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Tag: domestic-business

  • Nuclear Power/IAEA Fast Facts | CNN

    Nuclear Power/IAEA Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the International Atomic Energy Agency and nuclear power.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspects nuclear and related facilities under safeguard agreements. Most agreements are with countries that have committed to not possessing nuclear weapons. The IAEA is the verification authority to enforce the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

    The IAEA has 173 member states (as of April 7, 2021).

    Rafael Grossi has been the director general of the IAEA since December 3, 2019.

    There are 35 member countries on the IAEA Board of Governors, which meets five times a year.

    The IAEA has about 2,500 employees.

    IAEA safeguard programs monitor nuclear reactors to make sure nuclear material is not being diverted for making weapons.

    The IAEA sends out inspectors to monitor reactors.

    The IAEA helps countries prepare and respond to emergencies.

    There are more than 420 nuclear power reactors in operation.

    There are more than 50 nuclear power reactors under construction.

    There are more than 90 operational nuclear reactors in the United States.

    France has a 69% share of nuclear power to total electricity generation, the highest percentage of nuclear energy in the world.

    1939 – Nuclear fission is discovered.

    1942 – The world’s first nuclear chain reaction takes place in Chicago as part of the Manhattan Project, a US research program aimed at developing the first nuclear weapons.

    July 16, 1945 – The United States conducts its first nuclear weapons test in New Mexico.

    August 6, 1945 – An atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

    August 9, 1945 – An atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

    August 29, 1949 – The Soviet Union conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    December 1951 – Electricity is first generated from a nuclear reactor at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho.

    October 3, 1952 – The United Kingdom conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    December 8, 1953 – In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Dwight D. Eisenhower asks the world’s major powers to work together in developing peacetime uses of the atom. This is known as the Atoms for Peace program, and 40 countries participate. Also during this speech, Eisenhower proposes the creation of an international agency to monitor the spread of nuclear technology.

    June 26, 1954 – In the Soviet Union, the first nuclear power plant is connected to an electricity grid to provide power to residences and businesses in a town near Moscow.

    1957 – The IAEA is established to facilitate the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

    1950’s – Brazil and Argentina begin research and development of nuclear reactors.

    February 13, 1960 – France conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    October 16, 1964 – China conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    March 5, 1970 – The NPT goes into effect.

    May 18, 1974 – India conducts its first nuclear weapons test.

    March 28, 1979 – A partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant occurs in Middletown, Pennsylvania. It is determined that equipment malfunctions, design-related problems and human error led to the accident.

    April 26, 1986 – Reactor number four explodes at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, releasing large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.

    September 24, 1996 – The United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and 66 other UN member countries sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, barring the testing of nuclear weapons.

    December 1997 – Mohamed ElBaradei is appointed IAEA director-general.

    May 1998 – India and Pakistan test nuclear devices amid tensions between the neighboring countries.

    January 10, 2003 – North Korea announces its withdrawal from the NPT.

    August 2003 – IAEA inspectors find traces of highly enriched uranium at an electrical plant in Iran.

    December 19, 2003 – Libya announces that it will dismantle its WMD program, in cooperation with the IAEA as well as the United States and the United Kingdom.

    October 7, 2005 – The IAEA and ElBaradei are named the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

    December 1, 2009 – Yukiya Amano replaces ElBaradei as director general of the IAEA.

    March 11, 2011 – A 9.0 magnitude earthquake strikes near the coast of Honshu, Japan, creating a massive tsunami. The tsunami knocks out the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s cooling systems. The cores of three of six reactors are damaged by overheating. Resulting hydrogen explosions blow apart the buildings surrounding two reactors.

    May 30, 2011 – Germany announces it will abandon the use of all nuclear power by the year 2022. This repeals a 2010 plan to extend the life of the country’s nuclear reactors.

    November 11, 2013 – Iran signs an agreement with the IAEA, granting inspectors access to nuclear sites.

    July 14, 2015 – After 20 months of negotiations, Iran reaches a comprehensive agreement (The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)), with the United States and other countries that is aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear program. In exchange for limits on its nuclear activities, Iran will get relief from sanctions while being allowed to continue its atomic program for peaceful purposes.

    August 11, 2015 – Japan restarts a nuclear reactor on the island of Kyushu. It’s the country’s first reactor to come back online since the 2011 tsunami.

    January 16, 2016 – The IAEA confirms that Iran has taken all of the steps outlined in the nuclear deal, allowing for sanctions to be lifted, as per the agreement.

    May 8, 2018 – US President Donald Trump announces that the United States will withdraw from JCPOA and will be imposing “the highest level of economic sanction” against Iran. In Tehran, Rouhani says Iran will take a few weeks to decide how to respond to the US withdrawal, but Rouhani says he had ordered the country’s “atomic industry organization” to be prepared to “start our industrial enrichment without limitations.”

    May 8, 2019 – Rouhani announces a partial withdrawal from the JCPOA.

    February 16, 2021 – The IAEA reports it received a February 15 letter from Iran stating that it will stop implementing provisions of the additional monitoring protocol as of February 23. This will effectively limit which facilities nuclear inspectors can scrutinize and when they can access them, making it harder for experts to determine if Tehran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

    February 18, 2021 – The Joe Biden administration releases a statement indicating that the United States is willing to sit down for talks with Tehran and other signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, before either side has taken tangible action to salvage or return to compliance with the agreement.

    February 21, 2021 – In a joint statement, the IAEA and Iran announce they have reached a deal in which Iran will give IAEA inspectors continued access to verify and monitor nuclear activity in the country for the next three months.

    March 15, 2023 – A spokesman from the IAEA tells CNN in an email that “approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium” contained in 10 drums were found to be missing from supplies held in Libya during an inspection on March 14, 2023.

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  • David Beckham Fast Facts | CNN

    David Beckham Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of retired professional soccer player David Beckham.

    Birth date: May 2, 1975

    Birth place: London, England

    Birth name: David Robert Joseph Beckham

    Father: David Edward “Ted” Beckham, an appliance repairman

    Mother: Sandra (West) Beckham, a hairdresser

    Marriage: Victoria (Adams) Beckham (July 4, 1999-present)

    Children: Harper, Cruz, Romeo and Brooklyn

    Retired professional soccer (European football) player.

    Married to Spice Girl Victoria (Adams) Beckham, nicknamed “Posh Spice.”

    Midfielder known for his ability to “bend” his free kicks, curving the ball around or over defenders to score. The movie title “Bend it like Beckham” is a tribute to his kicking style.

    Won league titles in four different countries while playing for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain.

    Played 115 times for England between 1996 and 2009.

    Leadership Council Member of Malaria No More UK.

    1991 – At age 16, leaves home to play in Manchester United’s training league.

    April 2, 1995 – Premier League debut with Manchester United.

    1996 – Gains recognition when he scores a goal from the halfway line, a kick of almost 60 yards.

    September 1996 – Makes his international debut in the World Cup qualifier against Moldova. England wins 3-0.

    1998 – Is named to the English national team for 1998 World Cup.

    1998 – Beckham is given a red card and ejected from a second round World Cup match for kicking out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone, which contributed to England’s elimination.

    1999 – Leads Manchester United to a treble, winning the English Premier League, FA Cup and European Champions League trophies.

    November 15, 2000 – Is named captain of England’s national team.

    April 2002 – Breaks a bone in his foot but later competes in the World Cup finals in June. England ultimately loses to Brazil in the quarterfinals.

    May 2003 – Breaks his hand during a 2-1 win over South Africa in Durban.

    June-July 2003 – Traded by Manchester United to Real Madrid. He signs a four-year contract with Real Madrid for $40 million.

    November 27, 2003 – Receives an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II.

    January 10, 2005 – Appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, with a focus on the program Sport for Development.

    August 3, 2005 – Is awarded libel damages from the tabloid, the People, that accused him of making hate calls to a former nanny.

    March 9, 2006 – Settles a libel case against the British tabloid, News of the World, over a 2004 headline that read, “Posh and Becks on the Rocks.”

    January 2007 – Signs on with the Los Angeles Galaxy, an American Major League Soccer team.

    July 21, 2007 – Plays his first game with the LA Galaxy. It is initially reported he will receive an estimated $250 million over the life of his five-year contract, but later revealed that the Galaxy will pay him $32.5 million over five years.

    March 26, 2008 – Appears for the 100th time in an England uniform. During the England/France game Beckham receives a standing ovation from both sides as he leaves the field during a substitution.

    January 2009 – Loaned by the LA Galaxy team to the AC Milan club. He initially agrees to a three-month stint with the Milan team but the loan is extended to six months.

    December 2009 – Is loaned to AC Milan a second time until the end of the Italian season in May.

    March 14, 2010 – Tears an Achilles tendon during an AC Milan match and is unable to play in the World Cup.

    December 1, 2012 – Plays his final game with the LA Galaxy.

    January 31, 2013 – Announces that he has signed with Paris Saint-Germain for five months and will donate the pay to a children’s charity in Paris.

    May 16, 2013 – Announces that he will retire from professional soccer at the end of his season.

    February 5, 2014 – Announces he will establish a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami.

    February 9, 2015 – Launches 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, a collaboration with UNICEF to help kids in danger zones around the world.

    January 29, 2018 – MLS announces that Miami has been awarded the league’s 25th franchise, about four years after Beckham first announced his intention to exercise his right to buy an MLS franchise in February 2014. The Beckham franchise will be backed by Cuban-American businessmen Jorge and Jose Mas, CEO of Sprint Corporation Marcelo Claure, entertainment producer Simon Fuller and the founder of Japanese telecommunications firm SoftBank, Masayoshi Son.

    September 5, 2018 – Beckham’s Miami expansion team announces it name, Club Internacional de Futbol Miami, Inter Miami for short.

    March 1, 2020 – Inter Miami plays its debut MLS game.

    October 2, 2020 – A company co-founded by Beckham, Guild Esports, lists on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the first esports franchise to go public on the LSE.

    March 20, 2022 – Beckham hands over control of his Instagram account to a doctor in Ukraine, in a bid to highlight the work of medical professionals caring for patients amid the Russian invasion of the country.

    October 4, 2023 – Netflix’s four-part documentary series titled “Beckham” is released.

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  • Penn State Scandal Fast Facts | CNN

    Penn State Scandal Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the Penn State sexual abuse scandal. On November 4, 2011, a grand jury report was released containing testimony that former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused eight young boys over a period of at least 15 years. Officials at Penn State purportedly failed to notify law enforcement after learning about some of these incidents. On December 7, 2011, the number of victims increased to 10. Sandusky was found guilty in 2012.

    Included is a timeline of accusations, lists of the charges against Sandusky, a list of involved parties, a post grand jury report timeline, information about The Second Mile charity and Sandusky with links to the grand jury investigation.

    Jerry Sandusky

    Birth date: January 26, 1944

    Birth place: Washington, Pennsylvania

    Birth name: Gerald Arthur Sandusky

    Marriage: Dorothy “Dottie” (Gross) Sandusky (1966-present)

    Children: (all adopted) E.J., Kara, Jon, Jeff, Ray and Matt. The Sanduskys also fostered several children.

    Occupation: Assistant football coach at Penn State for 32 years before his retirement, including 23 years as defensive coordinator.

    Initially founded by Sandusky in 1977 as a group foster home for troubled boys, but grew into a non-profit organization that “helps young people to achieve their potential as individuals and community members.”

    May 25, 2012 – The Second Mile requests court approval in Centre County, Pennsylvania, to transfer its programs to Arrow Child & Family Ministries and shut down.

    August 27, 2012 – The Second Mile requests a stay in their petition to transfer its programs to Arrow Child & Family Ministries saying, “this action will allow any pending or future claims filed by Sandusky’s victims to be resolved before key programs or assets are considered for transfer.”

    March 2016 – After years of dismantling and distributing assets to Arrow Child & Family Ministries and any remaining funds to the Pennsylvania Attorney General to hold in escrow, the organization is dissolved.

    Source: Grand Jury Report

    1994-1997 – Sandusky engages in inappropriate conduct with different boys he met separately through The Second Mile program.

    1998 – Penn State police and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare investigate an incident in which the mother of an 11-year-old boy reported that Sandusky showered with her son.

    1998 – Psychologist Alycia Chambers tells Penn State police that Sandusky acted the way a pedophile might in her assessment of a case in which the mother of a young boy reported that Sandusky showered with her son and may have had inappropriate contact with him. A second psychologist, John Seasock, reported he found no indication of child abuse.

    June 1, 1998 – In an interview, Sandusky admits to showering naked with the boy, saying it was wrong and promising not to do it again. The district attorney advises investigators that no charges will be filed, and the university police chief instructs that the case be closed.

    June 1999 – Sandusky retires from Penn State after coaching there for 32 years, but receives emeritus status, with full access to the campus and football facilities.

    2000 – James Calhoun, a janitor at Penn State, tells his supervisor and another janitor that he saw Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in the Lasch Building showers. No one reports the incident to university officials or law enforcement.

    March 2, 2002 – Graduate Assistant Mike McQueary tells Coach Joe Paterno that on March 1, he witnessed Sandusky sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy in the Lasch Building showers. On May 7, 2012, prosecutors file court documents to change the date of the assault to on or around February 9, 2001.

    March 3, 2002 – Paterno reports the incident to Athletic Director Tim Curley. Later, McQueary meets with Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz. McQueary testifies that he told Curley and Schultz that he saw Sandusky and the boy engage in anal sex; Curley and Schultz testify they were not told of any such allegation. No law enforcement investigation is launched.

    2005 or 2006 – Sandusky befriends another Second Mile participant whose allegations would form the foundation of the multi-year grand jury investigation.

    2006 or 2007 – Sandusky begins to spend more time with the boy, taking him to sporting events and giving him gifts. During this period, Sandusky performs oral sex on the boy more than 20 times and the boy performs oral sex on him once.

    2008 – The boy breaks off contact with Sandusky. Later, his mother calls the boy’s high school to report her son had been sexually assaulted and the principal bans Sandusky from campus and reports the incident to police. The ensuing investigation reveals 118 calls from Sandusky’s home and cell phone numbers to the boy’s home.

    November 2008 – Sandusky informs The Second Mile that he is under investigation. He is removed from all program activities involving children, according to the group.

    November 4, 2011 – The grand jury report is released.

    November 5, 2011 – Sandusky is arraigned on 40 criminal counts. He is released on $100,000 bail. Curley and Schultz are each charged with one count of felony perjury and one count of failure to report abuse allegations.

    November 7, 2011 – Curley and Schultz are both arraigned and resign from their positions.

    November 9, 2011 – Paterno announces that he intends to retire at the end of the 2011 football season. Hours later, university trustees announce that President Graham Spanier and Coach Paterno are fired, effective immediately.

    November 11, 2011 – McQueary, now a Penn State receivers’ coach, is placed on indefinite administrative leave.

    November 14, 2011 – In a phone interview with NBC’s Bob Costas, Sandusky states that he is “innocent” of the charges and claims that the only thing he did wrong was “showering with those kids.”

    November 15, 2011 – The Morning Call reports that in a November 8, 2011, email to a former classmate, McQueary says he did stop the 2002 assault he witnessed and talked with police about it.

    November 16, 2011 – Representatives of Penn State’s campus police and State College police say they have no record of having received any report from McQueary about his having witnessed the rape of a boy by Sandusky.

    November 16, 2011 – A new judge is assigned to the Sandusky case after it is discovered that Leslie Dutchcot, the judge who freed Sandusky on $100,000 bail, volunteered at The Second Mile charity.

    November 21, 2011 – It is announced that former FBI Director Louis Freeh will lead an independent inquiry for Penn State into the school’s response to allegations of child sex abuse.

    November 22, 2011 – The Patriot-News reports that Children and Youth Services in Pennsylvania has two open cases of child sex abuse against Sandusky. The cases were reported less than two months ago and are in the initial stages of investigation.

    November 22, 2011 – The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts announces that all Centre County Common Pleas Court judges have recused themselves from the Sandusky case. This is to avoid any conflicts of interest due to connections with Sandusky, The Second Mile charity, or Penn State.

    November 30, 2011 – The first lawsuit is filed on behalf of a person listed in the complaint as “John Doe,” who says he was 10 years-old when he met Sandusky through The Second Mile charity. His attorneys say Sandusky sexually abused the victim “over one hundred times” and threatened to harm the victim and his family if he alerted anyone to the abuse.

    December 2, 2011 – A victim’s attorneys say they have reached a settlement with The Second Mile that allows it to stay in operation but requires it to obtain court approval before transferring assets or closing.

    December 3, 2011 – In an interview with The New York Times, Sandusky says, “If I say, ‘No, I’m not attracted to young boys,’ that’s not the truth. Because I’m attracted to young people – boys, girls – I …” His lawyer speaks up at that point to note that Sandusky is not “sexually” attracted to them.

    December 7, 2011 – Sandusky is arrested on additional child rape charges, which raises the number of victims from eight to 10 people. He is charged with four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and two counts of unlawful contact with a minor. He also faces one new count of indecent assault and two counts of endangering a child’s welfare, in addition to a single new count of indecent assault and two counts of corruption of minors.

    December 8, 2011 – Sandusky is released on $250,000 bail. He is placed under house arrest and is required to wear an electronic monitoring device. He is also restricted from contacting the victims and possible witnesses, and he must be supervised during any interactions with minors.

    December 13, 2011 – Sandusky enters a plea of not guilty and waives his right to a preliminary hearing.

    December 16, 2011 – A hearing is held for Curley and Schultz. McQueary testifies he told university officials that he saw Sandusky possibly sexually assaulting a boy in 2002. Following the testimony, the judge rules that the perjury case against Curley and Schultz will go to trial. The incident is later said to have happened in 2001.

    January 13, 2012 – Curley and Schultz enter pleas of not guilty for their failure to report child sex abuse.

    January 22, 2012 – Paterno dies at the age of 85.

    February 14, 2012 – Penn State says that the Sandusky case has cost the university $3.2 million thus far in combined legal, consultant and public relations fees.

    June 11, 2012 – The Sandusky trial begins. On June 22, Sandusky is found guilty on 45 counts after jurors deliberate for almost 21 hours. His bail is immediately revoked, and he is taken to jail.

    June 30, 2012 – McQueary’s contract as assistant football coach ends.

    July 12, 2012 – Freeh announces the findings of the investigation into Penn State’s actions concerning Sandusky. The report accuses the former leaders at Penn State of showing “total and consistent disregard” for child sex abuse victims, while covering up the attacks of a longtime sexual predator.

    July 23, 2012 – The NCAA announces a $60 million fine against Penn State and bans the team from the postseason for four years. Additionally, the school must vacate all wins from 1998-2011 and will lose 20 football scholarships a year for four seasons.
    – The Big Ten Conference rules that Penn State’s share of bowl revenues for the next four seasons – roughly $13 million will be donated to charities working to prevent child abuse.

    August 24, 2012 – “Victim 1” files a lawsuit against Penn State.

    September 20, 2012 – Penn State hires Feinberg Rozen LLP (headed by Kenneth Feinberg who oversaw the 9/11 and BP oil spill victim funds).

    October 2, 2012 – McQueary files a whistleblower lawsuit against Penn State.

    October 8, 2012 – An audio statement from Sandusky airs in which he protests his innocence and says he is falsely accused.

    October 9, 2012 – Sandusky is sentenced to no less than 30 years and no more than 60 years in prison. During the hearing, Sandusky is designated a violent sexual offender.

    October 15, 2012 – Plaintiff “John Doe,” a 21-year-old male, files a lawsuit against Sandusky, Penn State, The Second Mile, Spanier, Curley and Schultz. Doe alleges that he would not have been assaulted by Sandusky if officials, who were aware he was molesting boys, had not covered up his misconduct.

    November 1, 2012 – The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania files eight charges against former Penn State President Spanier. The charges include perjury and endangering the welfare of a child. Former university Vice President Schultz and former Athletic Director Curley face the same charges, according to Attorney General Linda Kelly.

    November 15, 2012 – The Middle States Commission on Higher Education lifts its warning and reaffirms Penn State’s accreditation.

    January 30, 2013 – Judge John M. Cleland denies Sandusky’s appeal for a new trial.

    July 30, 2013 – A judge rules that Spanier, Curley and Schultz will face trial on obstruction of justice and other charges.

    August 26, 2013 – Attorneys announce Sandusky’s adopted son and six other victims have finalized settlement agreements.

    October 2, 2013 – The Superior Court of Pennsylvania denies Sandusky’s appeal.

    October 28, 2013 – Penn State announces it has reached settlements with 26 victims of Sandusky. The amount paid by the university totals $59.7 million.

    April 2, 2014 – The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania also denies Sandusky’s appeal.

    September 8, 2014 – NCAA ends Penn State’s postseason ban and scholarship limits. The $60 million fine and the 13 years of vacated wins for Paterno remain in place.

    January 16, 2015 – The NCAA agrees to restore 111 of Paterno’s wins as part of a settlement of the lawsuit brought by State Senator Jake Corman and Treasurer Rob McCord. Also, as part of the settlement, Penn State agrees to commit $60 million to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse.

    December 23, 2015 – A spokeswoman for the State of Pennsylvania employee retirement system says Sandusky will receive $211,000 in back payments and his regular pension payments will resume. This is the result of a November 13 court ruling that reversed a 2012 decision to terminate Sandusky’s pension under a state law that allows the termination of pensions of public employees convicted of a “disqualifying crime.” The judge said in his ruling that Sandusky was not employed at the time of the crimes he was convicted of committing.

    January 22, 2016 – A three-judge panel reverses the obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges against Spanier, Curley and Schultz, and the perjury charges against Spanier and Curley.

    May 4, 2016 – A new allegation purports Paterno knew that his assistant coach Sandusky was sexually abusing a child as early as 1976, according to a new court filing. The ongoing lawsuit, filed in 2013, seeks to determine whether Penn State or its insurance policy is liable for paying Sandusky’s victims. At least 30 men were involved in a civil settlement with Penn State, and the number of victims could be higher.

    May 6, 2016 – CNN reports the story of another alleged victim who explains how he was a troubled young kid in 1971 when Sandusky raped him in a Penn State bathroom. He says his complaint about it was ignored by Paterno.

    July 12, 2016 – Newly unsealed court documents allege that Paterno knew about Sandusky’s abuse and that he dismissed a victim’s complaint.

    August 12, 2016 – In a bid for a new trial, Sandusky testifies at a post-conviction hearing claiming his lawyers bungled his 2012 trial. On the stand, Sandusky describes what he said as bad media and legal advice given to him by his former lawyer, Joseph Amendola.

    November 3, 2016 – The Department of Education fines Penn State $2.4 million for violating the Clery Act, a law that requires universities to report crime on campuses. It’s the largest fine in the history of the act.

    March 13, 2017 – Curley and Schultz plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of children in exchange for the dismissal of felony charges.

    March 24, 2017 – Spanier is found guilty on one misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child. Spanier was acquitted of more serious allegations, including conspiracy charges and a felony count of child endangerment.

    June 2, 2017 – Spanier and two other former administrators are sentenced to jail terms for failing to report a 2001 allegation that Sandusky was molesting young boys. Spanier whose total sentence is four to 12 months incarceration, will be on probation for two years and must pay a $7,500 fine, according to Joe Grace, a spokesman for Pennsylvania’s attorney general’s office.

    – Curley is sentenced to seven to 23 months’ incarceration and two years’ probation, Grace said. He will serve three months in jail followed by house arrest and pay a $5,000 fine.

    – Schultz is sentenced to six to 23 months’ incarceration and two years’ probation. He will serve two months in jail, followed by house arrest and pay a $5,000 fine, according to Grace.

    January 9, 2018 – Penn State reports that the total amount of settlement awards paid to Sandusky’s victims is now over $109 million.

    February 5, 2019 – In response to an appeal for a new trial that also questions the validity of mandatory minimum sentencing, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania orders Sandusky to be re-sentenced. The request for a new trial is denied.

    April 30, 2019 – US Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick vacates Spanier’s 2017 conviction for endangering the welfare of a child. Spanier was set to be sentenced on the one count conviction, instead, the court ordered the conviction be vacated because it was based on a criminal statute that did not go into effect until after the conduct in question. The state has 90 days to retry him, according to court documents. The following month, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro appeals the judge’s decision to throw out the conviction.

    November 22, 2019 – Sandusky is resentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison, the same penalty that was previously overturned. The initial sentence of at least 30 years in prison was overturned by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, which found that mandatory minimum sentences were illegally imposed.

    March 26, 2020 – The US Office for Civil Rights finds that Penn State failed to protect students who filed sexual harassment complaints. OCR completed the compliance review after it was initially launched in 2014, and found that the University violated Title IX for several years, in various ways. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announces that the US Department of Education and the university have entered into a resolution agreement that compels Penn State to address deficiencies in their complaint process, reporting policy requirements, record keeping, and training of staff, university police and other persons who work with students.

    December 1, 2020 – Spanier’s conviction is restored by a federal appeals court.

    May 26, 2021 – A judge rules that Spanier will start his two month prison sentence on July 9. Spanier reports to jail early and is released on August 4 after serving 58 days.

    Sandusky Verdict

    Victim 1
    Count 1 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 2 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 3 – guilty: Indecent Assault (Felony 3)
    Count 4 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 1)
    Count 5 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 6 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Felony 3)

    Victim 2
    Count 7 – not guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 8 – guilty: Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 2)
    Count 9 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 1)
    Count 10 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 11 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Misdemeanor 1)

    Victim 3
    Count 12 – guilty: Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 2)
    Count 13 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 3)
    Count 14 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 15 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Felony 3)

    Victim 4
    Count 16 – ****DROPPED****: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 17 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 18 – ****DROPPED*****: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 19 – ****DROPPED*****: Aggravated Indecent Assault (Felony 2)
    Count 20 – guilty: Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 2)
    Count 21 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 1)
    Count 22 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 23 – guilty” Endangering Welfare of Children (Felony 3)

    Victim 5
    Count 24 – not guilty: Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 25 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 3)
    Count 26 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 27 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Felony 3)

    Victim 6
    Count 28 – not guilty: Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 29 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 3)
    Count 30 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 31 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Misdemeanor 1)

    Victim 7
    Count 32 – guilty: Criminal Attempt to Commit Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 2)
    Count 33 – ****DROPPED****: WITHDRAWN BY PROSECUTORS (unlawful contact with minors)
    Count 34 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 35 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Misdemeanor 1)

    Victim 8
    Count 36 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 37 – guilty: Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 2)
    Count 38 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 1)
    Count 39 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 40 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Misdemeanor 1)

    (Due to 2nd indictment, counts start over with Victims 9 and 10)

    Victim 9
    Count 1 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 2 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 3 – guilty: Indecent Assault (Felony 3)
    Count 4 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 1)
    Count 5 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 6 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Felony 3)

    Victim 10
    Count 7 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 8 – guilty: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Felony 1)
    Count 9 – guilty: Indecent Assault (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 10 – guilty: Unlawful Contact with Minors (Felony 1)
    Count 11 – guilty: Corruption of Minors (Misdemeanor 1)
    Count 12 – guilty: Endangering Welfare of Children (Felony 3)

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  • Hank Greenberg Fast Facts | CNN

    Hank Greenberg Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here is a look at the life of former AIG Chief Executive Officer Hank Greenberg.

    Birth date: May 4, 1925

    Birth place: New York, New York

    Birth name: Maurice Raymond Greenberg

    Father: Jacob Greenberg

    Mother: Ada (Rheingold) Greenberg

    Marriage: Corinne (Zuckerman) Greenberg (1950-March 17, 2024, her death)

    Children: Jeffrey, Evan, Scott and Cathleen

    Education: University of Miami, B.A., 1948; New York Law School, LL.B., 1950

    Military: US Army, Captain

    Recipient of the Bronze Star for his service during the Korean War.

    Awarded the Legion of Honor from France.

    Chairman of the Board of The Starr Foundation.

    Vice chairman of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

    Member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

    1952-1960 – Works for Continental Casualty Company.

    1960 – Is hired as a vice president for the insurance-holding company C.V. Starr & Co., Inc.

    1968 – C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. begins distributing some the firm’s subsidiaries in order to raise capital to establish American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Greenberg becomes the Chairman and CEO of AIG.

    1988-1995 – Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

    1994-1995 – Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

    March 2005 – Greenberg resigns as CEO and chairman of the board of AIG.

    May 2005 – New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer files a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court against Greenberg on behalf of the state, charging him with engaging in fraud to exaggerate AIG’s finances.

    2005-present – Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and Starr International Company, Inc.

    September 16, 2008 – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announces an emergency $85 billion loan to AIG to rescue the company, on the condition that the federal government own 79.9% stake in the company. Greenberg is AIG’s largest individual shareholder before the bailout, with 11% ownership in the company.

    April 2009 – The loan expands to $184.6 billion. The government eventually owns a 92% stake in the company.

    August 2009 – The Securities and Exchange Commission charges Greenberg for his involvement in the fraudulent accounting transactions that inflated AIG’s finances. Without conceding or denying the SEC charges, Greenberg agrees to pay $15 million in penalties, and AIG settles the charges by repaying $700 million plus a fine of $100 million.

    November 21, 2011 – Greenberg and his Starr International Company sue the federal government for $25 billion, claiming the 2008 takeover was unconstitutional. Starr International also sues the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in federal district court in Manhattan.

    November 2012 – Greenberg and Starr International’s lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is dismissed. The ruling is upheld in appeals court in January 2014.

    January 2013 – Greenberg’s book, “The AIG Story,” is released.

    May 2013 – Greenberg’s lawsuit against the federal government achieves class action status. Three hundred thousand stockholders, including AIG employees and retirees, would share the reward if they win the lawsuit.

    June 25, 2013 – A New York appeals court rules that the 2005 fraud lawsuit, filed by Spitzer, against Greenberg, will not be dismissed.

    July 2013 – Greenberg files a lawsuit against Spitzer in New York’s Putnam County Supreme Court, alleging defamation related to statements he made between 2004 and 2012.

    June 25, 2014 – After granting a request by Spitzer to dismiss most of his statements, a judge rules that Greenberg’s defamation lawsuit against him will go to trial.

    October 6, 2014 – Greenberg and Starr International’s class action lawsuit against the government officially begins in the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC. Closing arguments take place on April 22, 2015.

    June 15, 2015 – Starr International wins its lawsuit against the federal government “due to the Government’s illegal exaction,” but the court awards no monetary damages.

    February 10, 2017 – Greenberg and the New York attorney general’s office reach a settlement in the 2005 civil fraud lawsuit. Greenberg agrees to pay $9 million, and former AIG Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith agrees to pay $900,000.

    September 13, 2017 – The Supreme Court of New York Appellate Division denies summary judgment for several of Greenberg’s defamation charges against Spitzer.

    January 15, 2020 – St. John’s University’s presents Greenberg with a Lifetime Leadership Award at its Annual Insurance Leader of the Year Award Dinner. The school also announces that it has voted to rename its School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science in his honor. It is now the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.

    November 12, 2020 – A judge in New York’s Putnam County Supreme Court rules to dismiss Greenberg’s defamation case against Spitzer.

    January 2023 – The Starr Foundation gifts Georgia State’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business $15 million. Georgia State University announces they will rename its Department of Risk Management & Insurance to the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science in recognition of the donation.

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  • Enron Fast Facts | CNN

    Enron Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at Enron, an energy trading company that collapsed after a massive accounting fraud scheme was revealed. Its 2001 bankruptcy filing was the largest in American history at the time. Estimated losses totaled $74 billion.

    Enron was ranked as America’s fifth largest company by Fortune magazine in 2002, despite its 2001 bankruptcy filing.

    An independent review published in 2002 detailed how executives pocketed millions of dollars from complex, off-the-books partnerships while reporting inflated profits to shareholders.

    Executives including Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were prosecuted for fraud-related crimes.

    Key figures sold their stock shortly before the company announced a sharp downturn in earnings.

    Lower-level employees were encouraged to invest in company stock for their retirement savings just before the company collapsed. The workers later filed a class action lawsuit and won an $85 million settlement.

    1985 – Houston Natural Gas merges with Omaha-based InterNorth to form Enron.

    1986 – Lay is appointed chairman and CEO of Enron.

    1989 – Enron enters the natural gas commodities trading market.

    1990 – Skilling, an energy consultant, is hired to run a new subsidiary called Enron Finance Corp.

    February 12, 2001 – Skilling becomes CEO while Lay stays on as chairman.

    August 14, 2001 – Skilling resigns and Lay becomes CEO again.

    August 2001 – Sherron Watkins, a vice president, warns Lay that the company could “implode in a wave of accounting scandals.”

    October 16, 2001 – Enron announces a third-quarter loss of $618 million. The company later reveals that it overstated earnings dating back to 1997.

    October 31, 2001 – The company discloses that it is under formal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    November 9, 2001 – Enron confirms that it has agreed to be purchased by a rival company, Dynegy for $9 billion. On November 28, Dynegy announces it has terminated merger talks with Enron.

    December 2, 2001 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

    January 9, 2002 – The US Department of Justice opens a criminal investigation into Enron’s collapse.

    January 10, 2002 – Arthur Andersen LLP, the accounting firm that handled Enron’s audits, discloses that its employees had destroyed company documents.

    January 15, 2002 – The New York Stock Exchange suspends trading of Enron shares.

    January 17, 2002 – Enron ends its partnership with Arthur Andersen.

    January 23, 2002 – Lay resigns as CEO. He later steps down from the board of directors.

    January 25, 2002 – Former Enron vice chairman J. Clifford Baxter is found dead in an apparent suicide.

    February 12, 2002 – Lay invokes his Fifth Amendment right before the Senate Commerce Committee.

    March 14, 2002 – The DOJ indicts Arthur Andersen for obstruction of justice. A jury later returns a guilty verdict for the accounting firm. The Supreme Court later overturns the conviction.

    February 19, 2004 – Skilling is charged with 35 counts of fraud and insider trading. He pleads not guilty.

    July 7, 2004 – Lay is indicted. He is charged with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements. During his arraignment the next day, he pleads not guilty to all 11 charges and is released on $500,000 unsecured bond.

    May 25, 2006 – Skilling and Lay are convicted of conspiracy and fraud. Skilling is also convicted on one count of insider trading and five counts of making false statements. The jury acquits Skilling on nine additional counts of insider trading.

    July 5, 2006 – Lay dies of a heart attack while awaiting sentencing.

    September 8, 2008 – A class action lawsuit filed by shareholders and investors is settled in federal court. The $7.2 billion settlement will be paid out by a group of banks accused of participating in the accounting fraud scheme.

    May 11, 2009 – Skilling files a petition with the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction after appeals with the lower courts fail.

    May 9, 2010 – “Enron,” a musical about the company’s collapse, closes on Broadway 12 days after opening amid slow ticket sales.

    April 16, 2012 – The Supreme Court rejects Skilling’s appeal.

    June 21, 2013 – A federal judge reduces Skilling’s sentence by more than 10 years. In return, Skilling agrees to stop challenging his conviction and forfeit roughly $42 million that will be distributed among the victims of the Enron fraud.

    December 8, 2015 – The SEC announces that it has obtained a summary judgment against Skilling, permanently barring him from serving as an officer or director of a publicly held company. The judgment settles a long-running civil suit by the SEC.

    February 21, 2019 – Skilling is released after serving over 12 years in federal prison.

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  • The haunting Masters meltdown that changed Rory McIlroy’s career | CNN

    The haunting Masters meltdown that changed Rory McIlroy’s career | CNN

    Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in April 2023.



    CNN
     — 

    Slumped on his club, head buried in his arm, Rory McIlroy looked on the verge of tears.

    The then-21-year-old had just watched his ball sink into the waters of Rae’s Creek at Augusta National and with it, his dream of winning The Masters, a dream that had looked so tantalizingly close mere hours earlier.

    As a four-time major winner and one of the most decorated names in the sport’s history, few players would turn down the chance to swap places with McIlroy heading into Augusta this week.

    Yet on Sunday afternoon of April 10, 2011, not a golfer in the world would have wished to be in the Northern Irishman’s shoes.

    A fresh-faced, mop-headed McIlroy had touched down in Georgia for the first major of the season with a reputation as the leading light of the next generation of stars.

    An excellent 2010 had marked his best season since turning pro three years earlier, highlighted by a first PGA Tour win at the Quail Hollow Championship and a crucial contribution to Team Europe’s triumph at the Ryder Cup.

    Yet despite a pair of impressive top-three finishes at the Open and PGA Championship respectively, a disappointing missed cut at The Masters – his first at a major – served as ominous foreshadowing.

    McIlroy shot 74 and 77 to fall four strokes short of the cut line at seven-over par, a performance that concerned him enough to take a brief sabbatical from competition.

    But one year on in 2011, any lingering Masters demons looked to have been exorcised as McIlroy flew round the Augusta fairways.

    Having opened with a bogey-free seven-under 65 – the first time he had ever shot in the 60s at the major – McIlroy pulled ahead from Spanish first round co-leader Alvaro Quirós with a second round 69.

    It sent him into the weekend holding a two-shot cushion over Australia’s Jason Day, with Tiger Woods a further stroke behind and back in the hunt for a 15th major after a surging second round 66.

    And yet the 21-year-old leader looked perfectly at ease with having a target on his back. Even after a tentative start to the third round, McIlroy rallied with three birdies across the closing six holes to stretch his lead to four strokes heading into Sunday.

    McIlroy drives from the 16th tee during his second round.

    The youngster was out on his own ahead of a bunched chasing pack comprising Day, Ángel Cabrera, K.J. Choi and Charl Schwartzel. After 54 holes, McIlroy had shot just three bogeys.

    “It’s a great position to be in … I’m finally feeling comfortable on this golf course,” McIlroy told reporters.

    “I’m not getting ahead of myself, I know how leads can dwindle away very quickly. I have to go out there, not take anything for granted and go out and play as hard as I’ve played the last three days. If I can do that, hopefully things will go my way.

    “We’ll see what happens tomorrow because four shots on this golf course isn’t that much.”

    McIlroy finished his third round with a four shot lead.

    The truth can hurt, and McIlroy was about to prove his assessment of Augusta to be true in the most excruciating way imaginable.

    His fourth bogey of the week arrived immediately. Having admitted to expecting some nerves at the first tee, McIlroy sparked a booming opening drive down the fairway, only to miss his putt from five feet.

    Three consecutive pars steadied the ship, but Schwartzel had the wind in his sails. A blistering birdie, par, eagle start had seen him draw level at the summit after his third hole.

    A subsequent bogey from the South African slowed his charge, as McIlroy clung onto a one-shot lead at the turn from Schwartzel, Cabrera, Choi, and a rampaging Woods, who shot five birdies and an eagle across the front nine to send Augusta into a frenzy.

    Despite his dwindling advantage and the raucous Tiger-mania din ahead of him, McIlroy had responded well to another bogey at the 5th hole, draining a brilliant 20-foot putt at the 7th to restore his lead.

    The fist pump that followed marked the high-water point of McIlroy’s round, as a sliding start accelerated into full-blown free-fall at the par-four 10th hole.

    His tee shot went careening into a tree, ricocheting to settle between the white cabins that separate the main course from the adjacent par-three course. It offered viewers a glimpse at a part of Augusta rarely seen on broadcast, followed by pictures of McIlroy anxiously peering out from behind a tree to track his follow-up shot.

    McIlroy watches his shot after his initial drive from the 10th tee put him close to Augusta's cabins.

    Though his initial escape was successful, yet another collision with a tree and a two-putt on the green saw a stunned McIlroy eventually tap in for a triple bogey. Having led the field one hole and seven shots earlier, he arrived at the 11th tee in seventh.

    By the time his tee drive at the 13th plopped into the creek, all thoughts of who might be the recipient of the green jacket had long-since switched away from the anguished youngster. It had taken him seven putts to navigate the previous two greens, as a bogey and a double bogey dropped him to five-under – the score he had held after just 11 holes of the tournament.

    Mercifully, the last five holes passed without major incident. A missed putt for birdie from five feet at the final hole summed up McIlroy’s day, though he was given a rousing reception as he left the green.

    Mere minutes earlier, the same crowd had erupted as Schwartzel sunk his fourth consecutive birdie to seal his first major title. After starting the day four shots adrift of McIlroy, the South African finished 10 shots ahead of him, and two ahead of second-placed Australian duo Jason Day and Adam Scott.

    McIlroy’s eight-over 80 marked the highest score of the round. Having headlined the leaderboard for most of the week, he finished tied-15th.

    McIroy was applauded off the 18th green by the Augusta crowd after finishing his final round.

    Tears would flow during a phone call with his parents the following morning, but at his press conference, McIlroy was upbeat.

    “I’m very disappointed at the minute, and I’m sure I will be for the next few days, but I’ll get over it,” he said.

    “I was leading this golf tournament with nine holes to go, and I just unraveled … It’s a Sunday at a major, what it can do.

    “This is my first experience at it, and hopefully the next time I’m in this position I’ll be able to handle it a little better. I didn’t handle it particularly well today obviously, but it was a character-building day … I’ll come out stronger for it.”

    Once again, McIlroy would be proven right.

    Just eight weeks later in June, McIlroy rampaged to an eight-shot victory at the US Open. Records tumbled in his wake at Congressional, as he shot a tournament record 16-under 268 to become the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods at The Masters in 1997.

    McIlroy celebrated a historic triumph at the US Open just two months after his Masters nightmare.

    The historic victory kickstarted a golden era for McIlroy. After coasting to another eight-shot win at the PGA Championship in 2012, McIlroy became only the third golfer since 1934 to win three majors by the age of 25 with triumph at the 2014 Open Championship.

    Before the year was out, he would add his fourth major title with another PGA Championship win.

    And much of it was owed to that fateful afternoon at Augusta. In an interview with the BBC in 2015, McIlroy dubbed it “the most important day” of his career.

    “If I had not had the whole unravelling, if I had just made a couple of bogeys coming down the stretch and lost by one, I would not have learned as much.

    “Luckily, it did not take me long to get into a position like that again when I was leading a major and I was able to get over the line quite comfortably. It was a huge learning curve for me and I needed it, and thankfully I have been able to move on to bigger and better things.

    “Looking back on what happened in 2011, it doesn’t seem as bad when you have four majors on your mantelpiece.”

    A two-stroke victory at Royal Liverpool saw McIlroy clinch the Open Championship in 2014.

    McIlroy’s contentment came with a caveat: it would be “unthinkable” if he did not win The Masters in his career.

    Yet as he prepares for his 15th appearance at Augusta National this week, a green jacket remains an elusive missing item from his wardrobe.

    Despite seven top-10 finishes in his past 10 Masters outings, the trophy remains the only thing separating McIlroy from joining the ranks of golf immortals to have completed golf’s career grand slam of all four majors in the modern era: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.

    The Masters is the only major title to elude McIlroy.

    A runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler last year marked McIlroy’s best finish at Augusta, yet arguably 2011 remains the closest he has ever been to victory. A slow start in 2022 meant McIlroy had begun Sunday’s deciding round 10 shots adrift of the American, who teed off for his final hole with a five-shot lead despite McIlroy’s brilliant 64 finish.

    At 33 years old, time is still on his side. Though 2022 extended his major drought to eight years, it featured arguably his best golf since that golden season in 2014.

    And as McIlroy knows better than most, things can change quickly at Augusta National.

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  • OPEC Fast Facts | CNN

    OPEC Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, headquartered in Vienna, Austria.

    The purpose of OPEC is to “coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.”

    OPEC members collectively supply about 28.89% of the world’s crude oil production.

    Together, OPEC members control about 79.49% of the world’s total proven crude reserves.

    OPEC member countries monitor the market and decide collectively to raise or lower oil production in order to maintain stable prices and supply.

    A unanimous vote is required on raising or lowering oil production.

    Each member country controls the oil production of its country, but OPEC aims to coordinate the production policies of member countries.

    Oil and energy ministers from OPEC member countries usually meet twice a year to determine OPEC’s output level. They also meet in extraordinary sessions whenever required.

    Read More: Oil and Gasoline Fast Facts

    Algeria – 1969-present
    Congo – 2018-present
    Equatorial Guinea – 2017-present
    Gabon – 1975-1995; 2016-present
    Iran – 1960-present
    Iraq – 1960-present
    Kuwait – 1960-present
    Libya – 1962-present
    Nigeria – 1971-present
    Saudi Arabia – 1960-present
    United Arab Emirates – 1967-present
    Venezuela – 1960-present

    Angola – 2007-2024
    Ecuador – 1973-1992; 2007-2020
    Indonesia – 1962-2009; 2016
    Qatar – 1961-2019

    September 14, 1960 – OPEC is formed in Baghdad, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

    November 6, 1962 – OPEC is registered with the United Nations Secretariat (UN Resolution No. 6363).

    1973-1974 – Due to United States support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict, the members of OPEC decide to raise the cost of oil from $3/barrel to around $12/barrel.

    October 1973 – OPEC issues an embargo against the United States, halting oil exports. Customers in the United States experience long lines at gas stations and shortages.

    March 18, 1974 – At an OPEC meeting, seven members lift the ban on exports to the United States: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Abu Dhabi. Libya and Syria refuse to drop the ban, and Iraq boycotts the talks.

    December 31, 1974 – Libya lifts its oil embargo against the United States.

    November 2007 – Ecuador rejoins OPEC after a 15-year absence.

    May 2008 – Indonesia announces that it will leave OPEC in 2009.

    January 1, 2009 – Indonesia suspends its membership in OPEC.

    January 1, 2016-November 30, 2016 – Indonesia rejoins OPEC, but suspends its membership after 11 months.

    July 2016 – Gabon rejoins OPEC.

    May 25, 2017 – Equatorial Guinea joins OPEC.

    June 22, 2018 – OPEC announces that the Republic of the Congo has joined the organization.

    December 3, 2018 – Qatar’s state oil company, Qatar Petroleum, announces that the country will leave OPEC on January 1, 2019. One of OPEC’s oldest members, Qatar says it plans to focus on natural gas production.

    January 1, 2020 – Ecuador leaves OPEC.

    March 2020 – To offset the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, OPEC unveils a plan to reduce output among its members by 1 million barrels per day, and says it will seek an additional 500,000 barrels per day in cuts from longstanding allies, including Russia.

    April 1, 2021 – OPEC and allied producers announce that they have agreed to gradually increase their output over the next three months. The move follows a sharp increase in oil prices, and a call from the United States to keep energy affordable.

    October 5, 2022 – OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, announce they will cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day, the biggest cut since the start of the pandemic.

    January 1, 2024 – Angola leaves OPEC. Oil minister Diamantino Azevedo said earlier that membership was not serving Angola’s interests.

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  • Bill Gross Fast Facts | CNN

    Bill Gross Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of Bill Gross, founder of PIMCO, Pacific Investment Management Company.

    Birth date: April 13, 1944

    Birth place: Middleton, Ohio

    Birth name: William Hunt Gross

    Father: Sewell “Dutch” Gross, a steel company sales executive

    Mother: Shirley Gross

    Marriages: Amy Schwartz (2021-present); Sue (Frank) Gross (1985-2017, divorced); Pamela Roberts Gross (divorced)

    Children: with Sue Frank: Nick; with Pamela Roberts: Jeff and Jennifer

    Education: Duke University, B.A. in Psychology, 1966; University of California at Los Angeles, M.B.A, 1971

    Military: US Navy, 1966-1969

    Billionaire, bond investor, philanthropist and avid stamp collector.

    Founder, former co-chief investment officer and managing director of PIMCO, one of the world’s largest mutual funds. Under Gross, PIMCO became the world’s largest bond fund manager.

    1966 – While recuperating from injuries suffered in a serious car accident, Gross teaches himself to count cards in blackjack. After college graduation, he turns $200 into $10,000 in four months.

    1971 – Is hired as a junior bond analyst for Pacific Mutual Insurance Company.

    1971 – PIMCO is formed as a division of Pacific Mutual with colleagues William Podlich and James F. Muzzy.

    1985 – PIMCO formally splits from Pacific Mutual.

    2003 – Founds the William and Sue Gross Family Foundation, through which millions of dollars are donated to universities, hospitals and organizations.

    2005 – Gross and his wife, Sue, give $23.5 million to Duke University for undergraduate and medical school students and for the Fuqua School of Business.

    2006 – Donates $10 million to the University of California at Irvine for stem cell research and to help build a new research lab. The lab opens in 2010 and is named in their honor, Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.

    2007 – A stamp collector since childhood, Gross auctions his collection of British stamps for $9.1 million and donates the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders.

    2009 – Donates $8 million for the establishment of a stamp gallery at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. The gallery is named in his honor, the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, and opens in September 2013.

    September 2014 – Gross unexpectedly resigns from PIMCO to join Janus Capital Group, where he manages the Janus Unconstrained Bond Fund.

    July 1, 2015 – The Smithsonian Institution includes Gross’s old Bloomberg keyboard in its American Enterprise exhibition at the National Museum of American History. The keyboard, used by Gross during the 1990s and 2000s, has function keys for accessing real-time financial information.

    October 8, 2015 – Gross sues former employer PIMCO for hundreds of millions of dollars, alleging he was wrongfully ousted from the firm as part of a vast conspiracy. The lawsuit claims a “cabal” of PIMCO executives driven by a “lust for power, greed” and self-interest plotted for Gross’s demise. On March 27, 2017, Gross and PIMCO announce they reached an “amicable settlement.”

    February 4, 2019 – Announces he will retire. Janus Henderson (formerly Janus Capital Group) says he will leave the firm on March 1.

    October 13, 2020 – Gross and his partner Amy Schwartz sue their neighbors, Mark Towfiq, CEO of data center development company Nextfort Ventures, and his wife Carol Nakahara. Towfiq and Nakahara file a countersuit the next day, on October 14. According to court filings, Gross and Schwartz installed a large art installation along the property line, partially blocking Towfiq and Nakahara’s ocean views. After an investigation, the city of Laguna Beach determined the installation, netting and lights were a violation of city code and did not have the proper permits. Shortly after, Towfiq and Nakahara allege Gross began retaliating against them by harassing and disturbing them with “loud music and bizarre audio recordings at excessive levels” during various hours of the day and night – including pop or rap music, and often a series of television theme songs, according to the lawsuit, including the “Gilligan’s Island” theme on a loop.

    October 1, 2021 – Gross and his wife are found guilty in contempt of court after violating a 2020 order that prohibited them from playing loud music outside their home. The two are fined $1,000 each and face five days in jail as well as a ban on outdoor music. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, their jail sentences are suspended and replaced with two days of community service.

    March 2, 2022 – Self-publishes his memoir “I’m Still Standing: Bond King Bill Gross and the PIMCO Express.”

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  • Easter dishes from around the world | CNN

    Easter dishes from around the world | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Honey-glazed ham, garlic mashed potatoes and fluffy dinner rolls might be staples at American Easter meals, but around the world, there are many distinct ways to savor the holiday – ones that incorporate both local ingredients and unique cultural traditions.

    “Italians go all out,” said Judy Witts Francini, creator of the Italian food blog Divina Cucina. She’s from California but has lived in Florence and Tuscany for decades.

    Witts Francini’s Easter lunch starts with an assortment of antipasti. For the first course, she serves a savory tart called torta pasqualina, which has 33 layers of phyllo dough to symbolize the 33 years of Christ’s life. The second course includes roast lamb, fried artichokes, peas with pancetta and roasted potatoes. Dessert is chocolate eggs (which can be up to 3 feet tall) with a gift inside and a dove-shaped cake, called colomba.

    And that’s just lunch.

    Other countries take a similar “more is more” approach to Easter meals, but a few dishes really stand out. Here are just five.

    Before you roll your eyes at the mere mention of this circular classic, know that the pizza Italians crave on Easter bears little resemblance to what you find on most US delivery menus.

    Pizza rustica, also known as pizzagaina, is stuffed with meat and cheese and enclosed in a flaky crust. Like most Italian recipes, pizza rustica varies from region to region, town to town and chef to chef. It originally comes from Naples, which is known as the birthplace of pizza.

    “It’s basically a ricotta cheesecake, but it’s super savory – to the max,” said Rossella Rago, an Italian American author and host of the popular online cooking show “Cooking with Nonna” who wrote a cookbook with the same name.

    To make the pie, first, you need to make the pastry dough, which includes flour, eggs, salt, milk and lard.

    “Everybody always asks me, ‘Can I make this with shortening?’ And the answer is always: ‘No,’” Rago said. “If it’s any other time of year, I will say, ‘Yes, fine, use shortening,’ but when it’s actually Easter you have got to use lard.”

    Inside, the pie – at least Rago’s version – contains ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, soppressata (an Italian dry salami), prosciutto, eggs and more.

    “Everybody has their own combination that they swear by. If you want Italian people to fight right now, ask them, ‘What’s the real pizzagaina?’ That’s what everybody is obsessed with in Italian America,” Rago said. “It makes me laugh every single time, because there is no right way. It’s ridiculous to think that.

    “Italy had 600 languages until its unification,” Rago added. “So, you think we have one recipe for anything? Absolutely not.”

    Nonna Romana holds scarcella, a braided Easter bread decorated with colorful hard-boiled eggs. Her granddaughter, Rossella Rago, said Romana made them every Easter for all the kids.

    Rago’s recipe is from her grandma, Nonna Romana, and is a true Italian American story. Romana is from Puglia, a region in southern Italy where they don’t make the dish. She learned about it from other Italian Americans while she was working at a clothing factory in Brooklyn, New York. She took their version and made some additions and subtractions. After years and years of tweaks, she created her own Italian American tradition.

    “She swears it’s the best,” Rago said. Her secret is extra-sharp provolone. Rago said it’s one of the most popular dishes on her website, and everyone who tries it says they have success their first try.

    Traditionally, this dish is made on Good Friday and served at room temperature on Easter Sunday.

    The Mexican dessert capirotada is a next-level bread pudding scented with cinnamon and cloves.

    When you think of authentic Mexican cuisine, there are many things that come to mind: rice, beans and tortillas, to name a few.

    Now, you can add capirotada to the list.

    Capirotada is a Mexican dessert that’s similar to bread pudding. It’s made from bread drenched in syrup and layered among nuts, cheese, fruit and sometimes sprinkles.

    “If you are into salty, sweet, soft, crunchy, spongy mixed all together with a dash of spice, this is for you,” said Mely Martinez, creator of the blog Mexico in My Kitchen. “Yes, this concoction sounds really weird, but it is an explosion of flavors in your mouth.”

    Martinez was born and raised in Tampico, Mexico. She serves this dish for dessert every Easter.

    Mely Martinez is the creator of Mexico in My Kitchen. She was born and raised in Mexico.

    To make Martinez’s traditional capirotada, layers of sliced white bread are baked with butter and then dipped in syrup made from piloncillo (an unrefined type of sugar), cinnamon and cloves. The bread is placed in a ovenproof dish between layers of cotija cheese, roasted peanuts and raisins. It’s baked and then topped with bananas and sprinkles.

    Capirotada is usually served at room temperature on Easter Sunday, but many serve it throughout Holy Week.

    “It’s addicting. Once you start eating it, you can’t stop eating it,” Martinez told CNN.

    Brought to Mexico by the Spaniards, capirotada became popular in Mexico because it’s easy to make and uses ingredients people have on hand.

    It was originally a savory dish using beef broth, but evolved into today’s sweet version using syrup, according to Martinez. Some believe the bread represents the body of Christ and the syrup represents his blood.

    There are many variations of capirotada all over Mexico.

    Charbel Barker's capirotada has evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, additions to the recipe by her abuelita.

    My Latina Table blogger Charbel Barker makes hers with milk. Her recipe was created by her “abuelita,” meaning grandma.

    “My abuelita would always say, it’s good but something is missing. It needs more sweetness,” Barker said. So she added two types of milk: evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk.

    Barker said the milk adds more flavor and creates a pudding-like texture.

    “It tastes like a Snickers,” Barker said.

    Poland: Żurek

    The savory Polish dish żurek, or sour rye soup, often is served with sausage and a boiled egg, along with horseradish for a spicy kick.

    In Poland, a dish that takes center stage on Easter is żurek. It’s a creamy and smoky fermented soup made from rye flour starter. This soup is often served with a boiled egg and sausage, and then garnished with spicy horseradish.

    Anna Hurning, the creator of the blog Polish Your Kitchen, was born and raised in Poland and now lives in Szczecin in the northwest region.

    Żurek is regarded as something of a national treasure in the Central European country.

    “It’s sour, tangy and meaty,” said Anna Hurning, the creator of the blog Polish Your Kitchen. Hurning was born and raised in Poland and now lives in the city of Szczecin.

    She makes żurek every Easter and serves it as an appetizer.

    To make the soup, first, you need to make a rye starter: Mix flour and cold water with aromatics (including garlic, allspice, peppercorns, marjoram and bay leaves). Then, let it sit on your counter for several days to ferment. Hurning said this is how it gets its “funky” flavor. Don’t be intimated by this step – she said it’s supereasy. You just let nature do the trick.

    Next, the sour starter is boiled with the soup base. Hurning’s version consists of bacon, carrots, parsnip and onion.

    This soup is served all over the country year-round and on Easter with many variations. Some have it with sauerkraut and smoked goat cheese. Others add potatoes and wild mushrooms.

    Singaporean beef murtabak is an egg crepe wrapped around ground beef served with fresh lime, chili sauce and raita.

    The cuisine in Singapore is truly a mélange of cultures: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Peranakan. Pinpointing dishes authentic to Singapore might seem like an impossible feat, but that’s exactly the endeavor chef Damian D’Silva has chosen.

    “If I don’t do anything to preserve the cuisine of our heritage, one day it will all disappear,” said D’Silva, chef at Rempapa in Singapore. He has been cooking heritage cuisine professionally for more than two decades.

    “The cuisine is very unique. You can have one dish in Singapore, but you have five different ways of preparing it,” he said. “And no one is wrong because every ethnicity puts in their own story and ingredients.”

    Chef Damian D'Silva showcases Singapore's heritage cuisine.

    D’Silva grew up in Singapore, and one of his childhood favorites was beef murtabak. His granddad made it on Easter and served it after Mass – marking the end of Lent. D’Silva remembers looking forward to the savory dish after going 40 days without meat.

    “When Easter happened, it was a celebration and, of course when it’s a celebration, the thing that comes to mind is meat,” he said. “We only ate beef on very, very special occasions.”

    Beef murtabak is an egg crepe wrapped around ground beef. The beef is marinated in curry powder, then cooked with an onion and garlic paste and spices (star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg). The dish is served with fresh lime, chili sauce and raita.

    “The aromatics are the one that lifts the entire dish and bring it to another level,” D’Silva said.

    D’Silva has tried to find the origin of the dish. But like many Singaporean dishes, it goes so far back that nobody knows where it started.

    D’Silva’s beef murtabak celebrates Singapore’s heritage.

    “Singapore is a lot more than chili crab and chicken rice. It’s a lot, lot more than that,” D’Silva said. “If you have an opportunity to go to a restaurant that serves Singapore’s heritage cuisine, go, because it’s mind-blowing: the flavor, the ingredients. Everything about it.”

    What sets apart Lola Osinkolu's Nigerian jollof rice is the added step of roasting the bell peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic.

    Loud, large and plentiful – that’s how Lola Osinkolu, who’s behind the blog Chef Lola’s Kitchen, describes Easter in Nigeria.

    Osinkolu, who was born and raised in Nigeria, said after church Easter Sunday morning, her family would go home and start cooking.

    Osinkolu is the creator of Chef Lola's Kitchen. She was born and raised in Nigeria.

    “We cook, cook and cook. We would cook for hours.”

    The dish that was the star of the show? Nigerian jollof rice.

    Osinkolu compares the tomato-based rice dish – which likely originated in Senegal and spread to West African countries – to jambalaya. It’s a party staple in Nigeria.

    “It’s spicy and delicious,” she said.

    Jollof contains long-grain rice and Nigerian-style curry powder for seasoning, and there are many ways to cook the dish that involve endless permutations of meat, spices, chiles, onions and vegetables.

    Osinkolu’s recipe, called The Party Style With Beef, comes from her mom. But Osinkolu added her own secret step: roasting the bell peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic.

    “At home, whenever we are having parties, we don’t cook our jollof rice on the stovetop. We use open fire, so the jollof rice has a smoky taste, which makes it more delicious,” Osinkolu said. “So, I roast the bell peppers to achieve a similar, or very close, taste. It makes a lot of difference.”

    Her jollof is so popular that she now knows to always make extra for her guests to take home. “I get the same comment over and over about how delicious it is,” she said.

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  • Income Tax Deadline Fast Facts | CNN

    Income Tax Deadline Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the annual income tax filing deadline in the United States. April 15, 2024, is the deadline to file 2023 income tax returns.

    In fiscal year 2022, the IRS amassed more than $4.9 trillion in gross tax collections.

    (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, FY 2023)
    Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, marketplace subsidies 24%
    Social Security 21%
    National Defense 13%
    Economic security programs 8%
    Benefits for veterans & federal retirees 8%
    Interest on debt 10%
    Education 4%
    Transportation 2%
    Natural resources and agricultrue 1%
    Science and medical research 1%
    Law enforcement 1%
    International 1%
    All other 4%

    1862 – During the Civil War, the IRS is born when President Abraham Lincoln and Congress create the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and enact an income tax to pay war expenses. The first income tax levies 3% on incomes between $600 and $10,000 and 5% on anything over $10,000. This income tax lasts until 1872.

    1895 – The Supreme Court rules in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co. that taxing incomes uniformly throughout the United States is unconstitutional.

    1913 – The 16th Amendment is ratified by the states, giving Congress the authority to enact an income tax. Congress also introduces the first 1040 form and levies a 1% tax on personal incomes over $3,000 with 6% surtax on incomes of more than $500,000.

    1954 – The tax filing deadline is moved from March 15 to April 15, to give taxpayers more time to prepare their returns.

    January 3, 1996 – Congress enacts the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to ensure relief from overzealous collection efforts on the part of IRS personnel.

    March 20, 2020 – Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin tweets that tax day is moving from April 15 to July 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    March 17, 2021 – The IRS announces the filing deadline has been moved from April 15 to May 17, to allow filers more time to navigate tax situations complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.

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  • John Delaney Fast Facts | CNN Politics

    John Delaney Fast Facts | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    Here is a look at the life of John Delaney, a businessman, former US representative from Maryland and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

    Birth date: April 16, 1963

    Birth place: Wood-Ridge, New Jersey

    Birth name: John Kevin Delaney

    Father: Jack Delaney, electrician

    Mother: Elaine (Rowe) Delaney, homemaker

    Marriage: April McClain-Delaney

    Children: Summer, Lily, Grace and Brooke

    Education: Columbia University, B.S., 1985; Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. 1988

    Religion: Roman Catholic

    Went to Columbia University on scholarships from his father’s trade union, the American Legion, the VFW and the Lions Club.

    Delaney was one of the wealthiest members of the US Congress when he served as a representative from Maryland, according to the 2018 Roll Call Wealth of Congress analysis, which placed him as the sixth-richest, with a calculated net worth of $93 million.

    The youngest CEO of a publicly traded company when his first company was listed on the stock exchange.

    He practiced law briefly at Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge in the late 1980s, after completing law school.

    1990-1992 – Co-owns and runs American Home Therapies, a health care firm, with Ethan Leder.

    1993 – Co-founds HealthCare Financial Partners, a lender to health care companies, with Leder and Edward Nordberg Jr.

    1993-1997 – Serves as chairman of the board, CEO and president of HealthCare Financial Partners.

    2000-2009 – Co-founds and acts as CEO/executive manager of CapitalSource, a lender to small- and medium-sized businesses.

    2010 -2012 – Serves as executive chairman of CapitalSource.

    April 6, 2012 – Resigns as executive chairman of CapitalSource after becoming the Democratic candidate in Maryland’s 6th District race.

    January 3, 2013-January 3, 2019 – US representative from Maryland’s 6th District.

    July 28, 2017 – Announces in a Washington Post opinion piece that he is running for president and will not run for reelection to the House of Representatives.

    May 29, 2018 – Delaney’s book, “The Right Answer: How We Can Unify Our Divided Nation,” is published.

    January 31, 2020 – Delaney announces that he is ending his 2020 presidential campaign.

    September 21, 2021 – Delaney founds Forbright Inc. and becomes executive chairman of Forbright Bank, formerly Congressional Bank. Delaney purchased control of Congressional Bank in 2011.

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  • Apple Fast Facts | CNN

    Apple Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at Apple, Inc, creator of the Mac computer and the iPhone.

    The corporate headquarters are in Cupertino, California.

    As of September 2023, the company reported that it employs approximately 161,000 people full-time.

    April 1, 1976 – Apple Computers, Inc. is founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Their first product is the Apple I personal computer.

    June 1977 – The Apple II is released.

    December 1980 – Apple conducts an initial public offering of 4.6 million shares at $22 per share.

    January 1983 – Apple introduces the Lisa, a new brand of personal computer.

    January 22, 1984 – The Macintosh computer is introduced with a futuristic commercial that airs during the Super Bowl.

    1985 – Apple discontinues the Lisa after a disappointing run, and Jobs leaves the company.

    December 1996 – Apple buys Jobs’ company, NeXT Software.

    1997 – In the wake of corporate shakeups and a sales slump, Apple welcomes Jobs back as interim CEO.

    August 15, 1998 – The iMac, a streamlined personal computer, debuts.

    January 2000 – Jobs becomes permanent CEO.

    January 9, 2001 – iTunes is introduced.

    October 23, 2001 – The iPod MP3 player makes its debut.

    January 2003 – Apple releases the Safari web browser.

    April 28, 2003 – Apple introduces the iTunes Music Store.

    January 2006 – Apple rolls out its first Intel-based computers, the iMac and the MacBook Pro.

    January 9, 2007 – The iPhone is unveiled.

    March 2007 – Apple TV hits stores.

    January 27, 2010 – The iPad is announced.

    June 6, 2011 – Apple announces iCloud, an online media storage system.

    August 24, 2011 – Jobs resigns as CEO. Tim Cook takes his place.

    October 5, 2011 – Jobs dies after battling cancer.

    February 6, 2013 – Apple announces that iTunes has reached a milestone of 25 billion songs sold.

    May 28, 2014 – Apple announces deal to buy Beats for $3 billion.

    June 9, 2014 – Apple conducts a stock split, bringing the price down from $647.50 to $92.44.

    September 9, 2014 – Apple unveils the Apple Watch, a wearable device.

    December 16, 2014 – Apple wins an antitrust lawsuit brought by eight million iPod owners who alleged that Apple abused its monopoly power in the music industry to force out competition.

    June 8, 2015 – Apple unveils Apple Music, a streaming music service, live radio station and social network.

    February 3, 2016 – A jury orders Apple to pay $626 million in damages after finding that iMessage, FaceTime and other Apple software infringed on another company’s patents. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2010 by the company VirnetX, accuses Apple of violating four patents, which mostly involve methods for real-time communications over the Internet.

    February 16, 2016 – Apple refuses to comply with a California judge’s order to assist the FBI in hacking the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman. A public letter signed by Cook states why the company is refusing to abide by the government’s demands.

    March 28, 2016 – The Department of Justice says the FBI has “successfully retrieved the data stored on the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone,” and is dropping the case against Apple, since it no longer needs the company’s help.

    August 30, 2016 – The European Union rules that Apple must pay Ireland $14.5 billion in back taxes. According to the EU, Ireland had been giving the tech company a break on taxes for more than two decades. Ireland’s finance minister issues a statement criticizing the EU’s ruling and declares that the country does not play favorites with a lower tax rate for certain companies. In a letter, Cook says he anticipates the EU’s tax ruling will be reversed on appeal.

    September 12, 2017 – Apple unveils the iPhone X, alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus – all of which support wireless charging. The iPhone X will also feature facial detection technology, no home button, a 3D camera and an edge-to-edge screen.

    December 21, 2017 – Apple issues a statement saying that it has used software updates to limit the performance of older iPhones that may have battery issues that would cause them to turn off suddenly.

    December 28, 2017 – Apple apologizes to customers for how it rolled out an update that can slow down older iPhones. It is offering cheaper battery replacements to make up for it.

    June 15, 2018 – Oprah Winfrey signs a multiyear deal with Apple to create new original programming.

    August 2, 2018 – Apple becomes the first American public company to surpass $1 trillion in value.

    October 10, 2019 – In a memo to employees, Cook defends Apple’s decision to pull a map app that Hong Kong protesters used to track police, saying that it had been used in ways that “endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong.”

    November 1, 2019 – Apple TV+, a subscription streaming service containing original programming, launches.

    November 4, 2019 – Apple announces a $2.5 billion financial package to help address the housing crisis in California, which has worsened in part because of the rapid growth of tech companies.

    July 29, 2020 – Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, CEO of Google’s parent company Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg all testify before a House subcommittee on anti-trust to address concerns that their businesses may be harming competition.

    August 20, 2020 – Apple reaches the $2 trillion market value mark.

    November 18, 2020 – Apple agrees to pay $113 million to settle an investigation by states including California and Arizona over how Apple wasn’t transparent about its iPhone battery problems that led to unexpected device shutdowns.

    December 14, 2020 – Launches Apple Fitness+, a service built around Apple Watch.

    November 23, 2021 – Apple files a lawsuit against NSO Group and its parent company, accusing the Israeli firm of violating a federal anti-hacking law by selling potent software that clients have used to spy on Apple customers. The lawsuit alleges that NSO’s spyware, known as Pegasus, and other malware have caused Apple monetary and property damages, and violated the human rights of Apple users along the way.

    January 3, 2022 – Apple becomes the world’s first company valued at $3 trillion.

    May 10, 2022 – Apple announces that it is ceasing production of the iPod.

    June 18, 2022 – Workers in Maryland vote to form the first-ever labor union at one of Apple’s US stores.

    June 30, 2023 – Apple’s stock ends trading valued at $3 trillion, the only company ever to reach that milestone.

    December 18, 2023 – Apple announces plans to stop selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in US due to a patent dispute. In January 2024, a federal appeals court denies the company’s motion to temporarily pause the ban while it appealed the US International Trade Commission ruling.

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  • Notable US Supreme Court Decisions Fast Facts | CNN

    Notable US Supreme Court Decisions Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at some of the most important cases decided by the US Supreme Court since 1789.

    1803 – Marbury v. Madison
    This decision established the system of checks and balances and the power of the Supreme Court within the federal government.

    Situation: Federalist William Marbury and many others were appointed to positions by outgoing President John Adams. The appointments were not finalized before the new Secretary of State James Madison took office, and Madison chose not to honor them. Marbury and the others invoked an Act of Congress and sued to get their appointed positions.

    The Court decided against Marbury 6-0.

    Historical significance: Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “An act of the legislature repugnant to the constitution is void.” It was the first time the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law that had been passed by Congress.

    1857 – Dred Scott v. Sandford
    This decision established that slaves were not citizens of the United States and were not protected under the US Constitution.

    Situation: Dred Scott and his wife Harriet sued for their freedom in Missouri, a slave state, after having lived with their owner, an Army surgeon, in the free Territory of Wisconsin.

    The Court decided against Scott 7-2.

    Historical significance: The decision overturned the Missouri Compromise, where Congress had prohibited slavery in the territories. The Dred Scott decision was overturned later with the adoption of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in 1865 and the 14th Amendment in 1868, granting citizenship to all born in the United States.

    1896 – Plessy v. Ferguson
    This decision established the rule of segregation, separate but equal.

    Situation: While attempting to test the constitutionality of the Separate Car Law in Louisiana, Homer Plessy, a man of 1/8 African descent, sat in the train car for whites instead of the blacks-only train car and was arrested.

    The Court decided against Plessy 7-1.

    Historical significance: Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote, “The argument also assumes that social prejudice may be overcome by legislation and that equal rights cannot be secured except by an enforced commingling of the two races… if the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.” The Court gave merit to the “Jim Crow” system. Plessy was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education decision. In January 2022 Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards granted a posthumous pardon to Homer Plessy. The pardon comes after the Louisiana Board of Pardons voted unanimously in November 2021 in favor of a pardon for Plessy, who died in his 60s in 1925.

    1954 – Brown v. Board of Education
    This decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and granted equal protection under the law.

    Situation: Segregation of the public school systems in the United States was addressed when cases in Kansas, South Carolina, Delaware and Virginia were all decided together under Brown v. Board of Education. Third-grader Linda Brown was denied admission to the white school a few blocks from her home and was forced to attend the blacks-only school a mile away.

    The Court decided in favor of Brown unanimously.

    Historical significance: Racial segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

    1963 – Gideon v. Wainwright
    This decision guarantees the right to counsel.

    Situation: Clarence Earl Gideon was forced to defend himself when he requested a lawyer from a Florida court and was refused. He was convicted and sentenced to five years for breaking and entering.

    The Court decided in favor of Gideon unanimously.

    Historical significance: Ensures the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee to counsel is applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment’s due process clause.

    1964 – New York Times v. Sullivan
    This decision upheld the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

    Situation: The New York Times and four African-American ministers were sued for libel by Montgomery, Alabama, police commissioner L.B. Sullivan. Sullivan claimed a full-page ad in the Times discussing the arrest of Martin Luther King Jr., and his efforts toward voter registration and integration in Montgomery were defamatory against him. Alabama’s libel law did not require Sullivan to prove harm since the ad did contain factual errors. He was awarded $500,000.

    The Court decided against Sullivan unanimously.

    Historical significance: The First Amendment protects free speech and publication of all statements about public officials made without actual malice.

    1966 – Miranda v. Arizona
    The decision established the rights of suspects against self-incrimination.

    Situation: Ernesto Miranda was convicted of rape and kidnapping after he confessed, while in police custody, without benefit of counsel or knowledge of his constitutional right to remain silent.

    The court decided in favor of Miranda 5-4.

    Historical significance: Upon arrest and/or questioning, all suspects are given some form of their constitutional rights – “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

    1973 – Roe v. Wade
    This decision expanded privacy rights to include a woman’s right to choose pregnancy or abortion.

    Situation: “Jane Roe” (Norma McCorvey), single and living in Texas, did not want to continue her third pregnancy. Under Texas law, she could not legally obtain an abortion.

    The Court decided in favor of Roe 7-2.

    Historical significance: Abortion is legal in all 50 states. Women have the right to choose between pregnancy and abortion.

    1974 – United States v. Nixon
    This decision established that executive privilege is neither absolute nor unqualified.

    Situation: President Richard Nixon’s taped conversations from 1971 onward were the object of subpoenas by both the special prosecutor and those under indictment in the Watergate scandal. The president claimed immunity from subpoena under executive privilege.

    The Court decided against Nixon 8-0.

    Historical significance: The president is not above the law. After the Court ruled on July 24, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned on August 8.

    1978 – Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke
    This decision ruled that race cannot be the only factor in college admissions.

    Situation: Allan Bakke had twice applied for and was denied admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. Bakke was white, male and 35 years old. He claimed under California’s affirmative action plan, minorities with lower grades and test scores were admitted to the medical school when he was not, therefore his denial of admission was based solely on race.

    The Court decided in Bakke’s favor, 5-4.

    Historical significance: Affirmative action is approved by the Court and schools may use race as an admissions factor. However, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment works both ways in the case of affirmative action; race cannot be the only factor in the admissions process.

    2012 – National Federation of Independent Business et al v. Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services et al

    Situation: The constitutionality of the sweeping health care reform law championed by President Barack Obama.

    The Court voted 5-4 in favor of upholding the Affordable Care Act.

    Historical significance: The ruling upholds the law’s central provision – a requirement that all people have health insurance or pay a penalty.

    2013 – United States v. Windsor
    This decision ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined the term “marriage” under federal law as a “legal union between one man and one woman” deprived same-sex couples who are legally married under state laws of their Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection under federal law.

    Situation: Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer were married in Toronto in 2007. Their marriage was recognized by New York state, where they lived. Upon Spyer’s death in 2009, Windsor was forced to pay $363,000 in estate taxes, because their marriage was not recognized by federal law.

    The court voted 5-4 in favor of Windsor.

    Historical significance: The court strikes down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that legally married same-sex couples are entitled to federal benefits.

    2015 – King et al, v. Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al

    Situation: This case was about determining whether or not the portion of the Affordable Care Act which says subsidies would be available only to those who purchase insurance on exchanges “established by the state” referred to the individual states.

    The Court ruled 6-3 in favor of upholding the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

    Historical significance: The court rules that the Affordable Care Act federal tax credits for eligible Americans are available in all 50 states, regardless of whether the states have their own health care exchanges.

    2015 – Obergefell et al, v. Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health, et al.

    Situation: Multiple lower courts had struck down state same-sex marriage bans. There were 37 states allowing gay marriage before the issue went to the Supreme Court.

    The Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Obergefell et al.

    Historical significance: The court rules that states cannot ban same-sex marriage and must recognize lawful marriages performed out of state.

    2016 – Fisher v. University of Texas

    Situation: Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas after her admission application was rejected in 2008. She claimed it was because she is white and that she was being treated differently than some less-qualified minority students who were accepted. In 2013 the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts for further review.

    The Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the University of Texas. Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case, presumably because she dealt with it in her previous job as solicitor general.

    Historical Significance: The court rules that taking race into consideration as one factor of admission is constitutional.

    2020 – Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia

    Situation: Gerald Bostock filed a lawsuit against Clayton County for discrimination based on his sexual orientation after he was terminated for “conduct unbecoming of its employees,” shortly after he began participating in a gay softball league. Two other consolidated cases were also argued on the same day.

    The 6-3 opinion in favor of the plaintiff, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, states that being fired “merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII” of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    Historical Significance: Federal anti-bias law now protects people who face job loss and/or discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

    2022 – Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

    Situation: Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, passed in 2018 and which greatly restricts abortion after 15 weeks, is blocked by two federal courts, holding that it is in direct violation of Supreme Court precedent legalizing abortion nationwide prior to viability, which can occur at around 23-24 weeks of pregnancy, and that in an “unbroken line dating to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion cases have established (and affirmed and re-affirmed) a woman’s right to choose an abortion before viability.” The court said states may “regulate abortion procedures prior to viability” so long as they do not ban abortion. “The law at issue is a ban,” the court held. 

    Mississippi appeals the decision to the Supreme Court.

    The 6-3 opinion in favor of the plaintiff, written by Justice Samuel Alito states that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start…Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

    In a joint dissenting opinion, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan heavily criticized the majority, closing: “With sorrow – for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection – we dissent.”

    Historical Significance: The ruling overturns Roe v. Wade and there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion, leaving abortion rights to be determined by states.

    1944 – Korematsu v. United States – The Court ruled Executive Order 9066, internment of Japanese citizens during World War II, is legal, 6-3 for the United States.

    1961 – Mapp v. Ohio – “Fruit of the poisonous tree,” evidence obtained through an illegal search, cannot be used at trial, 6-3 for Mapp.

    1967 – Loving v. Virginia – Prohibition against interracial marriage was ruled unconstitutional, 9-0 for Loving.

    1968 – Terry v. Ohio – Stop and frisk, under certain circumstances, does not violate the Constitution. The Court upholds Terry’s conviction and rules 8-1 that it is not unconstitutional for police to stop and frisk individuals without probable cause for an arrest if they have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has or is about to occur.

    2008 – District of Columbia v. Heller – The Second Amendment does protect the individual’s right to bear arms, 5-4 for Heller.

    2010 – Citizens United v. FEC – The Court rules corporations can contribute to PACs under the First Amendment’s right to free speech, 5-4 for Citizens United.

    2023 – Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard together with Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina – Colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis in admissions. The majority opinion, written by Justice John Roberts, claims the court is not expressly overturning prior cases authorizing race-based affirmative action and suggests that how race has affected an applicant’s life can still be part of how their application is considered.

    2024 – Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson, et al – The Court rules former President Donald Trump should appear on the ballot in Colorado in a decision that follows months of debate over whether Trump violated the “insurrectionist clause” included in the 14th Amendment.

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  • Oprah Winfrey Fast Facts | CNN

    Oprah Winfrey Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here is a look at the life of Oprah Winfrey, who hosted the award-winning “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

    Birth date: January 29, 1954

    Birth place: Kosciusko, Mississippi

    Birth name: Oprah Gail Winfrey

    Father: Vernon Winfrey, a barber

    Mother: Vernita Lee, a maid (parents never married)

    Education: Tennessee State University, B.A., Speech and Performing Arts, 1976

    At age 19, while still a sophomore in college, becomes the youngest and first African-American anchor for WTVF-TV in Nashville.

    Winfrey’s first name is spelled Orpah on her birth certificate but there was confusion over how to pronounce the name, so the spelling was changed to Oprah. In an interview with the Academy of Achievement, Winfrey explained that her aunt chose the name Orpah as a bible reference. Winfrey said that she’s happy the spelling got switched to Oprah because backwards it spells Harpo.

    Stedman Graham has been her companion for more than 30 years.

    Together, Winfrey and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” received a total of 16 Daytime Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Talk Show Host” and ” Outstanding Talk Show,” and one for her work as supervising producer of the “ABC Afterschool Special: Shades of a Single Protein.” Winfrey was also presented with two honorary awards.

    After removing her name from competition in the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2000, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” won Emmy awards in the technical categories only.

    Winfrey has been involved in various projects that have garnered many Primetime Emmy Award nominations, she has won one, and was also presented with an honorary award.

    Two Academy Award nominations. Received one honorary award.

    Two Tony Award nominations with one win.

    1976 – Becomes a news co-anchor at WJZ-TV in Baltimore.

    January 1984 – Becomes the anchor of “A.M. Chicago,” which airs opposite Phil Donahue.

    September 1985 – The show is renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

    1985-2011 – Host of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” the highest-rated talk show in history.

    1985 – Makes her film debut in “The Color Purple,” for which she is nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

    November 8, 1986 – “The Oprah Winfrey Show” goes into national syndication.

    1987, 1988, 1989, 1991-1992, 1994-1996 and 1997 – Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Talk Show for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

    1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998 – Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Talk Show Host for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

    1988 – Forms her own production company, Harpo Inc.

    December 20, 1993 – President Bill Clinton honors Oprah by signing into law the “Oprah Bill,” following her 1991 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee advocating for a national database to search for child abusers. This bill, officially called the National Child Protection Act, creates a national criminal history background check system.

    1993 – Wins the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Special, “ABC Afterschool Special: Shades of a Single Protein.” Oprah is also inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

    1996 – Starts “Oprah’s Book Club” on her show. The book club becomes very influential in the publishing world as selected books rise to the top of bestseller lists.

    1997 – Starts Oprah’s Angel Network, a charitable foundation.

    1998 – Winfrey is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmy Awards.

    1998 – Produces the movie “Beloved.”

    1998 – Partners with Oxygen Media, which plans to operate a 24-hour cable channel for women.

    1999 – Withdraws her name for consideration in the Daytime Emmy Awards.

    2000 – Wins the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie for “Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays with Morrie.”

    April 2000 – Launches “O, The Oprah Magazine,” and the Oxygen Network.

    2002 – Accepts the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

    February 2003 – Becomes the first African-American woman on Forbes magazine’s “World’s Richest People” list, with a net worth of about $1 billion.

    September 13, 2004 – Begins a new season of her talk show by giving each member of the audience a brand-new car.

    September 26, 2005 – Winfrey announces that she is investing more than $1 million to bring the musical “The Color Purple” to Broadway in December 2005.

    September 25, 2006-January 1, 2015 – Oprah and Friends (renamed Oprah Radio) airs on SiriusXM Radio.

    January 2, 2007 – The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls opens in Henley-on-Klip, South Africa. The school houses 152 girls from deprived backgrounds and provides them with an education. Winfrey has reportedly spent $40 million opening the school.

    September 8, 2007 – Hosts a fundraiser for presidential hopeful Barack Obama at her California home.

    October 2007 – NBC buys the Oxygen Network for $925 million.

    January 15, 2008 – Winfrey and Discovery Communications announce that beginning in 2009 the Discovery Health Channel will be renamed OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

    November 20, 2009 – Announces on her show that she will discontinue her talk show in 2011. She will then move to California and launch OWN.

    December 5, 2010 – Winfrey is honored at the Kennedy Center as part of the 33rd annual Kennedy Center Honors gala.

    January 1, 2011 – OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network debuts.

    May 25, 2011 – The last “Oprah Winfrey Show” airs. There are no guests for this episode.

    June 19, 2011 – Receives the Chairman’s Crystal Pillar Award for her decades of work in network television from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

    November 12, 2011 – Winfrey receives an honorary Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

    January 1, 2012 – Winfrey’s new show, “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” debuts on the OWN network.

    November 20, 2013 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.

    October 19, 2015 – Winfrey and Weight Watchers announce a partnership in which Winfrey is buying a 10% stake in the company and taking a seat on its board of directors.

    June 12, 2016 – Wins a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for “The Color Purple.”

    January 3, 2017 – Releases a cookbook, “Food, Health, and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life.”

    January 31, 2017 – CBS announces that Winfrey will be a special contributor to “60 Minutes,” starting in the fall of 2017.

    August 9, 2017 – Partners with the Kraft Heinz Company to produce a line of refrigerated comfort food called O, That’s Good!, available in stores beginning October 2017.

    January 7, 2018 – Winfrey receives the 2018 Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is given “to a talented individual for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”

    February 20, 2018 – Announces she is donating $500,000 to March For Our Lives, an event formed in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

    June 15, 2018 – Apple announces Winfrey has signed a multi-year deal with the company to create new original programming.

    July 11, 2018 – Winfrey invests in True Food Kitchen, a Phoenix-based healthy restaurant chain.

    November 1, 2018 – Delivers a speech in support of Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. “For anybody here who has an ancestor who didn’t have the right to vote, and you are choosing not to vote – wherever you are in this state, in this country – you are dishonoring your family,” Winfrey said in Marietta, Georgia.

    April 8, 2019 – The Hispanic Federation and the Flamboyan Arts Fund announce that Winfrey is donating $2 million to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.

    April 10, 2019 – It is announced that Winfrey and Prince Harry are partnering on a multi-part documentary series focusing on mental health. The series is set to air on the Apple TV platform in 2020.

    October 7, 2019 – While at Morehouse College celebrating its 30th anniversary, Winfrey announces a $13 million donation to its scholarship fund. This brings her total donation to $25 million. It is the largest endowment in the college’s history, according to the school.

    January 10, 2020 – Withdraws as executive producer of a documentary expose concerning allegations of sexual misconduct against Russell Simmons. “On the Record” was being produced for air on the Apple TV streaming platform as part of Winfrey’s multi-year content partnership with the company.

    April 2, 2020 – Announces that she has donated $10 million “to help Americans during this pandemic in cities across the country.” Of her total donation, $1 million will go toward America’s Food Fund to alleviate food insecurity. The rest will be donated to other groups helping Americans during the pandemic.

    July 30, 2020 – “The Oprah Conversation” debuts on Apple TV+.

    July 30, 2020 – It’s announced that Breonna Taylor will be featured on the cover of O magazine. The first time in the magazine’s 20 year history that Winfrey hasn’t been on the cover.

    March 7, 2021 – “Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special” airs on CBS, and draws over 17 million viewers in the United States.

    December 13, 2023 – A painting honoring Winfrey is unveiled at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

    February 28, 2024 – It is announced that Oprah is leaving the board of WeightWatchers, ending a nearly decade-long stint as director of the company. Winfrey will also be giving away her stake in the company, donating all of her stock to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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  • World’s best spicy foods: 20 dishes to try | CNN

    World’s best spicy foods: 20 dishes to try | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Some like it hot – and some like it hotter, still.

    When it comes to the world’s best spicy dishes, we have some of the world’s hottest peppers to thank, along with incredible layers of flavor and a long, spice-loving human history.

    “Spicy food, or at least spiced foods, clearly predates the idea of countries and their cuisine by a very, very long time,” says Indian author Saurav Dutt, who is writing a book about the spiciest foods on the Indian subcontinent.

    “Every spicy ingredient has a wild ancestor,” he says. “Ginger, horseradish, mustard, chiles and so on have predecessors which led to their domestication.”

    Hunter-gatherer groups historically made use of various wild ingredients to flavor their foods, Dutt says, and there are many ingredients all over the world that can lend a spicy taste to a dish or stand on their own.

    Peppers – a headliner for heat – are rated on the Scoville Heat Units scale, which measures capsaicin and other active components of chile peppers. By that measure, the Carolina Reaper is among the hottest in the world, while habaneros, Scotch bonnets and bird’s eye chiles drop down a few rungs on the mop-your-brow scale.

    Redolent with ghost peppers, Scotch bonnets, serranos, chiltepin peppers, mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns and more, the following spicy dishes from around the world bring the heat in the most delicious way.

    Ata rodo – Scotch bonnet pepper – brings the fire to Nigeria’s famous spicy soup. Egusi is made by pounding the seeds from the egusi melon, an indigenous West African fruit that’s related to the watermelon.

    In addition to being protein-packed, the melon’s seeds serve to thicken and add texture and flavor to the soup’s mix of meat, seafood and leafy vegetables. Pounded yams are often served alongside this dish, helping to temper the scorch of the Scotch bonnets.

    “The joy of this dish is not only the delightful warming ingredients of cinnamon, cloves, star anise and, of course, the Sichuan peppercorns, but the fact that you can cook exactly what you like in the bubbling spicy broth,” says British-born Chinese chef Kwoklyn Wan, author of “The Complete Chinese Takeout Cookbook.”

    Duck, seafood, chicken, pork, lamb and seasonal vegetables are all fair game for tossing into the pot to simmer in a mouth-numbing broth made with Sichuan peppercorns and dried Sichuan peppers for serious kick (the dipping sauce served on the side often has chile paste, too).

    Also known as Chongqing hot pot, the dish is said to have originated as a popular food among Yangtze River boatmen. It’s enjoyed by those who can handle its heat all over China, not to mention elsewhere around the world.

    Som tam, Thailand

    A green papaya salad with a fiery kick.

    From northeastern Thailand’s spice-loving Isaan province, this fresh and fiery salad is a staple dish at Thai restaurants around the world and is also popular in neighboring Laos.

    Som tam turns to green (unripe) papaya for its main ingredient, which is usually julienned or shredded for the salad. The papaya is then tossed with long beans or green beans and a mix of flavorful Asian essentials that include tamarind juice, dried shrimp, fish sauce and sugar cane paste, among other ingredients. Thai chiles, also called bird’s eye chiles, give the salad its requisite kick.

    Piri-piri chicken, Mozambique and Angola

    The Portuguese introduced this spicy dish also known as peri-peri chicken into Angola and Mozambique as far back as the 15th century, when they mixed African chiles with European ingredients (piri-piri means “pepper pepper” in Swahili). And it’s the perky red pepper of the same name that brings the spiciness to this complex, layered and delicious dish.

    Piri-piri chicken’s poultry cuts are marinated in chiles, olive oil, lemon, garlic and herbs such as basil and oregano for a fiery flavor that blends salty, sour and sweet. The dish is also popular in Namibia and South Africa, where it’s often found on the menu in Portuguese restaurants.

    The glossy red hues dancing on a plate of this popular pork dish, a version of which hails from Mao Zedong’s home province, give a hint about the mouth experience to come. The dish was apparently a favorite of the communist leader, who requested his chefs in Beijing prepare it for him.

    Chairman Mao’s braised pork belly – called Mao shi hong shao rou in China – is often served as the main dish for sharing at a family table and is made by braising chunks of pork belly with soy sauce, dried chiles and spices.

    “It is a very delicious and moreish dish due to the caramelized sugar and dark soy sauce being reduced and all the aromatics (that coat the pork belly),” wrote BBC “Best Home Cook” winner Suzie Lee, author of “Simply Chinese,” in an email to CNN Travel.

    Scotch bonnet peppers give jerk chicken its heat.

    Jamaica’s favorite pepper is the Scotch bonnet, beloved not just for its spiciness but for its aroma, colors and flavor, too, says Mark Harvey, content creator and podcaster at Two On An Island, who was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica.

    “For Jamaicans, the degree of spiciness starts at medium for children and goes up to purple hot,” he says, explaining that the peppers come in green, orange, red and purple hues, growing increasingly spicy in that order.

    Scotch bonnets star in several of the island’s iconic dishes, including escovitch fish, pepper pot soup and curry goat. But you might recognize them most from the ubiquitous jerk chicken and pork smoking roadside everywhere from Montego Bay to Boston Bay, where meat prepared with the peppery marinade is cooked the traditional way, atop coals from pimento tree wood (the tree’s allspice berries are also used in the jerk marinade).

    Popular on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok, in particular, this whole chicken dish is stuffed with an intensely aromatic spice paste (betutu) that usually includes a mashup of fresh hot chile peppers, galangal (a root related to ginger), candlenuts, shallots, garlic, turmeric and shrimp paste, among other ingredients.

    The chicken is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, bringing the aromatics out all the more and flavoring the chicken to the max. Best shared, ayam betutu is often presented at religious ceremonies in Bali, but you’ll find it at restaurants specializing in it throughout the islands, too.

    Spicy wings are an American sports bar staple.

    Beer and buffalo chicken wings are as American as, well, hamburgers. And if you’re not eating them alongside a pile of celery sticks and a ramekin of dunking sauce – traditionally blue cheese dip, but ranch works, too – you’re missing half the picture.

    A sports bar staple at chain restaurants such as Buffalo Wild Wings and more refined outposts, too, from Alaska to Maine, “wings” are actually made up of the wing parts called drumettes and wingettes, which have the most meat.

    Buffalo wings, said to have been invented in a bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964, are among the spiciest preparations (other popular variations include teriyaki wings and honey garlic wings). Make them as fiery as you like using a sauce that includes cayenne pepper, butter, vinegar, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.

    A relative of ceviche, this Mexican dish traditionally gets its fire from chiltepín peppers.

    Similar to ceviche but with more bite, this raw marinated shrimp dish from the western Mexican state of Sinaloa (and a staple along the Baja Peninsula, too) tastes as good as it looks.

    Tiny but mighty chiltepín peppers (they look like bright little berries), grown throughout the United States and Mexico, make the spicy magic happen in shrimp aguachiles, which means “pepper water.” If you can’t find those, serrano and jalapeño peppers also do the trick.

    Marinate the raw shrimp with ingredients including lime juice, cilantro, red onion and cucumber and enjoy with crispy tostadas.

    Pad ka prao, Thailand

    A go-to dish when you want something satisfying – but with kick – pad ka prao is a mealtime staple in Thailand, where you’ll find it on offer at street-side stalls and restaurants everywhere from Bangkok to the islands.

    Considered the Thai equivalent of a sandwich or a burger, the dish is a mix of ground pork, spicy Thai chile peppers and holy basil and can be ordered as spicy as you like. Many locals believe it’s best topped with a fried egg with a runny yolk.

    Beef rendang, Indonesia and Malaysia

    A fiery favorite that originated in West Sumatra, versions of beef rendang are also enjoyed in Indonesia’s neighboring countries, including Malaysia and Brunei, as well as the Philippines.

    This flavorful dry curry dish calls on kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, star anise and red chile, among other spices, to deliver its complexity. It’s often presented to guests and served during festive events.

    The fermented cabbage dish kimchi might be the spicy Korean dish that first comes to mind, but when you want some extra kick, dakdoritang does the trick.

    Comfort food to the max, the chicken stew doubles down on its spiciness with liberal doses of gochugaru (Korean chile powder) and gochujang (Korean chile paste) mixed with rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil in a braising sauce that packs the bone-in chicken pieces with flavor. It’s often served with carrots, onions and potatoes.

    Phaal Curry, Birmingham, England (via Bangladesh)

    This tomato-based British-Asian curry invented in Birmingham, England, curry houses by British Bangladeshi restaurateurs is thought to be one of the spiciest curries in the world.

    “Typically the sauce has a tomato base with ginger, fennel seeds and copious amounts of chile, habanero or Scotch bonnet, peppers,” says Indian author Saurav Dutt.

    As many as 10 pepper types may find their way into phaal curry, he says, including bird’s eye chiles and the bhut jolokia (also known as the ghost pepper, it’s one of the world’s hottest peppers). Even hotter than vindaloo, this dish will absolutely light your mouth up.

    This classic Roman pasta dish’s name gives you an idea of what to expect. “Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian. And penne all’arrabbiata pairs the relatively plain penne pasta with fiery flavors from the sauce (sugo all’arrabbiata) in which it’s slathered.

    “The peperoncino (red chile pepper) is what makes this sauce ‘angry’ (arrabbiata) or spicy,” Chris MacLean of Italy-based Open Tuesday Wines said via email.

    To tame the angry peppers in this garlic and tomato-based dish with a good glass of red wine, MacLean says to pair penne all’arrabbiata with a Cesanese, also from Rome’s Lazio region, with its crisp fruit and light tannins.

    “A wine that’s heavy in oak or alcohol would turn up the heat (in the dish) in your mouth and render the wine tasteless,” he warns.

    Chicken is simmered with roasted spices and coconut in this flavorful dish.

    “There’s a saying in South India that you are lucky to ‘eat like a Chettiar,’ ” says Dutt, referring to the Tamil-speaking community in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state credited with creating this spicy dish.

    “Like this chicken dish, the traditional Chettinad dishes mostly used locally sourced spices like star anise, pepper, kalpasi (stone flower) and marati mokku (dried flower pods),” he says.

    The chicken pieces are simmered in a medley of roasted spices and coconut, and it is traditionally served with steamed rice or the thin South Indian pancakes called dosa, fried chapati or naan.

    This Ethiopian dish leans on the fiery berbere spice blend.

    The fiery Ethiopian spice blend called berbere – aromatic with chile peppers, basil, cardamom, garlic and ginger – is instrumental to the flavor chorus that’s doro wat, Ethiopia’s much-loved spicy chicken stew.

    Topped with boiled eggs, the dish almost always finds a place at the table during weddings, religious holidays and other special occasions and family gatherings. If you’re invited to try it in Ethiopia at such an event, consider yourself very lucky indeed.

    Mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns bring the X-factor to this popular dish from China’s Sichuan province, which mixes chunks of silken tofu with ground meat (pork or beef) and a spicy fermented bean paste called doubanjiang.

    Mapo tofu’s fiery red color might as well be a warning to the uninitiated – Sichuan cuisine’s defining flavor, málà, has a numbing effect on the mouth called paresthesia that people tend to love or hate.

    A Portuguese-influenced dish from India’s southwestern state of Goa, vindaloo was not originally meant to be spicy, says Dutt. “It originally contained pork, potatoes (aloo) and vinegar (vin), giving you the name,” he says.

    But when the dish was exported to curry houses in the United Kingdom that were mostly run by Muslim Bangladeshi chefs, Dutt says, pork was replaced with beef, chicken or lamb and the dish evolved into a spicier hot curry.

    Ghost pepper flakes and Scotch bonnet peppers are among the peppers giving the dish its scorching taste. But in Goa, you can still find versions of the dish that swing more on the side of milder spices such as cinnamon and cardamom.

    Senegalese cooks are also big fans of Scotch bonnet peppers, named for their resemblance to the Scottish tam o’ shanter hat. And their spice-giving goodness is deployed liberally in one of the West African country’s favorite dishes, the spicy tomato and peanut or groundnut-based stew called mafé.

    Usually made with beef, lamb or chicken, the stew is made even heartier with potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables for one filling feed. Mafé is popular in other West African countries, too, including Mali and Gambia, and it can also be prepared without meat.

    Synonymous with watching the Super Bowl or hunkering down on a cold night, chili is a spicy American staple where you can opt to ratchet up the heat as much as you like.

    There are basically two pure forms of American chili – with or without beans (usually red kidney beans) – says Chef Julian Gonzalez of Sawmill Market in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In Texas, he explains, chili traditionally doesn’t have beans, which puts the focus on the spices and chiles used to flavor it, and he goes with that approach himself.

    “Traditionally chili is seasoned with chili powder, cumin and paprika,” Gonzalez says. From there, you can use other ingredients to make your recipe unique. Adding cayenne pepper is one way to turn up the heat.

    At his restaurant Red & Green, which serves New Mexican cuisine, Gonzalez’s green chile stew, made with pork and no beans, is seasoned with a mix of roasted green New Mexican hatch chiles (half mild and half with heat), onion and garlic powder.

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  • 2011 Japan Earthquake – Tsunami Fast Facts | CNN

    2011 Japan Earthquake – Tsunami Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011.

    March 11, 2011 – At 2:46 p.m., a 9.1 magnitude earthquake takes place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo at a depth of 15.2 miles.

    The earthquake causes a tsunami with 30-foot waves that damage several nuclear reactors in the area.

    It is the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan.

    Number of people killed and missing

    (Source: Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency)

    The combined total of confirmed deaths and missing is more than 22,000 (nearly 20,000 deaths and 2,500 missing). Deaths were caused by the initial earthquake and tsunami and by post-disaster health conditions.

    At the time of the earthquake, Japan had 54 nuclear reactors, with two under construction, and 17 power plants, which produced about 30% of Japan’s electricity (IAEA 2011).

    Material damage from the earthquake and tsunami is estimated at about 25 trillion yen ($300 billion).

    There are six reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, located about 65 km (40 miles) south of Sendai.

    A microsievert (mSv) is an internationally recognized unit measuring radiation dosage. People are typically exposed to a total of about 1,000 microsieverts in one year.

    The Japanese government estimated that the tsunami swept about five million tons of debris offshore, but that 70% sank, leaving 1.5 million tons floating in the Pacific Ocean. The debris was not considered to be radioactive.

    READ MORE: Fukushima: Five years after Japan’s worst nuclear disaster

    All times and dates are local Japanese time.

    March 11, 2011 – At 2:46 p.m., an 8.9 magnitude earthquake takes place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo. (8.9 = original recorded magnitude; later upgraded to 9.0, then 9.1.)
    – The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues a tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the US. About an hour after the quake, waves up to 30 feet high hit the Japanese coast, sweeping away vehicles, causing buildings to collapse, and severing roads and highways.
    – The Japanese government declares a state of emergency for the nuclear power plant near Sendai, 180 miles from Tokyo. Sixty to seventy thousand people living nearby are ordered to evacuate to shelters.

    March 12, 2011 – Overnight, a 6.2 magnitude aftershock hits the Nagano and Niigata prefectures (USGS).
    – At 5:00 a.m., a nuclear emergency is declared at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Officials report the earthquake and tsunami have cut off the plant’s electrical power, and that backup generators have been disabled by the tsunami.
    – Another aftershock hits the west coast of Honshu – 6.3 magnitude. (5:56 a.m.)
    – The Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announces that radiation near the plant’s main gate is more than eight times the normal level.
    – Cooling systems at three of the four units at the Fukushima Daini plant fail prompting state of emergency declarations there.
    – At least six million homes – 10% of Japan’s households – are without electricity, and a million are without water.
    – The US Geological Survey says the quake appears to have moved Honshu, Japan’s main island, by eight feet and has shifted the earth on its axis.
    – About 9,500 people – half the town’s population – are reported to be unaccounted for in Minamisanriku on Japan’s Pacific coast.

    March 13, 2011 – People living within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of the Fukushima Daini and 20 kilometers of the Fukushima Daiichi power plants begin a government-ordered evacuation. The total evacuated so far is about 185,000.
    – 50,000 Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel, 190 aircraft and 25 ships are deployed to help with rescue efforts.
    – A government official says a partial meltdown may be occurring at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, sparking fears of a widespread release of radioactive material. So far, three units there have experienced major problems in cooling radioactive material.

    March 14, 2011 – The US Geological Survey upgrades its measure of the earthquake to magnitude 9.0 from 8.9.
    – An explosion at the Daiichi plant No. 3 reactor causes a building’s wall to collapse, injuring six. The 600 residents remaining within 30 kilometers of the plant, despite an earlier evacuation order, have been ordered to stay indoors.
    – The No. 2 reactor at the Daiichi plant loses its cooling capabilities. Officials quickly work to pump seawater into the reactor, as they have been doing with two other reactors at the same plant, and the situation is resolved. Workers scramble to cool down fuel rods at two other reactors at the plant – No. 1 and No. 3.
    – Rolling blackouts begin in parts of Tokyo and eight prefectures. Downtown Tokyo is not included. Up to 45 million people will be affected in the rolling outages, which are scheduled to last until April.

    March 15, 2011 – The third explosion at the Daiichi plant in four days damages the suppression pool of reactor No. 2. Water continues to be injected into “pressure vessels” in order to cool down radioactive material.

    March 16, 2011 – The nuclear safety agency investigates the cause of a white cloud of smoke rising above the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Plans are canceled to use helicopters to pour water onto fuel rods that may have burned after a fire there, causing a spike in radiation levels. The plume is later found to have been vapor from a spent-fuel storage pool.
    – In a rare address, Emperor Akihito tells the nation to not give up hope, that “we need to understand and help each other.” A televised address by a sitting emperor is an extraordinarily rare event in Japan, usually reserved for times of extreme crisis or war.
    – After hydrogen explosions occur in three of the plant’s reactors (1, 2 and 3), Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says radiation levels “do not pose a direct threat to the human body” between 12 to 18 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) from the plant.

    March 17, 2011 – Gregory Jaczko, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tells US Congress that spent fuel rods in the No. 4 reactor have been exposed because there “is no water in the spent fuel pool,” resulting in the emission of “extremely high” levels of radiation.
    – Helicopters operated by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces begin dumping tons of seawater from the Pacific Ocean on to the No. 3 reactor to reduce overheating.
    – Radiation levels hit 20 millisieverts per hour at an annex building where workers have been trying to re-establish electrical power, “the highest registered (at that building) so far.” (Tokyo Electric Power Co.)

    March 18, 2011 – Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency raises the threat level from 4 to 5, putting it on a par with the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. The International Nuclear Events Scale says a Level 5 incident means there is a likelihood of a release of radioactive material, several deaths from radiation and severe damage to the reactor core.

    April 12, 2011 – Japan’s nuclear agency raises the Fukushima Daiichi crisis from Level 5 to a Level 7 event, the highest level, signifying a “major accident.” It is now on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union, which amounts to a “major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.”

    June 6, 2011 – Japan’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters reports reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced a full meltdown.

    June 30, 2011 – The Japanese government recommends more evacuations of households 50 to 60 kilometers northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The government said higher radiation is monitored sporadically in this area.

    July 16, 2011 – Kansai Electric announces a reactor at the Ohi nuclear plant will be shut down due to problems with an emergency cooling system. This leaves only 18 of Japan’s 54 nuclear plants producing electricity.

    October 31, 2011 – In response to questions about the safety of decontaminated water, Japanese government official Yasuhiro Sonoda drinks a glass of decontaminated water taken from a puddle at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

    November 2, 2011 – Kyushu Electric Power Co. announces it restarted the No. 4 reactor, the first to come back online since the March 11 disaster, at the Genkai nuclear power plant in western Japan.

    November 17, 2011 – Japanese authorities announce that they have halted the shipment of rice from some farms northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after finding higher-than-allowed levels of radioactive cesium.

    December 5, 2011 – Tokyo Electric Power Company announces at least 45 metric tons of radioactive water have leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility and may have reached the Pacific Ocean.

    December 16, 2011 – Japan’s Prime Minister says a “cold shutdown” has been achieved at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a symbolic milestone which means the plant’s crippled reactors have stayed at temperatures below the boiling point for some time.

    December 26, 2011 – Investigators report poorly trained operators at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant misread a key backup system and waited too long to start pumping water into the units, according to an interim report from the government committee probing the nuclear accident.

    February 27, 2012 – Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, an independent fact-finding committee, releases a report claiming the Japanese government feared the nuclear disaster could lead to an evacuation of Tokyo while at the same time hiding its most alarming assessments of the nuclear disaster from the public as well as the United States.

    May 24, 2012 – TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) estimates about 900,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials were released between March 12 and March 31 in 2011, more radiation than previously estimated.

    June 11, 2012 – At least 1,324 Fukushima residents lodge a criminal complaint with the Fukushima prosecutor’s office, naming Tsunehisa Katsumata, the chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and 32 others responsible for causing the nuclear disaster which followed the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and exposing the people of Fukushima to radiation.

    June 16, 2012 – Despite public objections, the Japanese government approves restarting two nuclear reactors at the Kansai Electric Power Company in Ohi in Fukui prefecture, the first reactors scheduled to resume since all nuclear reactors were shut down in May 2012.

    July 1, 2012 – Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd. (KEPCO) restarts the Ohi nuclear plant’s No. 3 reactor, resuming nuclear power production in Japan for the first time in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown following the tsunami.

    July 5, 2012 – The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission’s report finds that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis was a “man-made disaster” which unfolded as a result of collusion between the facility’s operator, regulators and the government. The report also attributes the failings at the plant before and after March 11 specifically to Japanese culture.

    July 23, 2012 – A Japanese government report is released criticizing TEPCO. The report says the measures taken by TEPCO to prepare for disasters were “insufficient,” and the response to the crisis “inadequate.”

    October 12, 2012 – TEPCO acknowledges in a report it played down safety risks at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant out of fear that additional measures would lead to a plant shutdown and further fuel public anxiety and anti-nuclear movements.

    July 2013 – TEPCO admits radioactive groundwater is leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi site, bypassing an underground barrier built to seal in the water.

    August 28, 2013 – Japan’s nuclear watchdog Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) says a toxic water leak at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant has been classified as a Level 3 “serious incident” on an eight-point International Nuclear Event Scale (lINES) scale.

    September 15, 2013 – Japan’s only operating nuclear reactor is shut down for maintenance. All 50 of the country’s reactors are now offline. The government hasn’t said when or if any of them will come back on.

    November 18, 2013 – Tokyo Electric Power Co. says operators of the Fukushima nuclear plant have started removing 1,500 fuel rods from damaged reactor No. 4. It is considered a milestone in the estimated $50 billion cleanup operation.

    February 20, 2014 – TEPCO says an estimated 100 metric tons of radioactive water has leaked from a holding tank at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

    August 11, 2015 – Kyushu Electric Power Company restarts No. 1 reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima prefecture. It is the first nuclear reactor reactivated since the Fukushima disaster.

    October 19, 2015 – Japan’s health ministry says a Fukushima worker has been diagnosed with leukemia. It is the first cancer diagnosis linked to the cleanup.

    February 29, 2016 – Three former TEPCO executives are indicted on charges of professional negligence related to the disaster at the Fukushiima Daiichi plant.

    November 22, 2016 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hits the Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures and is considered an aftershock of the 2011 earthquake. Aftershocks can sometimes occur years after the original quake.

    February 2, 2017 – TEPCO reports atmospheric readings from inside nuclear reactor plant No. 2. as high as 530 sieverts per hour. This is the highest since the 2011 meltdown.

    February 13, 2021 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Japan is an aftershock of the 2011 quake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

    April 13, 2021 – The Japanese government announces it will start releasing more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean in two years – a plan that faces opposition at home and has raised “grave concern” in neighboring countries. The whole process is expected to take decades to complete.

    September 9, 2021 – The IAEA and Japan agree on a timeline for the multi-year review of Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

    February 18, 2022 – An IAEA task force makes its first visit to Japan for the safety review of its plan to discharge treated radioactive water into the sea.

    July 4, 2023 – An IAEA safety review concludes that Japan’s plans to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean are consistent with IAEA Safety Standards.

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  • Jamie Dimon Fast Facts | CNN

    Jamie Dimon Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here is a look at the life of Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    Birth date: March 13, 1956

    Birth place: New York, New York

    Birth name: James Dimon

    Father: Theodore Dimon, stockbroker

    Mother: Themis Dimon

    Marriage: Judith “Judy” (Kent) Dimon (May 1983-present)

    Children: Julia, Laura and Kara Leigh

    Education: Tufts University, B.A. 1978; Harvard University, M.B.A., 1982

    He has a twin brother, Theodore Dimon Jr., who is the founder of the Dimon Institute in New York.

    1982-1985 – Assistant to American Express president Sandy Weill.

    1996-1997 – Chairman and CEO of Smith Barney.

    1997-1998 – Co-chairman and co-CEO of Salomon Smith Barney Holdings.

    1998 – President of Citigroup. Dimon is forced out of the company after a falling-out with Weill.

    2000-2004 – Chairman and CEO of Bank One Corporation.

    2004 – Becomes president and chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. when it merges with Bank One Corporation.

    December 31, 2005 – Assumes title of chief executive officer and president at JPMorgan Chase & Co., effective January 1, 2006.

    December 31, 2006 – Named chairman of the board at JPMorgan Chase & Co., effective January 1, 2007.

    2011 – Earned $23.1 million in compensation as chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., making him the best paid bank CEO.

    May 10, 2012 – On a conference call, reveals that a trading portfolio that was designed to help JPMorgan Chase hedge its credit risk lost $2 billion and could lose $1 billion more.

    May 15, 2012 – Apologizes to JPMorgan Chase shareholders at the annual meeting. Shareholders approve Dimon’s $23 million pay package and preliminary results show that only 40% support a proposal that calls for the appointment of an independent chairman.

    May 17, 2012 – Senate Banking Committee announces Dimon has been invited to appear before the committee at hearings looking into the JP Morgan trading losses from a regulatory angle.

    June 13, 2012 – Dimon testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee telling senators that while he did not approve the trades that led to the multi-billion dollar loss, he was aware of it.

    June 19, 2012 – Dimon testifies before the House Financial Services Committee and says that he did not mislead shareholders.

    July 13, 2012 – JPMorgan announces that the trading loss originally believed to be $2 billion is now approximately $5.8 billion. JPMorgan later discloses that the loss increased to $6.2 billion in the third quarter.

    2012 – Due to the London Whale losses, Dimon’s pay package is reduced to $11.5 million, down from the previous year’s $23.1 million.

    January 23, 2013 – Dimon apologizes to the shareholders by stating that the “whale” trade that caused the $6 billion loss was a “terrible mistake.”

    May 21, 2013 – Approximately 68% of JPMorgan Chase stockholders vote to keep Dimon as chairman and CEO at the annual meeting, but three directors on the risk committee receive a narrow majority of only between 51% and 59% of votes.

    September 19, 2013 – JPMorgan Chase agrees to pay about $920 million in fines to US and UK regulators to settle charges related to the “London Whale” trading scandal.

    November 19, 2013 – Officials announce JPMorgan Chase has agreed to a $13 billion settlement to resolve several investigations into the bank’s mortgage securities business. According to the Justice Department, the deal is the “the largest settlement with a single entity in American history.”

    January 24, 2014 – Dimon gets a 74% pay hike for 2013, even though JPMorgan Chase & Co was forced to pay billions in fines and settlements last year. In a government filing, JPMorgan Chase says that Dimon will receive $18.5 million worth of restricted stock that will vest over the next three years as his 2013 bonus. That’s up from a $10 million bonus for 2012. His $1.5 million base salary remains unchanged.

    July 1, 2014 – Dimon releases a memo saying that he has been diagnosed with a curable throat cancer. He will receive radiation and chemotherapy treatment over the next eight weeks at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York, but will remain working while undergoing treatment.

    February 11, 2016 – After the price of JPMorgan Chase shares drop 25% from their all-time high during the summer, Dimon purchases $26.6 million in stock.

    January 30, 2018 – Announces, along with Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos, a plan to “find a more efficient and transparent way to provide health care services” in order to tackle the rising cost of healthcare.

    March 5, 2020 – In a letter to employees, shareholders and clients, JPMorgan Chase’s co-COOs Gordon Smith and Daniel Pinto announce that Dimon is recovering after undergoing emergency heart surgery. Dimon required surgery after experiencing an “acute aortic dissection,” a tear in the inner lining of the aorta blood vessel.

    July 20, 2021 – According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, JPMorgan Chase awards Dimon 1.5 million stock options for him “to continue to lead the Firm for a further significant number of years.”

    February 22, 2024 – SEC filings show that Dimon has sold $150 million worth of JPMorgan Chase stock.

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  • Dow Jones Industrial Average Fast Facts | CNN

    Dow Jones Industrial Average Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock index comprised of 30 “blue-chip” US stocks. It is meant to be a way to measure the strength or weakness of the entire US stock market.

    The Dow began in 1896 with 12 industrial stocks.

    Dow Jones & Co was founded by journalists Charles Dow and Edward Jones.

    Current Dow stocks

    Record high close – February 23, 2024, the Dow closes at 39,131.53 points.

    Biggest one-day point gain – March 24, 2020, the Dow gains 2,112.98 points.

    Biggest one-day percentage gain – March 15, 1933, the Dow closes up 15.34%.

    Biggest one-day point loss – March 16, 2020, the Dow closes down 2,997.1 points.

    Biggest one-day percentage loss – October 19, 1987, the Dow closes down 22.61%.

    1882 – Dow, Jones & Co. is created.

    1884 – Charles Dow creates the Dow Averages, the precursor to the DJIA.

    May 26, 1896 – The first index, made up of 12 industrial companies, is published and the Dow opens at 40.94 points.

    January 12, 1906 – The Dow closes at 100.25, the first close above 100.

    October 24, 1929 – The Stock Market crash of 1929 begins which leads to the Great Depression of the 1930s. It takes 25 years for the Dow to regain its September 1929 high of 381 points.

    1930 – Dow Jones becomes incorporated and the comma in the name is dropped.

    March 12, 1956 – The Dow closes at 500.24, the first close above 500.

    November 14, 1972 – The Dow closes at 1,003.16, the first close above 1,000.

    October 19, 1987 – The Dow closes down 508 points, at the time the biggest one-day drop ever in the Dow’s history.

    November 21, 1995 – The Dow closes at 5,023.55, the first close above 5,000.

    March 29, 1999 – The Dow closes at 10,006,78, the first close above 10,000.

    September 17, 2001 – Stock markets reopen after the 9/11 terror attacks.

    September 21, 2001 – After the first full week of trading post 9/11, the Dow falls more than 1,300 points, or about 14%.

    October 19, 2006 – The Dow closes at 12,011.73, the first close above 12,000.

    April 25, 2007 – The Dow closes at 13,089.89, the first close above 13,000.

    July 19, 2007 – The Dow closes at 14,000.41, the first close above 14,000.

    September 29, 2008 – Worst single-day point drop in history at the time, plunging 777.68 points – the same day the US House rejects the $700 billion financial bailout package.

    October 6-10, 2008 – Worst weekly point and percentage decline finishing at 8,451.19, or down 1,874.19 points and 18.15% for the week.

    February 21, 2012 – The Dow crosses the 13,000 level for the first time since May of 2008.

    February 1, 2013 – The Dow closes above 14,000 for the first time since October of 2007.

    May 7, 2013 – The Dow closes above 15,000 for the first time.

    November 21, 2013 – The Dow closes above 16,000 for the first time, at 16,009.99.

    July 3, 2014 – The Dow closes at 17,068.26, the first close above 17,000.

    December 23, 2014 – The Dow closes at 18,024.17, the first close above 18,000.

    August 26, 2015 – The Dow closes with a 619-point gain, the biggest daily point gain since 2008.

    January 7, 2016 – The Dow drops 5% in its first four days of the year, the worst four-day percentage loss to start a year on record.

    November 22, 2016 – The Dow closes at 19,023.87, the first close above 19,000.

    January 25, 2017 – The Dow hits the 20,000 milestone for the first time in history.

    March 1, 2017 – The Dow closes at 21,115.55, the first close over 21,000 in history.

    August 2, 2017 – The Dow closes above 22,000 for the first time, at 22,016.24.

    October 18, 2017 – The Dow closes above 23,000 for the first time, at 23,157.60.

    November 30, 2017 – The Dow closes above 24,000 for the first time, at 24,272.35.

    January 4, 2018 – The Dow closes at 25,075.13, the first close above 25,000.

    January 17, 2018 – The Dow closes at 26,115.65, the first time it has closed above 26,000.

    July 11, 2019 – The Dow closes at 27,088.08, the first time it has closed above 27,000.

    November 15, 2019 – The Dow closes above 28,000 for the first time, at 28,004.89.

    January 15, 2020 – The Dow closes above 29,000 for the first time, at 29,030.22.

    March 16, 2020 – The Dow records its worst one-day point drop in history, 2,997.1 points, and its worst performance on a percentage basis since October 19, 1987, also known as “Black Monday.”

    March 24, 2020 – The Dow closes with a 2,112.98-point gain, to become the biggest one-day point gain in history.

    November 24, 2020 – The Dow closes above 30,000 for the first time, at 30,046.24.

    January 7, 2021 – The Dow closes at 31,041.13, the first close above 31,000.

    March 10, 2021 – The Dow closes at 32,297.02, the first close above 32,000.

    March 17, 2021 – The Dow closes above 33,000 for the first time, at 33,015.37.

    April 15, 2021 – The Dow closes above 34,000 for the first time, at 34,035.99.

    July 23, 2021 – The Dow closes above 35,000 for the first time, at 35,061.55.

    November 2, 2021 – The Dow closes at 36,052.63, the first close above 36,000.

    December 13, 2023 – The Dow closes above 37,000 for the first time, at 37,090.24.

    January 22, 2024 – The Dow closes at 38,001.81, the first close above 38,000.

    February 22, 2024 – The Dow closes at 39,069.11, the first close above 39,000.

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  • Oil Spills Fast Facts | CNN

    Oil Spills Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at oil spill disasters. Spill estimates vary by source.

    1. January 1991 – During the Gulf War, Iraqi forces intentionally release 252-336 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf.

    2. April 20, 2010 – An explosion occurs on board the BP-contracted Transocean Ltd. Deepwater Horizon oil rig, releasing approximately 168 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

    3. June 3, 1979 – Ixtoc 1, an exploratory well, blows out, spilling 140 million gallons of oil into the Bay of Campeche off the coast of Mexico.

    4. March 2, 1992 – A Fergana Valley oil well in Uzbekistan blows out, spilling 88 million gallons of oil.

    5. February 1983 – An oil well in the Nowruz Oil Field in Iran begins spilling oil. One month later, an Iraqi air attack increases the amount of oil spilled to approximately 80 million gallons of oil.

    6. August 6, 1983 – The Castillo de Bellver, a Spanish tanker, catches fire near Cape Town, South Africa, spilling more than 78 million gallons of oil.

    7. March 16, 1978 – The Amoco Cadiz tanker runs aground near Portsall, France, spilling more than 68 million gallons of oil.

    8. November 10, 1988 – The tanker Odyssey breaks apart during a storm, spilling 43.1 million gallons of oil northeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

    9. July 19, 1979 – The Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain tankers collide near Trinidad and Tobago. The Atlantic Empress spills 42.7 million gallons of oil. On August 2, the Atlantic Empress spills an additional 41.5 million gallons near Barbados while being towed away.

    10. August 1, 1980 – Production Well D-103 blows out, spilling 42 million gallons of oil southeast of Tripoli, Libya.

    Union Oil Company
    January 28, 1969 – Inadequate casing leads to the blowout of a Union Oil well 3,500 feet deep about five miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. About three million gallons of oil gush from the leak until it can be sealed 11 days later, covering 800 square miles of ocean and 35 miles of coastline and killing thousands of birds, fish and other wildlife.

    The disaster is largely considered to be one of the main impetuses behind the environmental movement and stricter government regulation, including President Richard Nixon’s signing of the National Environmental Policy Act, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. It also inspired Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to found the first Earth Day.

    Exxon Valdez
    March 24, 1989 – The Exxon Valdez runs aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of oil.

    March 22, 1990 – Captain Joseph Hazelwood is acquitted of all but one misdemeanor, negligent discharge of oil. Hazelwood is later sentenced to 1,000 hours of cleaning around Prince William Sound and is fined $50,000.

    July 25, 1990 – At an administrative hearing, the Coast Guard dismisses charges of misconduct and intoxication against Captain Joseph Hazelwood, but suspends his captain’s license.

    October 8, 1991 – A federal judge approves a settlement in which Exxon and its shipping subsidiary will pay $900 million in civil payments and $125 million in fines and restitution. Exxon says it has already spent more than $2 billion on cleanup.

    September 16, 1994 – A federal jury orders Exxon to pay $5 billion in punitive damages to fishermen, businesses and property owners affected by the oil spill.

    November 7, 2001 – The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules that the $5 billion award for punitive damages is excessive and must be cut.

    December 6, 2002 – US District Judge H. Russel Holland reduces the award to $4 billion.

    December 22, 2006 – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reduces the award to $2.5 billion.

    June 25, 2008 – The US Supreme Court cuts the $2.5 billion punitive damages award to $507.5 million.

    June 15, 2009 – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals orders Exxon to pay $470 million in interest on the $507.5 million award.

    BP Gulf Oil Spill
    April 20, 2010 – An explosion occurs aboard BP-contracted Transocean Ltd Deepwater Horizon oil rig stationed in the Gulf of Mexico. Of the 126 workers aboard the oil rig, 11 are killed.

    April 22, 2010 – The Deepwater Horizon oil rig sinks. An oil slick appears in the water. It is not known if the leak is from the rig or from the underwater well to which it was connected.

    April 24, 2010 – The US Coast Guard reports that the underwater well is leaking an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil a day.

    April 28, 2010 – The Coast Guard increases its spill estimate to 210,000 gallons of oil a day.

    May 2, 2010 – President Barack Obama tours oil spill affected areas and surveys efforts to contain the spill.

    May 4, 2010 – The edges of the oil slick reach the Louisiana shore.

    May 26, 2010 – BP starts a procedure known as “top kill,” which attempts to pump enough mud down into the well to eliminate the upward pressure from the oil and clear the way for a cement cap to be put into place. The attempt fails.

    June 16, 2010 – BP agrees to create a $20 billion fund to help victims affected by the oil spill.

    July 5, 2010 – Authorities report that tar balls linked to the oil spill have reached the shores of Texas.

    July 10, 2010 – BP removes an old containment cap from the well so a new one can be installed. While the cap is removed, oil flows freely. The new cap is finished being installed on July 12.

    July 15, 2010 – According to BP, oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf.

    August 3, 2010 – BP begins the operation “static kill” to permanently seal the oil well.

    August 5, 2010 – BP finishes the “static kill” procedure. Retired Adm. Thad Allen says this will “virtually assure us there’s no chance of oil leaking into the environment.”

    January 11, 2011 – The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling releases their full report stating that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig launched the worst oil spill in US history, 168 million gallons (or about 4 million barrels).

    September 14, 2011 – The final federal report is issued on the Gulf oil spill. It names BP, Transocean and Halliburton as sharing responsibility for the deadly explosion that resulted in the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

    January 26, 2012 – A federal judge in New Orleans rules that Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, is not liable for compensatory damages sought by third parties.

    January 31, 2012 – A federal judge in New Orleans rules that Halliburton is not liable for some of the compensatory damages sought by third parties.

    March 2, 2012 – BP announces it has reached a settlement with attorneys representing thousands of businesses and individuals affected by the 2010 oil spill.

    April 18, 2012 – Court documents are filed revealing the March 2, 2010 settlement BP reached with attorneys representing thousands of businesses and individuals affected by the oil spill. A federal judge must give preliminary approval of the pact, which BP estimates will total about $7.8 billion.

    April 24, 2012 – The first criminal charges are filed in connection with the oil spill. Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP, is charged with destroying 200-plus text messages about the oil spill, including one concluding that the undersea gusher was far worse than reported at the time.

    November 15, 2012 – Attorney General Eric Holder announces that BP will plead guilty to manslaughter charges related to the rig explosion and will pay $4.5 billion in government penalties. Separate from the corporate manslaughter charges, a federal grand jury returns an indictment charging the two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizon on the day of the explosion with 23 criminal counts.

    November 28, 2012 – The US government issues a temporary ban barring BP from bidding on new federal contracts. The ban is lifted on March 13, 2014.

    December 21, 2012 – US District Judge Carl Barbier signs off on the settlement between BP and businesses and individuals affected by the oil spill.

    January 3, 2013 – The Justice Department announces that Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to a violation of the Clean Water Act and pay $1.4 billion in fines.

    February 25, 2013 – The trial to determine how much BP owes in civil damages under the Clean Water Act begins. The first phase of the trial will focus on the cause of the blowout.

    September 19, 2013 – In federal court in New Orleans, Halliburton pleads guilty to destroying test results that investigators had sought as evidence. The company is given the maximum fine of $200,000 on the charge.

    September 30, 2013 – The second phase of the civil trial over the oil spill begins. This part focuses on how much oil was spilled and if BP was negligent because of its lack of preparedness.

    December 18, 2013 – Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP, is acquitted on one of two charges of obstruction of justice for deleting text messages about the oil spill.

    September 4, 2014 – A federal judge in Louisiana finds that BP was “grossly negligent” in the run-up to the 2010 disaster, which could quadruple the penalties it would have to pay under the Clean Water Act to more than $18 billion. Judge Carl Barbier of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana also apportions blame for the spill, with “reckless” BP getting two thirds of it. He says the other two main defendants in the more than 3,000 lawsuits filed in the spill’s wake, Transocean and Halliburton, were found to be “negligent.”

    January 15, 2015 – After weighing multiple estimates, the court determines that 4.0 million barrels of oil were released from the reservoir. 810,000 barrels of oil were collected without contacting “ambient sea water” during the spill response, making BP responsible for a maximum of 3.19 million barrels.

    January 20-February 2, 2015 – The final phase of the trial to determine BP’s fines takes place. The ruling is expected in a few months.

    July 2, 2015 – An $18.7 billion settlement is announced between BP and five Gulf states.

    September 28, 2015 – In a Louisiana federal court, the city of Mobile, Alabama, files an amended complaint for punitive damages against Transocean Ltd., Triton Asset Leasing, and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., stating that “Mobile, its government, businesses, residents, properties, eco-systems and tourists/tourism have suffered and continue to suffer injury, damage and/or losses as a result of the oil spill disaster.” As of April 20, 2015, Mobile estimated the losses had exceeded $31,240,000.

    October 5, 2015 – BP agrees to pay more than $20 billion to settle claims related to the spill. It is the largest settlement with a single entity in the history of the Justice Department.

    November 6, 2015 – The remaining obstruction of justice charge against Kurt Mix is dismissed as he agrees to plead guilty to the lesser charge of “intentionally causing damage without authorization to a protected computer,” relating to deletion of a text message, a misdemeanor. He receives six months’ probation and must complete 60 hours of community service.

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  • Today’s news in 10 minutes | CNN

    Today’s news in 10 minutes | CNN



    February 2, 2024

    Today on CNN 10, an overview of weather predictions on Groundhog’s Day. We’ll take you inside the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where tech executives faced grueling scrutiny for the impact of their social media platforms on young users. And finally, a mystery surrounding Amelia Earhart’s final flight may finally be solved.



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