule (see my last blog). All three of these justices did not join Part IV of Justice Ginsburg's opinion, discussing practical options to prosecutors faced with witness problems as a result of the Bullcoming decision. The significance of this is yet to be seen.
As the dissenters most likely voted to review Briscoe, within days of the release of the decision in Melendez-Diaz, on June 28, 2011, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Williams v. Illinois. Williams was a DNA case, where one of the analysts who conducted the DNA analysis did not testify. Rather, a different DNA analyst, testified based on the raw data, that there was a match between the DNA found at the crime scene and Williams. The testifying chemist testified that it was common for DNA analysts to rely on tests from reputable labs, such as Cellmark, in Germantown, Maryland, where the sexual assault kit test was done.
This potentially raises two scenarios where the five member majority in Bullcoming could lose a vote. There was no introduction of a formal certification stating the testing analyst's results – an apparent requirement of Justice Thomas. And the opinion appears to have been allowed under the Illinois equivalent of Rule 703 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which had been alluded to in Justice Sotomayor's concurring opinion. As the Illinois Supreme Court stated: "The court has long held that prohibitions against the admission of hearsay do not apply when an expert testifies to underlying facts and data, not admitted into evidence, for the purpose of explaining the basis of his opinion."
In this evolving area of the law – confrontation – the rules that apply to confrontation and rules of evidence, often do not overlap. With respect to the evidentiary part of the analysis, to say that the underlying result of the DNA test was not admitted for the truth of the matter asserted appears to be sophistry. Clearly, you cannot match two DNA samples without knowing the result of each. With respect to confrontation, according to Melendez-Diaz and Bullcoming, each individual DNA result is an assertion, which much be presented live and subject to cross-examination. In this regard perhaps it is worth repeating what the Supreme Court said in Melendez-Diaz and repeated in Bullcoming:
This Court settled in Crawford that the "obviou[s] reliab[ility]" of a testimonial statement does not dispense with the Confrontation Clause. 541 U. S., at 62; see id. , at 61 (Clause "commands, not that evidence be reliable, but that reliability be assessed in a particular manner: by testing [the evidence] in the crucible of cross-examination"). Accordingly, the analysts who write reports that the prosecution introduces must be made available for confrontation even if they possess "the scientific acumen of Mme. Curie and the veracity of Mother Teresa." Melendez-Diaz , 557 U. S., at ___, n. 6 (slip op., at 14, n. 6).
Next term the Supreme Court will take up Williams, and decide whether Melendez-Diaz and Bullcoming will be extended, curtailed, or overruled.
If you are facing serious criminal or traffic charges in Maryland call Leonard R. Stamm or Johanna Leshner of Goldstein & Stamm, P.A. at 301-345-0122 for a free consultation.
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Posted in: Constitutional rights, Criminal justice news and Federal DUIs
Updated: June 11, 2015 12:16 pm


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Haviah Mighty Calls on Black-Owned Businesses for IG Version of Dragon's Den
Polaris Music Prize recipient Haviah Mighty, whose latest release is a mixtape called Stock Exchange, has launched a Black-owned business giveway, Dragon's Den style. The Canadian rapper is...
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Canadian confectionery Chocolate Tales has created a 12-piece Easter truffle box ($24.25 plus tax) from which 20% of the proceeds will be donated to the UNHCR, the United Nation Refugee Agency, to help those fleeing the Ukraine. The festive collection includes white chocolate & cassis, classic dark chocolate, classic milk chocolate, milk chocolate with carrot cake, dark chocolate & blueberries, milk chocolate and what they call "bunny fluff" (marshmallow). The company ships worldwide. Buy it here. — Karen Bliss


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National attractions
Al Sadeem Observatory
Since its official opening in July 2016, Abu Dhabi's space observatory, Al Sadeem Observatory, located in the middle of the desert in Al Wathba South, has delighted avid astronomy enthusiasts and stargazers.
The two founders, Thabet Al Qaissieh and Alejandro 'Andy' Palado, believe that it is a great way to get the community engaged in astronomy and hope that the observatory will become a place for all space enthusiasts in Abu Dhabi to go to learn about our incredible universe.
At Al Sadeem Observatory, you're able to attend interesting lectures on space and astronomy that follow the STEM program, and indulge in planetary and deep sky observations. As part of its mission to help in nurturing space research in the country, Al Sadeem Observatory has been collaborating on researches with educational institutions and professional astronomers here and around the globe. The two-storey observatory consists of a 5,5 metre, 360-degree rotational dome made entirely of fibreglass, with a Meade LX850, 16-inch telescope mounted in the centre. You'll find several highly-advanced telescopes inside that provide brilliant opportunities for stargazing and viewings of space.
*Closed on Sundays and open from 6:00 PM onwards
*The observatory is closed for visits during the summer from June to September
*Open for two weeks monthly, when the moon is bright


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Contact the on 03 6232 7550 or Service Tasmania on 1300 135 513.
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Divisions > Policy Division > Tasmania's Place in the Asian Century > About the Tasmania's Place in the Asian Century White Paper > Goals and Ambitions for Tasmania in the Asian Century
Goals and Ambitions for Tasmania in the Asian Century
There are nine realistic goals and ambitions that can be achieved by Tasmania in the Asian century. These goals and ambitions can be delivered by taking a number of pathways and actions that are explained carefully in the White Paper evidence base. None of these goals and ambitions can be achieved independently of the others.
A number of these goals are not new, and many key actions are already underway or under development. Some of these directions will be challenging, some less so, but together they define a comprehensive and interdependent strategy for Tasmania's approach to the Asian century.
1. Increase the size and skill base of Tasmania's workforce
Tasmanian Government strategies already underway to achieve this goal include:
improving school outcomes through programs such as Launching into Learning and Raising the Bar and raising Year 12 retention rates, particularly in regional areas;
implementation of the Skills for Work program, including an entitlement to a subsidised Certificate III for every working-age Tasmanian and creation of the new TasTAFE; and
developing and implementing an Asian Education Strategy through the Department of Education.
In response to the Asian century, the Tasmanian Government will:
explore the application of innovative methods to improve access to, and the range of, learning choices in Asian studies.
2. Help shape Tasmania's demographic trajectory and address Tasmania's low cultural and economic awareness of Asia
supporting the University of Tasmania to develop an International Education Strategy that incorporates plans to significantly increase international student enrolments by 2018;
supporting the efforts of Study Tasmania, including coordinated branding for Tasmania as a unique and first-class study destination in key markets;
through Government Education and Training International (GETI), attracting Asian international students to Tasmanian schools; and
supporting social inclusion and the rule of law, and maintaining a welcoming, inclusive and tolerant society.
develop an integrated communication strategy, which includes community stakeholders and the Australian Government, focused on the potential benefits of the Asian century (in particular through international education, investment, trade, migration and developing cultural understanding), and which engages community stakeholders in shaping Tasmania's future in the Asian century;
reinvigorate Tasmania's business and skilled migration program, including promoting migration opportunities as part of Tasmania's international business investment and student attraction strategies;
enhance cooperation with the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and Australian Government immigration forums to increase the flow of migrants to Tasmania and their retention, including providing input on the development of settlement plans for regional Australia;
incorporate the integration of Asian migrants and students into Tasmania's multicultural planning and policy framework;
develop additional strategies to improve the settlement of migrants based on increased collaboration at all levels of government and with peak industry groups, including working with business to maximise the utilisation of the Asian university student and graduate workforce;
promote education and business partnerships through expanded sister-city relationships in Asia, increasing the number of international Asian students in Tasmanian schools, and through leveraging the Australian Government's Australia Awards (Asian Century); and
support the University of Tasmania to establish a new Asia Institute to act as a focal point for existing university and broader Tasmanian expertise on Asia and to perform research, education and development activities.
3. Establish Hobart as a world-class international liveable waterfront city, with flow-on benefits for Tasmanians through greater Asian investment, tourism opportunities and improved access to Asian markets
advancing the redevelopment of the Macquarie Point Development Project and other opportunities identified in the 'Hobart: a world-class liveable waterfront city' vision;
developing and implementing the 'Hobart Capital City' plan for the integration of efforts in expanding international education, research, public transport and increased inner-city living to facilitate an increase in international migration; and
through Infrastructure Australia, continuing to support the 'Hobart: a world-class liveable waterfront city' vision.
work with local government to increase the accessibility of information and services to international students, visitors and migrants based on approaches developed by other Asia-friendly cities, with potential application to other Tasmanian municipalities.
4. Optimise Tasmania's infrastructure connecting the State to Asian markets and opportunities
implementation of the Tasmanian Infrastructure Strategy and development of a long-term freight strategy for Tasmania;
leveraging the early rollout of the NBN through the Digital Futures Strategy; and
working with industry through the Tasmanian Freight Logistics Coordination Team to develop realistic solutions for improving Tasmania's logistic systems, recognising the importance of commercial decisions in shaping the utilisation of the network.
work with key sectors, including trade, tourism, international education, and Antarctic logistics and research to aggregate demand to advance airport infrastructure development.
5. Increase the scale of production in areas of strength by improving connections to Asian markets and achieving efficiencies in production, logistics and marketing
building Tasmania's reputation through major tourist developments and Tourism Tasmania's reach into Asia;
building Tasmanian brand synergies across the food, forestry, tourism, manufacturing, service and education sectors; and
engaging with government agencies and officials in target Asian markets to support trade and investment opportunities for businesses and organisations, recognising the importance of government-led trade missions in supporting trade and investment ties with Asian nations.
establish representation in China to support the marketing of opportunities in key sectors, with an initial focus on forestry, mining, education and migration;
enhance the capacity of Invest Tasmania to attract foreign investment, with a focus on key target markets;
work more closely with Australian Government trade and investment agencies to boost Tasmania's reach in Asia, including embedding capability in Australian Government agencies, such as Austrade, to improve Tasmanian links to Asian markets;
work with business to implement the recommendations of the Asialink workforce capabilities project, including on how programs can link existing education initiatives and activities; and
develop cultural awareness and build business and social networks in Asia, including through the Premier hosting a major annual Asia–Tasmania event to elevate and cement important Asian connections, and by leveraging events already supported by Events Tasmania.
6. Build on established strengths in minerals, metals, forestry, food, energy, manufacturing, sustainable development and consulting services
implementation and extension of the Tasmanian Economic Development Plan to lift supply capacity and efficiency in agriculture, mining, manufacturing and services;
ensuring that access arrangements for the Tasmanian minerals estate and other natural resources are clear and transparent;
removing regulatory impediments to business development and business adjustment to encourage rapid response to productive business opportunities in the Asian region;
supporting the transition of the Tasmanian forestry industry, including leveraging opportunities from the Tasmanian forest peace agreement to sustain and build markets for Tasmanian forest products in Asia;
enabling the expansion of salmon aquaculture in Macquarie Harbour;
working with industry and training providers to ensure access to skilled labour through training and migration;
supporting food safety and Tasmania's food producing sectors by maintaining Tasmania's longstanding focus on biosecurity;
supporting the establishment of an export hub of consulting, engineering, renewable energy and like companies, including leveraging the international links already established by Tasmanian, national and multinational firms; and
assisting Hydro Tasmania, Forestry Tasmania and other Government Business Enterprises to pursue consulting opportunities in Asia.
develop strategies to leverage existing business connections and experience in Asian markets, including those held by Government Business Enterprises, for the benefit of the wider Tasmanian industry base.
7. Increase exports of food and beverages to Asian markets, with a focus on competitively priced quality foods for Asia's growing middle class and the marketing of premium products to Asia's high-income consumers
attracting investment in food and agriculture that targets the establishment of links into Asian food supply chains, including Asian supermarkets;
undertaking a Compliance Burden Review focused on food export industries to ensure the right balance is struck between health, brand and environmental protection, while lowering the cost of doing business;
promoting investment in the dairy industry in partnership with DairyTas and milk processor companies, including enabling dairy conversions where returns remain higher than alternative land uses;
promoting investment in the wine industry through publishing The Wine Industry in Tasmania – A Guide for Investors, with an aim to quadruple Tasmania's wine production and establish Tasmanian icon and super-premium wines in the Asian market; and
supporting exporters leveraging Tasmania's relative pest- and disease-free status in marketing quality produce as a key element of Tasmania's brand.
work towards securing private capital contributions to fund the development of identified irrigation projects, and ensure that the full benefits from additional water for irrigation are realised to maximise the value of agricultural production in the state;
support implementation of the Agriculture Industry Skills Plan in association with the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA);
work with industry and Brand Tasmania to develop 'Tasmanian Gourmet' food branding initiatives that bring together cheese, wine, cherries, salmon and seafood as a premium food and beverage offering to high-income Asian customers and supply chain intermediaries, with positive benefits for tourism and education; and
facilitate greater use of land leasing to enable agricultural enterprises to increase scale and international investment.
8. Support the transformation of Tasmania's manufacturing to take advantage of international value areas of strength
Tasmanian Government strategies already underway or under development to achieve this goal include:
fostering greater collaboration between industry, government and research organisations as part of the implementation of the Reaching Our Potential: Developing Tasmania's Science Research Capability – Action Plan and the establishment of linkages between the manufacturing and research sectors of the Tasmanian economy;
encouraging utilisation of the Tasmanian Government Innovation and Investment Fund and Export Marketing Assistance through the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts (DEDTA);
undertaking the Manufacturing Skills Excellence Network Pilot Program;
working with major enterprises in trouble to identify sustainable solutions, including through the use of technology and the transformation of value chains; and
supporting the establishment of innovative industry hubs of likeminded enterprises to share opportunities for improvement in efficiency, innovation and marketing.
9. Establish Hobart as a gateway for Asia to access the Antarctic continent and Southern Ocean based on world-class research hub and direct logistical support chains and to leverage off continued innovation
implementation of the Developing Tasmania's Antarctic Sector plan, including increasing the Australian and international Antarctic programs' use of Tasmanian suppliers and service providers; and
working with Hobart International Airport Pty Ltd and Infrastructure Australia to develop a feasible framework for the Hobart–Antarctica air gateway project.In response to the Asian century, the Tasmanian Government will lobby the Australian Government to:
give priority to establishing Hobart as the world's pre-eminent Antarctic gateway and fostering Antarctic cooperation as fundamental objective of Australia's diplomatic engagement with Asia;
provide funding to support a new globally focused research partnership that includes the Australian Antarctic Division, CSIRO and the University of Tasmania, and which builds on Tasmania's established logistical reach and research capability to cement Hobart and Australia as the global leader and hub for East Antarctic research; and
explore the feasibility of a Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS)-funded International Antarctic Corps to provide young people from Australia, Asia and around the world with the practical training, skills and experience to support Antarctic and Southern Ocean expeditions, science and future industries.
At the launch of the White Paper, the Tasmanian Government announced a number of immediate actions to progress the goals and strategic directions. Further information on the initiatives is available here.
You are directed to the disclaimer and copyright notice and a Personal Information Protection statement governing the information provided.
Questions concerning its content may be directed to the Department by using the feedback form, by mail to GPO Box 123, Hobart, Australia 7001 or by telephone.
This page has been produced by the Department of Premier and Cabinet.


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Home / Columnists / Ricky Dimon / Ricky's tennis picks for the | French Open semifinals: Nadal vs. Zverev
Ricky's tennis picks for the | French Open semifinals: Nadal vs. Zverev
By Ricky Dimon
Rafa Nadal celebrates after beating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros on May 31, 2022 in Paris. (Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Both Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev probably feel like they should already be in the French Open final. One of them, however, will be ousted in the semis on Friday afternoon.
Nadal needed five sets to get past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round, after which he outlasted world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) on Tuesday night. That quarterfinal contest between the two all-time greats lasted four hours and 12 minutes. Fortunately for Nadal, he has two full days off prior to the semis and his first three matches–against Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet, and Botic van de Zandschulp–were walks in the park.
Zverev was one point away from being bounced out in the second round. The third-ranked German came back from the brink of defeat to beat Sebastian Baez 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5. Zverev also got the best of Sebastian Ofner, Brandon Nakashima, and Bernabe Zapata Miralles to reach the last 16, where he upset Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) on Tuesday.
Needless to say, it has not been easy for either man.
Alexander Zverev beat Madrid champion Carlos Alcaraz.
But they have made it to semifinal Friday, and their reward is a 10th career head-to-head meeting. Nadal holds a 6-3 lead in the series, including 4-1 on clay. They faced each other twice last spring on the red stuff, with Zverev pulling off a 6-4, 6-4 upset in Madrid before Nadal–playing in far more favorable conditions–gained revenge in the form of a 6-3, 6-4 victory at the Madrid Masters.
Conditions should be back in the 35-year-old's favor on Friday. His quarterfinal showdown against Djokovic was played late at night, but the first semifinal between Nadal and Zverev is scheduled for 2:45 pm local. That's much better for the Spaniard's game, even though–let's be honest–it hardly matters what the situation is whenever he takes the court at Roland Garros. After all, Nadal is 110-3 lifetime at this tournament with 13 titles.
He can't win No. 14 on Friday, but he can put himself in great position. And given his form throughout the fortnight and two full days of rest following his hard-fought defeat of Djokovic, that is exactly what Nadal can be expected to do.
Pick: Nadal in 3
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.
Alexander ZverevfeaturedRafa NadalRafael NadalRoland Garros
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About Ricky Dimon
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator


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Mustafa Eck
Mustafa grew up traveling between the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He still marks the Polaroid camera his mom bought him for his 10th birthday as a major milestone in his life as a visual artist. In his teenage years, he shot and edited skateboarding videos of he and his friends on the streets of Cairo, Egypt, Dahran, Saudi Arabia, and Northern Arizona. Shooting these gritty digital videos continues to inspire his shooting style.
Prior to attending the School of Cinematic Arts, Mustafa attended the Zaki Gordon Institute where he created a short documentary exploring his dual American-Egyptian heritage, titled Ana Mish Fahim ( I don't Understand) dealing with misconceptions of the Middle East and the Muslim world. This film featured a rare interview with Gihan Sadat, the widow of the late Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat and became selected as a finalist for the Student Academy Award.
In 2010, Mustafa produced an award-winning short film out of the UCLA MFA film program, The Perfect Gentleman (Panavision New Filmmakers grant, Hollywood Foreign Press award). This project was selected by industry powerhouse Deluxe Industries for free film processing and professional color correction (DI), as part of the Deluxe Film Award grant. At the beginning of 2011, just days before the Egyptian revolution (Jan. 25th), Mustafa directed an Arabic hip hop music video in the heart of Tahrir Square in Cairo. Mustafa is currently directing his first feature length film, The I Don't Understand Movie, based on his award winning short, Ana Mish Fahim (www.TheIDontUnderstandmovie.com), which also deals with reconciling the dual identity of an Egyptian American and adolescent angst.
Mustafa is working hard making movies.
July 28, 2018 / In / By mustafaeck / Comments Off on Mustafa Eck


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2020 WA DE/LB Sav'ell Smalls (Verbal Offer)
Discussion in 'Football Recruiting' started by LordJeffBuck, Jun 24, 2018.
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LordJeffBuck, Jun 24, 2018
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THE HURRY UP: CORNERBACKS MILES BROOKS, JAYLON JONES AND R.J. MICKENS RECAP FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS VISITS WHILE OHIO STATE OFFERS LINEBACKER SAV'ELL SMALLS
Ohio State has signed just one scholarship player from the state of Washington, running back Kevin Griffin from Kirkland Juanita in 1994. The Buckeyes made their play for a second on Sunday night when the staff extended a scholarship offer to Seattle Garfield five-star linebacker Sav'ell Smalls.
"I wasn't even expecting the offer," Smalls told Eleven Warriors, noting he called director of player personnel Mark Pantoni just to relay his interest in the program. "I just wanted to let him know my interest is real. I was like, 'Oh, wow!' It's great."
The 6-foot-3, 227-pound Smalls is considered the top-rated outside linebacker and No. 3 prospect overall in the Class of 2020, as he recorded 90 tackles and nine sacks for the Bulldogs last season to be named their league's most valuable player. He holds nearly two dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, USC and Washington, but Ohio State holds a special card in its back pocket.
Smalls' mother is actually from Cleveland, but moved to the Pacific Northwest when she was in elementary school. Several family members remain in the area, and they're all huge fans of the Buckeyes.
"[Pantoni] told me they don't really offer West Coast players like that. To think I'm someone who would come to Columbus to play is great," Smalls said. "There's a lot of tradition there, and just the opportunity to play in front that side of my family is huge."
Smalls will be back in Ohio in two weeks to visit that family, but won't be able to stop by campus or meet with the coaches because of the aforementioned dead period. He plans to return for a game in the fall, however.
Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football-recruiting/2018/06/93982/the-hurry-up-cornerbacks-miles-brooks-jaylon-jones-and-rj-mickens-recap-friday-night-lights-visits-while
ScriptOhio, Jun 25, 2018
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A Cycle of Renewal, Broken: How Big Tech and Big Media Abuse Copyright Law to Slay Competition
By Cory Doctorow
As long we've had electronic mass media, audiences and creators have benefited from periods of technological upheaval that force old gatekeepers to compete with brash newcomers with new ideas about what constitutes acceptable culture and art. Those newcomers eventually became gatekeepers themselves, who then faced their own crop of revolutionaries. But today, the cycle is broken: as media, telecoms, and tech have all grown concentrated, the markets have become winner-take-all clashes among titans who seek to dominate our culture, our discourse and our communications.
How did the cycle end? Can we bring it back? To understand the answers to these questions, we need to consider how the cycle worked — back when it was still working.
How Things Used to Work
In 1950, a television salesman named Robert Tarlton put together a consortium of TV merchants in the town of Lansford, Pennsylvania to erect an antenna tall enough to pull down signals from Philadelphia, about 90 miles to the southeast. The antenna connected to a web of cables that the consortium strung up and down the streets of Lansford, bringing big-city TV to their customers — and making TV ownership for Lansfordites far more attractive. Though hobbyists had been jury-rigging their own "community antenna television" networks since 1948, no one had ever tried to go into business with such an operation. The first commercial cable TV company was born.
We don't think that companies should be able to make up their own laws, because these turn into "Felony Contempt of Business Model."
The rise of cable over the following years kicked off decades of political controversy over whether the cable operators should be allowed to stay in business, seeing as they were retransmitting broadcast signals without payment or permission and collecting money for the service. Broadcasters took a dim view of people using their signals without permission, which is a little rich, given that the broadcasting industry itself owed its existence to the ability to play sound recordings over the air without permission or payment.
The FCC brokered a series of compromises in the years that followed, coming up with complex rules governing which signals a cable operator could retransmit, which ones they must retransmit, and how much all this would cost. The end result was a second way to get TV, one that made peace with—and grew alongside—broadcasters, eventually coming to dominate how we get TV in our homes.
By 1976, cable and broadcasters joined forces to fight a new technology: home video recorders, starting with Sony's Betamax recorders. In the eyes of the cable operators, broadcasters, and movie studios, these were as illegitimate as the playing of records over the air had been, or as retransmitting those broadcasts over cable had been. Lawsuits over the VCR continued for the next eight years. In 1984, the Supreme Court finally weighed in, legalizing the VCR, and finding that new technologies were not illegal under copyright law if they were "capable of substantial noninfringing uses."
It's hard to imagine how controversial the VCR was in its day. MPAA president Jack Valenti made history by attending a congressional hearing where he thundered ,"I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston Strangler is to the woman home alone."
Despite that unequivocal condemnation, home recording is so normal today that your cable operator likely offers to bundle a digital recorder with your subscription. Just as the record companies made peace with broadcasters, and broadcasters made peace with cable, cable has made its peace with home recording.
It's easy to imagine that this is the general cycle of technology: a new technology comes along and rudely shoulders its way into the marketplace, pouring the old wine of the old guard into its shiny new bottles. The old guard insist that these brash newcomers are mere criminals, and demand justice.
The public flocks to the new technology, and, before you know it, the old guard and the newcomers are toasting one another at banquets and getting ready to sue the next vulgarian who has the temerity to enter their market and pour their old wine into even newer bottles.
That's how it used to work, but the cycle has been interrupted.
The Cycle is Broken
In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, whose Section 1201 bans bypassing a "technological measure" that "controls access" to copyrighted works. The statute does not make an exemption for people who need to bypass a copyright lock to do something legal, so traditional acts of "adversarial interoperability" (making a new thing that plugs into an old thing without asking for permission) can be headed off before they even get started. Once a company adds a digital lock to its products, it can scare away other companies that want to give it the broadcasters vs records/cable vs broadcasters/VCRs vs cable treatment. These challengers will have to overcome their fear that "trafficking" in a "circumvention device" could trigger DMCA 1201's civil damages or even criminal penalties—up to $500,000 and 5 years in prison...for a first offense.
When companies like Sony made the first analog TV recorders, they focused on what their customer wanted, not what the winners of last year's technological battle thought was proper. That's how we got VCRs that could record off the air or cable (so you could record any show, even major Hollywood movies getting their first broadcast airing) and that allowed recordings made on one VCR to be played on another recorder (so you could bring that movie over to a friend's house to watch with a bowl of popcorn).
Today's digital video products are different. Cable TV, satellite TV, DVDs/HD DVDs/Blu-Ray, and streaming services all use digital locks that scramble their videos. This allows them to threaten any would-be adversarial interoperators with legal reprisals under DMCA 1201, should they have the temerity to make a user-focused recorder for their products. That stifles a lot of common-sense ideas: for example, a recorder that works on all the programs your cable delivers (even pay-per-views and blockbusters); a recorder that lets you store the Christmas videos that Netflix and Amazon Prime take out of rotation at Christmastime so that you have to pay an upcharge to watch them when they're most relevant; or a recorder that lets you record a video and take it over to a friend's house or transfer it to an archival drive so you can be sure you can watch it ten years (or even ten minutes) from now.
Since the first record players, every generation of entertainment technology has been overtaken by a new generation—a generation that allowed new artists to find new audiences, a new generation that overturned the biases and preconceptions of the executives that controlled the industry and allowed for new modes of expression and new ideas.
Today, as markets concentrate—cable, telecoms, movie studios, and tech platforms—the competition is shifting from the short-lived drive to produce the best TV possible to a long-term strategy of figuring out how to use a few successful shows to sell bundles of mediocre ones.
In a world where the cycle that led to the rise of cable and streaming was still in effect, you could record your favorite shows before they were locked behind a rival's paywalls. You could search all the streaming services' catalogs from a single interface and figure out how to make your dollar go farther by automatically assembling a mix of one-off payments and subscriptions. You could stream the videos your home devices received to your phone while you were on the road...and more.
And just as last year's pirates — the broadcasters, the cable operators, the VCR makers — became this year's admirals, the companies that got their start by making new services that centered your satisfaction instead of the goodwill of the entrenched industries would someday grow to be tomorrow's Goliaths, facing a new army of Davids.
Fatalistic explanations for the unchecked rise of today's monopolized markets—things like network effects and first-mover advantage—are not the whole story. They are not unstoppable forces of nature. The cycle of concentration and renewal in media-tech shows us that, whatever role the forces of first-mover advantage and network effects are playing in market concentration, they are abetted by some badly written and oft-abused legal rules.
DMCA 1201 lets companies declare certain kinds of competition illegal: adversarial interoperability, one of the most historically tried-and-true methods for challenging dominant companies, can be made into a crime simply by designing products so that connecting to them requires you to bypass a copyright lock. Since DMCA 1201 bans this "circumvention," it also bans any competition that requires circumvention.
That's why we're challenging DMCA 1201 in court: we don't think that companies should be able to make up their own laws, because inevitably, these turn into "Felony Contempt of Business Model."
DMCA 1201 is just one of the laws and policies that have created the thicket that would-be adversarial interoperators run up against when they seek to upend the established hierarchy: software patents, overreaching license agreements, and theories of tortious interference with contractual relations are all so broadly worded and interpreted that they can be used to intimidate would-be competitors no matter how exciting their products are and no matter how big the market for them would be.
Deeplinks Blog by Cory Doctorow | December 27, 2019
EFF Enters the Competition Fray: 2019 Year in Review
None of us signed up for an Internet composed of "a group of five websites, each consisting of screenshots of text from the other four", but here we are, watching as hyper-concentrated industries rack up catastrophic victories against net neutrality, right to repair, security auditing, and...
Deeplinks Blog by Ernesto Falcon | December 25, 2019
America Is Still in Desperate Need for a Fiber Broadband for Everyone Plan: Year in Review 2019
Earlier this year, EFF noted that the United States is facing a high-speed broadband access crisis. For the foreseeable future, it appears that a supermajority of Americans will not have access to fiber to the home. Instead, it is cable monopolies or nothing at all. Government data indicates that...
Deeplinks Blog by Cory Doctorow | December 5, 2019
Mint: Late-Stage Adversarial Interoperability Demonstrates What We Had (And What We Lost)
In 2006, Aaron Patzer founded Mint. Patzer had grown up in the city of Evansville, Indiana—a place he described as "small, without much economic opportunity"—but had created a successful business building websites. He kept up the business through college and grad school and invested his profits in stocks and other...
Deeplinks Blog by Ernesto Falcon | December 4, 2019
The FCC Is Opening up Some Very Important Spectrum for Broadband
Decisions about who gets to use the public airwaves and how they use it impact our lives every day. From the creation of WiFi routers to the public auctions that gave us more than two options for our cell phone providers, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s decisions reshape our technological...
Deeplinks Blog by Ernesto Falcon | November 18, 2019
The FCC Is About to Raise Billions. Congress Should Invest it in Fiber Infrastructure
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced his plans to begin freeing up valuable airwaves within the C-Band, a part of the spectrum—the radio frequencies that our cell carriers, television stations, and others use to transmit services—historically used for satellite television. Once freed, the spectrum would be auctioned and used...
Deeplinks Blog by Cory Doctorow | November 13, 2019
alt.interoperability.adversarial
Today, we are told that the bigness of Big Tech giants was inevitable: the result of "network effects." For example, once everyone you want to talk to is on Facebook, you can't be convinced to use another, superior service, because all the people you'd use that service to talk...
Deeplinks Blog by Ernesto Falcon, Gennie Gebhart | November 11, 2019
What Reporters Should Look For in Latest Facebook Document Leak
NBC's latest release of 7,000 pages of leaked internal Facebook documents has revealed how Facebook treated user data as leverage with external developers and spun anti-competitive moves as privacy improvements. As members of the press and civil society continue to inspect this massive volume of information in the...
Press Release | October 22, 2019
EFF and Partners Urge U.S. Lawmakers to Support New DoH Protocol for a More Secure Internet
San Francisco—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today called on Congress to support implementation of an Internet protocol that encrypts web traffic, a critical tool that will lead to dramatic improvements in user privacy and help impede the ability of governments to track and censor people.EFF, joined by Consumer Reports and...
The Case for Fiber to the Home, Today: Why Fiber is a Superior Medium for 21st Century Broadband
The debate over the best infrastructure to deliver fixed last-mile broadband service in the 21st century is settled, and fiber is the undisputed winner. Fiber-to-the-home deployments are a better option for consumers today, and they are the only option that will allow expansive, efficient upgrades to America's networks for a...
Deeplinks Blog by Bennett Cyphers, Ernesto Falcon | October 16, 2019
Why Fiber is Vastly Superior to Cable and 5G
The United States, its states, and its local governments are in dire need of universal fiber plans. Major telecom carriers such as AT&T and Verizon have discontinued their fiber-to-the-home efforts, leaving most people facing expensive cable monopolies for the future. While much of the Internet infrastructure has already transitioned...


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The 25 Hardest Levels In Classic '90s Video Games
by Christopher Hodges
The difficult game at the moment that everyone is discussing/arguing over/rage quitting is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with beating it being a point of pride and proof of one's gaming prowess. Meanwhile, Sekiro gives you unlimited lives, never forces you to have to start the whole game over again, doesn't require memorizing enemy patterns for entire levels, and never asks you to jump on moving platforms the size of a grain of rice. In other words: It's got nothing on the hardest games that the 1990s had to offer.
A case can definitely be made that the '90s is the toughest overall decade in video game history. The early parts of the decade saw the last gasps of the brutal era that was inspired by a desire to make games as difficult as possible so you'd have to keep pumping quarters into them, followed by the rise of hardcore PC gaming as well as fiendishly difficult 3D platformers and action games. It all conspired to make for an era of gaming that was difficult almost across the board, before the turn of the millennium and a new push to make games more mainstream than ever brought with it hand-holding tutorials, infinite continues, and auto-regenerating health.
Even modern games that aim to bring back '90s-era difficulty often do so with various quality-of-life tweaks that never would've flown 20 years ago. We'll probably never see another era like the '90s in terms of pure video game difficulty, and if you think we're overstating how hard games were back then, this list will surely change your mind (and cause painful flashbacks if you lived through this decade).
25 Aztec (Goldeneye 007)
via Dailymotion.com
Based on the movie Moonraker rather than the titular Bond film, the 19th stage of the iconic N64 shooter Goldeneye 007 was the stuff of nightmares even on default 00 Agent difficulty. Even just the basic guard enemies you'd been mowing down up to that point suddenly turned into super-soldiers in the Aztec stage.
Not only are they armed with two of the most powerful weapons in the whole game— the Moonraker Laser and the AR33 Rifle— but they are faster and more accurate than any other stage's basic enemy types. And we haven't even touched on Jaws, who dual wields AR33s!
24 Down The Tubes (Earthworm Jim)
via mahalo.com
One of the things that a lot of us forget when we reminisce about the greatness of Earthworm Jim is how fiendishly difficult it could be at times. But Down the Tubes— more specifically, the Tube Race portion— was a slimy one, for sure.
You had to steer a submarine through tight tunnels that were just big enough for it, with crashes not only causing you to lose health but also time. And that latter part is important, as the stage's timer seemed to only allow for a near-flawless run in order to make it under the deadline.
23 Cortex Power (Crash Bandicoot)
via Supergamefighter.com
Speaking of forgetting about difficulty, it wasn't until people picked up the recent N. Sane Trilogy and revisited the original Crash Bandicoot that they remembered— or discovered for the first time— what a tough game it was/is.
It was bad enough that Crash 1 was still old school in that a Game Over could mean having to replay several already-beaten levels, something that was thankfully adjusted in the remake. But the Cortex Power stage encapsulates everything that made that first game challenging (and cheap), and will likely be the quitting point for a lot of people playing the collection when they switch over to the much more forgiving Crash 2 instead.
22 Wave Man Stage (Mega Man 5)
via youtube.com.com
The Mega Man series as a whole presents some of the toughest challenges in video game history, and the NES originals are a primary reason why the term "Nintendo Hard" was coined.
If there is a single stage that demonstrates just how unforgiving the MM games can be— with the relentlessly difficult MM9 and MM10 being disqualified for not coming out in the '90s— it would have to be the Wave Man stage from the fifth core installment. From the steam-spouting pipes to jumping across tiny moving bubbles and, finally, riding on that slippery jet ski, Wave Man's stage requires almost superhuman controller mastery.
21 Elephant Graveyard (The Lion King)
'90s kids who were both gamers and Disney fans got to experience a golden age of those two things coming together, with some excellent platformers based on Disney properties released for various 8- and 16-bit systems. For all the fun that was had reliving our favorite Disney movies and shows in video game form, some of them were heartrendingly difficult.
We'll never know why the team behind the Lion King game decided to make it so hard, but it's honestly one of the toughest overall games of all time. Especially the nightmare fuel that was the Elephant Graveyard stage.
20 The Hammer Falls (StarCraft)
via Blizzard.com
It should go without saying that we'll be getting to some iconic PC FPSs from the decade later in this list, but that's not the only genre that had '90s gamers tempted to kick a hole in their desktops.
StarCraft definitely belongs on any shortlist of the most influential games of all time, and final Terran level "The Hammer Falls" also belongs lists of most challenging missions in a strategy game. Starting with little in the way of base structures is just the first of many disadvantages that must be overcome in this relentless and frustrating skirmish.
19 Tubular (Super Mario World)
via mariowiki.com
A lot of people like to dismiss Mario games as being childishly easy, and a lot of the time, that is true. But when a Super Mario game gets tough, it separates the men from the boys, so to speak.
The toughest stage in any 2D Mario game— yes, even including Lost Levels— Tubular from Super Mario World is a completely floor-less level that needed to be navigated using the unwieldy P-Balloon ability. One hit and you were done for, and the P-Balloons only lasted just long enough to get to the next one.
18 Big Boulder Alley (Frogger: He's Back!)
via vizzed.com
Whenever a classic game franchise was revived in 3D during the late-'90s, the smart thing to do was to be incredibly skeptical about the results. But not all such examples of that were a disaster, with 1997's Frogger reboot being one of the better ones.
The stiff, jerky movement was meant to replicate the original, but it also ended up making the game that much harder in later levels. Big Boulder Alley is also an area where the third dimension was a detriment, with bouncing boulders that were tough to judge the position of and resulted in a lot of squashed frogs.
17 Welcome To The Machine (Ecco The Dolphin)
via warosu.org
The Sega Genesis is home to several games that are so insanely difficult that many gamers have never even gotten past the first level. The beautiful— yet confounding— Ecco the Dolphin is perhaps the most-owned, most-played Genesis game with which few people have seen the second stage.
Tough out Ecco long enough, and you'll get to the real stuff of "Sega Hard" nightmares, Welcome to the Machine. It probably wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that only a few dozen people have ever gotten to this stage and then beaten it without cheats or emulator-specific assistance.
16 Stage 8 (Super Castlevania IV)
via KelleherBros.com
Not that the post-Symphony of the Night "Metroidvania" installments were a cake walk, but the classic-style Castlevania games remain some of the toughest side-scrollers ever made. And while each of them have their notorious stages, Super Castlevania IV's eighth level is the toughest thing that Simon Belmont has faced this side of his awful portrayal in Captain N.
In fact, this is one of the rare examples where a Castlevania stage is difficult to the point of feeling unfair, taking the cheap game overs that the series typically uses sparingly and instead throwing them at you every few steps.
15 Rusty Bucket Bay (Banjo-Kazooie)
via Deskgram.com
"I'm Banjo! And I'm going to make you want to break your N64 controller faster than a round of Mario Party!" Rare's 3D platformers for the N64 were legendary and are a big part of why the console was and still is so beloved— but they could also be irritatingly difficult.
If you thought Conker had a potty mouth, wait until you try to take on Rusty Bucket Bay. If there is any stage in Banjo-Kazooie that'll make you want to abandon trying to collect every doodad and thingamajig and just get through the thing, it's this one.
14 C-130 Wreck Site (Syphon Filter 2)
via syphonfilter.fandom.com
After the first Syphon Filter felt like a fun but shameless rip-off of Metal Gear Solid, its sequel developed a more distinct vibe and story and really helped the franchise come into its own.
That said, Syphon Filter 2 could get extremely difficult at times, most notably in the level that begins after the crash of a C-130 aircraft. Among the biggest challenge is the army of snipers that seem incapable of missing, and you basically have to spend the level in an almost-constant dodge roll to stay alive. The level looks really cool, though!
13 Mars Needs Cheerleaders (Zombies Ate My Neighbors)
via ClassicReload.com
One of the 16-bit era's great sleeper hits, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is comes packed with nearly 50 stages of zombie-shooting and neighbor-rescuing action. Obviously, things are pretty crazy difficulty-wise by the end, but it's the game's 12th level that is its most infuriating.
The zombies in Mars Needs Cheerleaders seem to know how to stay a really annoying distance from you in order to render your best weapons useless against them. The one saving grace is that the punishing spaceship boss is possible to avoid fighting, but when you aren't that lucky, well...
12 Animal Antics (Donkey Kong Country 2)
via DKCAtlas.com
Back in the SNES days, Rare was one of the only "outside developers" that Nintendo trusted enough to make platform games using its iconic properties. The resulting Donkey Kong Country trilogy certainly didn't have them regretting that decision, literally helping to turn the tide in the 16-bit war and giving Donkey Kong himself a new look that he maintains to this day.
The DKC games were also crazy hard at times, none more difficult than the second game and, in particular, the notorious Animal Antics stage. You thought you hated the swimming stages? The "flying" ones are way worse.
11 Lud's Gate (Tomb Raider III)
via tombraiders.net
Tomb Raider III sometimes get lumped in with the series' decline in its later PlayStation years, but that's not fair, as its a solid sequel that is almost as good as the celebrated second installment. If people have sour memories of Lara's third outing, it's likely due to its high difficulty.
The early portions of the Lud's Gate stage are deceptively chill. But then you're thrown into a dimly-lit underwater maze gauntlet that would've been tricky enough without forcing you to navigate it in a clunky submarine thing. Oh, and TRIII dropped the ability to let you save anywhere, so good luck returning to far-back checkpoints when you fail.
10 Stage 5 (Gunstar Heroes)
via Emuparadise.com
When some of the key people behind the Contra series left Konami to start their own independent studio, they immediately proved that Treasure was a force to be reckoned with when its very first release was the action masterpiece Gunstar Heroes.
Feeling like a game full of crazy ideas that the team clearly had for Contra but probably weren't allowed to do, Gunstar is also often much more difficult than any Contra game— particularly its fifth stage, which isn't afraid to go on for way too long but still not let up for even a second.
9 The Elder God Shrine (Quake)
via Quake.wikia.com
Unless you were around for the peak years of id, Epic, and 3D Realms in the '90s, you have no idea what a "difficult first-person shooter" really is. Quake was the first FPS that id created that was truly 3D, and you better believe that they made full use of having action that could literally come at you from any direction.
It would be interesting to take some tough-talking, Prestige-ranked modern Call of Duty player, drop them into the Elder God Shrine stage of Quake, and watch the game have them humbled within mere minutes.
8 Rainbow Road (Super Mario Kart)
If you get a little shudder when you hear the words "Rainbow Road," it's likely because you are an OG Mario Kart player who remembers the original incarnation of the token final race. The original SNES Rainbow Road had zero walls or boundaries of any kind— so good luck if you had been relying on bumping things in order to stay on the track.
And you'd better make sure you stay in a comfortable first place the whole time as well, as anyone who bumps you as they pass— and everyone will— almost always sends you sailing off the narrow track.
7 Pencil Pentathlon (Rayman)
via raymanpc.com
As the hype for Beyond Good & Evil 2 (very slowly) builds, it's the perfect time to look back at the game that put Michel Ancel on the map— the innovative, gorgeous, and unforgivably difficult Rayman.
The entire Band Land world is brutal and almost any stage from that could've made this list, but Pencil Pentathlon is the best (worst?) example of what made that world— and the game itself— so frustrating. This is the point in most gamers' relationship with Rayman that the charm of its good looks starts to wear off and its quirks become much less tolerable.
6 Water Temple (The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time)
via Zeldapedia.com
No video game is perfect, but some come really close (at least for their time)... The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is definitely a candidate for a game that flirts with perfection. Unfortunately, the two-hit combo of the Water Temple and the fight with Dark Link are enough to keep this masterpiece from being truly flawless.
The Water Temple's puzzles are an exercise in old-school tedium and trial-and-error, and the Dark Link battle, while one of the coolest moments in gaming history just before the fight begins, is a beast until you figure it out. Which typically takes approximately 255 retries.
5 Xen (Half-Life)
via Polygon.com
When a game isn't specifically built around precision jumping, trying to shoehorn platforming into it ends up feeling awkward and frustrating— but almost every game in the '90s thought this was a requirement. And few levels are more notorious examples of this than Half-Life's Xen area.
As if first-person jumping in a game that isn't Metroid Prime or Jumping Flash isn't bad enough, Xen takes place in low gravity— a gimmick which never fails to be terrible. Cap this off with a horrible final boss fight, and Xen is a cheaply difficult final stage in an otherwise perfectly-balanced game.
4 Carnival Night Zone, Act 2 (Sonic The Hedgehog 3)
via GameTripper.com
Many of you reading this clenched your fists as soon as you saw that screenshot of Sonic standing on what has been nicknamed the "barrel of doom." The second act of Carnival Night Zone is difficult enough with its very tight time limit, ending with a Robotnik battle that seemed particularly designed to take as long as possible.
But what really makes this stage legendary is that you encounter a barrel that requires you to do something that makes little contextual sense in order to get past it. Ah, the obtuseness of '90s gaming, how we haven't missed thee!
3 Stage 4 (R-Type III: The Third Lightning)
It was hard not to have half of this list be stages from shmups, as it is a genre that is notorious for its difficulty and for weeding out casual players literally within seconds of pressing start.
The fourth stage of classic R-Type III serves as a pretty good representative for how absurdly difficult shmups can be. Not only is much of the stage on a diagonal incline— one of the trickiest angles to play a shmup in— but the second half of the stage involves you replaying the first half in reverse, which is fun since you can't turn around or shoot behind your ship.
2 The President's Run (Driver: You Are The Wheelman)
Driver has the distinction of being one of the only video games in history with a tutorial that people literally struggled to beat. It's probably more accurate to describe the infamous parking garage segment as a test to determine who was (and wasn't) going to be able to handle the rest of the game.
It should go without saying that a level with a challenging tutorial level would have an absolute beast of a final stage. The President's Run mission starts off relentless and never lets up even a little bit, requiring an almost more-than-perfect performance against completely unfair odds from start to finish.
1 Clinger-Winger (Battletoads)
via IGN.com
Everyone immediately thinks of the speederbike portion in the third stage of Battletoads when discussing how difficult that game is. And it's true that a lot of people quit and swear off the game forever after that point.
But there is still a whole bunch more game after that, and not surprisingly, it gets even more difficult. You see people brag about how easy the speederbike part was/is for them, but ask those same show-offs how many times they've finished nigh-impossible final stage Clinger Winger. If they tell you give you any number besides zero, be extremely skeptical.
Tags: '90s
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text:
Man dies after dump truck plunges to Red Hill quarry floor
|| The West Australian Thursday, June 20, 2019 01:55PM
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A man in his 40's has died after his dump truck plunged to the bottom of a quarry in Red Hill this morning.
Emergency Services were called to the scene on private property off Toodyay Road around 7.15am this morning. Initial reports suggested the man was trapped in the vehicle but he later died.
The quarry in Red Hill. Picture: 7NEWS
In a written statement, Hanson Construction confirmed the dump truck was travelling along the face of the quarry when it tipped into the pit.
"It is with regret that Hanson confirms that a serious incident occurred at the Redhill Quarry in Perth this morning and has tragically resulted in a fatality," a spokesperson wrote.
"Today's accident was tragic and our thoughts go out to the driver's family, as well as his friends and colleagues, at this difficult time," she said.
The spokesperson said Hanson was cooperating with police and was conducting an investigation in conjunction with authorities to understand how the incident occurred.
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has confirmed it is aware of the fatal incident and that department investigators were at the scene.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
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text:
Arizona adds nearly 7,000 new COVID-19 cases, 91 deaths as hospitalizations continue to rise
Alison Steinbach
Arizona reported nearly 7,000 new COVID-19 cases and 91 new known deaths on Friday as hospitalizations for the disease approach the highest level recorded since the state's first COVID-19 surge in the summer.
Friday's new case report was the second highest since the pandemic began, following Tuesday's addition of 12,314 new cases, (with the exception of last Tuesday's 10,322 cases, which represented a reporting backlog from the long Thanksgiving weekend).
The number of patients hospitalized statewide for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 3,482 on Thursday. The highest number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in a single day since hospital reporting began in April was 3,517 on July 13.
The state data dashboard shows 90% of all ICU beds and 91% of all inpatient beds in Arizona were in use Thursday, with 46% of ICU beds and 40% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.
In general, the pandemic is worsening both statewide and nationally, and public health experts expect the virus to spread further because of Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays.
A report released Nov. 19 by Arizona State University predicted that hospital capacity in Arizona will be exceeded in December and that, without additional public health measures, holiday gatherings are likely to cause 600 to 1,200 additional deaths from COVID-19 in Arizona by Feb. 1 beyond current-scenario death projections.
Friday's 6,983 new cases and 91 new known deaths brought the total number of identified COVID-19 cases in the state to 394,512. As of Friday, 7,245 Arizonans are known to have died from the disease, according to the data dashboard from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Saying Arizona's numbers were "heading in the wrong direction," Gov. Doug Ducey announced last Wednesday a series of mitigation measures designed to curb spiking caseloads and hospitalizations, his first new measures since the state's summer surge. These include expanded health and safety requirements for public events approved by cities and counties, relaxed regulations on restaurants to encourage outdoor dining and more serious enforcement for businesses that repeatedly disregard COVID-19 guidelines.
But the strategies stopped short of what medical providers and public health leaders have recently advised to curb hospitalizations and deaths. As hospitals face a crisis because of the surging number of COVID-19 patients, most Arizonans have fewer restrictions on their day-to-day lives than they did during the first wave of the illness.
A group of eight Arizona health leaders asked the state last week for immediate actions on the worsening COVID-19 crisis, including a statewide curfew, no indoor dining at restaurants and a pause on group sports.
A team of University of Arizona researchers wrote in a memo to the state Health Department that a statewide shelter-in-place order could help avert a "catastrophe" in Arizona hospitals. The modelers said without additional public health interventions, Arizona "risks a catastrophe on a scale of the worst natural disaster the state has ever experienced. It would be akin to facing a major forest fire without evacuation orders."
Dr. Marjorie Bessel, chief clinical officer for Phoenix-based Banner Health, said that the state's largest health care system already is having two patients share rooms in several of its ICUs, and could reach 150% of its licensed bed capacity in January. "We're on the cusp of a really terrible surge. It's going to be the worst surge, I believe, of the entire pandemic," she said.
New cases have eclipsed 1,000 for 29 of the past 30 days, with 26 of those days seeing more than 2,000 new cases and 15 seeing more than 4,000 new cases. Arizona and the U.S. have been reporting record-high daily new cases of late.
New-case rates in Arizona in the past seven days fall below those reported in 14 other states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Data Tracker says. Cases are surging in Rhode Island, where the new-case rate per 100,000 people for the previous seven days was 125.6 as of Thursday, according to the CDC's numbers. By comparison, Arizona's rate was 82.9.
The increase in new COVID-19 cases in the summer was an early indicator of more hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks to come.
The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in intensive care units across Arizona was at 809 on Thursday, the most ICU beds in use in a single day since July 27. The level is below what it was in mid-July, when ICU beds in use for COVID-19 reached 970.
The number of Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators was at 508 on Thursday, the most ventilators in use in a single day since July 29. In mid-July, as many as 687 patients across the state with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Arizona hospital officials are most worried about finding enough staff — not PPE or beds — to treat a surge of new COVID-19 patients, as hospitals compete for contract labor in the midst of a pandemic that is gripping the entire country. Ducey has allocated $85 million in COVID-19 relief funding since mid-November to bolster hospital staffing.
'A SLAP IN THE FACE': Yuma ER doctor fired after speaking out about COVID-19
After hospital occupancy in Arizona hit 90% at the end of November, the state's COVID-19 surge line suspended requests for out-of-state patient transfers.
Percent positivity, which refers to the percent of COVID-19 diagnostic tests that are positive, has gone up, which many health experts consider an early indicator of a spike in illnesses.
Of known diagnostic test results from last week, the percent positivity was 18%, up from 15% the week prior, according to the state, which has a unique way of calculating percent positivity. Percent positivity was at 4% for several weeks during August, September and October, according to state data.
Johns Hopkins University calculates Arizona's seven-day moving average of percent positives at 24.1% as of Friday. It shows the state's percent positivity is trending upward.
A positivity rate of 5% is considered a good benchmark that the spread of the disease is under control.
Arizona should get its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines as early as next week. Health care workers, first responders, residents of long-term care facilities and other vulnerable populations will be prioritized in early phases, as will teachers, according to Ducey. He said the vaccine will be free for anyone who needs it once it's more widely available.
What to know about Friday's numbers
Reported cases in Arizona: 394,512.
Cases increased by 6,983, or 1.8%, from Thursday's 387,529 identified cases since the outbreak began. These daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the Arizona Department of Health Services, not by the date the tests were administered.
Cases by county: 245,671 in Maricopa, 49,637 in Pima, 21,493 in Yuma, 20,500 in Pinal, 9,417 in Navajo, 8,841 in Coconino, 8,159 in Mohave, 7,433 in Yavapai, 6,272 in Apache, 4,925 in Cochise, 4,758 in Santa Cruz, 3,532 in Gila, 2,509 in Graham, 1,053 in La Paz and 312 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The rate of cases per 100,000 people is highest in Yuma County, followed by Santa Cruz, Apache and Navajo counties. The rate in Yuma County is 9,346 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. average rate as of Thursday was 4,668 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.
The Navajo Nation reported 18,943 cases and 699 confirmed deaths as of Thursday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Tribal leaders extended the stay-at-home lockdown, which was set to expire on Sunday, for another three weeks and reinstated weekend curfews due to what officials have called the "uncontrolled spread" of COVID-19 in the tribe's communities.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 4,474 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, including 1,298 in Tucson and 804 in Yuma; 42,314 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 1,374 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Twenty-six incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with six additional deaths under investigation.
While race/ethnicity is unknown for 27% of all COVID-19 cases statewide, 31% of cases are white, 29% are Hispanic or Latino, 5% are Native American, 3% are Black and 1% are Asian/Pacific Islander.
Of those who have tested positive in Arizona since the start of the pandemic, 15% were younger than 20, 46% were 20-44, 15% were 45-54, 12% were 55-64 and 12% were over age 65.
Laboratories have completed 2,460,821 diagnostic tests on unique individuals for COVID-19, 11.4% of which have come back positive. That number includes both PCR and antigen testing. The percentage of positive tests had increased since mid-May but began decreasing in July and held steady around 4% for several weeks, per the state. Last week, it was at 18%, up from 15% and 12% the two weeks prior. The state numbers leave out data from labs that do not report electronically.
The state Health Department has started including probable cases as anyone with a positive antigen test, another type of test to determine current infection. Antigen tests (not related to antibody tests) are a newer type of COVID-19 diagnostic test that uses a nasal swab or another fluid sample to test for current infection. Results are typically produced within 15 minutes.
A positive antigen test result is considered very accurate, but there's an increased chance of false-negative results, the Mayo Clinic says. Depending on the situation, Mayo Clinic officials say a doctor may recommend a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test to confirm a negative antigen test result.
Arizona as of Thursday had the 24th highest overall case rate in the country since Jan. 21. Ahead of Arizona in cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic began are North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Illinois, Tennessee, Kansas, Indiana, Arkansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri and New Mexico, according to the CDC.
Arizona's infection rate is 5,335 cases per 100,000 people, the CDC said. The national average is 4,668 cases per 100,000 people, though the rates in states hard hit early on in the pandemic may be an undercount because of a lack of available testing in March and April.
Reported deaths: 7,245
Deaths by county: 4,299 in Maricopa, 776 in Pima, 420 in Yuma, 292 in Pinal, 288 in Navajo, 280 in Mohave, 209 in Apache, 189 in Coconino, 137 in Yavapai, 111 in Gila, 97 in Cochise, 83 in Santa Cruz, 40 in Graham, 21 in La Paz and three in Greenlee.
People aged 65 and older made up 5,223 of the 7,245 deaths, or 72%. Following that, 16% of deaths were in the 55-64 age group, 7% were 45-54 and 5% were 20-44 years old.
While race/ethnicity is unknown for 10% of deaths, 45% of those who died were white, 29% were Hispanic or Latino, 10% were Native American, 3% were Black and 1% were Asian/Pacific Islander, the state data show.
The global death toll as of Friday morning was 1,585,221 and the U.S. had the highest death count of any country in the world, at 292,196, according to Johns Hopkins University. Arizona's death total of 7,245 deaths represents 2.5% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. as of Friday.
The COVID-19 death rate in Arizona was 98 per 100,000 people as of Thursday, according to the CDC, putting it 13th in the country in a state ranking that separates New York City and New York state and includes the District of Columbia. The U.S. average is 88 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC says.
Behind New York City, at 290 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC put the highest death rates ahead of Arizona as New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, North Dakota, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Mississippi, South Dakota, Illinois, Michigan and the District of Columbia.
Republic reporter Stephanie Innes contributed to this article.
Reach the reporter at Alison.Steinbach@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.
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