Category Archives: Progress

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Monday, July 17, 2017, 2:58 PM

Mayor de Blasio used the third anniversary of Eric Garners death Monday to talk about the progress the city has made in police-community relations a notion quickly blasted by the daughter of the unarmed Staten Island man killed during a clash with cops.

His tragic death really focused this city and to some extent this nation on the work we have to do to keep police and community closer together, the reforms we have to make, de Blasio said at a police precinct opening in Queens.

And its three years later and we still have a lot of work to do in New York City and certainly all around our nation, but I can say for sure, progress has been made in this city. The reforms are taking hold, theyre deepening.

De Blasio touched on a reduction in the police departments use of stop-and-frisk, and efforts to retrain officers in de-escalation tactics.

Staten Island protesters to mark 3 years since Eric Garner death

Police Commissioner James ONeill echoed the mayors sentiments, saying the city was headed in the right direction

As far as police community relations, I think weve come a long way in the last three years, ONeill said.

But to the Garner familys chagrin, the mayor said nothing about holding responsible the officers involved in one of the citys darkest moments.

What progress? tweeted Garners daughter Erica. Training is not progress. It is a BASIC COMPONENT OF THE JOB. You mean people stopped marching about it. No progress!

Garner's family waiting for justice in third year of death probe

Protesters will mark the anniversary Monday with a demonstration at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, just blocks from where the neighborhood fixture died at the hands of a cop accused of using a banned chokehold.

28 photos view gallery

The 7 p.m. protest will renew calls for charges against the cops involved in Garners death, including Officer Daniel Pantaleo, the officer whose arm is seen around Garners neck in video that went viral after Garners death. A Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo in December 2014.

Garners family has pursued federal charges and met with officials last month, but left with no indication that Pantaleo or any officers at the scene will be punished.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has advised the family since Garners death, will be a featured speaker at a service in Harlem commemorating the anniversary. Sharpton will participate in a 7 p.m. panel discussion at the First Corinthian Baptist Church on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.

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Eric Garner's daughter blasts de Blasio's talk of 'progress' on third anniversary of chokehold death - New York Daily News

NEW YORK

Progress is not moving fast enough to meet an ambitious set of global goals to conquer poverty, inequality and other international woes by a 2030 deadline, slowed largely by growing war and violence, the United Nations said on Monday.

Advances have been few and uneven in reducing conflict and promoting gender equality, sustainable energy, infrastructure and other key areas, the U.N. said in a report assessing the pace of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Approved in September 2015, the sweeping 15-year agenda approved by the 193 U.N. member states is a global "to-do" list to tackle such issues as climate change, education, hunger, joblessness and land degradation.

The cost of implementation has been estimated at $3 trillion a year.

"The rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the targets by 2030," wrote U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a foreword to the 60-page report.

Intensified war and violence are critical obstacles to implementation, said Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

"Conflict has become the most insurmountable barrier to poverty eradication and sustainable development," he wrote in the report.

War and violence led to some 65.6 million people being forced from their homes at the end of 2016, an increase of about 300,000 people over the previous year, Wu wrote.

Children are disproportionately affected, he added, deprived of health care, education, safe water and shelter and often separated from their families.

Other particularly thorny problems include reducing maternal deaths, making education universally accessible to children and the representation of women in political decision-making, Guterres said in the foreword.

He also cited persistently high rates of violence against women and girls and "alarmingly" high unemployment rates among young people.

"Advancements have been uneven across regions, between the sexes, and among people of different ages, wealth and locales, including urban and rural dwellers," the report said.

Wu, at a U.N. event to release the report, said, however, he was "not that pessimistic."

He said in 2016, 22 nations volunteered for the U.N.'s review of their SDGs' progress, and that number doubled to 44 for the 2017 review.

"More and more national governments would like to get involved," he said.

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UN: Progress Too Slow on Global Goals for Sustainable Development - Voice of America

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Lula and Brazil's Progress Wall Street Journal (subscription) The forever-developing nation of Brazil has been putting its legal system to an extreme stress test, impeaching one former president, indicting the current one, and late last week convicting former President Lula da Silva of corruption even as he plans ...

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Lula and Brazil's Progress - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

How is the United States faring in terms of phasing out fee-for-service health care and replacing it with a value-based system? New research shows some momentum, but much work remains.

For the second year in a row,(ddx.questdiagnostics.com) Quest Diagnostics and Inovalon, a leading technology company, commissioned a study to find evidence that the needle is moving in this direction. The 2017 study, titled "Progress on the Path to Value-Based Care,"(ddx.questdiagnostics.com) was released last month.

Results of the latest study were based on the responses of 452 individuals who participated in an online survey undertaken April 7-17. Of those respondents, 302 were primary care physicians -- all employed in private practices but also affiliated with hospitals -- and 150 were health plan executives.

"Overall, the study shows progress toward valued-based care, but that progress has been slow because physicians lack the appropriate tools to close gaps in health care," said Patrick James, M.D., chief clinical officer of health plans, policy and medical affairs at Quest Diagnostics, in an interview with AAFP News.

Authors found that the percentage of surveyed physicians and health plan executives who think the U.S. health care system already has achieved value-based status increased to 29 percent in 2017 from 25 percent in 2016.

Additionally, the percentage of physicians who said they lack needed information about patients dropped from 65 percent in 2016 to 62 percent in 2017.

The survey revealed some areas of disconnect between health plan executives and physicians. For instance, 70 percent of health plan executives said progress has been made in aligning health plans and physicians in the quest for value-based care; just 47 percent of physicians agreed.

This indicates "an opportunity for greater alignment" in this area, said James.

On the other hand, a whopping 83 percent of physicians and health plan executives agreed that alignment between the two groups was crucial to providing value-based care.

When asked about the availability of tools needed to achieve valued-based care, 53 percent of health executives said physicians already had those tools, but just 43 percent of physicians agreed.

Study authors speculated that a possible reason for the "striking gap in perception" on this topic centered on "differing views about the value of EHRs" (electronic health records).

They noted that 75 percent of executives -- and just 54 percent of physicians -- said EHRs had everything physicians need.

In addition,

What's the significance of this information moving forward?

"In our study, 71 percent of physicians said they'd be willing to spend more time using technology if EHRs could yield insights unique to patients," said James. "And 87 percent of physicians and health plan executives agreed that access to quality and performance measures specific to patients would be key to achieving value-based care.

"This reveals that both physicians and payers want more from EHRs, so there is a path forward, particularly if extending the value of EHRs can lead to improved patient care and lower costs," he added.

Authors suggested that co-investment in health IT (HIT) could be the key to progress.

"Perhaps health plan executives are mindful of the significant investment required of physician practices to implement HIT solutions and the potential for co-investment to help surmount this challenge," they wrote.

James agreed and added that 85 percent of health plan executives polled in the study said that co-investment in HIT by health plans and physicians would accelerate value-based care. As an example, he said health plans are sometimes willing to shoulder the costs of technology that gives physicians actionable, patient-specific data that includes quality metrics.

"They believe that over time, it will pay off in the form of better financial performance," James said.

James described the level of progress toward value-based care this way: "The study shows that progress has been made over the past year, but obstacles still persist. Chief among them are differing perceptions of health plan executives and physicians about the tools and data needed to deliver on value-based care."

Related AAFP News Coverage MACRA: The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act

More From AAFP MACRA Basics: Prepare for the Quality Payment Program

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Researchers Assess Progress on Nation's Move to Value-Based Care - AAFP News

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) is basically a good, sound bank.

However, Wells Fargo is still going through a rough period adjusting from some bad leadership. I believe that the company will regain much of its past glory, but it is still going through a period where this needs to be confirmed.

The organization is still the most conservative large bank in the country, remaining the most retail character of all the bigger banks around. Its foundation continues to be the consumer and it still has the largest home mortgage portfolio in the private sector.

But it is still under new leadership following the sales-practice scandal that recently rocked the bank. The bank remains under a cloud to many customers and potential customers. Clouds like the one experienced by Wells Fargo takes time to clear. Bad management practices, even within only a segment of the business, must be removed and this does not happen overnight.

In the second quarter of 2017, Wells Fargo earned return on shareholders equity of 11.95 percent versus an 11.70 percent ROE in the same quarter one year ago. The slight improvement in the performance came about in a number of areas not significant enough to mention with the exception of the investment banking division, which is not a very big part of the whole firm.

This overall performance is a good one compared with the results of other large commercial banks in the United States. Wells Fargo, throughout the financial crisis beginning in 2007, the Great Recession and subsequent recovery, maintained the highest ROE of any of the largest banks in the US, although it has not returned to the 15 percent or higher return achieved earlier.

This seems to be to be an acceptable performance, given all that Wells Fargo and the industry have gone through. At its core, Wells Fargo is a pretty solid institution and when customer confidence returns, the basic drivers of a higher ROE should be the same as before the scandal.

However, Wells Fargo is still going through a transition period with the new leadership of the bank and we must still be cautious about the longer-run performance of the new management team, a team that came from within the organization. It is difficult for a troubled organization to fully change the culture of an organization and this is why I still keep a wait and see attitude towards the bank.

There remain hurdles that must be overcome.

First, Wells Fargo is still experiencing fallout from the legal battles that took place. In the second quarter, there were additional charges of $110 million related to the scandal. And, the bank faces continuing investigations that will uncover well, we dont know what yet. So the book has not been closed on the leadership problem

Second, Wells Fargo customers seem to be reluctant to fully commit to the bank at this time. There is a reluctance to deal with the bank because of past issues.

For example, lending is down, year over year, by about $1 billion. This is taking place when lending is increasing at a pretty good pace at other large banking institutions.

This drop off has been particularly noticeable in the mortgage area, one of the banks strongest areas. Mortgage banking fee income dropped 19 percent, year over year.

Third, the bank has lost more than 500 brokers since the legal agreement was reached in the cross-selling scandal and this situation has not yet fully settled down. Analysts talk about the difficulty institutions have in attracting new clients when issues like this still hang over the organization.

Bank turnarounds take time. And, although the Wells Fargo situation is not going through what might be called a "classical" bank turnaround, to me, the restructuring of an organizations culture is a turnaround. A "classical" bank turnaround has to do with restructuring the business plan, getting rid of unproductive divisions, and changing the customer base.

This is why the drivers of a higher ROE are basically in place.

In dealing with culture issues, bank management is dealing with concerns about morality, integrity, and employee attitudes. The restructuring can only be termed a success if employee satisfaction is attained and market confidence is restored.

At the present time, it does not appear to me that a full return of confidence has been achieved. Potential investors need to watch for the decline in the legal and regulatory efforts that still continue to hang around the scandal issues. They also need to watch for a return of the bank's basic business, indicating a returning confidence in the bank's business practices. And, they need to see that the employment situation in the bank stabilize along with employee comfort with management practices.

Wells Fargo leadership seems to be on the road to redemption, but it has not fully gotten back to the previous level. Operating performance, therefore, will not return to potentially attainable levels until complete confidence returns.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Wells Fargo Earnings Report: A Work In Progress - Seeking Alpha

Firefighters assisted by helicopters and an air tanker quickly got a handle on a fast-moving vegetation fire that broke out in light to medium brush Monday afternoon in the 8000 block of Foxen Canyon Road.

Capt. Dave Zaniboni, of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, said firefighters stopped the forward progress of the flames by 5:25 p.m.

The blaze, dubbed the Mesa fire, was estimated at more than 50 acres about 4:15 p.m., but a later report from an AirTac aircraft surveying the area downgraded the acreage to about 35 acres, Zaniboni said.

The wind-driven fire broke out about 2:55 p.m. near Zaca Mesa Winery and burned along both sides of Foxen Canyon Road, up through Oak Savanna Vineyard property and eastward toward the entrance to Zaca Lake Retreat.

The cause is under investigation.

When county Fire Department firefighters arrived, flames were raging through dry grass and oaks, with spot fires breaking out 50 to 100 yards ahead of the main blaze as the wind blew embers east/southeast.

The flames made a rushing sound as they consumed oak trees, sent spirals of flame up from the dry grass and poured thick smoke into the sky while they raced eastward along the hillside adjacent to the Zaka Lake access road.

First responders said with the rapid rate of spread, the fire had the potential to grow to 300 to 400 acres, and they upgraded the blaze to a two-alarm fire as County Sheriffs Office and California Highway Patrol units closed Foxen Canyon Road between Zaca Station and Alisos Canyon roads on the Santa Ynez Valley side as well as on the north side of the blaze.

Ten engines, two water tenders and two hand crews attacked the blaze, assisted by two water-dropping helicopters and four air tankers diverted from the Whittier fire, with the helicopters sucking up water from a pond just over the hill immediately south of the fire.

A crew of half a dozen firefighters also was delivered to the site by helicopter and began trekking east along the Zaca Lake access road.

It looks like theyre going to knock this one down pretty quick, said Larry Saarloos of Windmill Ranch & Vineyard on Ballard Canyon Road, one of a number of local ranchers, vineyard owners and residents who stopped their pickup trucks along Foxen Canyon Road to watch firefighters attack the blaze.

But theyve got some good water service here, Saarloos added, referring to the nearby pond where the helicopters could refill, then return to the fire lines in a matter of minutes.

Zaniboni predicted the flames would run out of fuel as they burned toward grazed-off fields and vineyard property, and indeed they ground to a halt under the aerial assault and lack of fuels half a mile or so east.

Zaniboni said no structures were damaged or threatened.

He added that crews would stay on the fire overnight for mop-up and to watch for hot spots.

Lee Central Coast Newspapers reporter April Charltoncontributed to this story. Follow her on Twitter@WordsDawn.

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Firefighters halt forward progress of Mesa fire at 35 acres - Lompoc Record

The United States and Russia have reached a cease-fire agreement in Syria, but the ramifications of the deal will almost certainly be less drastic than many would like. The July 7 accord covers the southwestern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida, and marks a new level of cooperation between the United States and Russia in Syria. Prior to their bargain, coordination had been limited to deconfliction mechanisms aimed at preventing an accidental skirmish between the U.S.-led coalition and Russian-backed forces in the country.

The White House has made it clear that it hopes to use the agreement as a way to breathe new life into negotiations with the Kremlin on settling the ongoing conflict. But the end of the civil war remains a distinctly distant prospect, especially since the new cease-fire deal already has been violated several times in the past week.

The United States' newfound willingness to work with Russia in Syria didn't come out of nowhere. As the battle or at least, the conventional battle against the Islamic State reaches its final phases in Iraq and Syria, Washington can no longer escape the fact that it needs to plan for the aftermath. Based on the Islamic State's emergence in Iraq after the United States left, the extremist group will likely remain a persistent insurgent force for years to come, even after its conventional battlefield defeat. Absent a comprehensive and successful effort to at least stabilize Syria, the Islamic State and other extremist groups will continue benefiting from the security vacuum and chaos in the country. Indeed, it could easily rebuild and re-emerge as a powerful force: In Syria, the Islamic State already has been able to expand its power in less critical areas of the country while its enemies were distracted with one another.

It's abundantly clear that there needs to be a comprehensive stabilization effort in Syria, but whether Washington and Moscow can work together toward that goal is not as evident. A number of past cease-fire agreements spearheaded by the United States and Russia have collapsed amid bitter recriminations and violations. And beyond the implementation of the cease-fire, there is little evidence suggesting that Russia is truly interested in the same goals in Syria as the United States. Washington sees an eventual move away from Syrian President Bashar al Assad's government and toward a less divisive transitional government as a necessary step to repair damaged relations between loyalist factions and the opposition. But Moscow seems less willing to go out of its way in pushing for the dissolution of an allied government in Damascus. Moreover, as U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized in his recent address in Poland, the United States is aiming for a political solution in Syria that limits Iran's influence and reach. Considering Moscow has worked closely with Tehran on a number of fronts in Syria, it is unlikely Russia would share that same objective.

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For the U.S. and Russia, True Progress in Syria Is Still a Distant ... - STRATFOR

Australian officials should press the government of Laos to respect human rights at the Australian-Laos human rights dialogue, scheduled for July 18-19, 2017, in Vientiane, Human Rights Watch said today in a submission to the Australian government. Key areas of concern in Laos are freedom of speech, association, and assembly; enforced disappearances; abusive drug detention centers; and repression of minority religious groups.

The Lao governments suppression of political dissent and lack of accountability for abuses stand out in a human rights record that is dire in just about every respect, said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch. As a major development partner of Laos, Australia can and should press for greater respect for basic rights.

Restrictions on civil and political rights in Laos include draconian controls over freedom of speech, association, and peaceful assembly. The lack of fair trials of criminal suspects, widespread judicial corruption,and entrenched impunity for human rights violations are continuing problems, Human Rights Watch said.

All TV, radio, and printed publications are strictly monitored and controlled by the Lao government. The constitution prohibits all mass media activities that run contrary to national interests or traditional culture and dignity.

The government has arbitrarily arrested and detained civil society activists and those deemed critical of the government. The penal code contains broad limitations that prohibit slandering the state, distorting party or state policies, inciting disorder, or propagating information or opinions that weaken the state.

In July 2015, the government enacted a cybercrime law that provides vague definitions of web content criminalized under the law, giving authorities maximum discretion in determining what can trigger a prosecution. Citizens who share information, images, or animations that the government deems to distort truth are subject to re-education and disciplinary measures.

The government not only monitors and suppresses free speech inside the country, but also that of citizens living abroad. In May, three Lao workers were fined and sentenced to prison terms of between 12 and 20 years in a secret trial after criticizing the Lao government while working in neighboring Thailand.

The government has also failed to make progress on at least 10 cases of enforced disappearance. The December 2012 enforced disappearance of prominent activist Sombath Somphone is emblematic of the governments failure to meet its international human rights obligations. Despite CCTV camera footage showing Sombath being taken away from a police checkpoint in downtown Vientiane, Lao authorities have repeatedly denied that the government took Sombath into custody or provided any information on his fate or whereabouts.

Sombath Somphone, a prominent Lao activist, has been forcibly disappeared in Vientiane since December 2012.

The Lao government remains suspicious of the countrys religious minorities, particularly Protestant Christians, whom the government has long accused of having allegiances to the United States and the West. In some areas, authorities harass and repress Protestant groups. In December 2016, seven Christian families in Luang Prabang province had their identification cards, family books, and land titles confiscated by police, who forced them to leave their village after the families refused to renounce their faith. Other reports include arson attacks on Christian churches and homes, government authorities seizing harvested crops from Christians, and beatings for celebrating Christmas and refusing to renounce the Christian faith.

Laos continues to arbitrarily detain people suspected of using drugs in compulsory drug detention centers without judicial oversight or due process. Human Rights Watch found that detainees at Somsanga, the largest of eight such centers in the country, are locked in cells inside barbed wire compounds. Those who try to escape have been brutally beaten.

Human Rights Watch urged the Australian government to issue a public statement outlining serious issues of concern, as Australia did last year following the dialogue with Vietnam. The annual human rights dialogues should not be the only forum where human rights are discussed, Human Rights Watch said. Concerns about human rights should also be aired privately and publicly at the highest level, so that Australian officials can convey the serious role human rights and the rule of law play in its partnership with Laos.

Australia should issue a public statement after the dialogue to show the people of Laos that the countrys human rights situation is a global concern. Pearson said. These dialogues are an opportunity to raise human rights issues frankly and forcefully but should not be the only forum to discuss abuses.

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Laos: No Progress on Rights - Human Rights Watch

Brexit Secretary David Davis urged U.K. and European Union negotiators to push for progress on resolving thorny questions around the rights of citizens resident in each others nations during the second round of divorce talks starting Monday in Brussels.

We made a good start last month, and this week well be getting into the real substance, Davis said in a statement released by his office. Protecting the rights of all our citizens is the priority for me going into this round, and Im clear that its something we must make real progress on.

Daviss urgency has a practical reason: with the clock ticking down to Britains scheduled EU exit in March 2019, citizens rights is one of three areas, along with the Irish border and Britains exit bill, that EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier says need sufficient progress before hell discuss future ties with the U.K. That relationship is crucial to determining the countrys future economic health, and clarity on it is needed to put business at ease.

Its absolutely clear that businesses, where they have discretion over investment, where they can hold off, are doing so, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammondsaid Sunday on BBC Televisions Andrew Marr Show.And you can understand why. Theyre waiting for more clarity about what the future relationship with Europe will look like.

Envoys will negotiate in Brussels through Thursday. Theyll attempt to hammer out an agreement on what rights some 3.2 million EU citizens in Britain and another million Britons living in the EU will retain after Brexit.Prime Minister Theresa Mays proposals last month met a tepid reception from her EU counterparts, who said they didnt go far enough.

Davis has warned May repeatedly that the uncertain fate of the citizens was souring his meetings with member states, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg this month. Even so, she rejected his pleas to make an unconditional pledge on their rights.

May faces the daunting task of navigating Brexitafter being stripped of her majority in the House of Commons in Junes election, while holding her Conservative government together amid squabbling ministers and talk of a potential putsch.

Some 30 Tory lawmakers would back a leadership bid by Davis, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing unidentified allies of the Brexit secretary including two former cabinet ministers. A Sunday Times newspaper story on the divisions amid positioning to succeed May was illustrated by an image of Hammond, Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson aiming pistols at each other.

Capping the premiers woes were two surveys in the weekend papers: a Survation poll for the Mail on Sunday that put the opposition Labour Party two points ahead of Mays Tories, and an Opinium survey that found 57 percent of people think May should resign before the next scheduled general election in 2022.

More divisions were exposed on Sunday when Hammond said transitional arrangements for Britain leaving the European Union are likely to last a couple of years, rather than the few months suggested by Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

It depends how long we need to put in place new customs systems, new migration systems; these things cant be magicked up overnight, Hammond said. Were not going to be talking a couple of months, we are going to be talking a couple of years.

Hammond is a leading advocatein the cabinet for a so-called soft Brexit, in contrast to campaigners for a clean break such as Fox. The trade secretary said in a Bloomberg TV interview on July 13 that he would be very happy with a transition period of just a few months.

Speaking on BBC TVs Sunday Politics show, Fox sought to downplay differences with Hammond. As long as we leave in March 2019, then Im happy, as long as weve got a very time-limited transitional period to make it work for business, he said.

The infighting goes further than Brexit. The Sunday Times cited five unidentified sources as saying Hammond had described public-sector workers as overpaid during the cabinet meeting last week, and was criticized by Johnson for the statement. Johnson is among ministers whove suggested the Treasurys cap on public-sector pay should be eased. Meanwhile, Saturdays Sun newspaper reported that Hammond made a sexist comment about women driving trains.

Some of the noise is generated by people who are not happy with the agenda that I have, over the last weeks, tried to advance of ensuring that we achieve a Brexit which is focused on protecting our economy, Hammond said.

There was little let-up on Monday, with the Telegraph citing an unidentified cabinet minister as accusing Hammond of trying to frustrate Brexit, and treating pro-leave colleagues as if they were pirates who had kidnapped him.

Two reports set for release on Monday illustrate the tricky path May must navigate as she tries to balance the wishes of those who want to soften Brexit by staying in the single market and customs union, and those who are prepared for the country to drop out even if no deal on future ties is reached.

The group Migration Watch, which argues for lower immigration, said in a report that if the U.K. remains in the single market and thus subject to free-movement rules after Brexit, net migration from the EU is likely to continue at about 125,000 people a year for at least the next decade, keeping overall annual net migration at about 250,000. May has vowed to pull out of the single market and cut immigration to the tens of thousands.

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AUniversity of Sussex study focusing on the food supply showed the potential consequences of no deal: tariffs of as much as 22 percent, the need to replace a vast array of food standard institutions across Europe, and tricky questions of how to replace EU subsidies and farm laborers who often take seasonal work that British citizens dont want. The U.K. food system is like the rabbit caught in the headlights, with no goals, no leadership, and eviscerated key ministries, the academics wrote.

We keep being told by our politicians that Brexit can be delivered easily,Gus ODonnell, who as a former cabinet secretary was once the countrys top civil servant, wrote in the Observer on Sunday. This isnt correct. Believe me, we are embarking on a massive venture. There is no way all these changes will happen smoothly and absolutely no chance that all the details will be hammered out in 20 months.

Continued here:

UK Seeks Progress on Citizens' Rights as Brexit Talks Resume - Bloomberg

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Editor's Note: Thursday, July 20 marks five years since the Aurora Theater Shooting. As this milestone approaches, FOX31 has carefully chosen how to cover it without re-opening old wounds, and without focusing on (or even mentioning by name) the gunman. This is the first in our week-long series of reports.

AURORA-- Heather Dearman says there's a patch of land near the Aurora Municipal Center that will soon take your breath away.

"It`s just... it`s powerful and it`s meaningful and it`s beautiful," Dearman told FOX 31.

She's vice-chair of the 7/20 Memorial Foundation, the group that has raised more than $250,000 to erect a permanent memorial to the victims of the Aurora theater shooting. They plan to unveil the final design of the memorial in late August.

For Dearman, it's very personal.

A reflection garden on the east side of the Aurora Municipal Center will soon be the site of a permanent memorial to the victims of the Aurora Theater Shooting. The final design of the memorial will be unveiled in late August.

"My cousin is Ashley Moser and she was at the theater with her six year old daughter Veronica, and unfortunately (Ashley) was shot and she lost her unborn child, and Veronica was shot and killed," Dearman said.

Veronica was the youngest of the victims who died that night.

"To me the word anniversary doesn`t seem right, because an anniversary should be something that you celebrate like a wedding or a birthday," Dearman said.

The shooting may have left Ashley Moser paralyzed physically, but not in any other way.

"Ashley is doing emotionally so much better than I could have expected. When she talks to me on the phone, you can hear her smile. She`s just such an inspiration because for her to even just wake up every morning and start a new day. It just means so much - she has such strength and courage," Dearman said.

Dearman hopes the site of the memorial gives strength and courage to all of those affected by what happened in Aurora five years ago. Not just cousins or siblings -- or moms and dads -- of those killed in the theater that night. But an entire community still in need of healing.

The 7/20 Memorial Foundation has planned a Community Candlelight Vigil and First Responder Procession to honor those lost on 7/20/2012. Community members are asked to gather at 11:30 p.m. on 7/19/2017 on the east side of the Aurora Municipal Building, 15151 East Alameda Parkway. The main program begins at 12:15 a.m., and at 12:38 a.m. there will be a moment of silence to honor the lives lost. At 12:45 a.m., Aurora Police and first responders end their procession and arrive at the 7/20 Reflection Memorial.

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Aurora: Five Years Later, progress on permanent memorial to theater victims - FOX31 Denver