NEW YORK (AP) — The bill is coming due for what the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network should pay the Washington Nationals for television rights for 2012-16: more than $99 million. A proposed judgment was submitted Friday in New York Supreme Court. The court in August upheld an April 15 decision by a Major League Baseball arbitration panel that set the Nationals’ TV rights for that period at nearly $297 million. The Baltimore Orioles and Nationals jointly own MASN and have been fighting in court for years. MASN was established in 2005 after the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington and became the Nationals, moving into what had been Baltimore’s exclusive broadcast territory since 1972. The Orioles have a controlling interest in the network. MASN paid the Nationals for 2012-16 what the Orioles proposed, more than $197 million. Washington argued it should be paid $475 million. The amount due is $99.2 million plus interest. The parties agreed in 2005 to have rights fees … [Read more...] about Bill For Nationals-Orioles TV Dispute Tops $99 Million
The national interest
As Samoa battles measles epidemic, capital is deserted
Samoa’s main streets were eerily quiet Thursday as the government stepped up efforts to curb a measles epidemic that has killed 62 people.The government told most public and private workers to stay home on Thursday and Friday, and it shut down roads to nonessential vehicles as teams began going door to door to administer vaccines.Families in the Pacific island nation were asked to hang red flags from their houses if they needed to be vaccinated.Most of those who have died from the virus are young, with 54 deaths among children 4 or younger. Advertisement The Samoa Observer newspaper said the normally bustling capital, Apia, was a ghost town Thursday, with only birds nesting in the rooftops and stray dogs roaming the streets.Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi told reporters the vaccine drive was unprecedented in the nation’s history.He said one challenge was that a lot of people hadn’t considered that measles could be deadly.“They seem to take a kind of … [Read more...] about As Samoa battles measles epidemic, capital is deserted
Blind Tennessee inmate faces execution for woman’s killing
Tennessee is set to carry out what is expected to be only the second execution of a blind prisoner in the United States since the nation reinstated the death penalty in 1976.Barring an 11th-hour stay, 53-year-old inmate Lee Hall is scheduled to die in the electric chair Thursday evening for his conviction in the 1991 burning death of his estranged girlfriend. Hall had his sight when he entered death row nearly three decades ago, but his attorneys say he later become functionally blind from improperly treated glaucoma.Earlier this year, Hall chose the electric chair over lethal injection as allowed under state law. His lawyer said it also would be the first electrocution of a blind inmate since the 1976 resumption of U.S. executions. But attorney Kelly Gleason has asked the federal courts to stop Hall from being put to death in the big wooden electric chair believed to have been built with the wood from Tennessee’s old gallows.“Unless the federal courts intervene, Tennessee … [Read more...] about Blind Tennessee inmate faces execution for woman’s killing
Letters to the Editor: Trump’s national parks plan would make Teddy Roosevelt roll over in his grave
To the editor: Theodore Roosevelt spearheaded the creation of our national park system and is often referred to as the “conservationist president.” Speaking of America’s natural wonders, Roosevelt said, “We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.” Will Donald Trump be known as the “commercialization president”? (“Our national parks are in crisis. Trump’s solution is absurd,” Opinion, Dec. 2)A Trump administration advisory panel recently proposed to “modernize” our national parks by allowing WiFi networks, food trucks and Amazon deliveries. The advisory panel is populated mostly by representatives of existing national park concessionaires and others that would benefit financially from expanded commercial services. What’s next, a Starbucks at the base of the General Grant giant … [Read more...] about Letters to the Editor: Trump’s national parks plan would make Teddy Roosevelt roll over in his grave
California’s economy will grow faster than the nation’s, UCLA forecast predicts
California’s economic growth will slow next year, but it is likely to outshine that of the nation overall, as Golden State employers boost payrolls, according to a new UCLA Anderson School forecast.Even as recession fears haunt the ongoing expansion, California’s economic output expanded by 2.6% this year, albeit down from 3.5% in the last quarter of 2018.“This is still above the U.S. rate,” wrote forecast director Jerry Nickelsburg, noting that U.S. GDP grew by 2.1% in the last quarter. “While we expect further slowing of the California economy as part of the U.S. economic growth slowdown in 2020, this differential is expected to persist.”The 134-page UCLA forecast, a widely watched and often-cited quarterly outlook for California and the nation, offered analyses on the likelihood of recession, the health of the housing market, the impact of the trade war and the geographic distribution of educated workers. Advertisement “The forecast is now … [Read more...] about California’s economy will grow faster than the nation’s, UCLA forecast predicts
