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The Women's cuts preterm labour and miscarriage
Louisa and Joseph Chan with their long-awaited baby Samantha. Photo: Eugene Hyland, Herald Sun
12 June 2017 | Pregnancy and newborns | Research and clinical trials
New research from the Royal Women's Hospital has found women with a history of preterm labour and miscarriage, who are referred to a specialist clinic, halve their risk of giving birth early.
The ground-breaking research, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetric Gynaecology (ANZJOG) found that over the past 10 years, the Women's Preterm Labour Clinic has doubled the rate at which women with high risk pregnancies reach full term. This is despite there being no overall improvement to the international preterm birth rate.
Head of the Women's Preterm Labour Clinic Dr Penny Sheehan said the research gave hope to women with a history of mid-pregnancy miscarriages or preterm deliveries.
"The women coming to our clinic have extremely high-risk pregnancies and often are coming to see us after many years of unsuccessful pregnancies," Dr Sheehan said.
"We work incredibly hard to establish just what is happening to make each woman deliver early and try to intervene with individualised treatment options.
"We aim to get women through to at least 26 weeks, when babies have an 80 per cent chance of survival and the outlook continues to improve from there."
Dr Sheehan attributed part of the clinic's success to developments in understanding of treatment for high-risk pregnancies, such as prescribing antibiotics and vaginal progesterone – two medications that have been proven to help prevent early labour, and other medical procedures
"Better awareness by GPs and other health professionals that a short cervical length does increase a woman's preterm labour risk has also led to more referrals to the clinic and therefore, timely interventions by our team," she said.
The research looked at the preterm rate over a 10 year period to 2014 at the clinic, observing a significant improvement in the numbers of women delivering at full term. By the end of the study period the rates of women giving birth at term had doubled.
"I was actually surprised that we could show such strong evidence of benefit and success because each woman's treatment is so individualised. This just further highlights the importance of a specialised clinic to support women at a high risk of a preterm birth to achieve their dreams of having children."
Louisa Chan is one woman whose pregnancy was a success thanks to the dedicated specialist clinic team. She gave birth to a daughter, Samantha, last September, after more than six years of heartbreaking miscarriages and unsuccessful IVF rounds.
"It was a really tough journey to get Samantha here in my arms," Louisa said.
While building their family home completed with five bedrooms, Louisa lost two of her pregnancies at 13 and 16 weeks.
Head of the Women's Preterm Labour Clinic Dr Penny Sheehan
Saddened and discouraged after so many failed attempts, Louisa and Joseph were referred to the Women's Preterm Labour Clinic for their fifth pregnancy and under the leadership of Dr Sheehan, saw a small specialist team that did everything possible to keep Louisa's pregnancy viable.
At 19 weeks, a check-up showed Louisa's cervix was increasingly shortening, one of the most common causes of mid pregnancy loss. She was put on bed rest in the Women's long-term stay unit, monitored closely and given a whole array of medicines and interventions to keep Samantha inside her womb.
"I just felt so positive because I was in safe hands. I told myself, I will leave my physical pregnancy to Dr Sheehan and my main task is to keep myself positive and to rest. I really, truly trusted the team and I didn't have any fear, even after all I'd been through," Louisa said.
"When Samantha was born, I just felt like everything was worth it," she said.
How my baby survived being born at 23 weeks
How much has medicine progressed in 20 years for our smallest of babies? Sare Demir gave birth to Yusuf at 23 weeks. Having two brothers also born very premature 21 years ago, Sare has a unique insight into NICU medical advances.
Early help cuts high rates of depression in mothers of preterm babies
Early help for mothers of premature babies dramatically cuts their very high risk of long-term depression, a world-first study published in the journal Paediatrics has revealed.
Researchers helping to improve outlook for very preterm babies
Our researchers help show the outlook for very preterm babies has never been better – and is still improving
BMJ Editorial: improving outcomes for preterm babies
Our neonatal experts are the authors of today's BMJ editorial about an observational study that delivers an important message for those caring for the most immature newborn infants


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Nouel
'Short Storeys'
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23 y/o Swedish folk singer Nouel appreciates the simple joys in life. She believes a good song can be about anything and anyone. Even a stranger (or pizza).
"I want my music to sound like cozy mediocrity."
In 2015, Nouel fell in love with the warm sound of the 60s and 70s and on her 18th birthday, she received her very first vinyl, 'Songs of Leonard Cohen', as a gift from her father. Nouel noticed how the main focus of these songs were always on the stories and poetry which later came to influence her own style of writing.
Other songwriting heroes include Elliott Smith, Aldous Harding and Simon and Garfunkel.
With her intimate Laura Marling-esque vocals complemented by a Sufjan Stevens- inspired guitar picking, Nouel choose to describe her sound as "sleepy folk".
About "Short Stories"
''Short Stories" is a concept album that Nouel started writing on as she was living and working at a coffee shop in Brighton, England. The album lifts up subjects of depression, idolization and the magic events of everyday life.
From unattainable "Lauren" to "Manic Pixie Dream Girls" and an "Iconic Pizza Night", Nouel has gathered ten real life-and made up stories in which she will tell you in a humorous, honest and casual way. "Short Stories" is meant as an open book to anyone wanting to get drift away for a while.
Nouel's debut album is recorded by Grammy winning producer/engineer Pete Smith (Sting, Van Morrison and more) and mixing and sound engineer Boe Larsen at Mill Factory, owned by Boe Larsen, in Copenhagen.
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The temptation when the Left gets very silly is to smile, perhaps shake the head and then put the latest idiocy, whatever it might be, out of mind. It does sensible people no good to dwell on the lunatic follies of others, and there are so many stunts and campaigns, protests and causes there is no way of keeping up. Why are people glueing themselves to roadways, parading naked or close to it, or invading innocent farmers' properties? Who cares, other than wishing they would go home and let traffic flow normally once more. There are bills to be paid, school fees due and work, always work, so sane adults tend not to enter the fray.
This is a pity, as a little pushback earlier this year might have stayed the tongue of Ms Sherele Moody before she insulted the volunteers who this past week have worked themselves half to death putting out bushfires. While the rest of us might regard them as local heroes, Ms Moody sees something sinister.
"What happens when domestic violence perpetrators finish their work on the frontline of a major crisis? They abuse women in their lives — harder than they ever have,' she wrote on the Facebook page of the Red Heart Campaign, an organisation and site she founded to combat domestic violence. Predictably, Ms Moody's ability to spot bashers in bunker gear did not go down well with the wives and partners of firefighters, who took particular exception.
Back at the start of the year, she also made headlines by asserting that the name of an Innisfail fish and chip shop was actually an exhortation for men to thrash their wives. The shop, run by a former policewoman who had dealt with plenty of domestic violence cases, was called "The Battered Wife". Yes, a groan-worthy pun, but the owner was doing no harm and her fare was apparently well regarded by Innisfail consumers.
Notice the past tense? Well there's a reason.
Three months after Red Heart made an issue of the shop's name, proprietor Carolyn Kerr had to shut the business for good, in large part because she was no longer able to endure the barrage of abuse, threats and lawfare unleashed by social media followers of Ms Moody's posts on Facebook.
"I've been the subject of an abusive witch hunt by a not-for-profit organisation who are anti-abuse … they threatened to throw bricks through my window, they complained to ASIC to have my business name revoked but I got through that one," she said.
Ms Moody denied Red Heart prompted the bashing of The Battered Wife, but then it didn't need to issue any such order. Social media works like that. Post something critical about somebody or some institution and the woke warriors of cyberspace know exactly what to do. So do newsroom hacks.
Morning TV gabblers latched on to the story and Ms Moody revelled in lots of attention during what News.com.au asserted was "a national debate". It wasn't, of course, or anything like it — just the usual suspects filling airtime with a non-story they themselves had helped to whip up by giving publicity to Red Heart in the first place.
Now that Red Heart has moved on from fish fryers to firemen, we can only regret that, during her earlier 15 minutes of fame, no journalist or alleged journalist gave the group the rounds of the kitchen*. That might have encouraged Ms Moody's latest asininity to remain behind sealed lips.
* a venerable expression, not an encouragement of kitchen-sink-side violence.
— roger franklin
pandg – 18th November 2019
Let's give the woke warriors of cyberspace the benefit of the doubt and just assume their abysmal illiteracy accounts for their failure to recognise the word play involved with the word "battered".
whitelaughter – 18th November 2019
of course they don't understand, or they'd be accusing men* of burning women, not hitting them.
*note that they are also too stupid to see that the proprietor is a woman.
'Anti-racists' burn a flag or two
Menkal as anything
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Vanadium: The metal that may soon be powering your neighbourhood (bbc.com)
145 points by Libertatea on June 14, 2014 | hide | past | web | favorite | 61 comments
ender7 on June 14, 2014
I suppose it's my turn to link to another effort in this area, liquid salt batteries: http://www.ted.com/talks/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_...
They have the advantage of being much cheaper to manufacture, but I don't know how their energy density stacks up.
afarrell on June 14, 2014
http://www.ambri.com/ is the company that is bringing this tech to production.
Also, Donald Sadoway is a great teacher.
comboy on June 15, 2014
I remember watching this tedtalk. Very nice. Is anything known about the progress they made since then?
XorNot on June 14, 2014
I've been hearing about these types of batteries for years (they were developed at UNSW where I attended) but the technology has been unviable ever since then.
The problem, near as I can tell, is that even with the benefits, vanadium is still too expensive. It would cost ~$80,000 or more in conc. vanadium for storing 100 kwH - just enough energy to keep a house safely off the grid.
To that price you have to add the solar system to charge it, the cell stack, the conc. H2SO4 you have to dissolve the vanadium in etc.
We need to get way cheaper then that before we can get serious about this - ideally cheap enough that we can encourage everyone to have a cell stack in their house that offsets their peak loads. That would open up some real options.
stcredzero on June 14, 2014
How about $100,000 per a couple dozen houses?
discreteevent on June 14, 2014
From the article in reference to sea squirts that digest vanadium: "Having committed themselves to this life of tedium, they also digest their redundant brains" . --- There are times in life where being able to do this temporarily would certainly be a relief :)
EdwardCoffin on June 15, 2014
This is the subject of a classic joke about tenure:
"The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task, it has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn't need its brain anymore, so it eats it! It's rather like getting tenure."
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/52415-the-juvenile-sea-squir...
johnzim on June 15, 2014
I think that's what boozahol is for
Nanzikambe on June 14, 2014
(Disclaimer: I know very little about either Vanadium or the alternatives I will suggest, so these are the opinions of a lay person on the subject)
Why is yet another mineral we have to mine, then presumably buy from an industry that will become another iteration of today's energy giants, the solution?
What is wrong with present methodologies of energy storage? For example using surplus power to pump water up hill, to later recuperate during peak hours? Or heating water? Things of that vein that're obviously not efficient, but trivial enough to implement for single buildings (whether a house or a sky scraper) without needing any change to infrastructure.
To be clear, what I'm against here is the creation of demand for yet another substance we'll despoil the planet some more for. Mines are festering wounds upon the planet. And I seriously doubt harvesting sea creatures will lead to anything more than the same sort of damage inflicted upon a seabed already scarred by dragnets.
Edit: From reading further, and to answer my own question, the problem is that all research in this field is geared towards the identification of materials or energy sources that can be commoditised.
Tarrosion on June 14, 2014
> What is wrong with present methodologies of energy storage? For example using surplus power to pump water up hill, to later recuperate during peak hours?
Say you want to store 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity (most places in the United States, about $0.12 worth). That's 3.6 million joules of energy. The potential energy gained by moving an object away from the Earth is approximately m * g * h, were m is mass, g gravity, and h height. g is approximately 10, and in a home system let's say h is also approximately 10. Probably less. Then the amount of water you need to move is approximately 36,000 kilograms. At 1 kilogram per liter, that's 36,000 liters or approximately 9,000 gallons. For comparison, that's roughly the size of a moderate swimming pool.
And of course, there are many other problems: converting electricity to pump action to water movement to potential energy back to electricity is not 100% efficient. That much water is extremely heavy; there's a reason swimming pools are often built in the ground. Etc. And all that for just 1 kilowatt hour!
My urban apartment uses O(10) kilowatt hours per day, so even if only a small fraction of that must be stored, my roommate and I would require a swimming pool or three. Hard to find space in a city...this could all be done remotely, but then transmission loss cuts the efficiency further.
colanderman on June 14, 2014
Not really relevant to the discussion, but O(10) doesn't mean "approximately 10".
O(f(x)) denotes a function that is bounded by a constant multiple of f(x), and really only makes sense in the context of a dependent variable x. (e.g. O(2^x) denotes an exponential-bounded relationship with x).
So O(10) in the above context effectively means your apartment uses some unknown number of kWh.
To expand on this: O(10) is the same as O(9) or O(1) and O(k). (k is a constant)
Key to understanding this: Note that if you graphed out all the above as functions, they would all be horizontal lines.
O is about the kind of function something is, specifically relating to how fast it expands.
dhimes on June 14, 2014
When dealing with numbers, the notation means "order of magnitude," which is the nearest power of 10. Strictly, this places is between 5 and 50 (4 rounds down to 1, 51 rounds up to 100).
Most people use it a little more loosely in conversation. More than 1, not 100, etc.
dllthomas on June 14, 2014
While I've occasionally seen O(...) used to mean "approximate upper bound" or even "approximate bound" in a more general way than the math for Big-O notation would permit, I've assumed it was either error or analogy, not a specific other function. Can you give a citation for this being an established usage?
(Note that I'm certainly familiar with orders of magnitude, just not this notation for them.)
It may be informal. I seem to recall people also using ~ for this, as in
"The detector is measuring eV, but this effect is ~ meV |O(meV) so we won't see it."
I didn't know this. I'm used to just talking about "order of magnitude."
You are completely correct, of course. At best it's an abuse of notation and perhaps an abuse of idea. But hopefully a fairly readable abuse!
I don't know a better shorthand for "of approximately the same order of magnitude." There's ~, but it also has its problems...if I say "I am ~175cm tall," I am not allowing for the possibility that I am 100cm tall or 500cm tall.
Is there an established convention?
ksenzee on June 16, 2014
I don't know of an established convention. I've heard people just say "within an order of magnitude." This may be a readable abuse to some, but not all; when I saw O(10) I just saw a horizontal line graph in my head and thought "huh?"
And now I know :) Thanks for taking the time to make this detailed & informative reply!
So basically the point is that Vanadium presents the most efficient method of power storage we know of to date?
sanxiyn on June 14, 2014
I don't think so. In energy storage, pumped-storage hydroelectricity(PSH) is still the undisputed king. It currently represents >99% of installed capacity, and has a quite good efficiency. As I understand, Vanadium redox battery is not more efficient than PSH. And no energy storage system is proven to scale to PSH scale.
About the only problem with PSH is need for a reservoir and hence site selection. In Europe, it is said that Norway, which has lots of good sites for PSH, alone, can support entire energy storage demand of Europe. As I understand it is more problematic in US.
throwawayaway on June 14, 2014
To what extent could you pressurize the water to restrict the volume? I can imagine an egg timer style device with heavy pressurised immiscible liquids and some turbine in the middle that you turn over physically instead of pumping.
someone has already had the idea:
http://www.myfreeinventions.com/electricity-generation/porta...
oh here's another one - might be interesting to strap two of these together:
http://fivegallonideas.com/hydroelectric-generator/
Well, air compresses better. People are trying to store energy in compressed air. I found LightSail Energy to be interesting.
http://www.lightsail.com/
gus_massa on June 14, 2014
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Properties_of_water#Compressibi...
> The low compressibility of water means that even in the deep oceans at 4 km depth, where pressures are 40 MPa, there is only a 1.8% decrease in volume.
With some simplifications, the stored energy is approximately P*deltaV/2 (when P>>1atm), where P is the pressure and deltaV is the volume change. So in 1 litter (1/4 galon) at -4Km, the energy is only 400J (.1Wh), and you need submarine grade technology to store it.
The potential energy of 1 litter (1/4 galon) of water at 40m (130 ft, a 15 story building) is also 400J (.1Wh) and is much easier to build.
pantalaimon on June 14, 2014
the volume of a liquid hardly changes under pressure.
lucaspiller on June 15, 2014
The biggest site in the UK (built in the 70s for the same problem from nuclear power) was built into an abandoned quarry, surely there must be plenty of those around?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station
ajb on June 15, 2014
Yes, but probably not ones on the top of a mountain.
SixSigma on June 16, 2014
We have a 1728MW pumped storage facility here in Wales.
http://www.electricmountain.co.uk/
pjc50 on June 14, 2014
Not so much "commoditised" in the economic sense, but "can be deployed widely".
Inefficient storage is pointless. If it ends up being cheaper to throw the surplus away and then later run a fossil fuel generator, people will do that.
Time-shifted heating has long been a thing in the UK; "Economy 7" electricity is cheaper at night, used in conjunction with oil-filled storage heaters.
"Pump water up hill" requires a suitable hill. There are not nearly as many of these as you think, and flooding them is environmental damage of its own.
There's also a difference between using a substance re-usably for energy storage, versus extracting a non-renewable resource and burning it.
Grid-scale batteries are key to getting to a situation where most energy is renewable. The other tech that might work here is the molten salt battery, but that's harder to handle and doesn't scale down well.
stephenmm on June 14, 2014
It seems to me that the molten salts make the most sense and seems to be the farthest along:
https://www.solar-reserve.com
The case for small scale electric storage seems less obvious to me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten_salt_battery#Vehicles but lithium ion seems to be working for now.
"Metallic vanadium is not found in nature, but vanadium compounds occur naturally in about 65 different minerals. Economically significant examples include patronite (VS4),[26] vanadinite (Pb5(VO4)3Cl), and carnotite (K2(UO2)2(VO4)2·3H2O). Much of the world's vanadium production is sourced from vanadium-bearing magnetite found in ultramafic gabbro bodies. Vanadium is mined mostly in South Africa, north-western China, and eastern Russia. In 2010 these three countries mined more than 98% of the 56,000 tonnes of produced vanadium.[27]
Vanadium is also present in bauxite and in fossil fuel deposits such as crude oil, coal, oil shale and tar sands. In crude oil, concentrations up to 1200 ppm have been reported. When such oil products are burned, the traces of vanadium may initiate corrosion in motors and boilers.[28] An estimated 110,000 tonnes of vanadium per year are released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.[29] Vanadium has also been detected spectroscopically in light from the Sun and some other stars.[30]"
"Vanadium metal is obtained via a multistep process that begins with the roasting of crushed ore with NaCl or Na2CO3 at about 850 °C to give sodium metavanadate (NaVO3). An aqueous extract of this solid is acidified to give "red cake", a polyvanadate salt, which is reduced with calcium metal. As an alternative for small-scale production, vanadium pentoxide is reduced with hydrogen or magnesium. Many other methods are also in use, in all of which vanadium is produced as a byproduct of other processes.[31] Purification of vanadium is possible by the crystal bar process developed by Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer in 1925. It involves the formation of the metal iodide, in this example vanadium(III) iodide, and the subsequent decomposition to yield pure metal.[32]"
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium#Occurrence
So not only is extracting this stuff going to involve mining, the process of extraction itself relies on extremely toxic substances, and the most economic areas to mine it are places it's less than prudent to rely upon economically (China, Russia, South Africa)
maxerickson on June 14, 2014
Neither salt nor sodium carbonate is particularly toxic. The sodium carbonate is pretty reactive, as are hydrogen, magnesium and calcium. The various stages of vanadium compounds are likely a bigger concern than the various reaction agents.
The big reason pumped storage isn't more prevalent is that it isn't all that trivial to make it economical (you need a big reservoir to have much capacity). You also end up needing a lot of concrete, which also comes from mines (and requires a bunch of energy to produce).
The better tradeoff is probably to examine and carefully control mining practices (as opposed to sort of endorsing the status quo material consumption).
rayiner on June 14, 2014
The problem with mining is rock rarely contains only one metal. The ore is crushed, the desired metal is extracted, and slag filled with heavy metal is deposited on the ground, where rain leaches poisonous metals into the water supply.
scythe on June 14, 2014
>using surplus power to pump water up hill, to later recuperate during peak hours
Consider e.g.
http://www.forum-netzintegration.de/uploads/media/DUH_Sintef...
>Or heating water?
This is thermodynamically ridiculous. There's huge energy losses involved, cf Carnot efficiency of such a system.
>From reading further, and to answer my own question, the problem is that all research in this field is geared towards the identification of materials or energy sources that can be commoditized.
Oh please. It's a difficult problem. If there was an easy way to solve it cheaply without consequences it would have been done already. There are problems with dams and hot water and "layman" solutions like those. There are also problems with compressed air, batteries, and molten salts, not to mention loopy stuff like superconductors and nanosprings.
chm on June 14, 2014
Because no thermodynamic cycle is 100% efficient.
zvrba on June 15, 2014
Interesting. Vanadium is relatively abundant too; Wikipedia places it on 20th place, ahead of more known and very widely used elements like chromium, nickel and zinc, copper and tin (on the 49th place!).
This might be viable for mass-production.
planckscnst on June 14, 2014
Knight describes the color changes as the vanadium is reduced - yellow -> green -> blue -> violet as the vanadium receives electrons from the zinc. But then later, he describes the battery. "In one tank, the vanadium releases electrons, turning from yellow to blue." At least one of these statements are incorrect.
mikexstudios on June 14, 2014
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium#Compounds
The latter statement is incorrect, but it's an easy to make mistake. What he probably meant was that "in one tank, the vanadium releases electrons, turning from blue to yellow while in the other tank, vanadium accepts electrons, turning from yellow to blue."
avn2109 on June 14, 2014
>> "One of these statements are incorrect"
One _or more_ are incorrect :)
thomasvarney723 on June 15, 2014
"At least one of these statements are incorrect."
giarc on June 14, 2014
The article states that peak demand is the evening... I would have thought peak demand would have been during the day when large factories are operating at peak output.
jarvist on June 14, 2014
Large industrial users don't vary their demand much, and actually change when they use it to fit the demand curves (i.e. Aluminium smelters).
Peak in the UK is early evening, when people are still working late & also people returning home (electric trains), heating houses, dinner, doing laundry etc.
http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/
zhte415 on June 14, 2014
This is an amazingly hands-on dashboard. Together with handy tips on why and when peaks and troughs occur. For example I had no idea UK wind potential (potential) capacity was so close to nuclear.
TheSpiceIsLife on June 14, 2014
Yep, and look at the graphs. Look at the yearly graph at the bottom, nuclear output averages 6.0 - 7.0GW, wind output averages about 2.0 - 2.5GW over a 12 month period, for about the same nameplate capacity (installed nameplate capacity: Wind 8GW; Nuclear 12GW - close enough to support the following argument).
This means we have to overbuild wind capacity by a factor of about 3 to 4 in order to match nuclear / coal / gas.
Now have a think about how much steel and concrete are required to build 1GW of wind base load capacity compared to 1GW base load nuclear. You need to build, say, 3x 640MW reactors to achieve 1GW continuous output, so 1 reactor can be offline for refuelling or maintenance at any one time, while the other two are run at 80% capacity. To achieve 1GW of base load wind you need to build 3 to 4GW nameplate capacity, and even then the wind doesn't blow all the time, so you need widely dispersed wind, plus storage because sometimes the wind doesn't blow anywhere in the UK for days on end - the currently weekly graph shows this: wind has been producing approximately 0GW output for most of the last week. Also, wind needs long new transmission lines, (large) nuclear can be a drop in replacement for existing coal plants as they are retired, or built next / close to existing transmission lines.
There are plenty of resources on the web that will help you discover the materials inputs for different generating technologies, see bravenewlcimate.com particularly [1] for example.
Regardless of what technology we choose moving forward, to achieve zero emissions by 2050 would require a war-like rollout, starting now. But wind and solar are at least a couple of magnitudes of order more materials-intensive than nuclear / coal / gas for the same base load output. And there probably aren't that many sites suitable for wind, especially ones that don't require 1000km new transmission lines.
I'm not against renewables per se, I'm just for math. The idea of 'renewable resources' appeals to me. But until the math magically changes, I don't see how wind and solar (with or without storage) is a good idea, either environmentally from the materials-input perspective, or economically from the end-users perspective. What we need to push us forward technologically is large amounts of cheap / free zero emissions -when generating- electricity.
Another strike against wind and solar is this: if either was so attractive economically then large investment funds would have flooded the market with the technology. But it isn't, which speaks directly about the ROI (Return on Investment), which is derived from materials input and running cost per dollar return. The only way it makes sense economically to build wind and solar is if the price of electricity goes up, which is ideal if you want people to freeze to death or die of heat stroke, or make your electric car uneconomical to run.
I think that UK National Grid Status webpage is the best example of wind not working as a solution to electricity supply, unless you define the problem as "how to make expensive unreliable electricity" a la Germany and Denmark [2], who have the highest wind electricity generation in Europe and the most expensive electricity in Europe [3].
I may have waffled on more than I originally intended.
1. http://bravenewclimate.com/2009/10/18/tcase4/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_the_European_Unio...
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing
Edit: speeling nd grama
Derbasti on June 15, 2014
The UK is a bad place for solar power. Spain or Egypt would have much higher, and more reliable, output, that could be more easily predicted and buffered. I have heard figures like 4x between spain and the UK.
What about tidal power? That should work well in the UK.
xyzzyz on June 15, 2014
available tidal energy is relatively low, on the order of handful kWh per day per UK citizen. extracting all available tidal energy would require extraordinary investment. in effect, it's unrealistic to expect more than 1-2 kWh per day per person. solar and wind are much better bets, though neither is on par with coal.
I recommend reading this book: www.withouthotair.com/ it contains nice estimates of energy used by UK people on the one hand, and energy available from various sustainable sources.
The drop in demand over Christmas and weekends is interesting. Lots of inefficient offices are shut I guess.
alexchamberlain on June 14, 2014
The power demand of the UK is largely driven by lighting, as heating is provided largely by gas and oil. This leads to a fairly low base load, leading to an office load throughout the day and a peak in the evening as everyone is at home.
timthorn on June 14, 2014
Historic UK demand with halfhourly precision can be downloaded from the National Grid's website: http://www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Industry-information/Electri...
I suppose there are no large factories on Hawaii
inportb on June 14, 2014
> ... peak demand for electricity, which generally comes in the late afternoon and evening, when everyone travels home, turns on the lights, heating or air conditioning, boils the kettle, bungs dinner in the microwave, and so on
Related video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/people/teatime...
While researching this I found a tremendous resource that goes in to pretty good depth of all the alternatives for grid level storage:
http://www.sbc.slb.com/SBCInstitute/Publications/~/media/Fil...
Sami_Lehtinen on June 14, 2014
Only good thing is that it can take a lot of charge cycles, otherwise it's worse on all aspects, than even traditional lead-acid batteries.
No, it's a reflow battery - meaning you can make the capacity arbitrarily large (literally you have a tank of one redox, a tank of another). Hopefully this will make it much cheaper for large capacities.
Yes, it's heavy for the capacity, but this does not matter for fixed installations.
Number of charge cycles & recycle-ability makes an enormous difference to the balance of systems cost for a battery.
shabble on June 14, 2014
I wonder how stable the "charged" state solution is?
Could you charge it up in one location, and truck/ship/pump it somewhere else for consumption? Imagine refitting crude oil supertankers to handle the acidity and ship solar power from some remote coastal desert to more useful places. Other than the headmelting price of Va, it could conceivably be cheaper than building transmission lines & their associated resistance losses.
(I'm probably missing some key fact of why this wouldn't work. But it's a nice idea)
ScottBurson on June 15, 2014
That would be so much less efficient than transporting hydrocarbon fuels as to be pointless.
callesgg on June 14, 2014
You Will still lose some 20 + 20% due to charge and discharge inefficiencies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium_redox_battery
ape4 on June 14, 2014
Do Brits really say "bungs dinner in the microwave" ?
vacri on June 14, 2014
Antipodeans, too. Without the 's' - the 's' is just an artifact of how the sentence in the article reads. 'bung' just means 'casually put somewhere'. "Where do you want this box?" => "Just bung it on the table"
moreati on June 14, 2014
Yes. The S depends on the conjugation - I bung ... He/she bungs ... They bung ...
orf on June 14, 2014
I think "bungs" is interchangeable, but yes.
leoc on June 14, 2014
'bung' equates to 'chuck'.


Marcia Moss; Barbara Dudley, Women's Cabinet education chair; Judy Rosenblatt, Bootsie Goldmeier, and Marcia Hofheimer.
The Women's Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater held its annual Lion Tikva Chai Luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 1 to celebrate its newest milestone givers. And, there was a lot to celebrate.
Author, lecturer and performer, Erin Mahone.
Headlining the event was author, lecturer, and performer Erin Mahone, whose one-woman show, It Runs in the Family, was based on the pages of her recently published book, If You Could See Me: Life, Motherhood, and the Pursuit of Sanity. Her performance was deeply personal and described some of the highest and lowest points in her life, with an overriding message that life is a mixed bag, but the trick is to make the most of it—and to see the beauty in all things—even those which aren't so obvious.
Held just days after the horrific events which took place in the Jewish community of Pittsburgh, Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg delivered an opening message of healing and comfort to the women in the room. Rabbi Roz was followed by Janet Mercadante, Women's Cabinet chair, who opened the lunch with a quick campaign overview, which revealed this year's campaign to be on a remarkable trajectory—well ahead of the pace of last year, and set to break records across the board.
Next to take the podium were Stephanie Calliott, immediate past chair, and Barbara Dudley, Cabinet education committee chair. Dudley announced the names of the newest milestone givers (see box), and Calliott called the names of the Federation's Endowed Lions of Blessed Memory—women who endowed their Lion of Judah gifts to the Annual Campaign during their lifetimes, so that their gifts would continue to benefit the community in perpetuity.
To close the event, Mona Flax, Women's Cabinet vice chair, thanked all for coming, for supporting the annual campaign, and for asking others to support it, as well. She pointed out and encouraged all to come to the next women's event, a Women's PLUS ONE event. Free and open to all women in the Jewish community (and their plus ones!), the PLUS ONE event will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 pm at the Sandler Family Campus and features author Jenna Blum, discussing her latest novel, The Lost Family.
Amy Zelenka is United Jewish Federation of Tidewater's Women's campaign director. She may be reached at AZelenka@ujft.org.


text:
772 F. 2d 1140 - Holland
772 F2d 1140 Holland
27 Wage & Hour Cas. (BN 548, 54 USLW 2146,
103 Lab.Cas. P 55,525,
6 Employee Benefits Ca 2129
Rose M. HOLLAND; Jean H. Stallings; Walter Burlington,
Jr.; John C. Brooks, Commissioner of Labor of the
State of North Carolina, Plaintiffs,
Bill N. Slack; Jimmy W. Aheron; Carol Aldridge; Pamila B.
Apple; Carole Baggett; Thomas F. Bowden; Walter Brom;
Nellie B. Burwell; Elizabeth S. Canada; Gary L. Carter;
Irene Chandler; James J. Clifford; Linda S. Coble; James
A. Crawford; Ruth Dixon; Octavia M. Driver; Edmund
Foster; Richard C. Foy; Peggy A. Gerringer; Deville
Goodman; Ada R. Griffin; Delanor M. Hamby; Mildred R.
Hester; Evelyn H. Hilton; Peggy W. Hodge; Mary E. Hope;
Joseph J. Houston; Don Huffman; Jeff Hughes, Yvonnie B.
James; Melvin E. King; Norma M. Loy; Sara Copeland
Maness; Linda Mooneyham; Cora N. Moore; Virginia M.
Moore; Robert C. Moricle; Edna M. Murray; Faye F. Neese;
Gladys J. Oakley; Patricia G. Page; Daniel E. Perry;
Barbara P. Petty; P. Douglas Pierce; Betty Hornaday Ray;
Ruth S. Rich; Mary Darlene Rierson; Fred Brewer Roberts;
Ida B. Saul; William A. Seelman; Sylvia R. Shoe; Gladys
H. Shore; Frances Simmons; Mary Foust Stansell; Peggy P.
Stone; Sherman C. Summers; Frances B. Sykes; Barbara D.
Thompson; Ronald F. Tyree; Hazel P. Walker; Mary Lou
Whitfield; Rita P. Whitley; Sandra F. Wilson; Brownie A.
Wright; Elsie B. Young; Bettie J. Boswell; Debbie M.
Rascoe; Lemmer Sherdina Sellars; Jack T. Sullivan; Claude
O. Anders; Eva Barr; Margaret Brindle; Hoyt Cheek, Sr.;
Hubert Foltz; Clyde Jarrell; Robert Martin; Thelma
Martin; Leslie Morehead; Gerald Moretz; Alice Nelson;
Carolyn Rayfield; Daisy Rickey; Ethel Royal; Larry
Wright; William K. Anders; Merilla L. Barrier; Diane L.
Boehm; Henry M. Brown; Hilda K. Cox; Stephen E. Elmore,
Jr.; Richard L. Hall; William Jones; Paul M. King;
Robert E. May; William Robert Oman; Cecil A. Poff; John
W. Quick; Clifton Smith; Mary Smith; J. Clay Stiles, III;
Bobby S. Tew; Thurman A. Chriscoe; Roy F. Williamson;
Betty Albright; Nadine Albright; Boyce J. Asbill; Doris
S. Baughan; Larry C. Beane; Melodye Snow Beard; Susan
Beasley; Robert N. Blevins; Karen L. Boling; Wanda
Bowman; Linda B. Brady; Linda P. Bristow; David Brittain;
Marcella Jo Brittain; Mary R. Bullard; Betty S. Byrd;
Charles H. Byrd; George M. Byrum; Charles F. Cagle, Jr.;
Claude R. Cagle; Ann J. Campbell; Joe J. Cassett;
Kimberly Spoon Coats; Garland J. Cole; George C. Cole;
Ted Cooley; Clara M. Cox; Phyllis Ingold Cox; Cindy M.
Cranford; Tommy L. Cranford; Curtis L. Craven; Jackie
Nall Davis; Wayne L. Duggins; Nancy M. Ellison; Herman A.
Flynt; Cecil C. Gatlin; Earl Glover; Willard E. Gordon;
Rayford B. Grant; James L. Hammer; Donald L. Harshaw;
Larry Lee Highsmith; Tommy W. Hill; Kathryn Jeanette
Hogan; Carroll D. Hoyle; Sandra Hunsucker; Katherine R.
James; Linda Jordan Kennedy; Coy A. Kiser; Marilyn Hewitt
Knight; Robert N.W. Knott; Gaynell H. Ledwall; Marguerite
M. Lineberry; Shelby L. Logsdon; Marlene B. Lucas;
Barbara S. Miller; Juanita K. Moody; Grace H. McNeill;
Robert F. McWilliams; Susan B. Pack; Cathy D. Powers;
Betty M. Reeves; Van E. Rich; Edwin L. Ridge; Harry Rose;
Carol L. Savchak; Lenora C. Shaw; James W. Slaughter;
Bobby N. Smith; Mike S. Smith; Imogene N. Snider; John W.
Snider; Mary Edith Spoon; Jean A. Stafford; Mozelle A.
Stout; Harriett W. Summey; Brenda S. Thomas; Gerald D.
Thomas; Frances Freeman Tilley; Hazel S. Trogdon; Betty
C. Von Cannon; Myrle L. Walker; William Bullock; Eurika
Plummer; Terriel E. Wessinger, Jr.; Walter G. Williamson;
James L. Wilson, Jr.; Mildred C. York; Faye T. Yow; Brian
Dale Manuel; Raymond Claude Evans; A. Gene Heidel; Brenda
B. Herndon; Russell W. Herndon; Virginia H. Schulte;
Sandra G. Walker; Sharon G. Warren; Shirley W. Welch and
Roger Downs, Appellants
BURLINGTON INDUSTRIES, INC.; Calvin A. Michaels; Charles
A. McLendon; Humberto L. Quintana; Appellees.
State of New York, Amicus Curiae.
Decided Sept. 3, 1985.
Marion G. Follin, III, Greensboro, N.C., Tiare B. Smiley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Raleigh, N.C. (Michael K. Curtis, Smith, Patterson, Follin, Curtis, James & Harkavy, Greensboro, N.C., Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen., John C. Brooks, Com'r of Labor, Thomas A. Harris, Director Wage and Hour Div., Raleigh, N.C., on brief) for appellants/intervenor.
McNeill Smith, Greensboro, N.C. (Ben F. Tennille, Smith, Moore, Smith, Schell & Hunter, Greensboro, N.C., on brief) for appellee.
Robert Hermann, Sol. Gen., O. Peter Sherwood, Deputy Sol. Gen., Albany, N.Y., Carlin Meyer, Jane Lauer Barker, Andrew Schultz, Asst. Attys. Gen., Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen., New York City, on brief) for amicus curiae.
Before HALL and WILKINSON, Circuit Judges, and BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge.
WILKINSON, Circuit Judge:
Former employees of Burlington Industries, Inc. Socks and Hosiery Divisions brought suit seeking to recover severance pay allegedly due upon Burlington's sale of the divisions to Kayser-Roth Corporation. The court below granted summary judgment for defendant after finding that the severance pay policy at issue was subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 et seq., that ERISA preempted state law, and that Burlington's decision to deny severance pay was neither arbitrary or capricious. Finding no error in these holdings, we affirm.
* The 200 appellants were employees of Burlington's Socks and Hosiery Divisions on January 3, 1982, when Burlington sold the divisions to Kayser-Roth as going concerns. Pursuant to agreement with Burlington, Kayser-Roth offered employment to virtually all employees of these divisions, including appellants, who continued to work without interruption. The five employees not offered employment with Kayser-Roth received severance pay under the plan described below, and Burlington agreed to provide severance pay to any employee terminated by Kayser-Roth within six months of the transfer of ownership.
Burlington has maintained a severance pay plan for salaried employees since at least 1953. At the relevant time, the terms of the plan appeared in the company's Policy Manual, available to employees on request, and in the Salaried Employees' Handbook. The Handbook described the plan in general terms, providing that two weeks' to twelve months' severance pay would be available to "full time employees who involuntarily leave the company."1 The Policy Manual discussed the plan in more detail. In addition to setting out payment schedules for severance pay based on an employee's age and length of service, the Manual established eligibility requirements for severance pay. The most relevant requirement was that of "job termination," said to include "terminations due to circumstances such as elimination or modification of operations or other job elimination due to bona fide organizational changes."2
Appellants sought severance pay under this plan when Burlington sold the divisions to Kayser-Roth, asserting that they were entitled to the pay because their jobs with Burlington were terminated, and that their immediate re-employment by Kayser-Roth was irrelevant under the plan. Burlington denied that it owed severance pay, contending that there had been no "job elimination" as required by the Policy Manual.
Appellants initially sought redress in North Carolina state court, relying on common law claims of breach of contract and estoppel and several state statutes, including the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act, N.C.Gen.Stat. Sec. 95-25.7. The action was removed to federal court on Burlington's petition that the claims arose under ERISA. The plaintiffs amended their complaint to assert further claims based on ERISA. The Commissioner of Labor of the State of North Carolina ("Commissioner") intervened.
On appeal, the Commissioner primarily argues that the severance pay plan is not covered by ERISA, and that ERISA does not preempt state law. On this score, he is joined by officials from ten states and the District of Columbia as amici curiae. The 200 individual appellants contend that the denial of severance pay violated ERISA.3
The Commissioner, joined by amici, asserts that ERISA simply does not apply to Burlington's severance pay policy, and that such a plan is therefore governed solely by state law. We reject this contention, and hold that Burlington's severance pay plan falls within the provisions of ERISA as an "employee welfare benefit plan." Moreover, ERISA governs employer severance pay plans whether funded from general assets, as here, or from a special trust.
Congress enacted this complex legislation to federalize much of employee pension and benefit law. It characterized plans covered by ERISA as either "employee pension benefit plans," 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(2) or "employee welfare benefit plans," 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(1), both of which must comply with ERISA's reporting and disclosure requirements, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 1021-1031, and its fiduciary standards for management of plan assets, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 1101-1114. The former are subject to more stringent requirements than the latter, including the statute's vesting and funding requirements, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 1053, 1082. None of the parties contends that the severance pay provision qualifies as an employee pension benefit plan. Rather, the issue is whether it constitutes an employee welfare benefit plan or a mere "payroll practice"--as defined by Department of Labor regulations, 29 C.F.R. Sec. 2510.3-1--that falls outside the scope of ERISA.
The statutory language supports the designation of severance pay as an employee welfare benefit plan. Such plans, as defined in Sec. 3(1) of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(1), include:
[A]ny plan, fund or program ... maintained by an employer ... for the purpose of providing for its participants or their beneficiaries, through the purchase of insurance or otherwise, (A) ... benefits in the event of ... unemployment ... or (B) any benefit described in section 186(c) of this title (other than pensions on retirement or death, and insurance to provide such pensions).
Subsection (A) above refers to "benefits in the event of ... unemployment." The evidence in this case suggests that at least one purpose of the Burlington plan is to provide help for employees during periods of unemployment that follow the elimination of their jobs. This view of severance pay brings it within the definition of employee welfare benefit plan in Sec. 1002(1)(A) and thus within the ambit of ERISA. See Gilbert, 765 F.2d at 325; Jung v. FMC Corp., 755 F.2d 708, 710 n. 2 (9th Cir.1985); Petrella v. NL Industries, Inc., 529 F.Supp. 1357, 1361 (D.N.J.1982) ("Severance pay, which in general is intended to tide an employee over while seeking a new job, certainly could be considered an 'unemployment' benefit.")
Severance pay plans are also within the definition of 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(1)(B), which refers to 29 U.S.C. Sec. 186(c) for illustration of the types of benefits characterized as employee welfare benefit plans. Section 186(c)(6) describes "pooled vacation, holiday, severance or similar benefits" (emphasis added), and thereby brings such benefits within the meaning of employee welfare benefit plans. Other courts considering the issue have reached the same conclusion. See e.g., Gilbert, 765 F.2d at 325-26; Scott v. Gulf Oil Corp., 754 F.2d 1499, 1502 (9th Cir.1985); Petrella v. NL Industries, Inc., 529 F.Supp. 1357, 1361-62 (D.N.J.1982); Dependahl v. Falstaff Brewing Corp., 491 F.Supp. 1188, 1196 (E.D.Mo.1980), aff'd, 653 F.2d 1208 (8th Cir.); cert. denied, 454 U.S. 968, 102 S.Ct. 512, 70 L.Ed.2d 384, sub nom. Dependahl v. Kalmanovitz, 454 U.S. 1084, 102 S.Ct. 641, 70 L.Ed.2d 619 (1981); Pinto v. Zenith Radio Corp., 480 F.Supp. 361, 362-63 (N.D.Ill.1979), aff'd, 618 F.2d 110 (7th Cir.1980).
Department of Labor regulations promulgated under ERISA reinforce the conclusion that the effect of the reference to Sec. 186(c) "is to include within the definition of 'welfare plan' those plans which provide holiday and severance benefits and benefits which are similar." 29 C.F.R. Sec. 2510.3-1(a)(3) (emphasis added). The Commissioner's contention that the Secretary of Labor lacks authority to interpret the statute in this manner has been definitively answered by Congress through subsequent amendment to the statute. In 1980, Congress added the language found at 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(2)(B): "The Secretary may by regulation prescribe rules consistent with the standards and purposes of this chapter providing one or more exempt categories under which--(1) severance pay arrangements ... shall, for purposes of this subchapter, be treated as welfare plans rather than pension plans." This amendment, adopted after the Secretary of Labor had promulgated the regulations, effectively sanctioned these regulations by statute and provided that severance pay arrangements, whether treated as pension plans or welfare plans, would be subject to the Act.
We also reject the Commissioner's contention that Burlington's severance pay plan is not within ERISA because it is not specially funded. He argues that Sec. 186(c)(6) includes only funded plans because that section concerns money paid to a "trust fund" established for the purpose of "pooled vacation, holiday, severance or similar benefits." 29 U.S.C. Sec. 186(c) (emphasis added). The Department of Labor regulations interpreting the reference to Sec. 186(c), however, contain no limitation on the form of severance pay plans; the reference is to types of benefits that are to be covered by ERISA, whether in the form of trust funds or not. Scott, 754 F.2d at 1502. This is a reasonable interpretation of the statute, and one in which Congress has concurred by its 1980 amendments. The Second Circuit has also concluded that the interpretation reflected in the regulation is supported by the legislative history of the original enactment of ERISA. See Gilbert, 765 F.2d at 326.
The Commissioner further argues that the severance pay plan in this case is a "payroll practice" and not an employee welfare benefit plan according to the Department of Labor's own regulations. 29 C.F.R. Sec. 2510.3-1(b) defines payroll practice to include payments out of an employer's general assets of compensation on account of work performed (including overtime pay, shift premiums, holiday premiums, and weekend premiums), id. Sec. 2510.3-1(b)(1), or for periods of absence due to medical or psychiatric reasons, id. Sec. 2510.3-1(b)(2), vacation, holiday, military duty, jury duty, training, or sabbatical leave, id. Sec. 2510.3-1(b)(3). Here the Commissioner's argument is refuted by omission. The regulations simply do not include severance pay as a payroll practice and, in light of the authority described above, we see no reason to disturb the Secretary's categorization of severance pay as an employee welfare benefit plan. Payroll practices refer to general asset compensation during employment; severance pay, by contrast, occurs after termination of employment. Scott, 754 F.2d at 1503. The Scott court reasoned soundly that the greater "danger of default" on large and unanticipated severance obligations argued also for coverage under ERISA.
Though a major purpose of ERISA was to aid employees' knowledge and receipt of benefits, employees may, as here, urge that a particular policy is not within ERISA so that claims may be heard before state courts or questions of federal preemption of state statutes may be avoided. These desires, however understandable, do not give us license to avoid the scheme established by Congress. As detailed above, Congress determined as a matter of policy that severance pay benefits should be subject to ERISA. It mandated that severance pay plans be subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 1021-1031, so that employees would be aware of their benefits and better able to pursue them. The fact that employees may sometimes wish to forego these advantages of ERISA coverage in favor of arguably more generous state statutes does not allow us to escape the clear direction of Congress.
The district court concluded that ERISA's regulation of severance pay preempted state regulation of the matter. The Commissioner urges us to reverse this holding, arguing instead that ERISA and state statutes such as the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act should coexist and independently monitor severance pay plans. We do not agree and hold that ERISA preempts the state law claims asserted in this case.
When considering preemption of state law, "our task is to ascertain Congress' intent in enacting the federal statute at issue." Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 463 U.S. 85, 95, 103 S.Ct. 2890, 2899, 77 L.Ed.2d 490 (1983). In ERISA, Congress made its intent known in what has been called "the most sweeping federal preemption statute ever enacted by Congress." California Hospital Association v. Henning, 569 F.Supp. 1544, 1546 (C.D.Cal.1983). 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1144(a) preempts, with certain exceptions not relevant here,4 "any and all state laws insofar as they may now or hereafter relate to any employee benefit plan" covered by ERISA.
In Shaw, 463 U.S. at 96-97, 103 S.Ct. at 2899-2900, the Supreme Court held that this language must be given broad effect: "A law 'relates to' an employee benefit plan, in the normal sense of the phrase, if it has a connection with or reference to such a plan." The Court had previously noted that "[t]he only relevant state laws, or portions thereof, that survive this preemption provision are those relating to plans that are themselves exempted from ERISA's scope." Alessi v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc., 451 U.S. 504, 523 n. 20, 101 S.Ct. 1895, 1906 n. 20, 68 L.Ed.2d 402 (1981). "The pre-emption provision was intended to displace all state laws that fall within its sphere, even including state laws that are consistent with ERISA's substantive requirements. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Massachusetts, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 2380, 2389, 85 L.Ed.2d 728 (1985).
A broad reading of the phrase "relates to" is consistent with the legislative history and policies behind ERISA. Congress rejected a narrower preemption provision, that would have preempted only state laws dealing directly with ERISA plans. See Shaw, 463 U.S. at 98-100, 103 S.Ct. at 2900-2902. Instead, "Congress legislated an ouster of all state laws relating to employee benefit plans." Dependahl, 653 F.2d at 1215. This broad preemption furthers a major policy objective of ERISA--uniformity in employee benefit laws. Congress realized that various state regulations of employee benefit plans had become a major concern to employers with plants, divisions, or employees scattered in numerous states, and a broad preemption provision was an integral part of ERISA's response to that concern. See Shaw, 463 U.S. at 99, 103 S.Ct. at 2901.
Given the unparalleled breadth of ERISA's preemption provision, we have no trouble concluding that the state actions at issue are preempted. The state law here essentially requires employers to pay wages due upon termination of employment, N.C.Gen.Stat. Sec. 95-25.7. Insofar as this statute is invoked in pursuit of benefits allegedly due under Burlington's severance pay plan, it "relates to" an employee benefit plan covered by ERISA. Preemption applies to a state cause of action under common law as well, for the state breach of contract and estoppel claims pose the same potential as the statutory cause of action for conflicting employer obligations and variable standards of recovery.5 As in Gilbert, "the state law claims ... would determine whether any benefits are paid, and directly affect the administration of benefits under the plan." 765 F.2d at 327. ERISA and the policies underlying it require preemption.
The Commissioner attempts to escape this conclusion by invoking ERISA's definition of "state." ERISA, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1144(c)(2), defines state to include "a state [and] any political subdivisions thereof ... which purports to regulate, directly or indirectly, the terms and conditions of employee benefit plans." The Commissioner asserts that North Carolina does not, in fact, regulate the "terms and conditions" of the plan, and therefore its statute is not "state" law for preemption purposes. Given the explicitly broad nature of ERISA preemption, we are not inclined to limit ERISA's coverage through a restrictive reading of this term. Even under a narrow interpretation, however, laws that, if given effect, would govern the very availability of benefits for particular individuals clearly regulate the "terms and conditions" of the plan. See Authier v. Ginsberg, 757 F.2d 796, 799, n. 4 (6th Cir.1985).6
Having concluded that ERISA governs the issues presented in this case, we must now determine whether Burlington properly denied the claims for severance pay presented by the individual appellants. In reviewing determinations of claim eligibility under ERISA, we employ an "arbitrary and capricious" standard. Berry v. Ciba-Geigy Corp., 761 F.2d 1003 (4th Cir.1985); LeFebre v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 747 F.2d 197 (4th Cir.1984). See also, Wolf v. National Shopmen Pension Fund, 728 F.2d 182, 187 (3d Cir.1984); Moore v. Reynolds Metals Company Retirement Program for Salaried Employees, 740 F.2d 454, 457 (6th Cir.1984); Berg v. Board of Trustees, Local 705 International Brotherhood of Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund, 725 F.2d 68, 70 (7th Cir.1984); Short v. Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund, 729 F.2d 567, 571 (8th Cir.1984). We hold that the denial of severance benefits to the appellants was not arbitrary and capricious in this case.
We see no reason to deviate from this circuit's "arbitrary and capricious" standard of review, despite the appellants' request that we do so. Appellants argue that the arbitrary and capricious standard should apply only where a formal trust fund is involved. Though many cases applying this standard to eligibility disputes do involve trusts, there is no reason to apply a different standard here. Where claim eligibility is involved, it is necessary to ensure that primary responsibility rests with administrators "whose experience is daily and continual, not with judges whose exposure is episodic and occasional," Berry, 761 F.2d at 1006. This objective holds true whenever consistent administration of a pension plan or welfare benefit plan covered by ERISA is at issue. Claim eligibility disputes, absent a finding that they have been resolved in an arbitrary and capricious manner, must remain with those who formulate and administer company plans and policies, whether formally trustees or not. Accord, Jung, 755 F.2d at 710-12; Sly v. P.R. Mallory & Co., Inc., 712 F.2d 1209, 1211 (7th Cir.1983). To vary the standard of judicial review for general asset welfare plans would only sow confusion in ERISA, which we decline to do.
Appellants next urge that we apply here the more stringent fiduciary standards normally reserved for review of trustees' management of trust assets. See Struble v. New Jersey Employee Welfare Trust Fund, 732 F.2d 325 (3d Cir.1984). In Struble, plaintiffs challenged the trustees' decision to reduce employer payments into an overfunded plan rather than to increase the level of benefits. The court applied strict fiduciary standards because "the gravaman of the ... complaint is not that the trustees have incorrectly balanced valid interests, but rather that they have sacrificed valid interests to advance the interests of non-beneficiaries." Id. at 333-34. In Struble, those affected by the trustees' action included all potential beneficiaries of the plan. Here, by contrast, one group among the many potential beneficiaries of a company plan dispute the denial of their claims, and the issue is not, as in Struble, whether the trustees "have sacrificed the interests of the beneficiaries as a class in favor of some third party's interests." Id. at 333 (emphasis added). Struble involved in essence a fund management dispute, to which strict standards normally apply, rather than a question of claim eligibility, as here. See also, Jung, 755 F.2d at 711 (distinguishing Struble ).
Finally, appellants argue that special circumstances may justify a less deferential application of the arbitrary and capricious standard than would normally obtain. In Blau v. Del Monte Corp., 748 F.2d 1348, 1353 (9th Cir.1984), the court intimated that a more stringent review might be warranted "when ERISA's provisions have been flaunted in ... a wholesale and flagrant manner." The evidence showed that the plan was "actively concealed" from employees, id. at 1352, and that the employer had failed to meet any of ERISA's procedural requirements. Accordingly, the court, though still applying the arbitrary and capricious standard, reviewed the actions in light of the "continuing procedural violations." Id. at 1354.
We have underscored in this circuit the application of a single standard of review to questions of claim eligibility. See Berry, 761 F.2d at 1006; LeFebre, 747 F.2d at 204, Horn v. Mullins, 650 F.2d 35, 37 (4th Cir.1981). We see no reason to vary the standard based on procedural violations indicating bad faith, for such situations can be adequately resolved under the traditional standard. Where procedural violations evidence a "wholesale and flagrant" flouting of ERISA, the actions of administrators will not be insulated from a finding of arbitrariness. We would approach the question, however, within the framework of the single, uniform standard to be applied to all claim eligibility disputes.
Applying this standard to the facts before us, we find nothing arbitrary and capricious in Burlington's denial of severance pay. "Where the language used by the employer in holding out the plan is open to a construction supporting denial of a claim, the court should see whether the choice of that construction is arbitrary and capricious." Jung, 755 F.2d at 711. Here, Burlington determined that there was no "job elimination" as required by the plan because appellants had remained continuously employed in the same jobs they held before the transfer of ownership. This construction, though not compelled by the plan's language, is certainly a reasonable one, especially when viewed in light of the goals of the plan.
Burlington presented evidence that the plan was primarily intended for employees who suffered a period of unemployment when they were involuntarily terminated from their jobs. Appellants argue that this purpose is refuted by the fact that the benefits did not end when a former employee found new work; this feature, they allege, shows that the plan was not a form of unemployment compensation but was instead a type of accumulated compensation for past services. This feature of the plan, however, could just as easily be attributed to the administrative convenience of avoiding the need to monitor former employees' status for up to twelve months. In any case, unemployment compensation was undoubtedly a major purpose of the plan. See Jung, 755 F.2d at 713; Sly, 712 F.2d at 1211.
Given this purpose, we find that Burlington's interpretation of the plan was reasonable. Though it is true that the appellants stopped working for Burlington and started working for Kayser-Roth, this change in employer could reasonably be said to fall outside the scope of "job elimination." The appellants never missed a day of work due to the transfer, and most continued in their same jobs without interruption. There was no time during which they were forced to go without income due to the sale of the divisions. Employees who were not hired by Kayser-Roth received severance pay in due course. Under these circumstances, the denial of severance pay benefits to the appellants was not arbitrary and capricious but was in fact a perfectly reasonable interpretation of Burlington's severance pay policy which courts may not replace with an interpretation of their own. LeFebre, 747 F.2d at 204-05.
Moreover, the facts of this case do not suggest a "wholesale and flagrant" flouting of ERISA procedures that would indeed evidence bad faith and arbitrary behavior on an employer's part. Whatever violations may have occurred do not approach the level of those in Blau. There, for example, the plan was actively concealed from the employees; here, a general statement of policy was given to every employee and a detailed description was available upon request. Moreover, the employer in Blau never informed employees of its decision to deny severance pay. By contrast, Burlington promptly informed appellants that severance pay was not available under its policy. In this context, we are unable to conclude that procedural violations indicate bad faith so as to render the decisions of Burlington arbitrary and capricious.
We affirm finally the decision of the court below not to award injunctive relief against Burlington. Appellants alleged that Burlington discriminated against them for pursuit of legal remedies by refusing to consider them for reemployment. ERISA, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1140, prohibits such behavior, and appellants sought injunctive relief against the practice. Though there is evidence that Burlington refused to consider appellants for reemployment for several months, no one was affected by this policy while it was in force. Moreover, a corporate directive was subsequently issued to forbid such behavior, and three plaintiffs were in fact reemployed by Burlington. Given these facts, we find that the court below did not abuse its discretion in denying appellants' request for injunctive relief.
We have considered the contentions of appellants and find that they were properly resolved by the district court. The judgment of that court is, accordingly,
The complete text of the Handbook provision stated:
SEVERANCE PAY.
The Company provides severance pay to full-time employees who involuntarily leave the Company. Pay ranges from two weeks to twelve months, based on the employee's age and length of continuous service with the Company. Fraud or other behavior deemed to be willful could disqualify an employee from receiving severance benefits.
Relevant portions of the Manual provided:
I. Company Policy
A. General--The Company makes payroll severance payments and vacation severance payments to eligible salaried employees who are terminated from the Company.
B. Payments--Payroll severance payments are based upon tables contained in this policy....
II. Application of Policy
A. Payroll Severance--All regular full-time salaried employees who meet eligibility requirements are paid payroll severance.
Eligibility--Employees are eligible to receive payroll severance if they are regular full-time salaried employees who are involuntarily terminated from the Company. Eligibility requirements are:
a. Job Elimination--This category consists of terminations due to circumstances such as elimination or modification of operations or other job elimination due to bona fide organizational changes.
An action arising out of these same facts was filed in the Southern District of New York. The Second Circuit recently affirmed the district court's findings that the plan was within ERISA and that state law was preempted. Gilbert v. Burlington Industries, Inc., 765 F.2d 320 (2d Cir.1985). The case was remanded for consideration of whether the denial of severance pay was arbitrary and capricious
The exceptions allow continued operation of state insurance, banking, and securities laws, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1144(b)(2)(A), within limits defined by the statute, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1144(b)(2)(B), (b)(6), and generally applicable criminal laws, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1144(b)(4). The Commissioner does not assert any of these exceptions to ERISA's preemption
"ERISA does not contain a body of contract law to govern the interpretation and enforcement of employee benefit plans. Instead, Congress intended for the courts, borrowing state law where appropriate, and guided by the policies expressed in ERISA and other federal labor laws, to fashion a body of federal common law to govern ERISA suits." Scott, 754 F.2d at 1501-02 (citing cases)
Any hope of uniformity in employer obligations would be lost were we to allow various states' common law governing these obligations to coexist with federal common law under ERISA. Under such a scheme, employers would not only be faced with dual requirements within a single state, but with different state requirements wherever they do business. ERISA surely contemplates a different result.
We reject the Commissioner's argument for a Tenth Amendment exemption from ERISA's preemption, see Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 1005, 83 L.Ed.2d 1016 (1985), or an exception based on the state's police power, effectively rejected in Gilbert, 765 F.2d at 327
We further reject the appellant's reliance on Livernois v. Warner Lambert Co., Inc., 723 F.2d 1148 (4th Cir.1983). There the court resolved severance pay issues on state law grounds and noted that cases arising under ERISA were not pertinent and presented a different question. 723 F.2d at 1152-3, n. 6.


That title does not deceive you as there really is an item of clothing that combines multiple levels of awesomeness. A black Victorian hussar uniform made in leather for the James Bond stuntman Richard Graydon in the 1975 film Royal Flash.
The 36″ jacket (I am thrilled to have the body of a stuntman somehow) is made from a synthetic sheepskin with a both intentionally and unintentionally distressed outer skin. It fastens with hook and eye fastening as well as frogged toggles, only one of which looked to be coming loose. The fit is incredible – literally recreating a period uniform in the bold material.
He repeated the cable-car feat fighting Jaws ten years later, standing in for Roger Moore. He eventually performed in 10 Bond films in total. Royal Flash was the 1975 adaption of George MacDonald Fraser's book of the same name from the Flashman Papers series in which he featured alongside Malcolm McDowell of A Clockwork Orange fame and Oliver Reed.


text:
Redner's closing Trexlertown store
By Jon Harris
Redner's Warehouse Market at 7150 Hamilton Blvd. in the Trexlertown Shopping Center will close on Sept. 26. (Douglas Kilpatrick / SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)
Redner's Market Inc. has decided to shutter its longtime store in the Trexlertown Plaza, a shopping center that also plays host to a Giant and is only a mile from a Walmart and an Aldi.
The supermarket, which opened at 7150 Hamilton Blvd. in 1990, is slated to close at 6 p.m. Sept. 26. The market's 74 full- and part-time employees will be "given assignments at other Redner's locations within the region and no associates will lose their jobs based upon the non-renewal," the company said.
Company officials on Monday said the closure is a single-location decision, and Redner's is not closing other stores. The last Redner's to close in the Lehigh Valley was at the Northampton Crossings shopping center in July 2008.
Macungie resident Tony Caracio learned of the news Monday afternoon after shopping at Redner's in Trexlertown, the store he has frequented for the past two years.
"I'm very sorry to hear that because we shop here a lot. We feel that the prices here are as good as anyplace — in some cases, better," said Caracio, adding he will likely go to the nearby Giant or the Walmart on Mill Creek Road once the Redner's closes.
[More Business] Score a fresh look in the near year at new Lower Nazareth salon »
In a statement, Ryan Redner, chief operating officer of Redner's, said the company felt closing the 48,000-square-foot Trexlertown location was the best option as Redner's focuses on its stores with growth and looks to expand into new markets.
"The lease on this location has ended, and we did not feel that a renewal of said lease would prove to be beneficial nor profitable in the foreseeable future," Redner said. "We have been happy to provide the Trexlertown community with our shopping experience for 25 years."
The Trexlertown Plaza is owned by Port Washington, N.Y.-based Cedar Shopping Centers Inc.
Cedar Shopping Centers completed the purchase of Trexlertown Plaza and adjacent 35-acre development parcels for about $33.9 million in 2006.
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Cedar Shopping Centers officials did not return several calls seeking comment Monday. According to the company's website, the Trexlertown Plaza totals 282,832 square feet and has 1,666 parking spaces. Cedar Shopping Centers says the plaza's total traffic count is 20,000 per day.
Berks County-based Redner's Markets Inc. operates 45 grocery stores and 21 Quick Shoppes throughout eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.
After the Trexlertown store closes, Redner's will still have a presence in the Lehigh Valley. There are Redner's locations at 1201 Airport Road, Allentown; 2300 Lehigh St., Allentown; 3745 Nicholas St., Palmer Township; 101 Held Drive, Northampton; and 2180 MacArthur Road, Whitehall Township. There is also a Redner's at 701 S. West End Blvd. in Quakertown, Bucks County.
Sherry Reed, of Breinigsville, considers herself an avid Redner's shopper who appreciates the company's customer service. She shops at the Trexlertown location at least three times a week — as she has for five years.
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So, after Sept. 26, Reed plans to make the longer journey to Redner's on Lehigh Street. But it's not a switch she's happy about.
"We have to go to Lehigh Street now," Reed said as she loaded water and milk into her car on Monday afternoon. "That's the closest one to here, and that's going to be a big problem, a big inconvenience. But I'm willing to do it."
jon.harris@mcall.com
Twitter @ByJonHarris


Christian Louboutin - These black Samson boots are Christian Louboutin's refined interpretation of the classic chelsea style. They're expertly crafted in Italy from smooth leather, shaped with a round toe, set on small stacked heel and have chocolate-brown elasticated side inserts. Note the label's signature red leather sole for a statement finish. Fits true to size.


Finely slice the bacon and onion and chop the broccoli to bitesize. Use the stalk too, chop it to 3mm pieces. Fry the vegetables and bacon on high heat in a frying pan without any oil.
At the same time, cook the pasta. When Step 1 is well fried, add the dashi granules, butter and soy sauce and mix well. Add a touch of water and the cooked pasta and mix well before serving.
The bacon releases enough fat to fry with the vegetables, so no extra oil is needed. Fry on high heat quickly as this will release the flavours more. If you add some finely chopped garlic with the vegetables, this will also be delicious.


So, guys and gals, what do you think?
We have some really cool cat fabric in store which has been sat on the shelf for a while, so we decided to do something with it and have now created this cushion kit.
So back to the project. We have 20 fabric packs priced at £20 each, if you fancy having one either drop me a line here on the blog, ring the shop on 01729 824708 or we will see you next weekend at Malvern show. We will be there again this spring, our pitch is the one right by the front door so you can't fail to see us. Gillian has been very busy folding fat quarters in preparation for the show and we have heaps of them priced at just £1.50 each. All our fabric is £6 a metre for best quality craft cotton, none of that cotton poplin rubbish which wears and goes threadbare too easily on the seams; so ideal if you need backings. I have topped up my stock and have loads of civil war type prints as well as lovely fresh and bright prints superb for summer. If you are going to the show please stop by to say hello.
Oh my goodness! take a look at this guys blog, I am definitely going to be following this one. Our Gaz showed me this You Tube clip of Chris Hadfield's version of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Honestly take a look the footage is fantastic.
'Think this is me avoiding what I should be doing. I'm setting off to Malvern Quilt show on Wednesday to set up the stand and I have sooo much to do it is unreal. If you are going to be there my pitch is right by the front door and I will be having another give away open only to my blog community. Keep checking back here to find out how you can enter.


Anyone touring today notices a very important factor in distinct: there are plenty of black suitcases on the market! Luggage can be acquired in many different colors; nonetheless, most folks choose african american because suitcases gets staining and signifies during suitcases handling. Black suitcases simply seems newer longer which is therefore, every person's first selection. Travelers obviously gravitate for the dark color since they feel you won't look dirty on their next vacation.
But how will you identify in which black case as being yours? The many practical approach is to offer the case monogrammed. It is a permanent remedy showing the initials or perhaps name. It really is unlikely that somebody else can disappear with the bags and also claim the identical monogram. Monogramming also can not be removed effortlessly, so it really is difficult to get a thief to dump your suitcases with initials about it. Monograms will be the most personal kind of identification.
Another solution to identify the luggage will be bright tinted luggage tag words showing the name and also address. These tags can be purchased in just concerning every shade and combination you can imagine. Since the particular luggage nowadays has a couple of handles, you will need to put the particular tag about each deal with. Whatever perspective it precipitates the suitcases carousel, a tag is seen from the particular handle. Given that tags have got your deal with inside, additionally it is a means for the flight or sail line or perhaps bus company to discover or notify the master when it is misplaced. A number of the larger tag words have room so that you can put your entire travel itinery inside of. If you are likely to be sightseeing and active a whole lot, this can be a way for almost any misdirected luggage in order to locate an individual.
There may also be bright tinted handle wraps accessible. This adjustments the handle on your own black to a new color or perhaps print. Yet again, it's best if you use a couple of on each case, masking both addresses. Some of the wraps use a place that will put your identify and deal with inside.
Bright tinted luggage connectors that go around your case from the handle are usually another treatment for identifying the luggage. These may be closed using a buckle or even a lock. They're also a good option if you have a tendency to overstuff the luggage. In case you are choosing the particular locking selection, it must be a TSA secure for flight travel. Here is the only secure they enable, since the particular baggage handlers can easily open it using a master key should they have any have to get into the luggage. All locks can be purchased in bright colors and so are another solution to add color in your black case and present it identity, but these must be TSA locks in case you are using these for flight travel. TSA locks may also keep overstuffed suitcases closed through the many steps it's going to go by means of with present day increased safety. There can be a master important, that simply security employees have, if the necessity to open the luggage develops.


text:
Trump-GOP Meeting Boosts Optimism About Reaching Border Deal
The White House is committed to letting the negotiations play out
By Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor
Published Feb 7, 2019 at 2:23 PM
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., center, speaks as he is joined by Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., far left, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the top Republican on the bipartisan group bargainers working to craft a border security compromise in hope of avoiding another government shutdown, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., right, after a briefing with officials about the US-Mexico border, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019.
President Donald Trump appears to be taking a more positive view of Capitol Hill talks on border security, according to negotiators who struck a distinctly optimistic tone after a White House meeting with a top Republican on the broad parameters of a potential bipartisan agreement.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama said Thursday's session in the Oval Office was "the most positive meeting I've had in a long time" and that the president was "very reasonable."
Down Pennsylvania Avenue at the Capitol, the mood among negotiators was distinctly upbeat, with participants in the talks between the Democratic-controlled House and GOP-held Senate predicting a deal could come as early as this weekend.
There's a Feb. 15 deadline to enact the measure or a stopgap spending bill to avert another partial government shutdown that neither side wants to reprise. Trump and Republicans are especially eager to avoid another shutdown after they got scalded by the last one.
Footage From 1992 Shows Trump, Epstein at Party
NBC released footage in its archives from 1992 of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The video shows them laughing and pointing as they appear to talk about women at the event, NBC News reported. Trump has said he knew Epstein, but "was not a fan" and they have not spoken in 15 years.
(Published 5 hours ago)
Trump had previously called the talks a "waste of time" and he's threatened to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. But Shelby said Trump during their meeting "urged me to get to yes" on an agreement.
Publicly on Thursday Trump took a wait-and-see approach.
"I certainly hear that they are working on something and both sides are moving along," Trump said. "We'll see what happens. We need border security. We have to have it, it's not an option. Let's see what happens."
Confusion, Fear Reigns on Mexico Border With New US Policy
The White House is committed to letting the negotiations play out, with some saying they are "cautiously optimistic" about getting a deal they could live with, said a senior administration official who lacked authorization to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Beyond the border security negotiations, the measure is likely to contain seven appropriations bills funding domestic agencies and the foreign aid budget, as well as disaster aid for victims of last year's hurricanes and western wildfires.
"I'm hopeful," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "I do like the idea of getting all of last year's work finished and I hope that's where it ends up."
Congress Condemns Trump's 'Go Back' Comments
The House of Representatives has passed a resolution that formally condemns President Donald Trump's so-called racist comments about four Democratic congresswomen of color.
Any move by Trump to fund a border barrier by executive fiat, however, would roil many Republicans on Capitol Hill, raising the likelihood that both House and Senate could pass legislation to reverse him. Trump could veto any such measure, but he's also certain to face a challenge in the courts.
"If Congress won't participate or won't go along, we'll figure out a way to do it with executive authority," Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" on Wednesday.
Mulvaney said that the administration has identified well more than $5.7 billion to transfer to wall construction, saying they would try to avoid legal obstacles.
Nuclear Regulator Looking at Reducing Inspections at Reactors
"Find the money that we can spend with the lowest threat of litigation, and then move from that pot of money to the next pot that maybe brings a little bit more threat of litigation," Mulvaney said.
It's clear that Trump won't get anything close to the $5.7 billion he's demanded for wall construction, just as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will have to depart from her view that there shouldn't be any wall funding at all.
Last year, a bipartisan Senate panel approved $1.6 billion for 65 miles of pedestrian fencing in Texas — in line with Trump's official request. The negotiations aren't likely to veer very far from that figure, aides involved in the talks said, and newly empowered House Democrats were looking to restrict use of the money.
Sparks Fly Between Sen. Warren, Mark Esper Over Ties to Defense Contractor at Confirmation Hearing
During a confirmation hearing for Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Senator Elizabeth Warren said because of his ties to lobbying for defense contractor Raytheon and refusal to recuse himself, he is not fit to be Secretary of Defense.
A key negotiator, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said details on nettlesome border wall issues haven't been worked out. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., another participant, said both sides are showing flexibility, including Democrats who insisted during the recently-ended 35-day shutdown on no wall funding at all.
"They are not opposed to barriers," Blunt said about Democrats. "And the president, I think, has embraced the idea that there may actually be something better than a concrete wall would have been anyway."
Pelosi told reporters Thursday that she was hopeful of an agreement that would "protect our borders as we protect our values."
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., another negotiator, acknowledged that Democrats could possibly lose votes on any final deal and that it's "unrealistic" to think there would be no funding at all for any physical barriers.
"Like in any negotiation — if the Republicans and the White House are saying they need barriers, wall, whatever you want to call it, and that is an absolute objective, and we're saying we want some other things — like in anything else, it's a trade off," she said.
Among the things Democrats are battling against are higher levels of funding for detention beds to hold migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally.
House GOP Leadership Defends Trump's Tweets: 'No,' Not Racist
Republican leaders in the House responded Tuesday to the outcry over President Donald Trump's tweets during a weekly news conference to address the media. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he didn't believe Trump's comments about four Democratic congresswomen of color were racist and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., claimed GOP opposition to Democrats is based on policies and not "race or gender or religion."


We all know the Land Rover Discovery range are great vehicles no matter where you take them – off-road, inner city, muddy tracks or the footy field, but if you really want to take your 4x4 to the next level our 3" stainless off-road exhaust system for the Land Rover Discovery will provide the power gains, fuel economy and safer towing capabilities you're looking for.
One of the unrivaled benefits of purchasing through Legendex (other than knowing you're supporting a fully Australian owned and operated company) is that our aftermarket exhaust systems are super easy to install yourself.
If you've got questions about our Land Rover exhausts or need advice give us a call us on (07) 3203 2333 or contact us.
Get some grunt and rumble in your Land Rover Discovery 4 3.0Ltr TTD SDV6 with our exhausts and Thrust Monkey (throttle controller) for the Land Rover Discovery 4.
If you're looking for 3 inch aftermarket exhausts that give your Discovery 4 more grunt and rumble, talk to us today. We offer the only Australian Land Rover exhaust systems with an off-road warranty.


It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments (Majors), the others being the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. Wimbledon is the only Major still played on grass, the game's original surface, which gave the game its name of "lawn tennis".
The tournament takes place over two weeks, 24th June – 7th July, culminating with the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Singles Final, scheduled for the second Saturday and Sunday respectively. Each year five major events are contested, as well as four junior events and three invitational events.
If you have not been lucky enough to get tickets this year, don't worry, we have come up with a few options for you.
The first one is stay at home, sounds obvious – right? But what could be better than a lovely glass of Pimms, a few strawberries and the sound of the tennis balls pounding the strings.
Our second option, and my favorite, is to book yourself into one of our luxury boutique hotels and watch the tennis in style and comfort.
Waterton Park Hotel, Wakefield, have a fabulous offer running at the moment. The Prosecco and Strawberries offer, which in my book is exactly what you should be drinking and eating whilst watching Wimbledon. The offer includes executive double room, a bottle of prosecco, strawberries and chocolates, dinner in the bridgewalk restaurant, full English breakfast, full use of the Health and Leisure facilities all for just £190 (includes VAT).
Talbot Hall, Malton, are serving a very "Wimbledon-esk" Cream Tea, in the form of the Talbot Cream Tea and Pimm's. Choose to sit in the drawing room, atrium or, when the weather is mild, outside on the terrace.
Whatever option you choose to catch this year's action, we'll all be hoping that Andy Murray can add his second major title to his list of achievements and that Laura Robson and Heather Watson can put in a good showing in the Ladie's draw.