Latest news with #Vietnam
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
McDowell celebrates 10 students embarking on military careers
McDowell High School celebrated its first Military Signing Day, honoring 10 students for their commitment to serve in the military. The event took place in McDowell's North gym, traditionally used for athletic recognitions, but this time it was dedicated to students embarking on military careers. The ceremony included traditional elements such as the color guard and the national anthem, underscoring the significance of the students' decision to serve their country. Erie law enforcement express importance of new Paul Miller law 'It means a lot because I haven't really gotten recognized much for my commitment,' said Josh Fairfield, who enlisted in the United States Air Force. 'People tell me congratulations, but this really brings it over the top. I appreciate this a lot.' Megan Boesch, a school counselor at McDowell High School, highlighted the diverse interests of the students, noting, 'They all have different jobs that they're interested in too, and it's fun, kind of highlighting the things that they're good at.' Korasch Weitzer, who enlisted in the Army National Guard, shared her motivation, saying, 'My grandfather served in the Army during Vietnam and I am one of the very few women in my family who have served in the military. I wanted to make a statement and show others that you can be a leader while going to school and earning a degree.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Among the honored students, Ayden Kinnear signed on to be in the United States Army Infantry, expressing his desire to make a tangible difference. 'I felt like with the infantry I'd be causing a tangible difference and I feel like I'd feel proud of it,' he said. The ceremony not only celebrated the students' commitment but also their future roles in the military, with some pursuing specialized careers such as engineering and the medical field. The event marked a significant moment for the students and their families, as they were recognized for their dedication and readiness to serve their country. Presque Isle beaches named among most underrated in the US The Military Signing Day at McDowell High School highlighted the dedication of young individuals ready to serve their country, reflecting their diverse interests and future aspirations within the military. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WJET/WFXP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WJET/WFXP staff before being published. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘She's very special' East Tennessee veteran continues to serve others
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — More than 60 years ago, Kathleen Van Orsdel joined the US Air Force just as the Vietnam War was heating up. Now she continues to serve in different ways. Van Orsdel is a skilled artisan. She designs and creates three-layered textile works of art: quilts. The veteran is one of three female veterans serving in the East Tennessee Veterans Honor Guard. The unit presided over 300 funerals last year. 'It thrills me that I am able to go and do a final farewell to someone who has served my country. I think that every one of us who goes out realizes that the individual deserves every bit of respect and honor that we as an Honor Guard can give them,' said Van Orsdel. Vietnam veteran helps other vets 'heal' with visits overseas Van Orsdel joined the US Air Force in 1964, at the beginning of the Vietnam War. She was 19 at the time. 'I'm unique, because there are not a lot of women veterans from the Vietnam Era. There are more women in the military today, but back in the 60s, there weren't,' said Van Orsdel. As a former airman and mom, she has a special passion for using her talents to make Quilts of Valor. At an event in White Pine, the recipient was an Iraq War veteran. Kevin Gilliam served in the US Coast Guard, then in the US Army as a member of the 82nd Airborne, where he was deployed to Iraq. Many veterans in the audience were wowed by Kathleen's artistry. 'You happen to have one of the quilts that I made for a veteran and I'm so pleased to be able to present it to you,' said Van Orsdel during the event. 'She's very special, she means a lot to us, everything she's done in the service and after service,' said Gilliam. Van Orsdel and her crew have created hundreds of Quits of Valor, and she doesn't plan on stopping. For Van Orsdel, there is nothing better than making a veteran happy. Veterans Voices: Hear the stories of those who served If you know a Veteran who could be recognized, send Don Dare an email at ddare@ or give him a call at 865-633-6923. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Times
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Watch: Macron mocks ‘slap' by wife with cheeky wave
Facing a whirlwind of rumours after a video captured what was later dubbed Le Slapgate, the Macrons have seemingly responded with a moment of self-deprecation. Just before leaving the presidential plane, this time arriving in Indonesia, President Macron gave an ironic wave on Tuesday night — in what appeared to be a response to the 'crackpots' and 'loonies' who claimed that he had been shoved in the face by his wife. As the plane door opens, only his hand can be seen waving, before he appears in front of the cameras in Jakarta laughing. He is then joined by his smiling wife Brigitte, who takes Macron's arm, and they walk down the steps arm in arm. A presidential spin doctor said the wave was intended as a gesture of 'self-derision', although France Info radio station said it could be considered to be 'provocation'. The gesture came after the first lady pushed her hands into her husband's face as they prepared to leave the French presidential aeroplane in Vietnam on the first leg of their Asian tour this week. Her push, caught by television cameras, ignited speculation that the couple were in the midst of a row when the aeroplane door opened. As they walked down the steps from the plane in Vietnam, the first lady appeared to refuse to take her husband's arm. The Elysée initially claimed the video was a fake before accepting that it was genuine, but saying that it had been misinterpreted. Speaking to reporters in Hanoi, Macron angrily dismissed claims he had been filmed in the midst of domestic spat. He said he and his wife had been 'larking around, or joking and I was taken by surprise. And it has become some kind of planetary catastrophe.' He said the theories were being spread by malicious Russian social media accounts, which had also promoted fake reports that he had been caught with cocaine and engaged in a trial of strength during a handshake with President Erdogan of Turkey in recent weeks. Macron said there were 'a lot of accounts, anonymous or not … including media commentators who have explained that I am undertaking the diplomacy of a beaten man. That tells you what crackpots they are.' He added: 'There are a lot of loonies who spend their days … interpreting these videos.' His arrival in Indonesia seemed designed to underline his point.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Australia's fashion industry faces tariff hit but experts say it's been in decline for decades
When Dale McCarthy couldn't find skilled workers to produce her brand's swimwear, she had to take her manufacturing offshore. "You actually need five different types of machinery, and someone who is an expert at using that machinery, to make our swimwear," she says. The founder of Bondi Born turned to China and Vietnam to manufacture many of her brand's pieces. "It was an emotional decision for me, but I think from a business point of view, it made absolute sense to go offshore. "The quality is as good or better and the apparel costs were a third making [them] in Vietnam [compared] to Australia." As the implementation of Trump administration's "reciprocal" tariffs looms, Australian fashion brands manufacturing overseas in some of the countries targeted by the steepest tariffs face tough decisions. Bondi Born is just one of the many brands now having to pivot their manufacturing plans and target markets. Moving production home isn't an easy fix — experts say Australia's local fashion manufacturing industry has been in a decline for more than three decades, with the current trade war exacerbating an existing problem. "We're at a really challenging place because there's a real demand for locally made fashion, but there's very little in the way of actual manufacturing capability," Harriette Richards, senior lecturer in fashion and textiles at RMIT University, tells The Business. Fashion is one of the Australian exporting industries operating under the cloud of tariff uncertainty. Despite the 90-day pause between China and the US, swimwear brand founder Ms McCarthy says it has not made daily processes any easier. "[It's been] terribly stressful, because it's been so up and down … [we think] 'quick, take everything down off the website, shift that … what are we going to do next season?' "It's really challenging." The Sydney-based founder has taken down Chinese-made products from Bondi Born's international site and has started to think about new manufacturers. "We've now identified a Portuguese-based swimwear maker who can do the level of complexity and technical swimwear that we do, so for next season we're going to be using them." She says she is going to bring some of the manufacturing back to Australia, but that means removing "the more complex designs". Just 3 per cent of the clothing produced by local brands and designers is made in Australia. Dr Richards says this is mainly manufactured here by an older workforce, with an average age of 57. She says at RMIT, many of the students coming through the programs want to be designers and product developers, rather than taking up manufacturing jobs like sewing and stitching, which aren't seen to be "fun or exciting". A lack of funding from the state and federal government to prioritise the next generation coming through is something Dr Richards also says is contributing to the problem. "We've seen just a long-term sidelining of fashion as a significant contributor to the national economy and a really important space and economy where women are the primary contributors to the development of fashion." During the past five years, Dr Richards says the fashion industry has seen just $2 million in federal funding, despite the fact it contributes 1.5 per cent of Australia's gross domestic product and pays $15 billion in annual wages. She believes this is because "women are the primary contributors to the development of fashion". "Women are seen, really as consumers of fashion, not so much as innovators, as entrepreneurs, as those skilled workers. "It's really seen a neglect of this industry and an overlooking of it … it's not thought of as a cultural industry. This 30-year decline in local manufacturing has now seen the industry's peak body partner with one of Australia's most popular and well-known brands to spark change. The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) and RM Williams have launched a national strategy to bring garment manufacturing back onshore. "What we would like to end up with is a strategic plan and vision for our sector to ensure we have a thriving local manufacturing sector for those products," AFC's chief executive Jaana Quaintance-James tells The Business. "Now more than ever it seems to be needed in terms of Trump's tariffs uncertainty … it's the latest example of why we need local manufacturing capabilities in Australia," she says. It involves six consultation sessions, before a final report is delivered in late 2025, exploring how to invest locally in technology, skills and machinery. In the broader manufacturing sector women make up 28 per cent of the workforce, but in fashion manufacturing, they make up 53 per cent, Ms Quintance-James says, describing it as "important work and skilled work". But she emphasises it's not about bringing all manufacturing home. "We shouldn't compete on $2 products, this is about investment pieces — that when you buy something, you know where it comes from in Australia, you look after that product for a long time." Investment pieces from Australia, made by skilled workers on an Australian wage, often means higher costs for consumers, which Dr Richards says isn't necessarily a bad thing. "I think that our concern about [increasing prices] reflects a larger distortion in terms of our relationship with fashion." She says this is because of the rapid expansion of fast fashion. "There's a perception that fashion is low cost, it's affordable and that we can buy a lot of it and that it can be disposable, and I think we've really got away from the mode of production. The RM Williams brand knows firsthand how difficult it is to manufacture at home. "We are quite proud that we have Australian manufacturing in Adelaide … but what we do know is it's rare. "We wanted to bring forward an opportunity to just really share from an industry perspective, share what we've got but also share in the challenges," says chief operating officer Tara Moses. She says the industry has been stagnant for years. "Something as simple as machinery, we have old machinery that has been around for 30, 40, 50 years. "We need to upgrade those machines, and in order to upgrade those machines we need to have a skill set of people to buy those machines, to maintain those machines. Ms Moses says when individuals work for RM Williams, they can develop skills, including through a boot-making apprenticeship. "It's a nationally certified program [that we built] two years ago. "It gives people an ability to come in and have a career in boot making which didn't exist a couple of years ago." RM Williams also works with skilled professionals who are nearing retirement and brings them into the workshop to train the next generation. "We do not want to lose that skill, so we're bringing that skill back into the workshop.
CNN
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Incredible photos from the National Geographic Traveller competition
An intimate portrait of a Vietnamese woman sitting next to her great-granddaughter in a dark, smoky room as she works on some embroidery has won the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition 2025. Taken in Vietnam's Lào Cai province by UK-based photographer Justin Cliffe, the winning image was selected from thousands of entries and described by judges as portraying a 'moment between generations that captures so much beauty and humanity.' 'The colours, light and textures work really well,' the judges added in a press release Thursday. The art of embroidery has been passed down multiple generations of Red Dao minority people in Vietnam, according to National Geographic. Other category winners include a captivating image of an eye-like geothermal pool in Iceland, a family-run eatery in Tibet and a thrilling chance-encounter between a Bonelli's eagle and a fox in Spain. The annual competition aims to highlight the best travel photos from around the globe taken by UK and Ireland-based photographers, both amateurs and professionals. Cliffe's prize-winning image was chosen from six category winners across the themes of landscape, people, wildlife, food, city life and portfolio. 'Our competition goes from strength to strength, with this year's easily one of the strongest yet,' Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), said in the release. 'Capturing everything from the dramatic landscapes of Iceland and Italy to incredible wildlife shots in Spain and Canada, the 18 finalists – who made the cut from thousands of entries – have really elevated the level of travel photography with their ingenuity and skill,' Riddell added. The six category winners can be viewed in the gallery above.
