washingtontimes--2020-11-08--Iran's president calls on Biden to return to nuclear deal

TEHRAN , Iran ( AP ) - Iran ’ s president called on President-elect Joe Biden to “ compensate for past mistakes ” and return the U.S. to Tehran ’ s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers , a state-run news agency reported Sunday .
Hassan Rouhani ’ s comments mark the highest-level response from Iran to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris clinching the Nov. 3 election .
“ Now , an opportunity has come up for the next U.S. administration to compensate for past mistakes and return to the path of complying with international agreements through respect of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news agency quoted him as saying .
Under President Donald Trump , tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated , reaching a fever pitch earlier this year .
One of Trump ’ s signature foreign policy moves was unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. from Iran ’ s nuclear deal in 2018 , which had seen Tehran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions .
The U.S. has since reimposed punishing sanctions on Iran that have crippled its economy , which was further battered by the coronavirus outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to find a way around the sanctions , Iran has slowly abandoned the limits of the nuclear deal .
“ The people of Iran , though their heroic resistance against the imposed economic war , proved that the U.S. maximum pressure policy was doomed to fail , ” Rouhani said .
He added Iran “ considers constructive engagement with the world as a strategy.
” Also Sunday , Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted that “ the world is watching ” to see if the new Biden administration would depart from Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international cooperation .
Meanwhile , Iran on Sunday reached its highest ever single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 459 new deaths recorded .
This brings Iran ’ s total recorded deaths from the virus to 38,291 nationwide .
Another 9,236 new confirmed cases of the virus were confirmed over the past 24 hours , bringing total confirmed cases to more than 682,000 nationwide since February .
Iran has struggled to contain the virus and has seen daily surges and highs over the past month .
The capital , Tehran , has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures across the city .

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran’s president called on President-elect Joe Biden to “compensate for past mistakes” and return the U.S. to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, a state-run news agency reported Sunday.
Hassan Rouhani’s comments mark the highest-level response from Iran to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris clinching the Nov. 3 election.
“Now, an opportunity has come up for the next U.S. administration to compensate for past mistakes and return to the path of complying with international agreements through respect of international norms,” the state-run IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.
Under President Donald Trump, tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated, reaching a fever pitch earlier this year. One of Trump’s signature foreign policy moves was unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear deal in 2018, which had seen Tehran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
The U.S. has since reimposed punishing sanctions on Iran that have crippled its economy, which was further battered by the coronavirus outbreak. In an effort to pressure Europe to find a way around the sanctions, Iran has slowly abandoned the limits of the nuclear deal.
“The people of Iran, though their heroic resistance against the imposed economic war, proved that the U.S. maximum pressure policy was doomed to fail,” Rouhani said. He added Iran “considers constructive engagement with the world as a strategy.”
Also Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted that “the world is watching” to see if the new Biden administration would depart from Trump’s approach toward Iran and seek international cooperation.
“Deeds matter most,” Zarif added.
Meanwhile, Iran on Sunday reached its highest ever single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 459 new deaths recorded. This brings Iran’s total recorded deaths from the virus to 38,291 nationwide. Another 9,236 new confirmed cases of the virus were confirmed over the past 24 hours, bringing total confirmed cases to more than 682,000 nationwide since February.
Iran has struggled to contain the virus and has seen daily surges and highs over the past month. The capital, Tehran, has been the hardest-hit and recently extended some lockdown measures across the city.


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--"Warmest human spirit": UK's former chief rabbi Sacks dies

LONDON ( AP ) - Jonathan Sacks , the former chief rabbi in the U.K. who reached beyond the Jewish community with his regular broadcasts on radio , has died at 72 .
A statement on his Twitter page said he died early Saturday .
Sacks served as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth , the figurehead of British Jews , for 22 years , stepping down in 2013 .
He was succeeded by the current chief rabbi , Ephraim Mirvis , who said the world had lost an “ intellectual giant who had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the U.K. , Sacks was best known for his regular broadcasts on the “ Thought of the Day ” fixture on BBC Radio 4 ’ s “ Today ” program , the network ’ s flagship morning news program .
Mohit Bakaya , the controller of the radio channel , said Sacks was a man of “ great intellect , humanity and warmth , ” whose contributions to the “ Thought of the Day ” segment were “ some of the most erudite.
” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a “ profound impact on our whole country and across the world.
” Tony Blair , who was prime minister for much of the time that Sacks was chief rabbi , described him as “ a man of huge intellectual stature but with the warmest human spirit .
”

LONDON (AP) - Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi in the U.K. who reached beyond the Jewish community with his regular broadcasts on radio, has died at 72.
A statement on his Twitter page said he died early Saturday.
Sacks served as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, the figurehead of British Jews, for 22 years, stepping down in 2013.
He was succeeded by the current chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, who said the world had lost an “intellectual giant who had a transformative global impact.”
For many people in the U.K., Sacks was best known for his regular broadcasts on the “Thought of the Day” fixture on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program, the network’s flagship morning news program.
Mohit Bakaya, the controller of the radio channel, said Sacks was a man of “great intellect, humanity and warmth,” whose contributions to the “Thought of the Day” segment were “some of the most erudite.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined in the tributes to Sacks, saying his leadership had a “profound impact on our whole country and across the world.”
Tony Blair, who was prime minister for much of the time that Sacks was chief rabbi, described him as “a man of huge intellectual stature but with the warmest human spirit.”


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--The Latest: New Delhi sees sharp surge in coronavirus cases

NEW DELHI - India has reported 45,674 new coronavirus infections , with the capital coping with a sharp surge of nearly 7,000 cases a day this past week .
India ’ s tally of confirmed cases - currently the second largest in the world behind the United States - has exceeded 8.5 million .
The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 559 deaths in the past 24 hours , raising total fatalities to 126,121 .
India has seen an overall steady dip in new cases after touching nearly 100,000 a day in mid-September .
However , the tally in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a day after dropping to nearly 1,000 in September .
The capital also reported 79 deaths in the past 24 hours , the most since June .
Delhi state Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that apart from aggressive contact tracing , targeted testing in shopping areas and other busy locations also has started .
And authorities are reaching out to people through mobile testing vans .
The government has warned that the situation could worsen due to festival shopping crowds , coupled with the onset of winter and high air pollution levels .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK : - How Joe Biden navigated pandemic politics to win the White House - Hairdressers ?
Bookstores ?
Facing new coronavirus restrictions , Europe struggles to define what are essential services HERE ’ S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING : ANCHORAGE , Alaska — Alaska on Saturday reported hitting a daily record in new coronavirus cases .
The state reported 604 cases , the highest in a single day since Oct. 25 , when 526 cases were tallied , the Anchorage Daily News reported .
The Department of Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new deaths from the virus .
The state has had 19,306 cases and 79 deaths since the coronavirus hit .
The Daily News reports that 95 people were currently hospitalized with the virus in Alaska as of Saturday , slightly down from Friday ’ s record of 97 hospitalizations .
Another 10 hospital patients were suspected of having COVID-19 , according to state data .
SANTA FE , N.M. - New Mexico on Saturday for the second day in a row reported nearly 1,300 additional COVID-19 cases and 16 additional deaths .
Officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a one-day record that was the same number reported Friday .
But officials on Saturday also said that 10 of the cases reported Friday had turned out to be duplicates or not lab-confirmed .
With those adjustments and the latest reported cases , the statewide case total reached 53,671 with 1,104 deaths .
State officials warned Thursday that new records would be set over the coming weeks as the rate of spread remains high .
WICHITA , Kan. - A council member in Kansas ’ largest city has tested positive for the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members to quarantine for about two weeks .
Wichita announced Council Member Brandon Johnson ’ s positive result Saturday in a tweet .
The city says Mayor Brandon Whipple , members of the City Council and some staff , including city manager Robert Layton , must temporarily stay away from city hall .
“ The City continues to strongly urge all Wichita residents and City employees to practice safe social distancing whenever possible , to wear face masks when distancing isn ’ t possible , limit public exposure and to wash hands frequently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Wichita Eagle reports that Johnson said he had a cough Thursday that worsened Friday , so he went to be tested .
He received his results Saturday morning .
CARSON CITY , Nev. — Nevada has reported a record number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases for the second day in row .
State officials on Saturday reported 1,846 additional cases with five additional deaths .
The state reported 1,562 new cases on Friday .
The state ’ s totals increased to 108,746 cases and 1,850 deaths .
State COVID-19 response Director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Nevada is a surge in cases .
According to Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press , seven-day rolling averages for daily new cases and daily new deaths in Nevada increased over the last two weeks as the average for COVID-19 testing positivity dropped .
HILLSBORO , Ore. — The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating reports that a circuit court judge is endangering the health of workers and jurors by ignoring a statewide mask mandate in his courtroom .
The Oregonian/OregonianLive reports in a story on Saturday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ describes the mask mandate as a “ nanny state ” requirement .
He doesn ’ t wear a face covering and isn ’ t requiring others to do so in his Hillsboro courtroom .
Bailey told attorneys and jurors in the Oct. 29 recording of the proceedings that it was up to them whether they wanted to wear a mask .
The incident occurred as coronavirus infections surge in the state .
OKLAHOMA CITY — The number of newly reported coronavirus cases in Oklahoma on Saturday more than doubled the previous one-day record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said a bureaucratic backlog and duplicate reporting partially account for the steep increase .
There were 4,741 new cases , bringing the total to 136,492 since the pandemic began , the department said .
The previous one-day record of 2,101 new cases was recorded Thursday as cases in the state have surged in recent weeks .
“ We have reason to believe that our normal case count would have continued on an upward trajectory without the backlog and duplication , ” which is due to a transition from a manual to electronic reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement .
Officials said they were not sure how many cases were recorded twice but were investigating .
In a statement , Gov .
Kevin Stitt , called on residents to wash hands often , socially distance and voluntarily wear masks at indoor public places .
“ Oklahomans pulled together back in April so we could safely reopen our economy , and I am asking for that same unified effort once again to slow the spread of this virus and keep Oklahomans safe , ” Stitt said .
That tops the 37,809 cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarter of the coronavirus tests came back positive for a daily total of nearly 11,500 .
Lombardy is one of four regions designated a “ red zone , ” with a partial lockdown in effect since Friday .
Hospitalizations continue to rise , with 1,104 more people hospitalized on Saturday and 119 more in intensive care .
There are more than 862,000 total confirmed cases in Italy .
Deaths nationwide rose by 425 for a confirmed total of 41,063 , sixth highest in the world .

BOSTON - The coronavirus has hit another sobering milestone: more than 50 million positive cases worldwide since the pandemic began.
Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker reported more than 50.2 million COVID-19 cases globally as of Sunday.
There have been more than 1.2 million deaths from the disease worldwide since the pandemic started.
The U.S., with about 4% of the world’s population, represents almost a fifth of all reported cases.
The country has had more than 9.8 million cases and more than 237,000 deaths from the virus since the pandemic started, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data.
Coronavirus cases and deaths also continue to soar in the U.S., as they are in many countries.
The U.S. reported more than 126,000 positive cases and more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, according to the university.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
- How Joe Biden navigated pandemic politics to win the White House
- Nursing home COVID cases rise four-fold in surge states
- UK bans non-resident arrivals from Denmark over mink fears
- Convention centers, museums become classrooms amid pandemic
- German officials condemn thousands who demonstrated against coronavirus restrictions by jamming together in a Leipzig city square.
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- Follow AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
ROME - The governor of an autonomous Italian Alpine province famed for its ski resorts has declared it a “red zone,” shutting down as of Monday most non-essential shops, barring cafes and restaurants from serving meals and forbidding citizens to leave their towns except for essential reasons like work.
Bolzano Province Gov. Arno Kompatscher told Sky TG24 TV Sunday evening he decided to order the crackdown as ICU beds started rapidly filling up with COVID-19 patients.
“We could add 100 ICU beds,” the governor said, but “we can only hold up to a certain point.” He noted that the province needed more doctors and nurses.
Bolzano Province joins the northern regions of Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, a small Alpine region, in Italy’s “red zone.” Calabria, the southern “toe” of the Italian mainland, is also under strict “red zone” measures in view of its fragile public hospital system.
Italy on Sunday registered some 7,000 fewer new COVID-19 cases compared to the previous day’s increase, but nearly 40,000 fewer swab tests to detect the coronavirus were conducted in the last 24 hours.
With the addition of 32,616 confirmed infections on Sunday, Italy’s known total in the pandemic totals 935,104. There were 331 more deaths since Saturday, raising the nation’s confirmed toll to 41,394.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Hospitalizations from the coronavirus in Arkansas continued to climb on Sunday, reaching a new one-day record high of 741, state health officials said.
The Arkansas Department of Health said 19 more people were hospitalized Sunday.
Health officials also reported 1,038 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases, bringing the state’s total so far to nearly 122,000.
“With yet another day of over 1,000 new cases, we are likely headed for a difficult week,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday on Twitter. “Let’s all be safe and take action to protect each other.”
The state also reported 17 new deaths, bringing the death toll so far to 2,085.
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AUSTIN, Texas - Texas on Sunday reported 5,404 new cases of the coronavirus, with almost 2,000 of those cases coming from the hard-hit El Paso area, state health officials said.
The state’s total number of cases since the pandemic began is nearing 1 million, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, which puts the number of cases at more than 985,000.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said Sunday that with 43 additional deaths reported, the state’s death toll was at 18,743.
Cases and hospitalizations have been rising in Texas, and the situation has become especially acute in El Paso, with El Paso county’s top elected official shutting down nonessential activities and medical teams being sent in to help.
Health officials said that statewide, more than 6,000 people were hospitalized Sunday with COVID-19.
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ATHENS, Greece - Health authorities announced 1,914 new cases of the new coronavirus, including a record 35 deaths, on Sunday.
The total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is 56,698, with 734 deaths.
Researchers at the chemistry department of the University of Athens said Saturday that an analysis of waste at the Athens region’s main waste treatment plant has led them to estimate that 1.5 to 2 percent of the capital region’s population of 4.2 million are active coronavirus carriers, which would mean 63,000 to 84,000 individuals.
Authorities said Sunday that of the country’s 1,063 intensive care units, 734 were occupied, 259 with coronavirus patients. The rapid filling of such places was one of the reasons the country was placed on lockdown Saturday.
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BOSTON - The U.S. has set another record for daily number of coronavirus cases.
The country reported more than 126,000 positive cases and more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, according to the most recent data from Johns Hopkins University.
It marked the fourth day in a row that new cases topped more than 100,000 as the country has broken its own record for daily cases with nearly every passing day this week.
The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. rose over the past two weeks from more than 64,000 on Oct. 24 to nearly 104,000 on Nov. 7, according to the university’s data.
The virus death toll is also rising in the country.
The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths rose over the past two weeks from 801 on Oct. 24 to 930 on Nov. 7, the university said.
There have been more than 9.8 million cases and more than 237,000 deaths from the virus in the U.S. since the pandemic started.
Globally, there have been nearly 50 million positive cases and more than 1.2 million deaths from COVID-19.
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JERUSALEM - Israel has allowed most retail shops to reopen for the first time in nearly two months, in the latest phase of its exit from a second coronavirus lockdown.
Under the new rules, shops can accept up to four customers at a time, and indoor shopping malls remain closed.
Israel moved quickly last spring to contain the coronavirus, quickly sealing its borders and shutting down much of the economy. But it mismanaged the reopening of the economy, and the coronavirus quickly returned. A second lockdown was imposed in mid-September.
The country has moved more cautiously this time– gradually opening preschools and elementary schools and some offices in recent weeks. The dual lockdowns have hit small businesses especially hard.
Rina Shapira, a shopper in a Jerusalem bookshop, said the plight of businesses is heartbreaking. “Without an economy, there is also no health,” she said.
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ROME - More than 200 migrants who reached a tiny Italian island were in mandatory preventative quarantine Sunday aboard a ferry that has been pressed into service as part of the country’s measures against COVID-19 spread.
The 238 migrants are some of about 2,200 who arrived on Lampedusa island in the past week, Italian news reports said. Among them are Tunisians who arrived in small boats directly on the island from their homeland, while some of the others were spotted by an Italian border patrol vessel, which then brought them to shore.
With tourism practically flattened by the pandemic, Italy earlier this year started using empty passenger ferries that normally would ply the waters between Sicily and the mainland to instead house migrants to ensure they don’t bring infection when they are later transferred to shelters in Italy.
While earlier in the pandemic some clusters of infections were found in migrant residences, in past weeks most of the new cases in a resurgence of COVID-19 infections have been traced to transmission within Italian households, according to health experts.
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RENO, Nev. — A rural Nevada church is headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court in a second attempt to overturn the state’s 50-person cap on attendance at religious gatherings.
The high court denied Calvary Chapel Dayton Valleys’ request for an emergency injunction in July.
A new petition filed Thursday asks the justices to consider the challenge of Nevada’s COVID-19 restrictions as a test case for others brought by churches across the country arguing their religious freedoms are being violated.
Calvary Chapel argues the 50-person cap is an unconstitutional violation of religious freedoms, partly because casinos and other businesses are allowed to operate at 50% of capacity.
Other secular businesses allowed to operate at half capacity include restaurants, gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys.
A federal appeals court has scheduled oral arguments next month on the Nevada church’s appeal of a U.S. judge’s ruling in Reno upholding the state policy.
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NEW YORK - Students attending college at one of New York’s public universities in the spring will have to quarantine at home for a week first and be tested for COVID-19, at home or on campus.
The rules are part of new guidance for the spring semester issued by the State University of New York on Sunday.
Classes will start later than usual, on Feb. 1, and there will be no spring break. And with big gatherings still not allowed, graduation plans for the Class of 2021 are shaping up once again to be scaled-back or virtual ceremonies.
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NEW DELHI - India has reported 45,674 new coronavirus infections, with the capital coping with a sharp surge of nearly 7,000 cases a day this past week.
India’s tally of confirmed cases - currently the second largest in the world behind the United States - has exceeded 8.5 million. The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 559 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising total fatalities to 126,121.
India has seen an overall steady dip in new cases after touching nearly 100,000 a day in mid-September.
However, the tally in New Delhi continues to hover at around 7,000 a day after dropping to nearly 1,000 in September. The capital also reported 79 deaths in the past 24 hours, the most since June.
Delhi state Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that apart from aggressive contact tracing, targeted testing in shopping areas and other busy locations also has started. And authorities are reaching out to people through mobile testing vans.
The government has warned that the situation could worsen due to festival shopping crowds, coupled with the onset of winter and high air pollution levels.
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska on Saturday reported hitting a daily record in new coronavirus cases.
The state reported 604 cases, the highest in a single day since Oct. 25, when 526 cases were tallied, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The Department of Health and Social Services says there were no new deaths from the virus. The state has had 19,306 cases and 79 deaths since the coronavirus hit.
The Daily News reports that 95 people were currently hospitalized with the virus in Alaska as of Saturday, slightly down from Friday’s record of 97 hospitalizations. Another 10 hospital patients were suspected of having COVID-19, according to state data.
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SANTA FE, N.M. - New Mexico on Saturday for the second day in a row reported nearly 1,300 additional COVID-19 cases and 16 additional deaths.
Officials say there are 1,287 additional cases, a one-day record that was the same number reported Friday. But officials on Saturday also said that 10 of the cases reported Friday had turned out to be duplicates or not lab-confirmed. With those adjustments and the latest reported cases, the statewide case total reached 53,671 with 1,104 deaths.
State officials warned Thursday that new records would be set over the coming weeks as the rate of spread remains high.
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WICHITA, Kan. - A council member in Kansas’ largest city has tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the mayor and other council members to quarantine for about two weeks.
Wichita announced Council Member Brandon Johnson’s positive result Saturday in a tweet. The city says Mayor Brandon Whipple, members of the City Council and some staff, including city manager Robert Layton, must temporarily stay away from city hall.
“The City continues to strongly urge all Wichita residents and City employees to practice safe social distancing whenever possible, to wear face masks when distancing isn’t possible, limit public exposure and to wash hands frequently,” the City of Wichita tweeted.
The Wichita Eagle reports that Johnson said he had a cough Thursday that worsened Friday, so he went to be tested. He received his results Saturday morning.


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--Story of Ocoee Massacre finally being told, 100 years later

ORLANDO , Fla. ( AP ) - Allen Franks was just 18 when he led five siblings hand-in-hand and carried a sixth , his disabled brother , on his back through swampy woods out of Ocoee , away from a mob of white men firing rifles and burning Black homes 100 years ago on Election Night .
The kids followed the getaway plan their parents made in the wake of Ku Klux Klan marches just weeks earlier in Orlando , Winter Garden and Ocoee as a warning to Blacks thinking of voting in that year ’ s presidential election , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s daughter .
“ They knew trouble was coming , ” said Bell , now 81 , and living in Plymouth .
That same night , Nov. 2 , 1920 , J. Carl Devine ’ s grandparents , John and Roxie Williams , escaped the violence by horse and buggy .
John held the reins up front while Roxie , lighter-skinned than her husband , sat in the back , their children clinging to her .
If anyone stopped them , Devine , now 77 , said , “ in the dark , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white woman ” and let them on their way .
“ You had to be clever to survive , ” he said .
It ’ s taken a century , but family tales of the massacre , passed down by survivors through at least three generations , are at last shaping the official narrative of the terror that for decades was obscured or excused by a whitewashing of facts .
Public officials , as well as the Orlando Sentinel and other accounts , for years referred to the violence as a “ race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black community itself caused the violence rather than were the victims of it .
By the time the flames died out and the shooting stopped , the Black neighborhood was a “ gruesome cremation scene , ” according to the Orlando Morning Sentinel , which reported two white deaths and an unknown number of Black residents dead or missing .
Today what happened in Central Florida 100 years ago is more frequently called what it was : a massacre instigated by a white mob who wanted to send a message to Black voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white volunteers burned 25 Black homes , two churches and a fraternal lodge .
The total number dead is still unknown .
The lynching of Julius “ July ” Perry , 50 , made him the best-known victim of one of the worst episodes of Election Day violence in the nation ’ s history .
He was a farmer and labor broker who dared register fellow Blacks to vote .
His prosperity , civic activities and fearlessness likely put him in the mob ’ s crosshairs , said Sha ’ Ron Cooley McWhite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Perry whom she honored during early voting in Orlando by wearing a T-shirt bearing his image to the polls .
“ He was lynched not because he had done anything wrong , but because he had done everything right , ” she said .
Even Perry ’ s death certificate attempted to conceal the role of race in his murder , noting the cause was “ by being hung not by violence caused by racial disturbance.
” While some facts remain in dispute - lost to time , poor record-keeping or intentional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Black families were driven from a west Orange County community is now viewed as so unjust and horrific that it ’ s become the subject of a formal letter of apology from the city of Ocoee to be offered to descendants and a historic marker planned for the city ’ s popular park at Starke Lake .
This year the Florida Legislature ordered the tragedy to be written into the textbooks of schoolchildren .
And the most in-depth exhibit ever curated on the tragedy is on display now at the Orange County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told of her father ’ s escape from the massacre in a book titled , “ Visions Through My Father ’ s Eyes , ” said he was a religious man who lived after the massacre in the Plymouth area in northwest Orange County without malice for anyone , Black or white .
“ Regardless of what happened in Ocoee , he told us , ‘ Don ’ t hold hate in your heart , no good comes from it , ’ ” she said .
Most research suggests the white attack on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man ’ s determination to vote and the angry response of some whites , fearful of losing ground financially and politically to an emancipated people enslaved a half-century earlier .
An exact account of what happened in the community 13 miles west of Orlando may be impossible to tell today because of scarce and contradictory sources and distinctly separate perspectives : one white and one Black , said Claire Strom , a Rollins College history professor who co-authored an examination of the ugly episode published in 2014 in the Florida Historical Quarterly .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Ocoee family that escaped the violence by hiding in a white neighbor ’ s barn , said tongue-in-cheek that he believes in two versions , too : “ A fabricated one and the truth .
I ’ ll leave it up to you to decide which is which.
” For the past three years , Pam Schwartz , chief curator of the Orange County Regional History Center , and her staff have probed the tragedy , piecing together land records , tracing genealogies , recording oral histories and culling published accounts .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Ocoee : Yesterday , This Was Home.
” Schwartz concluded local authorities , all white at the time , tried to hide the truth and managed to do so for decades .
“ It ’ s white erasure , ” she said .
“ They just wanted it to go away like it never happened.
” It all started on Nov. 2 , 1920 , when Moses Norman , a Black labor broker , attempted to vote at a precinct in what would just five years later become the city of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white poll workers .
They said he had not paid his $ 1 poll tax , a voting obstacle that wouldn ’ t be outlawed until 1964 by the 24th Amendment .
He returned later in a car but was turned away again .
There was a gun in his vehicle , according to reports at the time .
After the polls closed , a group of armed white men went into a Black neighborhood to the home of Perry , Norman ’ s friend , possibly to look for Norman .
Writer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the match to touch off the explosion.
” The deputized mob was led by Samuel T. Salisbury , who studied at West Point and served briefly as Orlando police chief and , later , two terms as Ocoee mayor in the 1950s .
Salisbury , who had left a pregnant wife in labor at home , was shot in the arm when he shoved aside a rifle held by Perry ’ s teen daughter , Coretha , who then was wounded in an exchange of gunfire .
More shooting erupted and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Two posse members were shot to death .
Also severely wounded , Perry was captured in a sugar cane patch and brought to a cell at the Orange County Jail in downtown Orlando .
According to a coroner ’ s inquest , a white mob overpowered the jailer , took Perry from custody , brutalized and lynched him , then left his body hanging in public view near the Orlando home of federal Judge John M. Cheney .
The judge had advised Perry and Norman on voting rights .
He resided near @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an area today where Interstate 4 passes over Colonial .
Two months earlier , the KKK sent a copy of a letter to Cheney warning that interfering with white supremacy would have “ consequences.
” Perry was buried in Orlando ’ s Greenwood Cemetery in an unmarked grave .
Norman fled .
He was later documented as living in New York City .
Newspaper ads then summoned the region ’ s World War I veterans to come to Ocoee to prevent more violence and , in effect , blocked Black residents who survived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they owned .
Many fled , never to return .
Those who came back were eventually driven away again by violence that included dynamite thrown into their homes , Schwartz said , citing newspaper accounts .
By late November , a dinner at the San Juan Hotel in downtown Orlando honored the white ex-servicemen who helped law enforcement restore order in Ocoee “ after the brief outburst of passion over the killing of two white men.
” The Orlando Morning Sentinel quoted a jail doctor saying , “ Perry was expected to die @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the anti-Black terror in the region didn ’ t stop after election night .
About eight months after Perry ’ s lynching , his brother-in-law George Betsey , who had moved to Parramore , was taken into custody by Orlando police for alleged bootlegging , but was snatched from two arresting officers by a mob of 15 armed men .
A 1921 newspaper account said he was found the next day alive , but chained to a light post , painted from the waist up with red and white stripes , his head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he had “ talked too much about the trouble at Ocoee.
” According to the 1920 U.S. Census , 560 whites and 255 Blacks lived in Ocoee .
Schwartz said History Center research shows 24 Blacks owned land there with 42 properties among them .
She said some Black residents had been in the region since the 1880s and had accumulated enviable wealth , including both Perry and Norman , owner of a productive grove .
The combined value of those Black-owned properties today is estimated at $ 9 million , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Ocoee lost something that night , ” Schwartz said of the 25 homes , two churches and a fraternal lodge destroyed by mob fires .
“ What took nearly 40 years to build was lost over a span of just six years in the wake of the massacre.
” Census takers counted two Blacks remaining in Ocoee in 1930 and none from 1940 to 1970 .
The 1980 census counted 29 .
Most Black property owners abandoned or sold their holdings after the massacre , many at high discounts .
Among officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owners was Bluford M. Sims , a Confederate veteran considered an Ocoee founder and credited with naming it .
He was appointed to oversee the land transactions and had placed an ad in the paper that read , “ SPECIAL BARGAINS : Several beautiful little groves belonging to the Negroes that just left Ocoee .
Must be sold - See B.M .
Sims , Ocoee.
” Lester J. Dabbs Jr. , who penned a thesis about the massacre in 1969 to earn a master ’ s degree in education from Stetson University and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted that a sign near the city limits once warned “ Negroes and dogs ” were unwelcome .
“ We ’ d all heard little bits and pieces about Ocoee growing up , ” said Francina Boykin , now 70 , a Black woman who cofounded the multiracial Democracy Forum and was a member of Apopka Memorial High School ’ s second integrated graduating class .
“ What I thought I knew was bad , very bad , ” she said .
“ But when I learned the actual truth , it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today boasts a Diversity Board and invested $ 45,000 to plan a weeklong “ 100 Year Remembrance ” during the first week of November with hopes of providing descendants with formal letters of apology .
City leaders also intend to unveil on Nov. 8 a permanent historical marker at Starke Lake , its most popular gathering place .
Among Blacks , Ocoee has served as a cautionary tale for half a century , said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings .
Demings , who is Black and also the first person to hold all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orange County sheriff and now , county mayor , said his father moved to Central Florida from Alabama in the 1930s and advised his children to be careful about venturing into Ocoee .
“ It had a history that was they didn ’ t like Blacks , ” Demings remembered his father saying .
“ You could find trouble there.
” But today , the mayor ’ s twin brother , Terry , lives in Ocoee and owns a business there .
Paul Ortiz , a professor of history at the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Blacks occurred midway through a series of assaults on Black communities by whites between 1917 and 1923 aimed at reinforcing white supremacy .
The six-year span of terror included “ Red Summer , ” a phrase coined by civil-rights activist James Weldon Johnson to describe the wave of violence , which killed hundreds of Blacks across the U.S. South , including Tulsa , Elaine , Arkansas , and Rosewood , Florida .
In recent years , discussions in Central Florida of the tragedy have more accurately reflected the role racism played @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College , which in 2018 hosted “ 1920 Ocoee and Beyond : Paths to Truth and Reconciliation.
” “ Whites called it a riot because their perception was Blacks were violent , dangerous , needing to be controlled and they started a riot , of course , none of which the historical records show was true , ” she said .
“ The Black perception is it was a massacre , a violent attack on a prospering neighborhood .
Whites from Orlando and Winter Garden , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an intent to disrupt and intimidate and frankly terrorize Black leaders who had gained power and standing , and they did just that.
” But she sees new hope for Ocoee now .
“ They ’ ve taken the essential first step , which is admitting the truth , ” she said .
“ From there everything ’ s possible .
”

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Allen Franks was just 18 when he led five siblings hand-in-hand and carried a sixth, his disabled brother, on his back through swampy woods out of Ocoee, away from a mob of white men firing rifles and burning Black homes 100 years ago on Election Night.
The kids followed the getaway plan their parents made in the wake of Ku Klux Klan marches just weeks earlier in Orlando, Winter Garden and Ocoee as a warning to Blacks thinking of voting in that year’s presidential election, said Gladys Franks Bell, Allen’s daughter.
“They knew trouble was coming,” said Bell, now 81, and living in Plymouth.
That same night, Nov. 2, 1920, J. Carl Devine’s grandparents, John and Roxie Williams, escaped the violence by horse and buggy. John held the reins up front while Roxie, lighter-skinned than her husband, sat in the back, their children clinging to her.
If anyone stopped them, Devine, now 77, said, “in the dark, they’d think she was a white woman” and let them on their way.
“You had to be clever to survive,” he said.
It’s taken a century, but family tales of the massacre, passed down by survivors through at least three generations, are at last shaping the official narrative of the terror that for decades was obscured or excused by a whitewashing of facts.
Public officials, as well as the Orlando Sentinel and other accounts, for years referred to the violence as a “race riot,” often implying that the Black community itself caused the violence rather than were the victims of it.
By the time the flames died out and the shooting stopped, the Black neighborhood was a “gruesome cremation scene,” according to the Orlando Morning Sentinel, which reported two white deaths and an unknown number of Black residents dead or missing.
Today what happened in Central Florida 100 years ago is more frequently called what it was: a massacre instigated by a white mob who wanted to send a message to Black voters.
Historians say the deputized mob and white volunteers burned 25 Black homes, two churches and a fraternal lodge. The total number dead is still unknown.
The lynching of Julius “July” Perry, 50, made him the best-known victim of one of the worst episodes of Election Day violence in the nation’s history. He was a farmer and labor broker who dared register fellow Blacks to vote.
His prosperity, civic activities and fearlessness likely put him in the mob’s crosshairs, said Sha’Ron Cooley McWhite, an Orange County teacher and great-niece to Perry whom she honored during early voting in Orlando by wearing a T-shirt bearing his image to the polls.
“He was lynched not because he had done anything wrong, but because he had done everything right,” she said.
Even Perry’s death certificate attempted to conceal the role of race in his murder, noting the cause was “by being hung not by violence caused by racial disturbance.”
While some facts remain in dispute - lost to time, poor record-keeping or intentional obfuscation - the story of how hundreds of Black families were driven from a west Orange County community is now viewed as so unjust and horrific that it’s become the subject of a formal letter of apology from the city of Ocoee to be offered to descendants and a historic marker planned for the city’s popular park at Starke Lake. This year the Florida Legislature ordered the tragedy to be written into the textbooks of schoolchildren. And the most in-depth exhibit ever curated on the tragedy is on display now at the Orange County Regional History Center.
Bell, who told of her father’s escape from the massacre in a book titled, “Visions Through My Father’s Eyes,” said he was a religious man who lived after the massacre in the Plymouth area in northwest Orange County without malice for anyone, Black or white.
“Regardless of what happened in Ocoee, he told us, ‘Don’t hold hate in your heart, no good comes from it,’ ” she said.
Most research suggests the white attack on the neighborhood was sparked by a Black man’s determination to vote and the angry response of some whites, fearful of losing ground financially and politically to an emancipated people enslaved a half-century earlier.
An exact account of what happened in the community 13 miles west of Orlando may be impossible to tell today because of scarce and contradictory sources and distinctly separate perspectives: one white and one Black, said Claire Strom, a Rollins College history professor who co-authored an examination of the ugly episode published in 2014 in the Florida Historical Quarterly.
Kenneth Thompson, a descendant of a Black Ocoee family that escaped the violence by hiding in a white neighbor’s barn, said tongue-in-cheek that he believes in two versions, too: “A fabricated one and the truth. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which is which.”
For the past three years, Pam Schwartz, chief curator of the Orange County Regional History Center, and her staff have probed the tragedy, piecing together land records, tracing genealogies, recording oral histories and culling published accounts. Their work makes up an exhibit called, “Ocoee: Yesterday, This Was Home.”
Schwartz concluded local authorities, all white at the time, tried to hide the truth and managed to do so for decades.
“It’s white erasure,” she said. “They just wanted it to go away like it never happened.”
It all started on Nov. 2, 1920, when Moses Norman, a Black labor broker, attempted to vote at a precinct in what would just five years later become the city of Ocoee. He was turned away by white poll workers. They said he had not paid his $1 poll tax, a voting obstacle that wouldn’t be outlawed until 1964 by the 24th Amendment.
He returned later in a car but was turned away again. There was a gun in his vehicle, according to reports at the time.
After the polls closed, a group of armed white men went into a Black neighborhood to the home of Perry, Norman’s friend, possibly to look for Norman. Writer Zora Neale Hurston later described Norman as “the match to touch off the explosion.”
The deputized mob was led by Samuel T. Salisbury, who studied at West Point and served briefly as Orlando police chief and, later, two terms as Ocoee mayor in the 1950s. Salisbury, who had left a pregnant wife in labor at home, was shot in the arm when he shoved aside a rifle held by Perry’s teen daughter, Coretha, who then was wounded in an exchange of gunfire.
More shooting erupted and, soon, some houses were on fire. Two posse members were shot to death. Also severely wounded, Perry was captured in a sugar cane patch and brought to a cell at the Orange County Jail in downtown Orlando.
According to a coroner’s inquest, a white mob overpowered the jailer, took Perry from custody, brutalized and lynched him, then left his body hanging in public view near the Orlando home of federal Judge John M. Cheney. The judge had advised Perry and Norman on voting rights. He resided near Lake Concord on West Colonial Drive, an area today where Interstate 4 passes over Colonial. Two months earlier, the KKK sent a copy of a letter to Cheney warning that interfering with white supremacy would have “consequences.”
Perry was buried in Orlando’s Greenwood Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Norman fled. He was later documented as living in New York City.
Newspaper ads then summoned the region’s World War I veterans to come to Ocoee to prevent more violence and, in effect, blocked Black residents who survived the terror-filled night from returning to homes they owned. Many fled, never to return.
Those who came back were eventually driven away again by violence that included dynamite thrown into their homes, Schwartz said, citing newspaper accounts.
By late November, a dinner at the San Juan Hotel in downtown Orlando honored the white ex-servicemen who helped law enforcement restore order in Ocoee “after the brief outburst of passion over the killing of two white men.”
Perry’s lynching was shrugged off.
The Orlando Morning Sentinel quoted a jail doctor saying, “Perry was expected to die at any moment anyway.”
Schwartz said the anti-Black terror in the region didn’t stop after election night.
About eight months after Perry’s lynching, his brother-in-law George Betsey, who had moved to Parramore, was taken into custody by Orlando police for alleged bootlegging, but was snatched from two arresting officers by a mob of 15 armed men. A 1921 newspaper account said he was found the next day alive, but chained to a light post, painted from the waist up with red and white stripes, his head tied in a sack.
The account said he had “talked too much about the trouble at Ocoee.”
THE AFTERMATH
According to the 1920 U.S. Census, 560 whites and 255 Blacks lived in Ocoee.
Schwartz said History Center research shows 24 Blacks owned land there with 42 properties among them. She said some Black residents had been in the region since the 1880s and had accumulated enviable wealth, including both Perry and Norman, owner of a productive grove.
The combined value of those Black-owned properties today is estimated at $9 million, she said.
“Every Black person living in Ocoee lost something that night,” Schwartz said of the 25 homes, two churches and a fraternal lodge destroyed by mob fires. “What took nearly 40 years to build was lost over a span of just six years in the wake of the massacre.”
Census takers counted two Blacks remaining in Ocoee in 1930 and none from 1940 to 1970. The 1980 census counted 29.
Most Black property owners abandoned or sold their holdings after the massacre, many at high discounts.
Among officials who helped to wrest land from Black owners was Bluford M. Sims, a Confederate veteran considered an Ocoee founder and credited with naming it. He was appointed to oversee the land transactions and had placed an ad in the paper that read, “SPECIAL BARGAINS: Several beautiful little groves belonging to the Negroes that just left Ocoee. Must be sold - See B.M. Sims, Ocoee.”
Lester J. Dabbs Jr., who penned a thesis about the massacre in 1969 to earn a master’s degree in education from Stetson University and also later served as Ocoee mayor, noted that a sign near the city limits once warned “Negroes and dogs” were unwelcome.
“We’d all heard little bits and pieces about Ocoee growing up,” said Francina Boykin, now 70, a Black woman who cofounded the multiracial Democracy Forum and was a member of Apopka Memorial High School’s second integrated graduating class.
“What I thought I knew was bad, very bad,” she said. “But when I learned the actual truth, it was worse, far worse.”
The city today boasts a Diversity Board and invested $45,000 to plan a weeklong “100 Year Remembrance” during the first week of November with hopes of providing descendants with formal letters of apology. City leaders also intend to unveil on Nov. 8 a permanent historical marker at Starke Lake, its most popular gathering place.
Among Blacks, Ocoee has served as a cautionary tale for half a century, said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.
Demings, who is Black and also the first person to hold all three roles of Orlando police chief, Orange County sheriff and now, county mayor, said his father moved to Central Florida from Alabama in the 1930s and advised his children to be careful about venturing into Ocoee.
“It had a history that was they didn’t like Blacks,” Demings remembered his father saying. “You could find trouble there.”
But today, the mayor’s twin brother, Terry, lives in Ocoee and owns a business there.
Paul Ortiz, a professor of history at the University of Florida, said the attack on Ocoee’s Blacks occurred midway through a series of assaults on Black communities by whites between 1917 and 1923 aimed at reinforcing white supremacy. The six-year span of terror included “Red Summer,” a phrase coined by civil-rights activist James Weldon Johnson to describe the wave of violence, which killed hundreds of Blacks across the U.S. South, including Tulsa, Elaine, Arkansas, and Rosewood, Florida.
In recent years, discussions in Central Florida of the tragedy have more accurately reflected the role racism played, said Rachel Allen, director of the Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College, which in 2018 hosted “1920 Ocoee and Beyond: Paths to Truth and Reconciliation.”
“Whites called it a riot because their perception was Blacks were violent, dangerous, needing to be controlled and they started a riot, of course, none of which the historical records show was true,” she said. “The Black perception is it was a massacre, a violent attack on a prospering neighborhood. Whites from Orlando and Winter Garden, many with Klan ties, came with an intent to disrupt and intimidate and frankly terrorize Black leaders who had gained power and standing, and they did just that.”
But she sees new hope for Ocoee now.
“They’ve taken the essential first step, which is admitting the truth,” she said. “From there everything’s possible.”


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--Facebook group delivers big tips for pandemic-hit workers

MANATEE , Fla. ( AP ) - Every week for the past 12 weeks or so , Stuart Harber , often with his wife Michelle , walks into a local restaurant ready to give a waiter or waitress the tip of a lifetime .
In Harber ’ s pocket is a stack of $ 100 bills destined to find its way into the hands of someone who has taken a financial hit during the coronavirus pandemic .
Harber is the one who gets to bless one of the restaurant workers , but the money comes from members of the fastest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tippers .
Harber started the group in early September and the group is fast approaching 2,000 members .
Each week , members give what they can , whether it ’ s $ 1 or more , and at the end of the week it ’ s pooled into pile of cash to give to people like Austin Alderman .
Alderman , 19 , is the oldest sibling of three and the son of a working single father .
“ He does everything he can to provide for all of us , but he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all day , ” Alderman said .
Alderman watches his siblings after school and then heads to work at Joey D ’ s on Manatee Avenue West .
Alderman was working the day Harber walked into the restaurant with his family .
The video posted on the group ’ s Facebook shows his shock .
“ I was not expecting it , ” Alderman said .
“ Honesty , I didn ’ t think I was a very good server .
I was kind of running around with a lot of things going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happen , I was kind of confused a little bit .
But it hit me hard .
I really needed it .
My dad really needed it so it was a lot of emotions at once and I really appreciate.
” Alderman is left virtually speechless in the video after receiving a $ 300 tip .
The only thing he could think to do was ask for a hug and Harber gladly accepted .
Alderman had never heard of the Facebook group prior to him reciving the gift , but the group was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It now raises on average around $ 1,500 or more to bless local service workers .
Alderman tunes in every week for a new post .
“ Every time I see one it reminds me of what he did for me , ” Alderman said .
“ Each time I look at one , I get a tear in my eye because you can see those people really needed it as much as I did.
” Harber said there is no plan in where they go or who receives a big surprise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pick who it is and that ’ s the biggest part of this , ” he said .
“ It ’ s all random .
Everything is spirit led .
Basically God has the plan so let God pick them and we won ’ t have to worry about if it ’ s the right person .
I put every decision I make into His hands , so I figured this should be no different .
We will let Him pick who it is and it will always be the right person.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the money isn ’ t his .
and neither is the idea .
Harber said he was inspired by woman on Tik Tok who has about five million followers and is able to bless mostly service industry workers with upwards of $ 45,000 at a time .
“ The premise behind it is it ’ s not about us , ” he said .
“ One of our members is probably never going to be able to come in here and tip somebody a $ 1,000 , but as a collective we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community always knows that they are all part of this , not us .
It ’ s everybody as a whole , it ’ s the community.
” Michelle Harber said her husband has always been a giving person and has used Facebook for years in an effort to help others .
“ I ’ m not really surprised he ’ s doing this , ” she said .
“ He ’ s always been above generous and a giving person and because he already has that deep of a trust from family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group everybody just rallied behind it.
” It started with friends and family and then friends of friends and then friends of friends of friends and so on and so on , as group membership exploded .
Harber said he ’ s had to start a special account just for the donations and acknowledged he feels pretty blessed himself to be the one to hand over the cash .
“ I ’ m literally just the vessel , ” he said .
“ Everybody else is the bones behind everything , but when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do this , it ’ s butterflies every time .
It ’ s nerve wracking and I get anxious when we are figuring out where to go eat and who we are going to give the money to , but the butterflies are probably the coolest part.
” Harber said the whole idea was just to infuse something positive into the community .
“ The original idea was to just have something positive going on with all the negativity in the world , in the media and on social media , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s nothing but positive when the community comes together like this..
It ’ s bigger than me.
” There are a couple of ways you can help .
Join the group for more information or donate through Cashapp at $ 941SerialTippers or Venmo at @ SerialTippers941 .

MANATEE, Fla. (AP) - Every week for the past 12 weeks or so, Stuart Harber, often with his wife Michelle, walks into a local restaurant ready to give a waiter or waitress the tip of a lifetime.
In Harber’s pocket is a stack of $100 bills destined to find its way into the hands of someone who has taken a financial hit during the coronavirus pandemic.
Harber is the one who gets to bless one of the restaurant workers, but the money comes from members of the fastest growing local Facebook group called 941 Serial Tippers.
Harber started the group in early September and the group is fast approaching 2,000 members. Each week, members give what they can, whether it’s $1 or more, and at the end of the week it’s pooled into pile of cash to give to people like Austin Alderman.
Alderman, 19, is the oldest sibling of three and the son of a working single father.
“He does everything he can to provide for all of us, but he’s by himself and he works all day,” Alderman said.
Alderman watches his siblings after school and then heads to work at Joey D’s on Manatee Avenue West. Alderman was working the day Harber walked into the restaurant with his family. The video posted on the group’s Facebook shows his shock.
“I was not expecting it,” Alderman said. “Honesty, I didn’t think I was a very good server. I was kind of running around with a lot of things going on that day. When it did happen, I was kind of confused a little bit. But it hit me hard. I really needed it. My dad really needed it so it was a lot of emotions at once and I really appreciate.”
Alderman is left virtually speechless in the video after receiving a $300 tip. The only thing he could think to do was ask for a hug and Harber gladly accepted.
Alderman had never heard of the Facebook group prior to him reciving the gift, but the group was only three weeks old at the time. It now raises on average around $1,500 or more to bless local service workers. Alderman tunes in every week for a new post.
“Every time I see one it reminds me of what he did for me,” Alderman said. “Each time I look at one, I get a tear in my eye because you can see those people really needed it as much as I did.”
Harber said there is no plan in where they go or who receives a big surprise.
“We really don’t pick who it is and that’s the biggest part of this,” he said. “It’s all random. Everything is spirit led. Basically God has the plan so let God pick them and we won’t have to worry about if it’s the right person. I put every decision I make into His hands, so I figured this should be no different. We will let Him pick who it is and it will always be the right person.”
Harber makes it clear in each video that the money isn’t his. and neither is the idea. Harber said he was inspired by woman on Tik Tok who has about five million followers and is able to bless mostly service industry workers with upwards of $45,000 at a time.
Harber thought, “Why not here?”
“The premise behind it is it’s not about us,” he said. “One of our members is probably never going to be able to come in here and tip somebody a $1,000, but as a collective we can do it together. So the community always knows that they are all part of this, not us. It’s everybody as a whole, it’s the community.”
Michelle Harber said her husband has always been a giving person and has used Facebook for years in an effort to help others.
“I’m not really surprised he’s doing this,” she said. “He’s always been above generous and a giving person and because he already has that deep of a trust from family and friends, when he started this group everybody just rallied behind it.”
It started with friends and family and then friends of friends and then friends of friends of friends and so on and so on, as group membership exploded.
Harber said he’s had to start a special account just for the donations and acknowledged he feels pretty blessed himself to be the one to hand over the cash.
“I’m literally just the vessel,” he said. “Everybody else is the bones behind everything, but when I’m going in and about to do this, it’s butterflies every time. It’s nerve wracking and I get anxious when we are figuring out where to go eat and who we are going to give the money to, but the butterflies are probably the coolest part.”
Harber said the whole idea was just to infuse something positive into the community.
“The original idea was to just have something positive going on with all the negativity in the world, in the media and on social media,” he said. “So there’s nothing but positive when the community comes together like this.. It’s bigger than me.”
There are a couple of ways you can help. Join the group for more information or donate through Cashapp at $941SerialTippers or Venmo at @SerialTippers941.


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--Eco-fashion offers a renaissance for new Tunisian brands

MAHDIA , Tunisia ( AP ) - The sun is setting by the time Tunisian fashion designer Chems Eddine Mechri reaches the breezy , seaside town of Mahdia .
He has spent half the day driving in the scorching heat in pursuit of the precious , handmade fabrics he needs for his upcoming winter collection .
With a 200-kilometer ( 125-mile ) road trip from Tunis coming to an end , the designer knows just the place : the basement of a blue-lit workshop , hidden away in the labyrinth of Mahdia ’ s old medina , where silk weaver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is going at full speed .
In a globalized world dominated by fast fashion brands such as Zara , H & M ; and Topshop , Tunisian designers like Mechri are increasingly going back to their roots , embracing local artisans and environmentally conscious materials .
Thanks to North African nation ’ s age-old textile-making traditions , Tunisia is a good fit for the eco-fashion they want to champion .
Ismail has been spinning locally sourced wool and cotton , as well as silk thread imported from China , for the last 47 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our blood…it ’ s in our DNA , ” Ismail says as he unwinds a crimson silk yarn in his workshop .
“ It ’ s intergenerational , and for my family , this work is very precious to us.
” Back in the capital of Tunis , Mechri and his dressmaker sew together a dress from scratch for his fashion brand Née .
They combine a shimmering pink and gold traditional fabric used in Tunisian embroidery with a mesh material from the 1960s .
Both were deemed unsellable by the merchant Mechri @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t ) fit with the tastes of the day , ” Mechri said .
“ And that ’ s why they ( the fabric merchants ) need us , the designers…to give a second life to these materials.
” The $ 2.6 billion textile industry is a pillar of the Tunisian economy , employing 160,000 people and producing roughly 25 % of the country ’ s total exports , according to estimates by the Oxford Business Group .
However , fashion is among the most polluting industries in the world , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dioxide globally , according to the World Bank , and tens of millions of tons of clothing is discarded every year .
Mechri and other designers have turned to the eco-friendly practice of “ upcycling ” - taking old or unwanted materials and turning them into something new and modern by incorporating high-quality fabrics .
Mechri mixes old fabrics with the craftwork of artisans across Tunisia - from embroiderers in Tataouine , on the edge of the desert , to seamstresses in Bizerte in the country ’ s north .
Fashion brands in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too , including American brand Bode and Hotel , a Danish-French brand founded by Alexandra Hartmann .
“ People are starting to realize the negative impact of that desire to constantly consume all the time without taking a step back , taking a pause to reflect and ask questions about the environment and the future of humanity , ” Mechri said in his Tunis boutique as clothing on the racks behind him shimmered and rustled at the touch .
“ Fashion is an intelligent way to pay homage to local materials.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ancestry was equally important to Hassen Ben Ayech , a 26-year-old former computer scientist .
He founded the fledgling high-end brand Bardo with the express intent of reviving Tunisia ’ s heritage and traditional crafts in “ an era of uncertainty and fear of environmental doom , coupled with the slow death of small pockets of culture in the face of globalization.
” The brand ’ s first collection evokes imagery from the famous Bardo palace in Tunis and the era of the beys , the rulers in the Tunisian monarchy that was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go back to a period that is often overlooked and avoid the clichés , ” Ayech said .
“ We wanted to show that there is more to us than kaftans , ( and to ) dive deeper into our history and identity.
” In 2018 , Riad Trabelsi relaunched his French-Tunisian brand BASSCOUTUR to prove to the industry that sustainable fashion is possible on a wider scale .
The brand has a growing client base in Japan and South Korea and will soon launch in Italy .
“ We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s not sustainable , it ’ s not cool , ” Trabelsi said .
He feels his designs reflect the complexity of the modern Tunisian diaspora : “ My identity is complex - I have a Tunisian father , an Algerian mother , meanwhile I was born in France .
I draw all my DNA from this incredible mix… I am constantly evolving , reconditioning myself and my understanding of my Tunisian heritage each day.
” Sofia Guellaty , a Tunisian fashion journalist and the founder of MILLE World , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arts and fashion , said these brands “ are using the storytelling of where they come from to make their garments stand out.
” “ Tunisia is exactly on the mood board : the natural shapes , the beautiful , raw , organic materials .
They are what the international and local markets want , ” she said .
Guellaty notes that most Tunisians , still excited by the novelty of fast fashion brands that only started becoming available locally over the last decade - are not so eco-conscious .
Still , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cultural identity and turning to local brands .
Ayech says Tunisia ’ s still-flourishing textile industry represents hope for those swept up in the country ’ s ongoing economic crisis , which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic .
“ The industry sustains a lot of families with a steady income even in remote areas and without access to higher education , ” he said .
Businesses that strike a balance between ethical industrial practices and community-driven craftmanship offer Tunisia “ a hope of a better tomorrow .
”

MAHDIA, Tunisia (AP) - The sun is setting by the time Tunisian fashion designer Chems Eddine Mechri reaches the breezy, seaside town of Mahdia. He has spent half the day driving in the scorching heat in pursuit of the precious, handmade fabrics he needs for his upcoming winter collection.
With a 200-kilometer ( 125-mile) road trip from Tunis coming to an end, the designer knows just the place: the basement of a blue-lit workshop, hidden away in the labyrinth of Mahdia’s old medina, where silk weaver Mohamed Ismail’s spinning wheel still is going at full speed.
In a globalized world dominated by fast fashion brands such as Zara, H&M and Topshop, Tunisian designers like Mechri are increasingly going back to their roots, embracing local artisans and environmentally conscious materials. Thanks to North African nation’s age-old textile-making traditions, Tunisia is a good fit for the eco-fashion they want to champion.
Ismail has been spinning locally sourced wool and cotton, as well as silk thread imported from China, for the last 47 years. “This work is in our blood…it’s in our DNA,” Ismail says as he unwinds a crimson silk yarn in his workshop. “It’s intergenerational, and for my family, this work is very precious to us.”
Back in the capital of Tunis, Mechri and his dressmaker sew together a dress from scratch for his fashion brand Née. They combine a shimmering pink and gold traditional fabric used in Tunisian embroidery with a mesh material from the 1960s. Both were deemed unsellable by the merchant Mechri bought them from.
“They (didn’t) fit with the tastes of the day,” Mechri said. “And that’s why they (the fabric merchants) need us, the designers…to give a second life to these materials.”
The $2.6 billion textile industry is a pillar of the Tunisian economy, employing 160,000 people and producing roughly 25% of the country’s total exports, according to estimates by the Oxford Business Group. However, fashion is among the most polluting industries in the world, responsible for producing 10% of carbon dioxide globally, according to the World Bank, and tens of millions of tons of clothing is discarded every year.
Mechri and other designers have turned to the eco-friendly practice of “upcycling” - taking old or unwanted materials and turning them into something new and modern by incorporating high-quality fabrics. Mechri mixes old fabrics with the craftwork of artisans across Tunisia - from embroiderers in Tataouine, on the edge of the desert, to seamstresses in Bizerte in the country’s north.
Fashion brands in the West are getting serious about upcycling, too, including American brand Bode and Hotel, a Danish-French brand founded by Alexandra Hartmann.
“People are starting to realize the negative impact of that desire to constantly consume all the time without taking a step back, taking a pause to reflect and ask questions about the environment and the future of humanity,” Mechri said in his Tunis boutique as clothing on the racks behind him shimmered and rustled at the touch. “Fashion is an intelligent way to pay homage to local materials.”
The desire to honor one’s ancestry was equally important to Hassen Ben Ayech, a 26-year-old former computer scientist. He founded the fledgling high-end brand Bardo with the express intent of reviving Tunisia’s heritage and traditional crafts in “an era of uncertainty and fear of environmental doom, coupled with the slow death of small pockets of culture in the face of globalization.”
The brand’s first collection evokes imagery from the famous Bardo palace in Tunis and the era of the beys, the rulers in the Tunisian monarchy that was abolished in 1957.
“We wanted to go back to a period that is often overlooked and avoid the clichés,” Ayech said. “We wanted to show that there is more to us than kaftans, (and to) dive deeper into our history and identity.”
In 2018, Riad Trabelsi relaunched his French-Tunisian brand BASSCOUTUR to prove to the industry that sustainable fashion is possible on a wider scale. The brand has a growing client base in Japan and South Korea and will soon launch in Italy.
“We’re seeing this concept become normative. If it’s not sustainable, it’s not cool,” Trabelsi said.
He feels his designs reflect the complexity of the modern Tunisian diaspora: “My identity is complex - I have a Tunisian father, an Algerian mother, meanwhile I was born in France. I draw all my DNA from this incredible mix… I am constantly evolving, reconditioning myself and my understanding of my Tunisian heritage each day.”
Sofia Guellaty, a Tunisian fashion journalist and the founder of MILLE World, an online platform spotlighting Arab youth culture, arts and fashion, said these brands “are using the storytelling of where they come from to make their garments stand out.”
“Tunisia is exactly on the mood board: the natural shapes, the beautiful, raw, organic materials. They are what the international and local markets want,” she said.
Guellaty notes that most Tunisians, still excited by the novelty of fast fashion brands that only started becoming available locally over the last decade - are not so eco-conscious. Still, she has noticed more young Tunisians embracing their cultural identity and turning to local brands.
Ayech says Tunisia’s still-flourishing textile industry represents hope for those swept up in the country’s ongoing economic crisis, which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The industry sustains a lot of families with a steady income even in remote areas and without access to higher education,” he said. Businesses that strike a balance between ethical industrial practices and community-driven craftmanship offer Tunisia “a hope of a better tomorrow.”


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--Asia Today: Indian capital struggles with surge in cases

NEW DELHI ( AP ) - India reported 45,674 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours , with the capital coping with a sharp surge of nearly 7,000 cases a day this week .
India ’ s tally of confirmed cases — currently the second largest in the world behind the United States – has exceeded 8.5 million .
The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 559 deaths in the past 24 hours , taking total fatalities to 126,121 .
India has seen an overall steady dip in new cases after touching nearly 100,000 a day in mid-September .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ continues to hover around 7,000 a day after dropping to nearly 1,000 in September .
The Indian capital also reported 79 deaths in the past 24 hours , the highest since June .
Delhi state Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that apart from aggressive contact tracing , targeted testing in shopping areas and other busy locations also has started .
And authorities are reaching out to people through mobile testing vans .
The government warns that the situation could worsen due to festival shopping crowds , coupled with the onset of winter and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developments in the Asia-Pacific region : - Victoria will be reunited as one state with travel restrictions on Melbourne residents lifted as active COVID-19 cases continue to ease .
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Sunday he will scrap a 25-kilometer ( 15-mile ) travel limit on city residents and remove Melbourne ’ s “ ring of steel ” from midnight after the state went nine days without a new case .
“ We know that so many people have missed those that they love the most , those who they need to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for such a long period of time , ” he said .
He promised restaurants , bars and clubs would be able to take a “ bigger step ” in coming weeks .
Most of those establishments reopened last week but with table restrictions for outside and inside dining .
Andrews said Victorians will have to continue wearing masks for at least another two to three weeks .
Victoria will welcome the first international flights to Melbourne since June 30 , with the resumption of flights from New Zealand from Monday .
Victoria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and 907 people have died from the virus across Australia .
- China ’ s government on Sunday reported 28 new confirmed coronavirus infections , all of which the National Health Commission said were patients who contracted the virus abroad .

NEW DELHI (AP) - India reported 45,674 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, with the capital coping with a sharp surge of nearly 7,000 cases a day this week.
India’s tally of confirmed cases — currently the second largest in the world behind the United States – has exceeded 8.5 million. The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 559 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities to 126,121.
India has seen an overall steady dip in new cases after touching nearly 100,000 a day in mid-September.
However, the tally in New Delhi continues to hover around 7,000 a day after dropping to nearly 1,000 in September. The Indian capital also reported 79 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest since June.
Delhi state Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that apart from aggressive contact tracing, targeted testing in shopping areas and other busy locations also has started. And authorities are reaching out to people through mobile testing vans.
The government warns that the situation could worsen due to festival shopping crowds, coupled with the onset of winter and high air pollution levels.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
- Victoria will be reunited as one state with travel restrictions on Melbourne residents lifted as active COVID-19 cases continue to ease. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Sunday he will scrap a 25-kilometer (15-mile) travel limit on city residents and remove Melbourne’s “ring of steel” from midnight after the state went nine days without a new case. “We know that so many people have missed those that they love the most, those who they need to see, been desperately keen to see, for such a long period of time,” he said. He promised restaurants, bars and clubs would be able to take a “bigger step” in coming weeks. Most of those establishments reopened last week but with table restrictions for outside and inside dining. Andrews said Victorians will have to continue wearing masks for at least another two to three weeks. Victoria will welcome the first international flights to Melbourne since June 30, with the resumption of flights from New Zealand from Monday. Victoria’s COVID-19 death toll is 819, and 907 people have died from the virus across Australia.
- China’s government on Sunday reported 28 new confirmed coronavirus infections, all of which the National Health Commission said were patients who contracted the virus abroad.
___
Follow AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/virus-outbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--Police: 3 people shot at casino on Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS ( AP ) - Three people were shot Saturday night at a casino on the Las Vegas Strip @ @ @ @ @ shooting stemmed from a fight between two groups at the Circus Circus casino , Las @ @ @ @ @ Dori Koren told reporters .
Officers were called to the area around 7:30 p.m .
@ @ @ @ @ were taken to the University Medical Center where they were listed as stable , Koren @ @ @ @ @ was only one shooter .
No arrests were immediately announced .
“ This was not @ @ @ @ @ Koren said .
“ We do believe that there is no further threat at this @ @ @ @ @ the public.
” Koren said police believe the shooting was an isolated incident .

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Three people were shot Saturday night at a casino on the Las Vegas Strip, police said.
The shooting stemmed from a fight between two groups at the Circus Circus casino, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Capt. Dori Koren told reporters. Officers were called to the area around 7:30 p.m.
The people who were shot were taken to the University Medical Center where they were listed as stable, Koren said.
Police believe there was only one shooter. No arrests were immediately announced.
“This was not an active shooter,” Koren said. “We do believe that there is no further threat at this time to anyone else in the public.”
Koren said police believe the shooting was an isolated incident.


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--Sioux City counselor helps teens with 'emotional health'

SIOUX CITY , Iowa ( AP ) - Bishop Heelan Catholic High School students know that Allie Mousel ’ s door is always open to them .
Is Mousel a teacher or a faculty member ?
Not exactly .
Since the start of the school year , she ’ s been Heelan ’ s student support counselor .
“ A teenager ’ s emotional health is just as important as his physical health , ” Mousel explained to the Sioux City Journal .
That ’ s especially true as kids grapple with uncertainties related to COVID-19 .
“ Last spring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concerns , students felt trapped because they lost structure to their days as well camaraderie of their friends , ” Mousel said .
“ This year started with many students feeling like they could no longer communicate with one another after so much time apart.
” Since then , things have evened out with kids getting back into a routine .
Still , the teenage years will always be emotional , with or without a pandemic .
“ It doesn ’ t matter the kids are worried about an exam or sad over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ They know they can talk to me.
” With a behavioral health background , she said the position of school support counselor is a relatively recent concept .
This is why Mousel frequently takes part in school assemblies and speaks to students , in and out of the classroom setting .
“ Even now , there is a stigma when it comes to mental health , ” she said .
“ It ’ s OK to seek out help when you ’ re sad.
” To a great extent , adults face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children .
“ Believe me , parents have as much angst over COVID as any kid , ” Mousel said .
“ Everybody is in the same boat when it comes to a worldwide pandemic.
” Mousel said she enjoys working with teenagers , though she acknowledged it has many challenges .
“ There is no such thing as a typical teenager and many problems can change over the course of high school , ” she said .
“ When a freshman is just starting high school , his big worry is fitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a senior , the student is looking at life outside of high school.
” Both types of students know Mousel ’ s door is always open to them .
“ Growing up is hard enough , ” she said .
“ Sometimes , you just need someone to talk to .
”

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Bishop Heelan Catholic High School students know that Allie Mousel’s door is always open to them.
Is Mousel a teacher or a faculty member? Not exactly.
Since the start of the school year, she’s been Heelan’s student support counselor.
“A teenager’s emotional health is just as important as his physical health,” Mousel explained to the Sioux City Journal.
That’s especially true as kids grapple with uncertainties related to COVID-19.
“Last spring, when schools closed due to coronavirus concerns, students felt trapped because they lost structure to their days as well camaraderie of their friends,” Mousel said. “This year started with many students feeling like they could no longer communicate with one another after so much time apart.”
Since then, things have evened out with kids getting back into a routine. Still, the teenage years will always be emotional, with or without a pandemic.
“It doesn’t matter the kids are worried about an exam or sad over a break-up,” Mousel said. “They know they can talk to me.”
With a behavioral health background, she said the position of school support counselor is a relatively recent concept.
This is why Mousel frequently takes part in school assemblies and speaks to students, in and out of the classroom setting.
“Even now, there is a stigma when it comes to mental health,” she said. “It’s OK to seek out help when you’re sad.”
To a great extent, adults face the same types of anxieties as their children.
“Believe me, parents have as much angst over COVID as any kid,” Mousel said. “Everybody is in the same boat when it comes to a worldwide pandemic.”
Mousel said she enjoys working with teenagers, though she acknowledged it has many challenges.
“There is no such thing as a typical teenager and many problems can change over the course of high school,” she said. “When a freshman is just starting high school, his big worry is fitting in. By the time he’s a senior, the student is looking at life outside of high school.”
Both types of students know Mousel’s door is always open to them.
“Growing up is hard enough,” she said. “Sometimes, you just need someone to talk to.”


washingtontimes--2020-11-08--'Magic' Johnson's one-time Mercedes put up for sale

LANSING , Mich. ( AP ) - Earvin “ Magic ” Johnson has given out his fair share of autographs to fans in his home state of Michigan over the years .
Now they have a chance to own one of his old rides - a 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL Johnson bought in the mid-1980s .
The car ’ s current owner , Tom Jamieson , bought the car from Johnson in the 1980s , just a few years after the vehicle ’ s paperwork shows Johnson bought it .
Now he ’ s selling it , listing it for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Lansing State Journal .
Jamieson , a sports medicine doctor who has practiced in Lansing for 50 years , was the team physician for several Lansing schools , including Everett High School , for four decades , including when Johnson was a student , he said .
Jamieson continued to treat Johnson while he played basketball at Michigan State University and stayed in touch with him after Johnson moved to California to play for the Los Angeles Lakers .
Jamieson considers Johnson a friend , he said .
There are several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a room inside Jamieson ’ s Lansing office .
“ He ’ s just kind and good and personable , ” Jamieson said .
“ He ’ s just an easy person to talk to.
” Johnson bought the white , two-door Mercedes-Benz in California , Jamieson said .
When a mutual friend told Johnson that Jamieson had been admiring the car Johnson offered it up for sale .
The car , a hard-top convertible with a leather interior and a stereo system Johnson had installed , arrived in Lansing on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had it for four to six weeks , driving it , testing it , seeing if I really wanted to buy it , ” Jamieson said .
He ’ s owned the car for more than 30 years , but drove it sparingly , about five or six times a year .
“ Once in a while I ’ ll tell them this used to be Magic ’ s car , ” he said .
“ I ’ ve never driven it very much or very far , ” Jamieson said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ long-distance trips and was very cautious .
I just didn ’ t want to take any chances with it.
” The Mercedes-Benz spent summers in Jamieson ’ s garage and winters in storage .
It has 48,000 miles on it .
“ It needs to be driven , ” he said .
“ Somebody needs to take it and drive it , ride it and use it .
I don ’ t know that Magic cares at all what happens with it but I do .
I think it would be fun for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miles , ” the listing for the Mercedes-Benz reads .
“ Manual hard top removable cab convertible .
Willing to hear offers.
” Tom Jamieson ’ s 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL .
The Lansing resident bought it from Earvin “ Magic ” Johnson in the 1980s .
Jamieson is putting the car up for sale .
When the car arrived at Jamieson ’ s house in the 1980s , he found one of Johnson ’ s basketballs inside .
It will stay with the car , Jamieson said , who hopes to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he turns it over to the car ’ s new owner .

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Earvin “Magic” Johnson has given out his fair share of autographs to fans in his home state of Michigan over the years.
Now they have a chance to own one of his old rides - a 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL Johnson bought in the mid-1980s.
The car’s current owner, Tom Jamieson, bought the car from Johnson in the 1980s, just a few years after the vehicle’s paperwork shows Johnson bought it. Now he’s selling it, listing it for sale online for $24,000, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Jamieson, a sports medicine doctor who has practiced in Lansing for 50 years, was the team physician for several Lansing schools, including Everett High School, for four decades, including when Johnson was a student, he said.
Jamieson continued to treat Johnson while he played basketball at Michigan State University and stayed in touch with him after Johnson moved to California to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jamieson considers Johnson a friend, he said. There are several photos of the two men together hanging in a room inside Jamieson’s Lansing office.
“He’s just kind and good and personable,” Jamieson said. “He’s just an easy person to talk to.”
Johnson bought the white, two-door Mercedes-Benz in California, Jamieson said.
When a mutual friend told Johnson that Jamieson had been admiring the car Johnson offered it up for sale.
The car, a hard-top convertible with a leather interior and a stereo system Johnson had installed, arrived in Lansing on a truck from California.
“I think I had it for four to six weeks, driving it, testing it, seeing if I really wanted to buy it,” Jamieson said.
He’s owned the car for more than 30 years, but drove it sparingly, about five or six times a year.
“Boy, that’s a good-looking car,” people have told him.
“Once in a while I’ll tell them this used to be Magic’s car,” he said.
“I’ve never driven it very much or very far,” Jamieson said. “I just never took it on long-distance trips and was very cautious. I just didn’t want to take any chances with it.”
The Mercedes-Benz spent summers in Jamieson’s garage and winters in storage. It has 48,000 miles on it.
“It needs to be driven,” he said. “Somebody needs to take it and drive it, ride it and use it. I don’t know that Magic cares at all what happens with it but I do. I think it would be fun for someone to have.”
“48,000 original miles,” the listing for the Mercedes-Benz reads. “Manual hard top removable cab convertible. Willing to hear offers.”
Tom Jamieson’s 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL. The Lansing resident bought it from Earvin “Magic” Johnson in the 1980s. Jamieson is putting the car up for sale.
When the car arrived at Jamieson’s house in the 1980s, he found one of Johnson’s basketballs inside. It will stay with the car, Jamieson said, who hopes to have Johnson sign and autograph the ball before he turns it over to the car’s new owner.