Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalGov. Parson announces new directors for departments of mental health, revenue
JEFFERSON CITY — Governor Mike Parson announced the new directors for the state's Department of Mental Health and the Department of Revenue on Wednesday during a press conference at the Capitol.
State Representative Wayne Wallingford will serve as director of the Department of Revenue, effective January 3, 2022.
"Wayne has proven himself as a leader in state government and has extensive executive level management experience in the corporate world and as a decorated U.S. military veteran," Governor Parson said in a written statement. "We look forward to him implementing his vision at the Department of Revenue and providing the best possible service to the citizens of Missouri."
Wallingford also served as a state senator from 2013 to 2020. In the private sector, he has worked as Chief People Officer at McDonald's in Southeast Missouri, Vice President of Operations at iSOLD IT in Central Missouri, and at Taco Bell in various regional management positions. For nearly a quarter of a century, Wallingford served as Chief of the Intelligence Division in the U.K. and Chief of the Electronic Intelligence Analysis Division in Hawaii.
https://krcgtv.com/news/local/gov-parson-to-announce-new-directors-for-departments-of-mental-health-revenue
Biden, Putin to hold call over stepped up security demands
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will speak Thursday as the Russian leader has stepped up his demands for security guarantees in Eastern Europe.
The two leaders will discuss "a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements," National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement announcing the call.
The talks come as the U.S. and Western allies have watched the buildup of Russian troops near the border of Ukraine, growing to an estimated 100,000 and fueling fears that Moscow is preparing to invade Ukraine.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/biden-putin-to-hold-call-over-stepped-up-security-demands
GasBuddy projects high prices for new year, drop by end of 2022
WASHINGTON (TND) — Motorists should expect to see gas prices continue to rise, at least during the first half of the new year.
On Wednesday, GasBuddy released its Fuel Price Outlook for 2022, projecting the yearly national average for a gallon of gas will be $3.41. They predict the average household will pay $2,341 for gas during the year, up from 2021's average of $1,977.
“Supply and demand: those are the fundamentals that direct the price of oil and I think the imbalances brought on by COVID-19 that we’ve seen push prices up so far this year are going to continue to play a role next year," GasBuddy's head petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan said.
The outlook lays out the highest daily averages for major cities. They range from $3.50 to $3.75 in Houston to $5.25 to $5.65 in San Francisco.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/gasbuddy-projects-high-prices-for-new-year-drop-by-end-of-2022
Carnival Says Most Itineraries Unchanged as Omicron Cases Rise
Carnival Corp (CCL.N) said on Tuesday a majority of its ships' itineraries were unchanged despite a surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which has threatened to stall a recovery in the cruise industry.
The world's largest cruise operator, however, said a few destination ports were reviewing their protocols and processes due to the fast-spreading new variant.
Many passengers and media reports, including those from CNN and Euronews, said authorities of a few ports in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and Mexico disallowed passengers to disembark from cruise ships that were carrying active COVID-19 cases.
"Looks like my cruise this Friday is a cruise to no where," wrote one Reddit user on a Royal Caribbean forum late Monday.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/carnival-says-itineraries-unchanged-493164
Oil Prices Hold Near $80 on Tight Supply and Stocks Drop
Oil prices held close to $80 a barrel on Wednesday as global supply outages and declining U.S. inventories offset worries that rising coronavirus cases might reduce demand.
Brent crude rose to as much as $79.20 a barrel before retreating to trade 24 cents down on the day at $78.70 by 1427 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged 32 cents lower to $75.65 after touching $76.17.
Both contracts are trading near their highest in a month, aided by strength in global equities.
"Markets are overwhelmingly pricing in the latest coronavirus variant as a milder incarnation, despite its easier contractibility," OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said in a note.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/oil-prices-hold-near-tight-supply-stocks-493168
World's First All-electric Tanker Launched
An all-electric, battery-powered tanker—said to be the world's first—has been launched at the Koa Sangyo Co., Ltd. shipyard in Japan.
The new vessel, named Asahi, was built for Japanese shipping company Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd. and is scheduled to enter service in Tokyo Bay as a bunker fuel supply ship following completion and delivery in late March 2022. The 62-meter-long vessel has a tank capacity of 1,280 cubic meters.
The battery-powered vessel was designed by e5 Lab Inc., a consortium of leading Japanese shipping and maritime services companies set up to build infrastructure services focused on electrically powered vessels. The ship is classed by ClassNK.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/worlds-first-allelectric-tanker-launched-493166
How democracy was dismantled in Hong Kong in 2021
HONG KONG (AP) — For Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, 2021 has been a year in which the city's authorities and the central government in Beijing stamped out nearly everything it had stood for.
Activists have fled abroad or been locked up under a draconian new National Security Law imposed on the city. Opposition voices have been driven out of the legislature. Monuments commemorating China's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing in 1989 have been taken down. And as the year neared its end Wednesday, a vocal pro-democracy media outlet closed following a police raid, silencing one of the last openly critical voices in the city.
The crackdown, which took root 18 months ago with the enactment of the National Security Law, played out this year as the world's two major powers, the United States and China, battled over democracy and good governance.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/how-democracy-was-dismantled-in-hong-kong-in-2021
Winter snow, cold slam Northwest and Sierra
SEATTLE (AP) — The Pacific Northwest and Sierra Nevada grappled Tuesday with another day of snow, ice and unseasonable cold that has disrupted traffic, caused closures and forced people to find refuge in emergency warming shelters.
Across western Washington and Oregon, officials and private groups opened emergency spaces for people as forecasters said the extreme cold from an arctic blast that blew in Sunday could last until the weekend.
Farther south, part of the main highway from San Francisco to Reno remained closed Tuesday for a third day due to record-setting snow in the Lake Tahoe area after a winter storm blasted across northern California and Nevada.
Snow-choked Interstate 80 shut down Sunday from the Nevada state line to Placer County, California, although Caltrans said U.S. 50 reopened late Monday for vehicles with chains or four-wheel drive.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/winter-snow-cold-slam-northwest-and-sierra
Global COVID cases up 11% last week, omicron risk high, WHO says
BERLIN (AP) — The World Health Organization says the number of COVID-19 cases recorded worldwide increased by 11% last week compared with the previous week, with the biggest increase in the Americas. The gain followed a gradual increase since October.
The U.N. health agency said in its weekly epidemiological report released late Tuesday that there were nearly 4.99 million newly reported cases around the world from Dec. 20-26.
Europe accounted for more than half the total, with 2.84 million, though that amounted to only a 3% increase over the previous week. It also had the highest infection rate of any region, with 304.6 new cases per 100,000 residents.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/who-global-covid-cases-up-11-last-week-omicron-risk-high
Maryland rescue experiencing massive overflow of pregnant dogs, puppies being surrendered
BURTONSVILLE, Md. (WJLA) — Puppy adoptions were through the roof during the pandemic and now, a mass surrender is happening at a Montgomery County animal rescue.
Amy Creel, President of Knine Rescue, said “this has been an unprecedented time, we have never seen anything like this before."
Creel has been the President of Knine Rescue since 2005 and stated she and her staff are experiencing a massive overflow of pregnant dogs being surrendered.
“We are getting requests everyday to take pregnant or nursing moms” Creel explained.
Creel's theory is that it’s related to the pandemic. She explained that it’s hard to get vet appointments for spay and neuter which is creating a mass ripple effect.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/maryland-knine-rescue-massive-overflow-pregnant-dogs-puppies-covid
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