Nation A5
|
Peninsula Clarion
|
peninsulaclarion.com
|
thursday, december 5, 2019
Texas judge orders Trump supporter to not to build wall Associated Press
HOUSTON — A local judge in South Texas has ordered supporters of President Donald Trump not to build their planned private border wall on a section of land near the Rio Grande. State District Judge Keno Vasquez on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order against We Build the Wall, which raised $25 million after promising to build its own private barrier. Vasquez set a Dec. 17 hearing for We Build the Wall and its founder, Brian Kolfage, to appear in court in the city of Edinburg. We Build the Wall announced on Facebook last month that it was starting construction on private land next to the Rio Grande, the river that separates the U.S. and Mexico in Texas. It posted videos that showed a construction foreman describing plans to install posts a short distance from the riverbank.
The announcement drew immediate criticism from the nonprofit National Butterfly Center, which is located near the site and filed the motion for the temporary restraining order. Wall opponents who say private construction could worsen erosion or push floodwaters onto other people’s property in a storm. The butterfly center and the advocacy group EarthJustice issued a statement Wednesday calling We Build the Wall’s plans “illegal.” “The incredible biodiversity found here, supported and enhanced by 17 years of labor and millions of dollars of investment, is integral to the health of a fragile, but vibrant ecosystem and warrants protection against this unlawful incursion,” said Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, in a statement. The plans also drew the attention of the International Boundary and Water Commission, an agency
Surprising results from sun-skimming spacecraft
set up by the U.S. and Mexico under treaty obligations where both sides agree to cooperate on any changes to the riverbank that could affect the other side. The commission has asked We Build the Wall and Fisher Industries, its construction partner, for more information. Kolfage on Wednesday re-affirmed that his organization won’t begin construction until it gets the commission’s approval. Kolfage said We Build the Wall overcame local opposition on its first project — less than 1 mile built near El Paso, Texas — that included pushback from officials and the water commission. So far, the construction in Sunland Park, New Mexico, is the only barrier the group has built since its founding in December 2018. “The courts will prevail in our favor because, obviously, what we’re doing is legal,” he said, adding that claims to the contrary were “100% false.”
NASA / Goddard / CIL
This image taken from video animation provided by NASA, shows flips in the direction of the magnetic field embedded in the solar wind that flows out from the Sun, as detected by the NASA’s Parker Solar Probe’s FIELDS instrument.
Judge: Purdue workers merit bonuses, but maybe not CEO By Geoff Mulvihill Associated Press
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — More time is needed to sort out whether the CEO of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma should receive a $1.3 million bonus next year, but the company should be allowed to pay about $35 million in bonuses to 682 other employees, the judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy case said Wednesday. There were objections at the hearing only to payments to CEO Craig Landau and a group of nine other upper-level “insider” employees. State governments and a watchdog committee didn’t dispute the company’s contention that bonuses would be needed to keep employees
working and the company running — especially after the company agreed to trim many of the bonuses. Judge Robert Drain said he would sign an order for all the employees except Landau to get bonuses next year. He said it would contain a provision that it could be withheld from anyone found liable in lawsuits over the toll of the opioid crisis linked to more than 400,00 deaths in the U.S. since 2000. Purdue is in bankruptcy court as part of an effort to settle more than 2,700 lawsuits it’s facing over the toll of opioids. Drain said officials with the company and other interested parties should continue to discuss whether it’s appropriate for Landau, who has run the company since
2017, to receive a performance bonus on top of his $2.6 million base salary. Drain said on the bench that he wasn’t especially moved by the contention from a group of 24 states that Landau should have his pay docked because of a possibility that he could be held liable in the future. But he said he was concerned when it was revealed at the hearing that the CEO’s base salary was doubled in 2018 shortly after the company hired a law firm to consult on filing for bankruptcy — and that the same year, he received $6 million of the $12 million in retention payments that he had been scheduled to get from 2020 through 2026. Purdue lawyer Marshall Huenber said those changes were not a tricky
move to pay the CEO more with the possibility of bankruptcy looming but rather part of bigger changes to his compensation that includes a reduced severance package if he leaves the Stamford, Connecticutbased drugmaker. In the hearing, Landau’s lawyer, Linda Imes, said Landau, a medical doctor who joined Purdue in 1999 and became CEO in 2017 after a stint running its Canadian sister company, was behind a decision last year to stop marketing opioids to doctors. “Dr. Landau is a star, and he is a star that Purdue should have working for it in this challenging time,” she said. In their lawsuits, Colorado and Massachusetts allege that Landau blamed the dangers of opioids on
patients rather than the drugs and that he knowingly put patients at risk by having his sales team encourage more prescribing of the drug without disclosing the addiction risks. They say he pushed opioids for elderly patients and those who had never taken them before without disclosing their risks, falsely claimed that a version of OxyContin that was reformulated to make it harder for people to break down and misuse was safe, and pushed doctors to prescribe opioids for a longer period of time. “Purdue should not award bonus payments to Landau before resolving the allegations that Landau committed deadly, illegal misconduct,” those states and others said in a filing this week.
Miracle-Ear Hearing Aid Sale Tiny Hearing Aids
2 Hearing Aids for as low as
On sale for a limited time!
28
$
Tiny Digital technology delivers the clearest, most accurate sound quality available in hearing aids!**
per month†
Sale ends December 11, 2019
free
services!
FREE hearing tests*
Reveals if and where you need hearing assistance and is recommended for everyone over 50 years old.
Attention hearing aid wearers:
If you already wear a hearing aid (any make or model), we can help you, too! Our FREE computerized analysis and tune-up help keep your hearing aid working its best.**
FREE ear canal inspections*
Sometimes it’s nothing more than excessive earwax. We use our state-of the art Video Otoscope to look inside your ear canal. You can watch on a video monitor as it happens.
DON’T WAIT! Fully Digital Hearing Aid
For a limited time only Receive 2 AudioToneTM Pro Hearing aids
Now Only...
28
To Receive the Offer Mention Code:
$
per month†
Many Styles Available! * Our hearing test and video otoscopic inspection are always free. Hearing test is an audiometric test to determine proper amplification needs only. These are not medical exams or diagnoses nor are they intended to replace a physician’s care. If you suspect a medical problem, please seek treatment from your doctor. ** Hearing aids do not restore natural hearing. Individual experiences vary depending on severity of hearing loss, accuracy of evaluation, proper fit and ability to adapt to amplification. Only your Miracle-Ear® representative can determine which model and options may be right for you. † $28 per month. Calculated at 12.99% interest for 60 months, must qualify with HealthiPlan® Patient Financing. *** Pursuant to terms of your purchase agreement, the aids must be returned within 30 days of the completion of fitting, in satisfactory condition for a full refund.
19DEC28
189 S. Binkley Street, Unit 101, Soldotna, AK 99669 Phone 907-885-6071
Trusted for Over 70 Years