Latest news with #Henn
France 24
13 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
'Very scared': Israelis reel from escalating Iran missile fire
A tangle of metal protruded from the charred section of a high-rise building in Petah Tivka near Tel Aviv, as rescuers wheeled elderly residents away from the damage. One woman's mouth hung open as she was taken away in a wheelchair. "My building got bombed from Iran," Bar told AFP. "It was very scary while I have four children, four boys. We're very scared, but everyone is ok." Inside the building, first responders in orange helmets scoured the blown-out apartments. Debris from the blast littered the ground below, where plastic patio furniture lay overturned. Iran unleashed a missile barrage on Israeli cities after Israel hit deep inside the Islamic republic, pressing a major offensive that began in the early hours of Friday. On the fourth day of the escalating air war, the death toll in Israel rose to 24 after authorities announced on Monday 11 dead. In Iran, officials said the Israeli attacks had killed at least 224 people since Friday. The scenes of devastation witnessed in Petah Tikva on Monday are relatively rare in Israel, whose advanced air defence systems usually intercept incoming threats. The country has long been used to rockets and drones fired by Iran-backed militant groups like Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon's Hezbollah, but volleys of ballistic missiles launched from the Islamic republic have left the population feeling vulnerable. Since Friday, air raid sirens have sent people across Israel running to bomb shelters on a nightly basis. The latest Iranian attack followed Israeli strikes in central Iran, which Israel's military said targeted surface-to-surface missile launchers. Israel has said that its surprise attack launched on Friday -- after decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war -- targets Iran's nuclear programme and military facilities. The deaths in Iran have included top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to authorities. AFP images showed fires blazing next to gutted buildings and charred cars in the coastal hub of Tel Aviv, after the military warned people to take cover from incoming Iranian missiles. Henn, a Petah Tivka resident who declined to give his last name, said he ran to take shelter after hearing sirens. The 39-year-old said he heard a loud explosion, "and after a few minutes we saw all the damage, all the houses broken". Israeli officials said four people were killed in Petah Tivka and some 35 others taken to hospital with injuries. Families with young children wandered amongst cars whose windows had been smashed by the blast impact.
IOL News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Iran president urges unity as Israeli attacks continue
Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. Image: AFP The Iranian president on Monday urged all citizens to put aside differences and unite against Israel as conflict rages between the two arch-foes. "Every difference, issue, and problem that has existed must be put aside today and we must stand strong against this genocidal criminal aggression with unity and coherence," Masoud Pezeshkian said, addressing parliament. Iran unleashed a missile barrage on Israeli cities Monday after Israeli strikes deep inside the Islamic republic, leaving streets in ruins and the death toll in Israel climbing by 11 amid a spiralling air war. After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel on Friday launched aerial attacks on Iran in a surprise campaign it said was aimed at stopping its arch-foe from acquiring atomic weapons - an allegation Tehran denies. So far, Israel's strikes have killed at least 224 people inside Iran, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to authorities in the Islamic republic. In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Monday it had "successfully" struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of "effective, targeted and more devastating operations" to come. The latest Iranian onslaught left a trail of destruction across Israeli cities -- including Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa - with shattered homes, smouldering wreckage and stunned residents picking through the debris. "We heard a strong bomb," said Henn, a father of four in Petah Tikva. "It was very scary," he told AFPTV. The death toll in Israel rose by 11 on Monday, the prime minister's office said, bringing the total since Friday to 24. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the missile barrage also lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv. 'I will not leave' Iran's attack followed a wave of intense Israeli air raids that struck targets across the Islamic republic - from the western border with Iraq to the capital Tehran and as far east as Mashhad, where the airport was hit. Despite reports of civilians fleeing Tehran, some vowed to stay. "It is natural that war has its own stress, but I will not leave my city," Shokouh Razzazi, 31, told AFP in the Iranian capital. The rapid escalation has drawn mounting international concern and calls for de-escalation. China urged both sides to "immediately take measures to cool down the tensions" and "prevent the region from falling into greater turmoil". Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also appealed for calm, saying she had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "a negotiated solution is, in the long term, the best solution". While critical of Israel's campaign in Gaza, von der Leyen blamed Iran for the latest crisis, citing the UN nuclear watchdog's findings that it was not in compliance with its obligations. "In this context, Israel has the right to defend itself. Iran is the principal source of regional instability," she said. Iran, meanwhile, called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to condemn the Israeli strikes on its nuclear sites. "We expect the (IAEA) Board of Governors and the director general to take a firm position in condemning this act and holding the regime (Israel) accountable," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in Tehran. 'A heavy price' Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the hostilities erupted, with Netanyahu accusing Iran of deliberately targeting civilians. "Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children," he said while visiting a bombed-out apartment block in Bat Yam. The military said Monday it had destroyed one third of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers. In a televised address, Iranian armed forces spokesman Colonel Reza Sayyad vowed a "devastating response" to Israeli attacks. "Leave the occupied territories (Israel) because they will certainly no longer be habitable in the future," he said, adding shelters would "not guarantee security". Addressing Iran's parliament, President Masoud Pezeshkian urged citizens to "stand strong against this genocidal criminal aggression with unity and coherence". 'Make a deal' US President Donald Trump insisted Washington had "nothing to do" with Israel's military campaign but warned any Iranian attack on American interests would trigger "the full strength and might" of the US military. On Sunday, Trump urged both sides to "make a deal" while expressing doubts about near-term peace prospects. "Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we're going to see what happens," he said. A senior US official told AFP Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We found out that the Israelis had plans to hit Iran's supreme leader. President Trump was against it and we told the Israelis not to," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Asked by Fox News whether regime change in Iran was one of Israel's objectives, Netanyahu said: "It certainly could be the result, because the Iran regime is very weak." As hostilities intensified, Iran said it was scrapping planned nuclear talks with the United States, calling dialogue "meaningless" under bombardment. AFP
CBS News
01-05-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Colorado researchers looking into fire mitigation methods for grasslands
Grasslands span from the Great Plains to the foothills of Colorado, and fires are a natural part of the ecosystem. But as more people have moved into these areas, the threat of a wildfire's destruction has prompted local emergency agencies to rethink their strategies. In the wake of the Marshall Fire, city and county leaders in Boulder asked researchers at the University of Colorado about fire behavior. These conversations led to a research effort at the university's Boulder campus that could change how agencies handle fire mitigation in grassland suburban areas. "This fire is critical to the health of these grasslands, essentially, but they do pose risks. So how do you balance that?" said Jonathan Henn, who is a part of the research team. CBS Some key research involves the ecological impact of fires in grasslands as well as its behavior and what mitigation -- like prescribed burns -- could be most effective. "They're very fast fires," Henn explained. "Because there's sort of nothing stopping wind, they're really wind-driven fires." Unlike fires in the forest, where mitigation is typically a once-every-few-years effort, something like a prescribed burn in the foothills or high plains requires a different approach. "In the grasslands, if you reduce the biomass, that might work for a bit. But it's all going to grow back the next year, potentially even more than last year," said Henn. Boulder County was going to conduct some prescribed burns for the research effort in Marshall Mesa back in December but weather issues called it off. They tried again in the spring, only for weather to be an issue again. With the rest of spring and summer ahead, it is likely that any additional prescribed burns would be delayed, but Henn is confident they'll be able to do the research at some point. A big piece of interest for fire agencies is how fast these fires can move in grassland. "It has a really low residence time which is what we call it," Henn told CBS Colorado. "So the fire moves across this really fast because there's not a lot of material to burn. So it burns up fast, there's not a lot of material to burn so you end up with bare ground." While there is still plenty of work to be done, Henn says that the work can be expandable. What works in Boulder could, in theory, work in other foothills communities and even as far out as Great Plains states that are primarily grassland without any elevation changes. "We could have some really good potential expandability to this," he said, "And that's something always in the back of our minds is what are we doing that can be applicable to other communities?"
Reuters
25-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Building Wealth: Marc Henn's New Book Asks, 'Are You Playing Small or Taking the Power Plays?'
WEST CHESTER, OH, March 25, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- Power Plays of the Wealthy: How to Retire Early, Supercharge Your Cash Flow, and Minimize Taxes is the title of Harvest Financial Advisors' founder and CEO Marc Henn 's new book, in which Henn argues that the cards are stacked against members of the middle class who want to attain financial freedom but who don't understand how the wealthy invest. While financial and tax advisors often provide advice focused on investments and tax filing, Marc Henn, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) professional, seeks to peel back the curtain to reveal how the wealthy invest across multiple asset classes and strategically layer those investments to minimize taxes, generate cash flow, and build their assets. "These strategies don't have to remain a mystery," Henn explains. "Anyone can use one or all of these strategies to grow their own wealth." Breaking Out of the Middle Class With 35 years of experience in finance, Marc Henn's passion has always been helping others build generational wealth. As a young man, Henn participated in the AT&T Collegiate Investment Challenge, landing among the top 50 participants in the nation. He founded Harvest Financial Advisors in 2008, headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, and for nearly 17 years has served as the firm's CEO. During those years, Henn says, 'I have recognized that the financial industry does a poor job serving clients that have between $10 million and $200 million in assets.' Henn founded Harvest to help transition traditional wealth management clients into multi-family office clients. Many self-made entrepreneurs, small business owners, and successful executives acquire significant wealth without acquiring the investment and tax strategies that the truly wealthy use to maintain and grow their wealth across generations. That's where Henn hopes to make a difference, both with his financial planning firm and his book. The 3 Power Plays of the Wealthy In Power Plays of the Wealthy, Henn draws attention to three overarching strategies that the wealthy employ. The first involves recognizing the five super asset classes that wealthy investors use and the unique tax strategies that come with these. The second is to become a producer first so that you can maximize your cash flow. The third is to minimize your taxes to help you build your financial legacy. 'One strategy the wealthy use are tax incentives to provide services for people, like housing and energy,' Henn shares, '—and this in turn builds more wealth for them. You, as a citizen of this great country, are participating in this whether you choose to or not. Either you are using the financial strategies and tax incentives to build your wealth, or your taxes are used to fund this for others.' Not Just Strategy But Mindset Building wealth requires more than just uncovering these power plays, however. It also requires a particular mindset and a willingness to stay the course with a chosen strategy. One anecdote that Henn shares in his book illustrates how easily fear or greed can derail a great strategy. Marc shares how, when he was nine, President Jimmy Carter's brother, Billy, a man with a more 'colorful' public persona, used his presidential brother's fame to sell many cans of his company's Billy Beer. Henn, despite his young age, was collecting beer cans, and he acquired two Billy Beer cans. When Billy Beer stopped producing in 1978, the price of the cans shot up, and he received an offer of $500 for his two cans. His father advised waiting for a higher price, believing the cans would only increase in value. Unfortunately, Billy Beer cans were not collectibles for very long. The president of a beer can collectibles group declared that the cans were not unique. After that, the Billy Beer cans dropped in value overnight to the price of tin, a few cents per pound. Ruefully, Marc recalls, 'Greed stole $500 from a pre-teen boy in Indiana.' Those who build wealth master a strategy and don't sacrifice it to short-term impulses of fear or avarice. Then, they master another strategy and another after that. Now, Marc Henn hopes that his book, Power Plays of the Wealthy, will provide successful executives and business owners with the tools to do the same, taking their wealth-building to a different level and changing the trajectory of their financial lives and legacies. About Harvest Financial Advisors Harvest Financial Advisors is a team of seasoned professionals committed to helping clients grow, protect, and enjoy their wealth. We always put our clients first and give them personal attention, custom-tailored solutions, and a remarkable range of services. For more information, visit About Marc Henn Marc Henn is the founder and CEO of Harvest Financial Advisors, headquartered in Cincinnati, OH. He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) professional, assisting family office and wealth management clients for over thirty years. Henn is affiliated with the College for Financial Planning and Financial Planning Association (FPA). He is also a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Arbitrator, a member of the American Numismatic Association, and a former member of the National Association of Forensic Economics and Economics Center for Education and Research. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics from Purdue University in 1990. Henn's journey into the finance world began in high school, then progressed as he participated in the AT&T Collegiate Investment Challenge and landed among the top 50 nationwide. He continued to pursue his passion, exploring many aspects of finance until he discovered fee-only financial advising and founded Harvest Financial Advisors in 2008. Media Contact ### SOURCE: Harvest Financial Advisors
The Guardian
18-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘The path forward is clear': how Trump taking office has ‘turbocharged' climate accountability efforts
Donald Trump's re-election has 'turbocharged' climate accountability efforts including laws which aim to force greenhouse gas emitters to pay damages for fueling dangerous global warming, say activists. These 'make polluters pay' laws, led by blue states' attorneys general, and climate accountability lawsuits will be a major front for climate litigation in the coming months and years. They are being challenged by red states and the fossil fuel industry, which are also fighting against accountability-focused climate lawsuits waged by governments and youth environmentalists. On day one of his second term, the US president affirmed his loyalty to the oil industry with a spate of executive actions to roll back environmental protections and a pledge to 'drill, baby, drill'. The ferocity of his anti-environment agenda has inspired unprecedented interest in climate accountability, said Jamie Henn, director of the anti-oil and gas non-profit Fossil Free Media. 'I think Trump's election has turbocharged the 'make polluters pay' movement,' said Henn, who has been a leader in the campaign for a decade. More state lawmakers are writing legislative proposals to force oil companies to pay for climate disasters, while law firms are helping governments sue the industry. And youth activists are working on a new legal challenge to the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuel policies. Industry interests, however, are also attempting to kill those accountability efforts – and Trump may embolden them. The state of Vermont in May passed a first-of-its-kind law holding fossil fuel firms financially responsible for climate damages and New York passed a similar measure in December. The policies force oil companies to pay for climate impacts to which their emissions have contributed. Known as 'climate superfund' bills, they are loosely modeled on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Superfund program. Similar bills are being considered in Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and now Rhode Island, where a measure was introduced last week. A policy will also soon be introduced in California, where recent deadly wildfires have revived the call for the proposal after one was weighed last year. Minnesota and Oregon lawmakers are also considering introducing climate superfund acts. And since inauguration day, activists and officials in a dozen other states have expressed interest in doing the same, said Henn. 'I think people are really latching onto this message and this approach right now,' Henn said. 'It finally gives people a way to respond to climate disasters, and it's something that we can do without the federal government.' Progressives introduced a federal climate superfund act last year. But with Republicans in control of the White House and both branches of Congress, it has a 'less than zero chance of passing', said Michael Gerrard, the faculty director of the Sabin center for climate change law at Columbia University. The state laws are already facing pushback in the courts. This month, 22 red states and two oil trade groups sued to block New York's climate superfund law. 'This bill is an attempt by New York to step into the shoes of the federal government to regulate something that they have absolutely no business regulating,' West Virginia attorney general John B McCuskey, who led the suit and whose state is a top coal producer, told Fox News. In late December, trade groups also filed a lawsuit against Vermont's climate superfund act which, if successful, could potentially topple New York's law. Fossil fuel interests were expected to challenge the climate superfund laws even if Kamala Harris was elected president and have been boosted by Trump's win. 'I think [they] feel like they have more of a shot with the executive backing them,' said Cassidy DiPaola, spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign. It 'would not be shocking' if Trump's justice department were to file briefs in support of plaintiffs fighting the laws, said Gerrard, which could tip the scales in their favor. More legal challenges may also be on the way, and if additional states pass similar policies, they are expected to face similar lawsuits. But Henn says he is confident the laws will prevail. 'I think Republicans think that they're going to be able to just scare off local legislators or local attorneys general from pursuing a polluter pays agenda, but I think they're wrong,' he said. 'We have widespread public support for this approach. People don't like the fossil fuel industry.' Over the last decade, states and municipalities have also brought more than 30 lawsuits against fossil fuel interests, accusing them of intentionally covering up the climate risks of their products while seeking damages for climate impacts. As Trump's pro-fossil fuel policies move the US in 'precisely the wrong direction' on the climate crisis, they will 'surely inspire yet more litigation', said Gerrard. Michigan has announced plans to file a suit in the coming months, and more are likely to be rolled out this year. The cases face a formidable opponent in the fossil fuel industry, which has long attempted to fend off the lawsuits. Since January, courts have dismissed litigation filed by New Jersey, New York, and a Maryland city and county, saying the states lacked jurisdiction to hear the cases. Other decisions have been positive for the plaintiffs. In three decisions since spring 2023, the supreme court turned down petitions from the fossil fuel industry to move the venue of the lawsuits from the state courts where they were originally filed, to federal courts which are seen as more friendly to the industry. Last week, a court in Colorado heard arguments over the same issue in a lawsuit filed by the city of Boulder. The outcome will have major implications for the future of the challenge. Trump has pledged to put an end to the wave of lawsuits, which he has called 'frivolous'. During his first term, his administration filed influential briefs in the cases supporting the oil companies – something his justice department could do again. 'It's clear where their allegiances are,' said Gerrard. 'And if they file briefs that would be good for the defendants.' Alyssa Johl, vice-president and general counsel of the Center for Climate Integrity, which tracks and supports the lawsuits, said: 'There is still a long road ahead for these efforts, but the path forward is clear.' 'As communities grapple with the increasingly devastating consequences of big oil's decades-long deception, the need for accountability is greater than ever,' she said. Another climate-focused legal movement that is gaining steam: youth-led challenges against state and federal government agencies, for allegedly violating constitutional rights with pro-fossil fuel policies. Trump's second term presents an important moment for these lawsuits, said Julia Olson, founder of the law firm Our Children's Trust, which brought the litigation. While some lawyers will fight each rollback individually, her strategy could 'secure systemic change'. she said. On Wednesday, a US judge rejected an Our Children's Trust suit filed by California youth against the EPA, saying the challengers failed to show that they had been injured by the federal body. Olson said the judge 'misapplied the law'. That same day, the most well-known Our Children's Trust case, Juliana v United States – in which 21 young people sued the federal government – suffered a blow. In December, the plaintiffs filed a petition with the supreme court to send the case back to trial after it was tossed out. The US solicitor general has now filed a brief opposing their petition; Olson said it 'mischaracterized' the case. Our Children's Trust's lawsuits have in other instances seen major victories. In December, Montana's supreme court upheld a landmark climate ruling in favor of young plaintiffs, which said the state was violating youths' constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting fossil fuel projects with no regard for global warming. That victory in a pro-fossil fuel red state, said Olson, inspires hope that children could win a lawsuit against a conservative, oil and gas-friendly federal government. She is working on another lawsuit against the Trump administration, whose 'brazen' anti-environment agenda could bolster the challengers' arguments, she said. 'These policies will kill children … and by making his agenda obvious, I think that he helps us make that clear.'
