The $HK8.68 billion loss at EnergyAustralia compared with a net profit of $HK837 million in the first half of 2021. It sent the whole CLP group to a loss of $HK4.86 billion for the six months, down from a profit of $HK4.62 billion a year earlier.
CLP still maintained its dividend, and Mr Lancaster said the first six months in Australia involved an unusual combination of events that led to very high spot prices. The half also included the unprecedented nine-day suspension of the National Electricity Market in June and the failure of several small electricity retailers,
Both of EnergyAustralia’s key rivals, AGL Energy and Origin Energy, were also badly impacted, with both revising profit guidance amid issues such as coal power outages and coal supply problems at some plants.
“I wouldn’t look at the last six months as being representative of the market in general, however volatility is something we must expect in Australia,” Mr Lancaster said.
“As economies go through an energy transition we do see the need for firm capacity and more storage capacity, which is essentially where we see good investments in Australia.”
The problems at EnergyAustralia, the country’s third-biggest electricity and gas supplier, contributed to Standard & Poor’s last month cutting the credit rating at the company to the lowest investment grade, BBB-, with a negative outlook. It said the company could be at risk of breaching one of its debt covenants, and suggested it may need financial assistance from its parent.
In the half-year report released in Hong Kong, CLP said EnergyAustralia would “continue to strengthen its capital structure to fund its current and future investment needs, providing the reliable supply needed to support customer demand and the transition to a lower-carbon power market ”.
Open to partnerships
Mr Lancaster said all options were open for partnerships at Energy Australia, and pointed to the example of India, where CLP linked with Canadian investment giant CDPQ to form Apraava Energy.
“We are open to partnerships for parts of the business, for projects and even for the whole business,” he told The Australian Financial Review.
“We do see a need to invest in the energy infrastructure in Australia in order to go through an energy transition.”
He pointed to firming power supply and energy storage as areas that CLP regards as good investments in Australia.
“This will require considerable and sustained capital investment, so by working with partners on projects, or in segments of our business or in the business as a whole such as we’ve done in India with CDPQ, we remain open to all of those options .”
EnergyAustralia also incurred high costs in the first half to settle forward contracts that could not be covered because of reduced generation at its biggest power stations, Yallourn in Victoria and Mount Piper in NSW.
Output at Yallourn was hit by unplanned outages, including a fire at a coal conveyor system, as well as “recurring maintenance issues”, CLP said.
At Mount Piper, output fell because of a major planned outage and constraints in the delivery of coal from the site’s major supplier.
CLP said EnergyAustralia had contracted its generation in advance, ahead of the spike in wholesale prices, and then had to cover the contracts in the market at the higher spot rates because of the shortfalls in output at the two plants.
Earnings in the retailing arm improved, thanks to gains from hedging and reduced bad debt expenses. Customer accounts rose to 2.45 million, boosted by customers transferred through the “retailer of last resort” scheme when their own retailer failed. EnergyAustralia joined other retailers in lifting tariffs for household and business customers, although analysts say that for some retailers, costs have risen even more steeply.
But CLP said that despite “challenging” operating conditions in Australia, rising wholesale power prices should benefit EnergyAustralia in the longer term. It said the company was planning maintenance work at Yallourn to tackle the reliability issues, while coal supply to Mount Piper should improve.
“Additional short-term coal and gas purchases have been made to enable EnergyAustralia’s power stations to support customers and the broader energy market in the second half,” CLP said.
The group also voiced support for the proposed “capacity mechanism” that would transform the National Electricity Market and said it should promote investments in new dispatchable capacity, and enable more renewable energy to enter the grid reliably and affordably.
Aerodynamic drag’s supreme reign over the cycling industry is apparently over, as the wind tunnel has made way over the past two years for the coronation of the “do-it-all” bike, frame, and wheels.
Nowhere has this transition of power been more evident than at Zipp. The brand’s carbon wheels, synonymous with aerodynamics, have undergone a shift of focus in recent years. Outright aerodynamic efficiency has been replaced with a focus on Total System Efficiency, or as Zipp describes it, “a balanced attack against the four barriers to speed: wind resistance, gravity, rolling resistance, and vibration.”
Zipp’s new approach was first seen in the new 303-S, and the 303 Firecrest, then the 353 NSW, and most recently the 454 NSW, and 404 Firecrest as each of these wheels got lighter, wider, tubeless, disc-brake only, and even sacrificed some purely aero savings, all in the name of going faster in the real world.
Now joining that list are the new 808 Firecrest and the 858 NSW wheelsets as Zipp’s deepest, fastest, and most aerodynamic wheels get the “real-world” treatment.
858 NSW – All kinds of faster
While, technically speaking, the 858 NSWs were last updated a mere 14 months ago, that update simply added Zipp’s new Cognition V2 hubset to the existing 77/82 mm undulating rim. The 858 NSWs unveiled today feature an entirely new rim paired to that same Cognition V2 hubset and a host of updates tackling Zipp’s four barriers to speed.
The new 858 NSW rim still features Zipp’s almost signature Sawtooth undulating rim shape with varying 82/85mm depth, but has grown wider with 23mm internal and 27mm external rim widths. This wider rim is now hookless tubeless only and optimized for 28mm tyres. While many manufacturers are now “optimizing” rim widths to specific tire sizes in pursuit of aerodynamic gains, Zipp’s optimization claims here are based on a balance of aerodynamics and rolling resistance.
The brand claims the wider rim shape paired with a wider 28mm tire reduces tire deflection and results in lower rolling resistance. Furthermore, Zipp claims the wider tire bead interface and external rim width actually create a smoother and more aerodynamic interface from the tire to the rim, despite the 27mm external rim not conforming with the widely accepted “rule of 105”.
The so-called “Rule of 105” states that the rim must be at least 105% the width of the tire to improve the chances of re-capturing airflow from the tire and controlling it or smoothing it over the rim and was originally coined by Josh Poertner of Silca.cc. However, Zipp points out that “the rule of 105” doesn’t account for the speed gains from a wider tire at lower tire pressures and claims the aerodynamic cost of a 28mm tire versus a 25mm tire is lower than the savings in rolling resistance.
“A wider tire bead interface also allows for a wider tire, which allows for lower tire pressure. Lowering tire pressure can increase overall system efficiency, reduce rider fatigue, and offers better handling in rough conditions.”
zipp
New Zipps, built for wider tyres.
Those increased rim widths are disguised behind Zipp’s signature sawtooth profile, retained for the new 858 NSW rims. First introduced on the 454 NSW wheels back in 2016, the sawtooth profile rim design is said to offer both improved aero efficiency and crosswind stability. Further improving this “Aerobalance” is Zipp’s other signature design cue, the HexFin ABLC dimple pattern rim.
Of course, with a hookless profile comes certain restrictions. While Zipp recommends a 28mm wide tire to maximize speed, 25mm is the minimum and 32mm the maximum tire widths compatible with the new wheels. Of course, regardless of tire width, the tire itself must be hookless tubeless compatible. Zipp has a list of compatible tires published on SRAM.com.
So what does all that mean? In terms of outright aerodynamics and wind tunnel testing, the new 858 NSWs are merely a single watt faster than the previous generation 858, but that is almost the point. Zipp explained its objective for the new wheels was merely to match the previous generation’s aerodynamics, focusing instead on other aspects of the wheels which make for a faster setup in the real world. The optimization around 28mm tires is just one part of these real-world improvements.
Zipp explained the 808 and 858 wheelsets are still their go-to option for time trials and triathlons, but now with the Total System Efficiency treatment, the 80+mm deep wheels are said to provide a real option for road racing and general road riding.
Dimpled, wavy, lighter, wider, the new 858 NSWs are for time trialling, road racing, and even general riding, according to Zipp.
A significant weight saving is central to Zipp’s versatility claims for the new wheelset. Zipp shed a relatively huge 243 grams from the new wheels versus the outgoing 858s. In doing so it brought the total weight of the wheelset (without tape and valves) down to just 1530 grams (719g front, 811g rear) and into the territory of many shallower wheels.
Zipp found most of this weight-saving with the move to a hookless rim. Each of the new wheelsets mentioned earlier all feature a hookless rim, and so while the move to hookless may still prove controversial, it was entirely predictable for the new 858s. In addition to helping drop the rim weight, Zipp claims the hookless design creates a stronger rim, and reduces both pricing and waste.
The brand credits an additional 10% of the rim weight savings to its Carbon internal Reinforcement (CiR) laminate technology. Most carbon rims feature uniform layup thickness throughout. However, Zipp suggests the forces exerted on the rim are not uniform, and explains CiR helps Zipp to place the optimal amount of carbon fiber precisely where it’s needed and less where it is not. Zipp claims this variable layup results in a rim with the same stiffness, strength, and durability but with a significant weight saving.
The updated Axial Clutch design supposedly runs with less friction, but what’ll likely be more significant to owners is that the simpler parts layout should be more reliable over the long haul. Photo: Zipp.
Unsurprisingly, Zipp has retained the new Cognition hubs introduced to the 858 NSW wheelset last year. The rear hub features Zipp’s Axial Clutch V2 technology said to reduce drag, lower friction, and offer quicker engagement with its Sylomer spring system and 54 points of engagement.
The Zipp 858 NSW wheelset uses Sapim CX-Ray spokes, with 20 spokes front and rear and external alloy nipples in a two-cross spoke pattern for the front wheel and radial laced drive side and two-cross non-drive on the rear.
All told, other than suggesting the new wheels are aerodynamically equal to the outgoing wheels, Zipp isn’t making any claims about exactly how much faster the new 858 NSW wheels are, focusing instead on the new wheel’s lower weight, comfier ride, and more stable handling characteristics. And while the wavy profile, dimples, and similar decals all combine to create a wheelset that at least aesthetically looks very similar to the narrower and heavier previous 858s, the good news is the pricing has dropped.
The new 858 NSWs are priced at $4,400 USD / €4,000 / £3,570 / $6,630 AU. While still a staggering amount of money for a wheelset, at least the pricing is going in the right direction. The new 858 NSWs will be available soon after launch through local retailers and online.
808 Firecrest – more dimply, less pricey
The 808 Firecrest wheelset has also received an update. The lower priced of the two new wheelsets, the 808 features a round 80mm-deep rim shape with a 23mm internal width hookless rim profile and maximum outside width of 27mm. The rim stats are broadly similar to that of the range-topping 858 NSW, with the 808s merely missing out on the sawtooth profiling and gaining 105 grams.
The new 808 Firecrest is also wider, lighter, and less pricey. Photo: Zipp.
What the 808 lacks in outright fanciness, it more than makes up for in other departments. While heavier than the new 858 NSWs, the new 808s actually achieve a greater weight saving of 282 grams over the previous model. The 808s weight saving is again largely thanks to the shift to a hookless rim and additionally a 2mm decrease in rim depth from 82mm to 80mm.
The new 808s also now feature wider internal and external rim widths optimized around a 28mm tire, with Zipp again pointing to the real-world speed gains offered by the wider setup.
Zipp has equipped the new 808 Firecrest Tubeless Disc-brake wheelset (to give its full title) with its ZR1 Disc-brake hub with a Center Lock disc rotor interface. Again, the Zipp ZR1 hub might not be quite as fancy as the range-topping Cognition, but with 66 points of engagement, it has a trump card of its own.
Go wide or go home, Zipp says “if you want to be faster, ride 28mm tires.” Photo: Zipp.
Laced to those ZR1 hubs are 20 Sapim CX-Sprint spokes. Built with external alloy nipples in a two-cross spoke pattern for the front wheel, the rear wheel has a radial laced drive side and two-cross non-drive.
All in, the new 808 Firecrests weigh in at 1,635 grams (without valves and tape). Perhaps more importantly though, the 808 Firecrests offer a significant cost saving versus their higher-tier NSW siblings. A complete 808 Firecrest wheelset will set you back US$2300.00 / £2235.00 / AU$3466 / €2500.00.
In other words, the new 808 Fircrests cost less than the 858 NSW rear wheel alone and offer a new, wider, lighter, and presumably faster wheelset than the previous generation 858 NSWs. I’d hazard a guess most riders considering the 808 Firecrests will gladly take the aero gains without a second thought given to the 1,635 gram total weight.
The suggested rider system weight limit (rider + gear) for both new wheelsets is the same as all other Zipp road wheels, 250lb / 115kg. Furthermore, both wheelsets are covered under Zipp’s lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects and impact damage during intended use. The usual original owner and proof of purchase caveats apply, but the coverage will provide some peace of mind for wheelsets which are both still substantial investments.
Zipp suggests both new wheelsets will be available shortly after today’s launch through local dealers and online.
Wide and very dimpled. Disc brake and hookless. Introducing the new 808 Firecrest.
incoming reviews
A pair of the new 858 NSW arrived at my door two days ago. With only two days to ride the new wheels so far, my thoughts right now are nothing more than first impressions. The wheels are certainly fast, and impressively lightweight for such a deep, tubeless, and disc brake wheelset. But anyone hoping for an 80+mm deep wheel with the stability of a shallower wheel might be disappointed.
I’d classify myself as pretty confident and competent in riding deep-section wheels in windy and even blustery conditions. Rarely, if ever, do I get spooked by a gust of wind catching my front wheel. However, on both rides on the new 858 NSW so far, I have noticed the increased side forces catching me off guard on several occasions. Again, these are 80+mm deep wheels and so, buyer beware, despite Zipp’s best endeavors, a ride in blustery conditions will still result in some hairy moments.
Given the extra speed available and impressively low weight penalty, I can’t imagine choosing anything other than the 858 NSWs for all but the hilliest or windiest of races. But based on two days of riding so far, I can’t imagine these very deep rims becoming my everyday wheelset either. Time will tell. Stay tuned for a longer-term review.
Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a graduation ceremony at Madison Square Garden in July in New York. Adams is critical of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he sends busloads of migrants from Texas to New York City.
John Minchillo/AP
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Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a graduation ceremony at Madison Square Garden in July in New York. Adams is critical of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he sends busloads of migrants from Texas to New York City.
John Minchillo/AP
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is criticizing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending busloads of migrants to the city, saying that Abbott “used innocent people as political pawns to manufacture a crisis.”
“Unlike Governor Abbott, New York City will always do our part,” Adams said via Twitterafter his office posted images of the largest greeting migrants and refugees arriving at the Port Authority bus terminal in midtown Manhattan.
“This is horrific when you think about what [Abbot] is doing,” Adams said on Sunday, according to the Gothamist website, which reports that more than 4,000 immigrants had arrived from Texas so far.
Thousands of migrants have been transported so far
New York isn’t alone: Abbott’s office says Texas has already sent more than 6,100 migrants on buses to Washington, DC, as NPR reported. Both cities are now the main targets in Abbott’s program to send people who recently crossed the US southern border to locations on the East Coast.
Both Adams and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser are asking for federal aid to help their cities cope with the new flow of migrants, many of whom are being assisted by volunteers, non-profits and shelters in addition to city agencies.
Abbott and Republican leaders in nearby border states are seeking to blame Democrats for the country’s longstanding immigration crisis. On Friday, Abbott — who is in the midst of a reelection campaign — mocked Adams’ description of New York as a “sanctuary city,” calling it an “ideal destination for these migrants.”
Hardline policies comes in an election year for Abbott
Even before Adams spoke out, Abbott and his peers were accused of making political points off of the immigration crisis, with critics saying the politicians were risking the well-being of people seeking asylum.
Abbott has unveiled a string of headline-grabbing immigration policies this year, first as he faced two staunchly conservative challengers in the GOP primary and now as he tries to shore up his lead over Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke ahead of the November vote.
Some of Abbott’s policies have opened up the governor to criticism within his own state: his April order imposing safety inspections on trucks crossing the border from Mexico created massive slowdowns and was later blamed for billions of dollars in US trade losses.
The highly publicized border inspections by the Texas Department of Public Safety resulted in “zero apprehensions,” Texas Public Radio reported.
Perhaps the solution wasn’t working more hours, but working less. We took a leap of faith and joined a pilot program run by 4 Day Week Global, a not-for-profit coalition that supports businesses transitioning to a four-day week.
Shifting to a four-day week is no picnic for any business leader. It’s 100 per cent of the pay for 80 per cent of the time. In exchange, you commit to delivering 100 per cent output. On paper, you can argue it’s a bad financial move. In reality, it’s hard to set up and involves a high level of trust. Not for the micro manager. Not for the toxic work environment.
Lauren Crystal (left) with colleagues at her Melbourne business.
For my business, we get paid to design solutions and solve problems. These two things are easier to do when the mind is fresh and your motivation’s pounding. It’s also effortless with an engaged, happy, healthy team who don’t want to work anywhere else; low turnover, high growth, and a unique culture built around the individual.
4 Day Week Global reports that 78 per cent of employees working four-day weeks are happier and less stressed. In short, we should all work less. Let’s create space to personally thrive whether it’s through doing, resting or reflecting. Let’s put family and friends first and go in to work ready to give our all.
Before you set up your four-day week plan, discuss it with your team. Listen to their concerns and queries – it’ll help shape your final plan and give a better understanding of how you’re going to make this work.
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If you’re tentative about shutting the business down for a day every week, try a roster system so you can remain open five days. Decide between your team, based on how big you are.
We’re only two weeks into the trial but we’ve seen a big difference already. I’ve found I can prioritize health appointments I have previously been unable to make. Feedback from staff has been positive, with some saying it means their partners can go back to work one day a week as they can take over child-minding duties. One staff member who is a part-time DJ has committed to making a new song on his extra day off, while another attended a matinee performance.
There’s an air of excitement in the office, and while the truth is people are a bit nervous getting into a new routine, the overall feedback is that even the concept itself says to our team “we’re prioritizing your happiness and wellbeing”.
Would I recommend it? Yes, especially to businesses willing to test the waters in terms of output. From a commercial point of view it makes you think creatively about improving productivity and removing bureaucracy. The age-old question – could that meeting have been a message? – becomes very real when you remove one-fifth of your work hours.
Printers remain one of the most frustrating pieces of consumer electronics, but it turns out a thirst for pricey ink and occasionally chewing up and choking on paper aren’t the biggest challenges of using an Epson printer. Ace some users have discoveredthe hardware might be programmed to simply stop working one day, if used too frequently.
The phrase ‘planned obsolescence’ gets thrown around a lot with consumer electronics, as a practice where a product is specifically designed and built with a limited lifespan so that it needs to be upgraded or replaced in just a few years’ time. Most companies deny using this approach, or will cite very specific but questionable reasons as to why it’s necessary, as Mark Havena writer and lecturer at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, recently discovered.
Haven recently took to Twitter to share a frustrating experience with their wife’s “very expensive @EpsonAmerica printer” which, seemingly out of the blue, displayed a warning message stating that “it had reached the end of its service life.” It then simply stopped working, requiring either a servicing to bring it back from the dead, or a full-on replacement.
So what was the issue with the printer? A dead engine? A faulty circuit board? Nope. The error message was related to porous pads inside the printer that collect and contain excess ink. These wear out over time, leading to potential risks of property damage from ink spills, or potentially even damage to the printer itself. Usually, other components in the printer wear out before these pads do, or consumers upgrade to a better model after a few years, but some high-volume users may end up receiving this error message while the rest of the printer seems perfectly fine and usable .
According to the Fight to Repair Substack, the self-bricking issue affects the Epson L130, L220, L310, L360, and L365 models, but could affect other models as well, and dates back at least five years. There’s already videos on YouTube showing other Epson users manually replacing these ink pads to bring their printers back to life. The company does provide a Windows-only Ink Pad reset utility that will extend the life of the printer for a short period of time, but it can only be used once, and afterwards, the hardware will either need to be officially serviced, or completely replaced.
A few years ago, Epson released its EcoTank line of printers, which were specifically designed to address the extremely high cost of replacing the ink cartridges for color inkjet printers. The printers featured large ink reservoirs which could be easily refilled with cheaper bottles of ink, and although Epson’s EcoTank printers were more expensive as a result, in the long run they would be cheaper to operate, especially for those printing a lot of color imagery. But that assumes they actually keep working for the long run. Videos of users manually replacing their Epson printers’ ink pads seem to indicate that the company could redesign the hardware to make this part easily user-serviceable, which would extend the life of the hardware considerably. But as it stands, the company’s solution runs the risk of contributing to an ever-growing e-waste problem and forcing consumers to shell out for new hardware long before they really need to.
We’ve reached out to Epson for comment about this functionality and have asked the company which models specifically are affected by this limitation. We’ve also asked whether servicing is covered under the printer’s warranty, and what the cost may be if not, and will update this story when we hear back.
Detectives are seeking the public’s help to locate a 16-year-old girl who has disappeared in northern California.
Kiely Rodni was last seen around 12:30 am Saturday near the Prosser Family Campground in the town of Truckee, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Rodni attended a large party that night, alongside more than 100 young adults, detectives said Sunday. Her phone from her has been out of signal since she went missing.
The teenager was last seen wearing Dickies pants, a black tank top and has numerous piercings, including a nose ring. She stands 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 115 pounds and has blonde hair and hazel eyes.
According to authorities, Rodni’s vehicle — a silver 2013 Honda CRV with a California license plate No. 8YUR127 — has also been reported missing.
The teen’s mother, Lindsey Rodni-Nieman, issued a desperate plea for the public’s help Sunday evening, saying that her family “just wants her home.”
“We’re so scared and we miss her so much, and we love her so much,” Rodni-Nieman said in the video message. “If anybody else out there, if you know where she is, if you know anything about where she might be… please come forward and share them.”
An anonymous tip line has been set up to assist with the search. Anyone with information regarding Rodni’s whereabouts is urged to contact authorities at 530-581-6320, and press option 7.
All advertising is evil, obviously. But sometimes, despite this, it can be extraordinarily entertaining. This latest 3D billboard from outside of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station is maybe the best use of this optical illusion tech I’ve seen, and it’s cross-promoting Pokémon GO and, er, World Cat Day.
We’ve covered the amazing 3D billboard before, funnily enough the last time it appeared to house a cat. Its cunning use of a two-storey curved screen that reaches around the corner of a building creates anamorphic optical illusions that are impressively effective. In this case, as spotted by nintendo lifeit’s to have poor Pikachu seemingly squished, then hounded off the screen by a series of Pokemon cats. Here, you can watch the full loop:
So you’ve got Meowth, Alolan Meowth, Galarian Meowth, Skitty, Purrloin, Litten, Espurr, Glameow, and, um, Vanillite? Clearly someone wanted to do a whole frozen thing, and then realized there are no Ice type cat-likes!
The effects are just fantastic. The Poké Balls cascading to fill up the space, then seeming to spill out the front, must have people below putting up arms to shield their heads. But creepy ol’ Glameow’s moment is by far the most effective, as she appears to entirely float out of the screen.
So much about it is the fake framing of the billboard, especially those mocked up bits of scaffolding at the bottom, that allows characters to appear to reach beyond the boundaries of the screen. I could watch it all day.
This is, apparently, just the first of a series of Pokemon ads that will be appearing on the billboard between now and September 5, this first one inspired by how today is International Cat Day. No, seriously, it’s a thing. Presumably organized by cats.
It seems worth keeping an eye on Pokémon GO Japan’s YouTube channel over the month, as they’re uploading videos of the billboard there.
Manchester United are in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko and Marko Arnautovic, sources have told ESPN.
United have made contact with Bologna about former Stoke and West Ham striker Arnautovic after Erik ten Hag pressed the club to sign an experienced forward who would be content with a back up role off the bench.
– Dawson: Familiar flaws on display as Ten Hag’s United lose opener
Arnautovic is 33-years-old and sources have told ESPN that Ten Hag is a fan of his character after working together during his time as a coach at FC Twente.
Sources have told ESPN that the move for Arnautovic is considered separate to the move for Benjamin Sesko and that talks remain ongoing with FC Salzburg for the 19-year-old forward.
Chelsea are also interested in Sesko, although sources have told ESPN that Salzburg would rather keep him until next summer. United are hopeful of adding at least one attacker to the squad before the transfer deadline on Sept. 1.
Anthony Martial is injured and Cristiano Ronaldo is still building up his fitness after a summer away from the squad while he dealt with a family issue.
Ronaldo was only named among the substitutes for the 2-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday with Ten Hag forced to use midfielder Christian Eriksen as a false No. 9.
Ten Hag was asked after the match about the need for new players but the Dutchman refused to give anything away.
“I don’t go into names and I think in this preseason 250 players are involved or linked with Man United, so that’s it,” he said. “We have two strikers [Ronaldo and Martial] maybe a third one, [Marcus] Rashford.
“We considered him as a striker, but he had a really good season on the left side and he had two really good chances but the typical nine wasn’t available today.”
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Travis McMichael, one of the three men already serving a life sentence for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, was again sentenced to life in prison Monday on federal hate crime charges.
A jury in February found the three white men — McMichael, 36, his father, Gregory McMichael, 66, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52 — violated Arbery’s civil rights and targeted him because of his race. Arbery was Black.
US District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood will later decide whether Gregory McMichael and Bryan will also face an additional life sentence.
All three defendants have remained jailed in coastal Glynn County in the custody of US marshals while awaiting sentencing after their federal convictions in January. Wood reminded McMichael back to the custody of the marshals Monday.
Typically, they would serve their sentences in state prison, but a federal judge could request the defendants be placed in federal prison, said Ed Tarver, an Augusta lawyer and former US attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
Arbery’s family have objected to the defendant’s request to serve their sentences in federal prison, rather than state prison where conditions are seen as tougher.
Gregory McMichael and Bryan will be sentenced at 1 pm and 3 pm, respectively, according to court documents.
AFTER ARBERY KILLING: District attorney and shooter’s dad had 16 phone calls
In February, the McMichaels and Bryan were found guilty of one count each of interference with rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels were also convicted of one count of using, carrying and brandishing — and firing, in Travis McMichael’s case — a gun during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The verdict came two years after Arbery was killed while jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020. The McMichaels grabbed guns and jumped in a truck to chase Arbery after spotting him running past their home outside Brunswick. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck, helped block Arbery’s escape and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range as the men struggled.
Arbery’s killing helped fuel a nationwide racial reckoning over the killings of unarmed Black people including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, two cases that also resulted in federal charges.
BREONNA TAYLOR CASE:Feds charge four Louisville police officers in shooting
Prosecutors in the federal trial, which lasted a week, included evidence they said showed the men killed Arbery out of racial animus, which included their use of racial slurs and repeated racist characterization of Black people who committed alleged crimes.
Defense attorneys argued the McMichaels and Bryan pursued Arbery not because of his race but because of an earnest — though erroneous — suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes in their neighborhood.
Each of the men were denied appeals in the federal hate crimes trial, according to an online court filing.
Hate crime sentences not just symbolic
Although the defendants are already serving a life sentence, experts have said the federal conviction in Arbery’s death are not just symbolic. The additional sentences ensure they will serve prison time even if their murder convictions are overturned on appeal.
Unlike the state murder charges, federal hate crime convictions also acknowledge the racist motivations of what many called a modern-day lynching, experts said. Experts have also said the case shows the Justice Department is taking prosecuting crimes motivated by hate more seriously.
Although hate crimes reports have risen in recent years, the offenses are rarely prosecuted. Just two people were convicted of federal hate crimes in Georgia from 2005 to 2019, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Georgia did not have hate crime legislation until after Arbery’s death.
Defenders ask for leniency
In separate court filings last week, both McMichaels asked for leniency in their sentencing and to serve their sentences in federal prison, citing conditions of the Georgia State Prisons.
Gregory McMichael’s attorney AJ Balbo expressed concerns about his client’s safety in a Georgia prison and argued his sentencing shouldn’t exceed that of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd outside a convenience store. Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Through his attorney, Travis McMichael stated he’d received several hundred death threats and that he feared being killed in a state prison.
“He has received numerous threats of death that are credible in light of all circumstances, and the government has a pending investigation into the Georgia DOC’s ability to keep inmates safe in a system where murder rates have tripled,” attorney Amy Copeland wrote in the sentencing memo.
More:Ahmaud Arbery’s killers request acquittal of federal hate crimes convictions
Meanwhile, Bryan’s attorney called his client’s decision to join the McMichaels’ chase of Arbery misguided but emphasized Bryan did not seek Arbery with the intention of killing him, noting he did not leave his house armed, according to his sentencing memorandum filed Sunday.
“The evidence showed Bryan acting out of ignorance, not hatred, and without the near expectation of potential violence as the McMichaels. When the McMichaels pulled off in their truck armed with firearms, they signed up for a possible shootout,” Bryan’s attorney J. Pete Theodocian wrote in the memo.
Theodocian requested that Bryan be sentenced to less than a life sentence for his involvement in Arbery’s killing.
At a plea hearing earlier this year, Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones,
voiced her displeasure with Travis McMichael’s attempt to plea and serve time in federal prison, avoiding the possibility of serving in a Georgia.
“It’s not right to take away the victory I’d fought for,” Jones said at the time. “This will defeat me. It gives them permission to spit in my face one last time.”
‘SO MUCH HATRED’:Jury foreman speaks about men found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery
Contributing: Associated Press
Raisa is a watchdog and investigative reporter for The Savannah Morning News. Contact her at [email protected]. Contact breaking news reporter N’dea Yancey-Bragg at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
Taking the headlines, Pro Clubs and VOLTA FOOTBALL progression is now combined. VOLTA is the pick-up-and-play, launched in FIFA 20. A take on street football (RIP FIFA Street) where small-sided games and skills reign, with thousands of unlockable cosmetics available.
Now, wherever you play, your two avatars earn the same progression items. You’ll earn VOLTA coins and XP/skill points across both modes, taking the grind out of either mode. Great when you fancy casual VOLTA Arcade games over focused soccer.
In FIFA 22, Pro Clubs fans played for hours without making a dent in their level. Thanks to community feedback, the player progression system has been increased to 100 levels, allowing players to level up sooner.
There’s a host of new perks to unlock including ‘poacher’, ‘interceptor’, ‘light passes’ and an exciting new signature ability called ‘take flight’. You’ll be high-jumping at corners like Cristiano Ronaldo in no time.
At the end of a match, you’ll now see an accolades screen showing the top performers from your game, such as most distance covered and most tackles made. This is a great way of comparing yourself against the rest of your party without looking at the scoresheet.
Speaking of comparing performances, player ratings have had a refresh, and are now fairer on Pro Clubs players who play defensive roles and don’t score goals.
New, larger VOLTA stadium in rotation which has much bouncier walls and a bigger goal area. More space equals more time on the ball, and this will change the way VOLTA plays. Fans of the small, current arenas don’t fear – the new stadium will appear 50% of the time along with other arenas.
With every new game comes new cosmetics, and finally in FIFA 23, your Pro Clubs and VOLTA player can have tattoos! There are also loads of the latest soccer boots and facial accessories including the broken nose protector. Sadly, some of the sillier items won’t be usable in Pro Clubs. As ever, players can expect new content to be released in batches throughout the year.
