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Showing posts from November 9, 2018

Who was Amanda Crowe? Google honors legendary Cherokee artist

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In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Google’s doodle team put together a video showcasing the legacy of Eastern Band  Cherokee Indian artist Amanda Crowe, beloved for her smooth, intricate animal woodcarvings. According to the Cherokee Encyclopedia, Crowe was born in 1928 in North Carolina’s Qualla Cherokee community and began learning to “draw and to carve” before she turned five years old. “I was barely big enough to handle a knife, but I knew what I wanted to do—I guess it was part of my heritage,” Crowe once said, according to the encyclopedia. By the time she turned eight, she was selling her woodwork. Both of Crowe’s parents died when she was young, and she was raised by a foster mother for much of her childhood. She’d study woodcarving with her uncle and eventually earned a scholarship to study at the Art Institute of Chicago. At the institute, Crowe experimented with more materials, but always came back to wood. “The grain challenges me to create objects in

Ventura County brush fires: 75,000 homes under evacuation as Woolsey Fire rapidly grows

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One of two wind-driven brush fires that erupted in Ventura County Thursday exploded to 8,000 acres amid even stronger winds early Friday. Approximately 75,000 homes are under evacuation orders along the Ventura-Los Angeles border. The blaze, dubbed the Woolsey Fire, started in Simi Valley near the Rocketdyne facility in the Santa Susana Pass. The fast-moving fire jumped the 101 Freeway at Chesebro Road at about 5:15 a.m. and is established on the south side of freeway, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. The jump forced the freeway to close again in both directions at Liberty Canyon Road as approximately 3 acres is burning and moving uphill, according to the California Highway Patrol. By early Friday morning, the fire had grown to 8,000 acres with 0 percent containment. Multiple structures are damaged and destroyed, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Public Information Officer Erik Scott. Among the homes ruined in the blaze, several were in the Oak Pa

After Trump and Scott cry ‘fraud,’ critics pounce on Broward County’s troubled election history

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With his margin of victory in Florida’s Senate race narrowing, Gov. Rick Scott phoned in the lawyers. Addressing reporters in Tallahassee, on Thursday night, Scott charged he was suing to stop Democrats from stealing away his midterm victory over incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. His ire in particular zeroed in on two South Florida counties. “Every Floridian should be concerned there may be rampant fraud happening in Palm Beach and Broward counties,” Scott said. “I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election from the people of Florida.” Back in Washington, President Trump echoed the allegation. “Law Enforcement is looking into another big corruption scandal having to do with Election Fraud in #Broward and Palm Beach. Florida voted for Rick Scott!” the president blasted out on Twitter. Republicans have since piled on about ballot box shenanigans and dirty tricks, layering the aftermath of a contentious election with new drama. But the whole situ