Month: August 2022

Categories
US

Florida prosecutor vows to fight Gov. DeSantis suspension

Florida prosecutor vows to fight Gov. DeSantis suspension

ST. PETERSURG, Fla. (AP) — A Florida prosecutor vowed Sunday to fight his suspension from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis over his promise of him not to enforce the state’s 15-week abortion ban and support for gender transition treatments for minors.

Andrew Warren, a Democrat suspended last week from his twice-elected post as state attorney in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, said in a Facebook video message and news release Sunday he plans a “vigorous defense” by his legal team but did not give specifics.

“I’m not going down without a fight,” Warren said on the video. “I refuse to let this man trample on your freedoms to speak your mind, to make your own health care decisions, and to have your vote count.”

Warren was suspended Thursday by DeSantis, a Republican seeking re-election in November and potential 2024 presidential candidate, who cited neglect of duty and other alleged violations. The governor contended that’s because Warren signed statements with dozens of other prosecutors nationwide vowing not to pursue criminal cases against people who seek or provide abortions or gender transition treatments.

Warren contended Sunday the governor was essentially seeking to nullify the will of voters in the Tampa area who elected him in 2016 and 2020.

“I was elected because the people of this county share my vision for criminal justice, trust my judgment, and have seen your success,” Warren said in the video. “I swore to uphold the Constitution, and that’s exactly what I’ve done. DeSantis is trying to take away my job for doing my job.”

Under Florida law, the Republican-controlled state Senate has authority to reinstate Warren or uphold his removal from office. Warren could also take his case to court.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Sunday. DeSantis said Thursday, however, that Warren was acting “above the law” and “displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform” the duties of his office.

“I don’t think the people of Hillsborough County want to have an agenda that is basically woke up, where you’re deciding that your view of social justice means certain laws shouldn’t be enforced,” said the governor.

Florida’s new abortion restriction became effective July 1 and remains under court challenge by abortion providers and allies. It prohibits abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions if the procedure is necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.

Violators could face up to five years in prison. Physicians and other medical professionals could lose their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation.

Florida has not enacted laws criminalizing gender transition treatments for minors.

DeSantis appointed Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez to serve in Warren’s place during his suspension.

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Categories
Business

Gym franchise Anytime Fitness has Stanton Road working up a sweat to explore options with potential buyers

Gym franchise Anytime Fitness has Stanton Road working up a sweat to explore options with potential buyers

Private equity types think of it as a potential COVID-19 re-opening type trade, with the ability to bulk up gym membership numbers after a tough few years for the industry. It’s also one that plays into the aging population/increased focus on health trends thematic. It may be one of the more defensive plays in the sector given its membership prices.

fighting fit

Anytime Fitness is a large multinational budget gym franchise chain, which started in the United States at the turn of the century and entered Australia in 2008.

The Australian business, under the Anytime Australia Pty Ltd corporate account, has about 570 locations mostly in NSW and Victoria, and is focused on budget 24-hour gym franchises.

It’s the No.2 player in Australia with 17.4 per cent market share, according to IBISWorld’s sector report as at March, placing it behind only Quadrant Private Equity’s Fitness and Lifestyle Group, which owns a bunch of brands including Fitness First, Goodlife Health Clubs and Jetts Fitness.

The market’s reasonably concentrated, with four players accounting for nearly 60 per cent of the industry’s revenue.

IBISWorld reckons Anytime Australia would have reported about $380 million revenue in the year to June 30, including franchise revenue. While the 2021-22 number would be up on the previous two years, it would still trail the $400 million recorded before the pandemic.

Categories
Entertainment

Iggy Azalea covers up her famous curves in a baggy green sweatshirt

Makeup-free Iggy Azalea, 32, (left, with a friend) covered up her famous curves in a baggy green sweatshirt as she stepped out in Soho, New York City on Saturday

Makeup-free Iggy Azalea covers up her famous curves in a baggy green sweatshirt as she steps out in New York City

By Monique Friedlander For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

She’s never been afraid to display her show-stopping curves in skimpy outfits.

But Iggy Azalea changed tact on Saturday as she stepped out in Soho, New York City.

Joined by a female companion, the Australian rapper, 32, swathed her famous physique in a baggy sweatshirt emblazoned with a green-and-yellow die dye print.

Makeup-free Iggy Azalea, 32, (left, with a friend) covered up her famous curves in a baggy green sweatshirt as she stepped out in Soho, New York City on Saturday

Makeup-free Iggy Azalea, 32, (left, with a friend) covered up her famous curves in a baggy green sweatshirt as she stepped out in Soho, New York City on Saturday

Going makeup-free for the off-duty occasion, the mother-of-one completed her edgy ensemble with neon green bike shorts, a furry leopard-print bucket hat and pink sandals worn with white socks.

Iggy, who is currently performing in New York as the opening act for Pitbull’s Can’t Stop Us Now tour, seemed to be lost in conversation with her pal as they made their way down the footpath.

Her companion had her hands full, clutching a laptop and taking-away smoothie with both hands, while Iggy held only her mobile phone.

The mother-of-one completed her edgy ensemble with neon green bike shorts, a furry leopard-print bucket hat and pink sandals worn with white socks

The mother-of-one completed her edgy ensemble with neon green bike shorts, a furry leopard-print bucket hat and pink sandals worn with white socks

Iggy, who is currently performing in New York as the opening act for Pitbull's Can't Stop Us Now tour, seemed to be lost in conversation with her pal as they made their way down the footpath

Iggy, who is currently performing in New York as the opening act for Pitbull’s Can’t Stop Us Now tour, seemed to be lost in conversation with her pal as they made their way down the footpath

Her companion had her hands full, clutching a laptop and take-away smoothie with both hands, while Iggy held only her mobile phone

Her companion had her hands full, clutching a laptop and take-away smoothie with both hands, while Iggy held only her mobile phone

The sighting comes days after Iggy revealed she is suffering from sciatica, a condition referring to nerve pain in the leg caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve.

‘So, I have sciatica. So fun!’ she Tweeted late last month, just days after getting back on stage with Pitbull for the first time.

The Australian hitmaker was flooded with well-wishers from fans on the platform.

Iggy, who is currently performing in New York as the opening act for Pitbull’s Can’t Stop Us Now tour. Both are pictured performing in New York on August 5

‘I feel your pain! It sucks so bad,’ one fan wrote.’Ooooo I’m so sorry Iggy praying for you,’ another added.

Someone else added: ‘Rest up. I had it two years ago it was very bad, I could hardly walk. Rest and use hot water bottle and ice pack at separate times.’

The sighting comes days after Iggy revealed she is suffering from sciatica, a condition referring to nerve pain in the leg caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve

The sighting comes days after Iggy revealed she is suffering from sciatica, a condition referring to nerve pain in the leg caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve

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Categories
Sports

Ricky Stuart, Canberra Raiders, punishment, ban, suspension, fine, sanction, Jaeman Salmon, Andrew Abdo, one game, two games

Ricky Stuart, Canberra Raiders, punishment, ban, suspension, fine, sanction, Jaeman Salmon, Andrew Abdo, one game, two games

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart is facing a historic ban for his stunning attack on Panthers young gun Jaeman Salmon.

Stuart called Salmon “a weak-gutted dog” after the 23-year-old was placed on report for lashing out with his foot while being tackled by Raiders hooker Tom Starling.

The Salmon family has called on the NRL to act, while Stuart has copped an avalanche of criticism for the stunning outburst in his post-match press conference on Saturday night.

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The NRL are furious with the veteran coach and are expected to throw the book at Stuart, with the 55-year-old potentially facing an unprecedented ban.

Stuart has been fined $135,000 by the NRL since becoming a coach in 2002, but could now be looking at a match suspension for the first time.

NRL boss Andrew Abdo described the remarks as “very serious” and “disappointing” and is expected to speak again on Monday afternoon.

“I think it was so serious what happened that we’re looking beyond a fine this time,” Phil Rothfield said on Big Sports Breakfast.

“I think Andrew Abdo was so angry about it yesterday that he’ll probably look at some kind of suspension, it might just be standing him down for one week or two weeks.”

Ricky apologizes for salmon spray | 01:04

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The NRL Integrity Unit launched an immediate investigation, while Stuart issued an apology on Sunday.

“I’ve crossed the line there on the weekend,” NRL journalist Adam Pengilly said on Big Sports Breakfast.

“I love Ricky’s passion and the way he talks about the game but he shouldn’t have used an NRL press conference to say what he did about an NRL player on an issue going back at least a decade.

“I think the NRL will be really hard and firm on this. Ricky has been fined a number of times in the past, we know that, but I would be very surprised if they don’t go down the route of suspension given how serious an issue it has been.

“Ricky did the right thing yesterday by apologizing but I’m very keen to see what Andrew Abdo and Peter V’landys come up with later today.

Knights get much-needed win over Tigers | 02:41

“I can’t think of a coach ever being suspended, certainly in the past 10 years I can’t think of an incident where a coach has been sat down on the sideline for something in a post-game press conference.

“We’ve seen off-field stuff, Shane Flanagan comes to mind, but nothing for a press conference.

“I think the NRL will wrap this up as quickly as they possibly can, if not this afternoon then tomorrow at the latest, they don’t want to leave this lingering on.

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Categories
Australia

First tugboat successfully raised after Devonport accident with cement carrier ship Goliath

First tugboat successfully raised after Devonport accident with cement carrier ship Goliath

The operation to lift the first of two Tasmanian tugboats that were sunk in January has exposed the damage done to them by a massive cement carrier in Devonport.

On Sunday, the heavy-lift ship AAL Melbourne lifted the first wrecked tug, the York Cove, from the Mersey River.

In a statement, TasPorts chief operating officer Stephen Casey said TasPorts, its insurer (Shipowners) and United Salvage had been “working diligently on the salvage effort.”

“The lift of the first tug was a slow process, but it needed to be,” he said.

“It is made complex by a series of environmental factors, including weather, wind and river currents that have been affected by recent rain, and the condition of the wrecks themselves in the water.

A hole in the side of a ship.
Damage from the accident was clearly visible after the tugboat was raised.(Supplied: Rob Burnett)

Mr Casey said the “allision” had resulted in an estimated tens of thousands of liters of fuel being spilled into the river.

“The York Cove weighs 310 tonnes. The two cranes used to lift the tug provides a lifting capacity of 500 tonnes, but the water, marine growth and fuel left in the vessel means the exact weight is unknown until we start lifting.

“Further, as the weight of the tug comes under tension, the lifting ship needs to remain upright, so it is constantly pumping its ballast tanks.”

Two workers in high-vis clothing as a ship is pulled from the water.
Authorities say they have a weather window for the salvage works until Wednesday.(Supplied: Rob Burnett)
A ship is lifted out of the water by a larger ship at an industrial dock.
The operation started before dawn on Sunday.(Supplied: Rob Burnett)

Mr Casey said a decision on the commencement of the salvage works for the second tug, named Campbell Cove, would be made after the first job was complete.

“We have a positive weather window until Wednesday to complete the second lift,” he said.

“In planning and executing the second lift, just as was the case with the first lift, TasPorts, the salvage company and the operators of the AAL Melbourne will be working to manage the safety of TasPorts staff and all contractors on the wharf.

“Ensuring the protection of the environment and the integrity of the oil spill response boom around the wreck site is maintained will also be a key focus.”

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
The moment the cement carrier Goliath crashes into the tugs is captured on video

Mr Casey said Sunday’s operation was an “important step forward for TasPorts” which had been focused on removing the York Cove and Campbell Cove wrecks and returning all commercial berths at the Port of Devonport to full operations, “while at the same time carefully managing environmental and safety”.

Soon after the crash, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau launched an investigation, calling for any witnesses or anyone with information to contact them.

Tugboats York Cove and Campbell Cove submerged with Goliath ship in background.
Tugboats York Cove and Campbell Cove sank after cement carrier Goliath crashed into them.(Supplied: ATSB)

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Categories
US

Republicans block cap on insulin costs for many Americans from Democratic deal

Republicans block cap on insulin costs for many Americans from Democratic deal

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to reporters following the Senate Republicans weekly policy lunch at the US Capitol in Washington, July 19, 2022.

Elizabeth Franz | Reuters

Republican senators on Sunday voted down a cap on the price of insulin in the private market, removing it from Democrats’ sweeping climate and economic package.

Democrats had tried to preserve the provision to cap insulin costs at $35 for private insurers, but that vote failed 57-43, with seven Republicans voting with them to keep the insulin cost cap in the bill, three short of what was needed.

The move was expected following a decision by the Senate parliamentarian, who determined earlier that the insulin provision was not compliant with the chamber’s strict budget rules. Democrats need to comply with those rules to advance the legislation, called the Inflation Reduction Act, without any Republican votes.

The legislation, however, still includes a $35 copay cap on the price of insulin for seniors on Medicare.

Following the vote, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., accused Republicans of caving to pressures from the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of citizens.

“Republicans have just gone on the record in favor of expensive insulin,” Wyden said in a statement. “After years of tough talk about taking on insulin makers, Republicans have once wilted against in the face of heat from Big Pharma.”

“Fortunately, the $35 insulin copay cap for insulin in Medicare remains in the bill, so seniors will get relief from high insulin costs. I will continue working to deliver lower insulin costs to all Americans,” he added.

Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy of Louisiana; Susan Collins of Maine; Josh Hawley of Missouri; Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi; and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska joined Democrats in voting to keep the insulin cap for private insurers on Sunday.

Senators have been working through the weekend on amendment votes after the chamber advanced the bill Saturday in a 51-50 procedural vote, with all Republicans opposing the motion to proceed with the bill and Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.

Senate Democrats are aiming to pass the legislation on Sunday, bringing long-stalled elements of President Joe Biden’s agenda, including major spending to combat climate change and extend health care coverage, one step closer to reality. The package will then head to the House, which is currently planning to pass it on Friday.

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Categories
Business

Sarina Russo failed high school English. Now she’s worth $267m

Sarina Russo failed high school English. Now she's worth $267m

Russo tells The Australian Financial Review’s How I Made It podcast that after losing another job, she decided she would start her own company. She set up a typing school in 1979.

Sarina Russo was fired as a legal secretary. Now, she’s one of the country’s richest women.

But things were tricky for female founders then. She remembers her de ella accountant telling her that for all the rent she was paying, she could probably buy her own offices. “We started looking and not one real estate agent would take my call,” Russo recalls.

She asked her brother-in-law, a lawyer, to call the agents for her.

“And of course, they took his call. And the rest is history. I bought 82 Ann Street [in Brisbane], which I still own today. I’ve never sold it.”

The building is part of an extensive property portfolio spanning Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Building her property and business interests took persistence. She was fired quite a few times, but Russo does not believe in failure.

“I didn’t believe I failed. Every job I went for, I learned more than the last job. I was not a failed legal secretary, I was different. I challenged the status quo,” Russo says.

In 1979, Sarina Russo started a typing school.

When Russo was fired from her job at a typing school, the students demanded she be brought back, she tells the podcast.

“I got reinstated. but as she [my former employer] was telling me to come back, and persuading me to come back, I thought, ‘I can do this on my own’,” she says.

“So that was a boost of confidence that I got from the students.”

Russo went to the bank, which required a big chunk of her savings as security for an overdraft facility.

“I virtually kick-started the company with 600 bucks,” she says.

“And I gave myself eight months that I was going to do this. And I was determined. I used to work 17 hours a day to drive this little business. In the first year, I was making more money than the prime minister of the day.”

Russo has since expanded, and the company boasts more than 100 offices that help get people into employment, training and education.

But it has not always been easy. In 2009, Sarina Russo Job Access lost government contracts for 11 areas in Brisbane and south-east Queensland, representing about 30 per cent of its national market share.

Headlines screamed she was set to sack hundreds of staff as a result. Except, she did the opposite.

“I said, I’m not going to make one person redundant. Everyone will have a job. I’m going to keep all the offices open. And I’m going to re-engineer the company. And we re-engineered ourselves,” she says.

“We moved to the UK, to the Midlands, and we actually shook the tree. And we placed over the last 10 years there in the Midlands something like 10,000 [people]. I was told that I’d never make it in the UK because I didn’t belong to the class distinction. And I said, well, watch me.”

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Categories
Entertainment

Game Of Thrones Was Full Of Badass Ladies, But George RR Martin Explains Why The Kingdoms In His Books Were Kind Of Against ‘Em

Game of Thrones Maisie Williams as Arya Stark

game of Thrones‘ Westeros wasn’t a great place for anybody to live during the eight seasons of the show, and the plethora of badass female characters didn’t mean that kingdoms embraced women as leaders or warriors, with some exceptions. House of the Dragon will take viewers back to Westeros in a completely different era, but some things remain the same. A Song of Ice and Fire and Fire&Blood author George RR Martin explained why the kingdoms in his fictional world of Westeros weren’t too keen on women getting ahead.

House of the Dragon will face the issue of women having (or not having) power head-on, as it is rooted in a chaotic time for the Targaryen family in which King Viserys I intends to give his daughter Princess Rhaenyra the throne. Others believe Viserys’ brother, Daemon, should rule, as a woman had never sat on the Iron Throne at that point. George RR Martin spoke during the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con about that and noted that his books by him are not any more unkind to women than real-life history was:

I get inspiration from history, and then I take elements from history and I turn it up to 11. Games of Thrones is, as many people have observed, based very loosely on the War of the Roses. [House of the Dragon] is based on an earlier period in history called the Anarchy. I don’t think Westeros is particularly more anti-woman or more misogynistic than real life and what we call history.

Categories
Sports

Ricciardo argues 2022 ‘not as bad as it always seems’

Ricciardo argues 2022 'not as bad as it always seems'

Daniel Ricciardo

There is a growing expectation that Daniel Ricciardo is set to exit McLaren at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

On paper, the Australian has struggled for both consistency and results, and has been overshadowed by team-mate Lando Norris.

That follows a similar trend seen in 2021 and points to a driver-team relationship that has never worked as hoped.

Ricciardo was hired to drive the team forwards, only that has not happened.

His victory in last year’s Italian Grand Prix made up for what was otherwise a disappointing season.

There seems no hope of a similar result this year or, more to the point, not hope a repeat result can save him from being elbowed aside by Oscar Piastri.

It comes after Ricciardo managed only four points finishes in the opening 13 races of 2022, and the best of those a kilometer in the Australian Grand Prix.

However, he argues the results themselves don’t paint the full picture of his year to date.

“It’s one of those ones where like, everyone has their things that go on, you know, like away from the paper,” he told Speedcafe.com in the days prior to the Piastri contract saga breaking.

“Whether it’s like in Miami qualifying where we had issues and had to push then the out lap, and then the tires are too hot, so we were never going to get through Q3, Q2, whatever it was.

“So there’s little things like that, again, don’t just happen to me – I’m sure every driver goes through the bad times in the year.

“But it’s just a sport where for sure the paper talks, but it’s not the full story sometimes.”

Ricciardo’s 2022 has been troubled to say the least.

It began with a bout of coronavirus which eliminated him from the final pre-season test in Bahrain and left him still recovering at the opening round.

The car also suffered brake issues which significantly hampered its early performance.

There was a mechanical failure in Saudi Arabia, while contact at the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (initially triggered by Ricciardo) crippled his car.

After the Spanish Grand Prix there were problems found in the MCL36 which the 33-year-old had raced, while in Monaco the team opted for a set-up which led to his practice crash.

The British Grand Prix proved a head-scratcher, but there were positive signs in Austria and again in France, where it was only through being caught in the second half of both races that saw him drop away from Norris in the final results.

Add into the mix a hotly contested midfield, in which Alpine arguably has the faster car, not to mention the likes of Alfa Romeo Sauber and Haas who have shown strong pace on occasions, and that the top six places on any given weekend can be accounted for, and any minor hiccup is heavily punished.

“Of course, I want to have a better season,” Ricciardo confessed.

“Even sometimes I catch myself; like, even Paul Ricard, I was like ‘oh, but it’s just ninth.’ You know, I was maybe not that stoked on the race.

“But then I kind of looked it over and then looked back, and it was better than it seemed.

“Ultimately, yeah, it’s still not going to get me jacked up on a Sunday night and wanting to go out and party and celebrate it.

“It’s a work in progress, but it’s not as bad as it always seems, for sure.”

Ricciardo has a valid contract for 2023 with McLaren, with the break clause understood to sit with the Australian.

It means, should he decide to stick around, it would be he in the car and not Piastri, regardless of what contract the 21-year-old may have signed.

Of course, it begs the question whether Ricciardo would want to hang around for a final year at a team where the senior management clearly doesn’t support or want him there.

There are also precious few opportunities out in the market, with Alpine and Williams the only realistic options, and the former is the better of those options.

However, Ricciardo has previously driven for the operation, having been drafted in to spearhead the team’s march to the front of the F1 grid in an eerily familiar sounding tale.

A rekindling of that relationship is most likely as, while he upset the senior management with his decision to leave, Renault CEO Luca de Meo is the only remnant from that time; Laurent Rossi (Alpine CEO) Davide Brivio (Racing Director), and Otmar Szafnauer (Team Principal), have all been appointed since.

The latter, whose job also makes him the public face of the team, has said there are no barriers to such a return.

Categories
Australia

John Barilaro set to give evidence to NSW parliamentary inquiry; Senate climate bill negotiations heat up; Monkeypox vaccines secured; David Elliott, Matt Kean set for NSW leadership challenge; 2022 Commonwealth Games continue; NSW COVID cases grow, Victoria COVID cases grow

John Barilaro set to give evidence to NSW parliamentary inquiry; Senate climate bill negotiations heat up; Monkeypox vaccines secured; David Elliott, Matt Kean set for NSW leadership challenge; 2022 Commonwealth Games continue; NSW COVID cases grow, Victoria COVID cases grow

To the first major political interview of the day, and federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has fronted Seven’s breakfast show Sunrise.

The Labor frontbencher was joined by former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek.

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek.Credit:alex ellinghausen

The pair were asked about reports that Plibersek intends to block a proposed coal mine by billionaire Clive Palmer over concerns the project is likely to have “unacceptable impacts” on the Great Barrier Reef.

As regular readers of this blog will know, new coal and gas projects have been in the spotlight recently, given the Albanese government has been locked in negotiations with the Greens and Teal independents over its signature climate legislation.

Here’s what Plibersek had to say about the matter:

Well, we are still in the 10-day consultation before the decision is finalized, so I have to be careful what I say. The reason I am proposing to block this, is that [the mine] is less than 10km from the Great Barrier Reef and has significant impact [on] toilet [and] the land as well. I’m not going to say too much about it because the decision is open for a consultation. And I want to give everybody their say before I say anything further on it… [but] the Great Barrier Reef, in a good year, before COVID, it is about $6.4 billion worth of tourism and supports 54,000 jobs.

And here was Joyce’s stance:

That is one opinion. I respect the process. [But] let’s look at our deficits. They might be harsh because of the exports of coal and gas, which are really helping a nation out, so we have to be really careful of saying the word no. We have to understand the reality we are in and we want to become a strong as possible and as quickly as possible [because of what’s happening in Ukraine and around Taiwan] and that means we have to make money. We have to become a bit harder and tougher in our mindset.

The mining industry makes multiple times [the reef’s $6.4b annually]. Well in excess of $100 billion [in] coal alone. So compare the two. Destroy the Great Barrier Reef, nobody wants to do that. But if we keep stopping projects, we have to understand what we’re doing.