Former President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro Moros, Venezuela’s vice president for the economy, Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, and Venezuela’s Chief Supreme Court Justice are among those charged in New York City; Washington, DC; and Miami, along with current and former Venezuelan government officials as well as two Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) leaders, announced U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa D. Erichs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

As we mark Veterans Day 2019, the Justice Department announced two settlement agreements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to protect and advance equal access for veterans with disabilities who use service dogs. One agreement is with Deerfield Inn & Suites, in Gadsden, Alabama. The second agreement is with the Landmark Hotel Group in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which manages the Holiday Inn Express in Hampton, Virginia. These matters were investigated and resolved in furtherance of the Department’s commitment to ensuring that our veterans enjoy equal access to public accommodations, such as restaurants, hotels, and shops.

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered an agreement with the State of Arkansas to resolve claims that the state did not provide certain opportunities to update voter registration records as required by Section 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).

The Department of Justice today filed a Statement of Interest in a Georgia federal court to help ensure that uniformed service members serving their country away from home, their family members absent with them, and American citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in Georgia’s 2020 federal elections. The Statement of Interest is part of the Department of Justice’s continued efforts to enforce the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).

A Miami, Florida, business owner was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for failing to pay over employment taxes, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.

Seattle – A 21-year-old Palmdale, California, man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to federal crimes related to his computer hacking scheme and his possession of child pornography found on his digital devices, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.

On February 28, ICITAP concluded the Advanced First Aid Course at the National Highway & Motorway Police (NHMP) Training Facility in Kot Ranjit.

** Photo d'archives ( 2017 ) ** Presque aussi grande qu'un moineau domestique, c'est la plus grande des mésanges d'Europe. On la reconnaît essentiellement à sa tête noire contrastant avec des joues blanches et à son ventre jaune orné d'une raie médiane noire. Chez les mâles, cette raie se prolonge jusqu'à la queue. Chez la femelle, cette raie est plus terne et plus fine et s'arrête sur l'abdomen. Sachant cela, vous constaterez qu'il y a plus de mâles sur les mangeoires. Le dessus est vert olive, tirant vers le bleu sur les ailes et la queue et une petite barre blanche sur les ailes. Les petits donnent l'impression d'être plus ramassés, avec des joues jaunes. Image prise depuis la tente affût et dans un milieu naturel . ******************************************************************* ** Archive photo (2017) ** Almost as big as a house sparrow, it is the largest of the chickadees in Europe. It is mainly recognized by its black head contrasting with white cheeks and its yellow belly decorated with a black median stripe. In males, this line extends to the tail. In the female, this line is duller and finer and stops on the abdomen. Knowing this, you will find that there are more males on the feeders. The upper side is olive green, turning blue on the wings and tail and a small white bar on the wings. The little ones give the impression of being more collected, with yellow cheeks. Image taken from the lookout tent and in a natural environment.

I've gone to this particular photographic well before, having posted a couple of other shots of my morning shoot with the Cormorant Fishermen on the Li River in Guilin China. Not super original, but still among my favorites both for the fascinating subject and exotic landscape and because it was a magical morning and one of my favorite all time photographic experiences. Here the first sunrise tones are just reflecting low on the river backlighting the fisherman. This was a bit of a crazy adventure, and definitely took me outside of my comfort zone. At the tail end of a working trip to China I had saved a day before my midnight flight back to the US. I was originally considering a side trip to see Wulingyuan National Park with its famous "Avatar"-like Karsts, but after some research realized that a) this would be more than a one day undertaking, and b) that there was an equal if not better Karst environment around Guilin and much more accessible. I'd arranged for a local guide to pick me up early in the morning and drive me to meet with the Cormorant fisherman before dawn, so after just a couple hours of sleep I was up again and heading out in to the back country up river with a little bit of apprehension. While I've never felt in any physical danger in China, there are still plenty of scams and people ready to take your money and/or things, and it isn't that hard to find yourself suddenly in uncomfortable circumstances (been there, done that!). However, I'd booked the guide through a reputable company and figured the risk was minimal. Indeed, we arrived at a small fishing village after a longish drive without any hiccups at all. The humid tropical smells hit me immediately and woke me up. Morning is my favorite time under normal circumstances, and on this day I was very excited; every sense really felt alive, and I was thoroughly engaged and in the moment. The surroundings were exotic, the skies just beginning to reveal the cloud structure in the early morning darkness and I could see a lot of cloud but not an unbroken gloom. I was introduced to the fisherman and he paddled us out to a little dock and then floated off on his bamboo raft and lit his small lantern. Later, once the dawn broke fully he took out his net and set his cormorants to work, demonstrating this ancient working relationship between these wonderful birds and their handlers. After a couple of hours on the river, we packed up and headed out to take some other landscape photos throughout the day, including a couple of tough climbs up to the peak of some of the Karsts to get a better view of this amazing area. Finally just after sunset it was time to leave, and after a bit of a delay and a small panic I made it back to Shanghai in time to catch my flight to the US. An extremely tiring but incredibly rewarding experience. That feeling of total immersion in a moment of time was truly priceless and is my favorite thing about this hobby. I would very much like to go back to Guilin and spend much more time appreciating this spectacular location. Hit up my album for China if you're interested in seeing other pics from Guilin.

The Progressive Industrial Complex has its work cut out for it. Having been roundly rejected by the American people, the American left is watching its accomplishments be deconstructed, executive order by executive order. And that which cannot be undone by the pen is slated to be dismantled by legislation. This truly has sent the left over the edge, Astroturfing town hall meetings with the help of its media collaborators.

Rep. Andy Harris is now leaning yes, but told Derek Hunter the bill won't get a vote Friday.

The retired Hopkins neurosurgeon, now the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is in the city to talk about lead poisoning and ways to combat blight.

Four graduating Glenelg High School seniors were arrested after allegedly spray painting racist graffiti.

Mayor Catherine Pugh says the state has agreed to restore 16 parole and probation officers to the city that were cut by the O’Malley administration. She also says there are other, non-law enforcement initiatives, in her plan to fight crime.

The battle against coronavirus has intensified across the country as more workers are laid off, medical supplies dwindle, and states enact new rules to get Americans to stay home.

Santa Anita Park officials are hoping to get word early this week from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the county's Department of Public of Health on whether racing can resume at the Arcadia, Calif., track. Belinda Stronach, whose family's company owns Santa Anita, and Aidan Butler, the executive director of California Racing […]

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Four men arrested March 9 as part of the federal government's racehorse doping investigation pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in a telephonic arraignment conducted by District Court Judge P. Kevin Castel for the Southern District of New York. The defendants waived their right to physically appear in court because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Veterinarian […]

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When we switched over to the new Paulick Report, there were changes the public would never see including our transfer from WordPress to SilverStripe as our backend site editor. Why do we tell you this? It certainly isn't because backend site editors are interesting in the least. But on the site SSbits, a spinoff site […]

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Stallion Spotlight offers stud farm representatives a chance to address breeders and answer questions as they finalize their mating decisions for the 2020 breeding season. In this edition, Tom Hamm, director of stallion seasons at Three Chimneys, talks about Funtastic, a Grade 1 winner whose first foals are arriving in 2020. Funtastic Gr. or ro. h., […]

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Stallion Spotlight offers stud farm representatives a chance to address breeders and answer questions as they finalize their mating decisions for the 2020 breeding season. In this edition, Claiborne Farm president Walker Hancock and stallion seasons and bloodstock manager Bernie Sams discuss First Samurai, the sire of Grade 1 winners Lea, Justin Phillip, and Executiveprivilege. First […]

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Eclipse Award-winning jockey Jose Ortiz will be headed to Royal Ascot on a strong pair of contenders, reports the TDN. In the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, he will be astride recent G1 winner Yoshida for trainer Bill Mott. In the G1 King's Stand, Ortiz will ride Grade 2 winner Bucchero for trainer Tim Glyshaw. “Jose […]

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When some metro youth soccer teams switched to video-conference training sessions during the coronavirus pandemic, they found an unexpected new teammate on-screen.

Not everyone who wants to will be fishing when walleye season opens Saturday. Sitting this one out will be thousands of elderly Minnesotans who are confined to nursing homes by the pandemic, with no one allowed in and no one allowed out.

While most pro teams are named after the cities they are based in, each of Minnesota's six teams uses the state name — the Twins, Vikings, Wild, Timberwolves, Lynx and United. Blame the Twin Cities.

Which would you prefer? A manual workflow that requires you to deal with your photos every day, or the fully automated version that will automagically surface only your best photos to you? On this episode Chris looks at automated photo management compared to manual photo management, two very different approaches that both have their right … Continue reading "868 Never Touch a Photo Again"

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Chris answers some audience questions about Lightroom: How to backup and restore Lightroom and how to select and export thousands of photos over multiple folders. Chris also just made an observation about how his HomeKit cameras could breathe new life into his favorite photo exercise. Photo by Siarhei Horbach [sc:podlovebutton] Links: SPONSOR: Vistaprint: Get 500 … Continue reading "869 Home Automation and Photography"

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Don Komarechka is back on the show. This time he tells us about macro photography and about his latest book. The Kickstarter for it is almost finished. [sc:podlovebutton] Links: Kickstarter: Macro Photography: The Universe at our Feet by Don Komarechka Podcast: Photo Geek Weekly Homepage: Don Komarechka Photography SPONSOR: HoneyBook. Get 50% off with code … Continue reading "871 Frozen-UV-Macro-Stereo-Photography"

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Chris has spent months and years to get a grip on this: photography stresses us out. Let’s explore what we can do about it. Also Roger has a dying camera battery and wants to know if there’s anything he could have done about that. Photo by Chris Marquardt [sc:podlovebutton] Links: Tweet: What stresses you out … Continue reading "876 Photography Means Stress"

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Sometimes the picture alone is not enough to tell the whole story. Special guest Monika Andrae shares her experience and her issues when doing people photography while traveling. Photo: Monika Andrae [sc:podlovebutton] Links: Monika Andrae’s Ethiopia Picture Book SPONSOR: PhotoPlus Expo @ photoplusexpo.com – use promo code TOPFLOOR to register now for free Download the … Continue reading "879 The Picture Is Not Enough"

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On this episode Chris dives into a couple of topics that might as well be at home on The Future of Photography, including Sony’s new layered sensor and lenses that are 1000 times thinner than current ones. Chris also holds a new mini assignment (get your 5 minutes of photography in!), and Daniel wonders about … Continue reading "882 Photo Editing in VR"

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Chris looks at wind speeds, slow drones, a mini assignment AND you’ll learn that telephoto compression isn’t really a thing. This week’s assignment is Aperture. Post your photos online and use the hashtags #tfttf #assignment #aperture Download the MP3 for this episode Receive TFTTF updates via email

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Warning: This is not an official photo episode, but rather some background on what’s going on in the world of independent podcasts. So if you’re here for the photography, please skip this episode. I’ve hinted at it before, but here’s some more background. As independent podcasting is under immense pressure to include more and more … Continue reading "885a Protecting My Listeners and Surviving at the Same Time"

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Chris discusses the Joy of Photography. Can we define it? What makes you pick up your camera? And Matt has brought us a new Slack Challenge… so we’ll review the last one and kick off the challenge for the year. For picture taking time, this week’s assignment is Break (as in “break the rules”). Post … Continue reading "886 The Joy of Photography"

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Check out Chris’ new video series Pick One Photo that feature Filmmaker Jon Miller, photographer Ibarionex Perello, photographer and thrower of axes Sean Galbraith, photographer and podcast co-hosts Adrian Stock and Eimear King, illustrator and animator Andres Fernandez Cordon and Hollywood director and photographer Jeremiah Chechik. Links: Pick One Photo – stories behind the photos … Continue reading "898 Pick One Photo"

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At worst, sending out ballots provides a workable Plan B in case Plan A proves too hazardous in November.