The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has decried the refusal of major political parties including the All Progressive Congress, APC, and the People's Democratic Party, PDP, among others, to furnish the Electoral Commission with its audited account for years now. It also expressed the concerns that only 9 out of 73 formally registered political parties that contested the 2019 general election legally complied with the directives of the Electoral Commission on the audit of the account. The commission disclosed that while 34 political parties submitted their audited account, only 9 compiled the statutory or complied, I beg your pardon, with the statutory requirements of submission of accounts with the affidavit. While joining us to discuss this is Kunlilawal, he's the Executive Director, Electoral College, Nigeria, and Obinachiku, he is a legal practitioner. Thank you so much gentlemen for joining us. Thank you. I'm going to start with you, Barista Obinach. According to the Electoral Act, I mean, I remember, if I remember vividly, it's been almost eight or nine years since INEC has continuously asked that political parties publish their audited reports, give it to them or submit it. I also remember that at some point, Sarah was asking political parties to make known their party finances. As we speak, we're getting into another election cycle. And here we are again, INEC decrying political parties non-compliance. Is there anything in the Electoral Act that can hold these political parties liable? Strictly speaking, I do not think that there is anything, but INEC has the power or powers to find a way around it. But again, I will, yes, as much as we continue to say that the political parties are the corporates. I want to say that more, is it, how do I put it, more actions or talks should also go the way of the Alpha INEC. All these coming or waking up almost close to the election to make this kind of statement. I do not think that is the right thing because at the end of the day, yes, we know this is Nigerian election, but this election somehow will reverberate all over the world. The world is looking up to Nigeria to do the right thing. If the simple INEC or the empire comes out to say that the political parties, even the so-called big, whether big three or big five or so, fear to comply with the law. What does that show to the world? It shows that that continues to show that Nigeria is a lawless society because how can a political party that fear to or refuse to comply with the law comes out to not say that the same political party will conduct a election or present candidates in a election. To me, I will hold or I will cast most of the blame on INEC. INEC should have done this a longer job. They should have heard them to account. You know that in Nigeria, if no force is exerted, Nigerians have a way of not doing that except where there is punishment and INEC is ready to wear the big hammer because among some of the powers that INEC has, INEC has the power to derigest the political parties. But I don't know why. For me, the timing is wrong for INEC to make this kind of statement. All efforts should be geared towards ensuring that the election is credible, is fair and peaceful. Coming to say that the political parties have not filed in their audited account. It shows also that it goes a long way to show or to portray Nigeria as a lawless society because again, what happens if in the so-called audited account there are infractions or the things that supposedly should make the political parties not credible enough to present candidates. But now, according to INEC, INEC said it's only nine political parties that comply. Then what message are you sending to the nine political parties that comply when you are not leaving the so-called big three or big five or whatever? You are not leaving them to go ahead with the elections whereas the smaller political parties comply. I do not think that toying this line is the best thing. Okay. Kune, let me come to you. Of course, the Electoral College is more like a poster child for what parties and of course the electorates should be doing, should learn and know. Now, Boris Dobbina is here saying that INEC should be wielding the big stick but they're not doing so. And many have decried again the powers of INEC. They talk more than they do. But then of course we're going into a very, very serious election, one of the most kindly contested ever. And we're thinking that why would issues like this not be dealt with before now because of course campaigns are kicking off from today. And if we do not have these audited reports, what kind of elections are we looking forward to? So thank you very much. I would first like to clarify the fact that within the Electoral Act 2022, Section 861 actually demands assets and liabilities of annually of political parties to be stated. And I think Subsection 2, that's it, Section 6 of Section 2 of the Electoral Act 2022 still gives a six month imprisonment and a one million Naira 5 to default us. Now INEC of course has not enforced this properly. I think the political parties, let's be clear, also do not clearly understand the Electoral Act It's sad to see that we have laws passed by people within the National Assembly which they don't even read or go over. It's highly shocking. It shows the degradation of legislative incapabilities in Nigeria. Now if I were to profile a solution, I would have said INEC should have gone through this route and the route that I've studied, none of your candidates would be accredited as candidates except this necessary legislative provision is met. So it would state that if you didn't produce your assets and liabilities for that year, none of your candidates from a party would be registered to run for office regardless of whether you've done the primaries. And you know till INEC starts to take those kind of steps, I would say political parties will not exactly take INEC seriously. This is something they flouted for multiple years. This minus campaign funding of political parties which also has been flouted constantly in Nigeria. The cost of forms also flout a lot of other parameters from running for office which are prohibited by the Electoral Act. But because INEC of course is trying to play empire and not exactly dictator, it has found itself in a mix where it has to just accept what is being pushed, what is being pushed before it. I think it's about high time that INEC decides whether it wants to hold people according to the law and constitution and then also the Electoral Act 2022 or INEC just wants to allow everybody past the bar and do what they want in Nigeria and we continue to have like a virus that said earlier a totally no less society. Back to you Baris Darbina. Solutions is what we're here for. Like I said at the beginning, CERAP is one of the only non-governmental organizations that have continuously put the feet of these political parties to the fire. And now it looks more like maybe the electorate needs to put the foot of INEC to the fire but will this sort solve any situation because like Kunli has said there are actually things that we can point to in the Electoral Act that need to be enforced. But then INEC can also on the other hand tell you that they're not a law enforcement agent. So agency I beg your pardon. So where do we go from here? Okay for me number one we need to say INEC or INEC staff needs to be trained. They need to be trained because the psyche or the judging from the activities of INEC I will conclude or one will conclude that the only thing INEC is interested in is conduct elections, how to conduct elections. That's not all the powers that the law extended to INEC. For instance this submission of Audited Account has nothing to do with the election. There are still other things that the law has provided for that INEC should do other than election but the concentration is only on election. No those things that the law provides or provided that were provided in the Electoral Act and the Constitution. Those things are there to ensure that the election is credible. If you fail to do those things what you are invariably saying is that the election is not credible. How can you go into election with political parties whose accounts financial or whether assets have not been verified or accounted for for the past three, four, five years? How do we now know whether or not they receive funds from foreign countries? How do we now know who is funding them? How do we know? How will INEC decipher the activities? Number one, like I said, I think INEC needs a complete training. The staff needs complete training and it's high time in Nigeria we establish an institution. An institution whether it's a miniature one that constantly will train INEC officials especially on Electoral Act. And then again INEC will always say that the Electoral Act, the amendment or whatever wasn't done on time so as to enable them to study it. That is also another area that we must look into. The National Assembly should be up and doing.  Electoral law is amongst the principal legislation that guides or helps Nigeria to have credible election. All amendments should come even one year or two before the elections so that INEC will have ample opportunity to study them. Now even if we want to criticize them we want to wage or use slage harm on them. The Electoral Act in 2022 also Electoral Act just came into force. I think last three or four months by that they may not have had time to study it. I'm sorry, I don't know if this excuse sits well with me. INEC does have a legislative department. The spokesperson of INEC is a lawyer. Professor Makmud Yakubu also is a learned gentleman. I'm trying to understand where it fits that these people may not have had time to be educated. They're the umpire. I don't understand which other duties they would have other than to digest what is in the Electoral Act to be able to in any way execute it. Yes, you know that law most times most times when a law is made again it takes a challenging call to be able to ascertain whether that law or testing that law to ascertain whether the law has the the potential to achieve the internment of the drafters of that law. I am not making excuses for them but I'm saying as a solution that we must at least engage the legislators let all amendments come on time so that INEC will have opportunities not only the legal department that should be conversant with the Electoral Act the Electoral Law or the Electoral Act it's not only the legal department I think to me all staff in INEC should be able to at least know the ABCD that law should be translated even if it means translating it in local languages so that all staff because again by February next year some of these staff will be deployed to monitor elections if they don't know the law how will they monitor the elections I am thinking that election is very very important to every society in fact to every same society so we need to establish an institution no matter how small so that the INEC staff will be trained then secondly ensure that the legislation whatever amendment that is to be made to the Electoral Act comes on time then again INEC should ensure that political parties are monitored because even what we have in Nigeria for those that read political science and those that have knowledge of politics what we have in Nigeria cannot really qualify as political parties they can qualify as political parties a political party the so-called political party in Nigeria that has what they call is it what are the cabals the so-called political parties that before a new entrant enters into the political party you have to go through some form of initiation or the initiation that you must know the person that knows somebody and knows somebody and all that the chain continues to qualify as a political party political party remains a very good true quick the citizens uses to enthrone or to extend their mandate to fellow citizens who will be in charge of the ranks of power and ensure that the so-called democratic dividend comes to them but that's not what we are seeing they have even the political parties in Nigeria have even isolated Nigerians they now have clique look at the board of trustees look at those that are the officials can a known person be elected to those positions no known person can be elected especially and particularly with the the so-called big political parties in Nigeria nobody will be as you are there you cannot be elected except one of the so-called cabals chooses you or has interest in you is that a political party that's not a political party in the real sense and meaning of political party let me come back to you Kunle still on holding feet to the fire whether it be political parties whether it be INEC where does the onus lie right now because INEC is on the one hand crying about the fact that these political parties are not adhering to what they're asking for but then where does the electorate come in here because he just said now that most of the people who work in INEC don't have an idea what's in the electoral act but of course we also who have been agitating about certain aspects of the electoral act how many of us know it those of us who want to cast that vote for political parties where do we come in here like I stated earlier this is part of the electoral act 2022 what I didn't add to my conversation earlier was that it has been part of the electoral act since the year 2010 this particular clause on parties delivering on the third statement has been actually active since the electoral act in 2010 now the electorate and INEC are supposed to directly hold political parties like for abusing this particular clause in the electoral act has that been done no do the electorate know it exists no to INEC officials itself know it exists I can say maybe 3% or 4% of INEC know what's contained in the electoral act as is and when you look at it clearly like that INEC in the second clause that's 86-2 has the opportunity to either prosecute and the clause there under states that you either go for 6 months in prison or pay a fine of 1 million there depending on the political party though which is going to prison whether it's the chairman, the Secretary because these states where 2 exact states are in prison so I don't know if they're going to throw in the old beauty and last time I think another thing to also that's what they have noticed the amount that they pay as a fine for a political party it's also dispeakable a political party that collected 100 million 100 million from a candidate it's like it said it is dispeakable and it's very, very embarrassing that at this point in time that's defined for it so the real question you're going to ask is National Assembly also palpable because they put in this law and also palpable knowing that they will never meet to that so they decided to put a pickpocket price just to ensure they can get away with the usual actions which they normally perpetrate I think INEC has always concerned itself like the barista said about execution of elections and money that is going to come from the federal government for them to run elections and also money that will come from development partners for them to execute elections more than they are to the practicality of actually ensuring that elections are free and fair and at that point you get to ask yourself the question it's totally not surprising what exactly emerges from our elections and I really wonder where we go from here because again like I said the campaigns have started there is supposed to be a bar where you don't go above when it comes to political spending but who's watching who's taking notes and who's going to wield the big stick if there's nobody then what do we consider free, fair and credible elections so many questions I think there's a trick in the electoral act so it clearly states if you're running for president you can't expect more than 5 billion Naira now let's look at let's take the increment party its funds were 100 million Naira they went most of the presidential aspirants went to 36 states that expenditure alone minus how much influence they gave delegates and what they've been doing post that I can say they have already expended like before campaigns they've expended those 3 billion Naira but now the electoral act gets money it tells you you can't cross but it doesn't tell you whether it's the police it's the DSS, it's the judiciary or it's INEC to hold anybody that brings parameter accountable within the electoral act so it just looks like we have a law and we just put it there just as you know so probably somebody who put the the way of dogs in the south that's exactly what we've done with the electoral act finally Baris Elbina really what do we do because like I said it feels like another deja vu moment it keeps happening every election cycle we keep hearing this story but then nobody ever is used as a scapegoat or to set an example to all the other political parties so it's business as usual and who's to say that we should expect anything from this year's election and I'm not in any way being trying to be pessimistic by the way they think they are like I said it's the usual thing there will be election or elections at the end of the day people will emerge and go for Thanksgiving in their various churches and in other religious centers and claiming that they have the mandate of the people and all that we need to do is to watch them but again if we must if we must get it right we must also empower the civil society organizations because no society actually grows without the civil society organizations let us empower them even in the electoral act let us empower them to demand that I may produce or dobs certain things for instance if we have a provision that empowers or allows the civil society organizations to demand that I may produce or make available the audited account of all the political parties 12 months or 6 months or 8 months before an election that will ginger I need that will force I need to do the writing let us not at every point in time make laws that somehow will be difficult that's why when I started I said when you ask me of the punishment I said I may find a way around it if it's what is expressed in the electoral act what is expressed in the electoral act is even ambiguous who do you even reign who do you will you also arrest me and ask me to be part of the payment of 1 million well big question that begs answers what will happen in the next election remains to be seen but I want to say thank you gentlemen because our time is up Kulilawal this executive director Electoral College Nigeria and Obinachiku is a legal practitioner thank you so much gentlemen for being part of the conversation thank you for the opportunity thank you alright well thank you all for joining us but before I go I would quickly like to give you my take here's my take consequences are part of the natural order of life in scientific terms every action has an equal and obfuscatory action it is unavoidable that is unless you are talking about politics in Nigeria it is commonplace for members of political elites to avoid the natural consequences of their behaviour that are ever corrupt now a fundamental principle of democracy is the separation of power with it actually comes the necessary checks and balances to keep each arm of government in check but our political reality is such that the executive behaves like a drunk baby that cannot be quieted by its parents the legislature is no more than a den of vipers too cold blooded to offer a glimpse of warm future for the constituencies that members of the chambers are supposed to be presenting now as for the judiciary like an old man realising he cannot keep up with its moral duty to scold the children when they err it limbs along vocationally reminding us of its relevance and its importance mostly though it fails like the other arms of government to enforce consequences for bad behaviour now our politics will never change until the back room deals made to elect individuals stated by the party manifestos and constitutions come with express consequences and that is my take I'm Mary Anna Cohn, thank you for watching


We're back at South High School, we're back at Taylor Field, back at Lutheran High School, back at Evans Field, and we're back at North High School. Local sports production is back on WSCS. Watch the action of Sheboygan student-athletes on Spectrum Cable Channel 990, online at WSCSSheboygan.com, or streaming on Roku and Apple TV. Sheboygan's community station, WSCS, is focused on Sheboygan. Don't go too far from your TV sets when we come back.


Acidovorax or IzAO, a bacterium responsible for causing bacterial brown stripe, BBS, in rice crops, can be effectively controlled through the use of natural materials such as chamomile flower extract. This study has successfully developed two types of nanoparticles, magnesium oxide, milligram and manganese oxide, MNO2, which have been shown to reduce the growth of AO strain RS2 by up to 71 percent. Additionally, these nanoparticles have also been found to disrupt the cell membranes of the bacteria, resulting in the release of cytoplasm and ultimately leading to cell death. Furthermore, the nanoparticles have been observed to induce apoptosis in the bacteria, thereby reducing its ability to form biofilms and move freely. Overall, this study suggests that the use of milligram O and MNO2 nanoparticles may provide a viable solution for controlling BBS in rice crops. This article was authored by Solobomio Leitanogonimi, Feng Zhong, Yezmin Abdullah, and others.


Welcome to NTN Nightly, I am Jenelle Norville, this edition's top stories. Government launches the income support program for non-NIC contributors, the National Emergency Management Organization to implement new protocols for hurricane season due to COVID-19, and nurses receive tangible support from the Make It Happen Foundation. The Government of St. Lucia continues to provide relief for citizens who have been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An income support program for non-NIC contributors has been implemented and will be managed by the ministries of finance and tourism collaboratively. Prime Minister the Honourable Alan Shasne had announced in the social stabilisation plan provisions for helping those who have lost their means of earning a living because of the COVID-19 crisis and are not registered contributors to the National Insurance Fund. As part of Government's social stabilisation plan to assist persons who have lost their means of earning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of St. Lucia has implemented the income support program where non-contributors to the NIC shall receive a monthly payment of $500 for the next three months. Taxi drivers, jet ski operators, vendors, agro processors, tour guides, hairdressers, barbers, small bar and restaurant operators, construction workers and other sole traders who meet the criteria can apply using the Government of St. Lucia's website www.govt.lc. Payments will be made directly via electronic transfer to the recipient's bank account. The income support program simple strides towards recovery. The Ministry of Tourism will be the executing agency for the program and responsible for receiving applications, reviewing and verifying the applications and presenting the approved list to the NIC for processing and payment. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts by the Government to assist affected conclusions at this time. The Government has also launched a national feeding program and is providing tax incentives for businesses that continue to function and keep employees during this crisis. As the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season fast approaches on June 1st, the National Emergency Management Organization is finalizing new protocols due to COVID-19. Harris Anise Antoine With the hurricane season fast approaching, the public is being urged to be in a state of constant preparedness. Officials from the Meteorological Services and the National Emergency Management Organization, NIMO, who recently appeared on the national television network NTN, where they disclosed that the hurricane season every year is forecast to be more active with more intense hurricanes than the previous. Director of the Meteorological Services, André Joyeux, explained that evidence indicates more severe droughts and hurricanes for the Atlantic region going forward. All the scientific evidence is pointing to that. We have a number of institutions that give us the predictions for the year and it's not encouraging. We have institutions like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They just put out the 2020 predictions. They did that on the 21st and they're going for, it's a range that they're going for. It's between 13 and 19 named storms, 6 to 10 hurricanes and 3 to 6 major hurricanes. Now I should say that the average for the year is 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. So everything would be stepped up. Director of NIMO, Dorin Gustave, said with the country already battling the COVID-19 pandemic, its resources are stretched thin, therefore the public should not let its guard down. The director noted that preparations for the hurricane season had long commenced, including training and strengthening district disaster committees. However, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, new protocols had to be drawn up so as to adhere to the protocols stipulated by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. We are discussing shelters, so they have started looking at the inspection of shelters. We've started, we've done more than 50% of that and we have to take into consideration COVID-19 and shelters, whereas a shelter would be able to accommodate, let's say 100 persons. Taken into consideration social distancing, we had to look at more than one shelter per community. So we are looking at maybe private shelters. This is what we are thinking. There is a need for that in order to accommodate based on the impact. And so we had to put protocols in place. We just completed protocols for shelters. Ministry of Education was on board, Ministry of Health was on board. The Shelter's Committee was on board NIMO and we discussed what is needed and it's going to take a huge amount from our finances that we already have depleted. NIMO has also commenced engagement with the public service so as to implement business continuity plans in case of an emergency as realized with COVID-19. A training workshop will be held through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, SIDIMA on the 4th of June so as to address situational awareness geared towards all relevant stakeholders. NIMO has also gotten approval from the World Bank to procure equipment for the Emergency Operational Centre aimed at improving communication including getting more reliable networks, obtaining and installing VHF radios on the island and distributing handheld radios at strategic locations as well as procuring research and rescue drones. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. Meantime, the Deputy Director for Financial Administration in the Department of Finance concedes that COVID-19 has taught many lessons for disaster preparedness and disaster risk financing as government strategizes for greater financial stability in the event of a natural disaster during the upcoming hurricane season. Glenn Simon has more. Though the health and economic impact of COVID-19 has dominated discussions on mainstream and social media, the Government of St. Lucia has been planning for the upcoming hurricane season which officially commences on June 1. Government, under its Disaster Risk Financing Policy has increased St. Lucia's coverage with the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, CRF. Deputy Director of Financial Administration in the Department of Finance, Matthew Branford said government has ensured its disaster risk policy has been updated in keeping with a projected active hurricane season. We've actually increased our coverage because based on the various models for this year they have increased intensity for the hurricane season and so we have actually been very cautious and have expanded our coverage. So we've actually transferred more risk to CRF so that it can alleviate any fiscal pressures in the initial stage in the aftermath of a disaster. Branford noted that St. Lucia has been a member of CRF from its inception in 2007 and has participated in the many disaster risk financing products offered by CRF which includes Tropical Cyclone, Excess Rainfall and Earthquake Policies. In 2019, the CRF introduced what is called COS and this product is specifically to assist in disaster risk financing for persons in the fishery sector. The Deputy Director of Financial Administration highlighted that one of the main concerns of government post a disaster is access to finance. This, he said, is one of the significant benefits of CRF's policies. So CRF actually pays out within 14 days coverage to the Caribbean countries including St. Lucia and we have benefited quite a lot from being a member of CRF in the Caribbean. Branford added that CRF is but one of the many disaster risk financing strategies employed by government to reduce its exposure post a disaster. He further called on citizens and the corporate sector to ensure their property and belongings ahead of the hurricane season. It is always good that private individuals do try to secure their properties, their homes and their personal belongings in the aftermath of a disaster because CRF, the policy that CRF offers to us is more of a capital structure and rebuilding and so on. It's not going to be filtered in right down to the very local level in the house. Government is also exploring risk financing which takes into account health-related disasters such as COVID-19 including disasters which could affect vital sectors such as water and electricity. The World Bank is among other agencies providing technical assistance and financing to St. Lucia in an effort to build resilience as it relates to disaster risk management. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting. A sitting of the House of Assembly is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, 2020 with papers to be laid by the Honourable Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Growth, Job Creation, External Affairs and the Public Service, the Honourable Minister for Economic Development, Housing, Urban Renewal, Transport and Civil Aviation, the Honourable Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives and the Honourable Minister for Commerce, Industry, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs. The Parliament will also consider to further extend for an additional period commencing from the first day of June 2020 and ending the 30th of September 2020, the resolution of Parliament approving the Declaration of State of Emergency. Tuesday's sitting is scheduled to commence at 10 a.m. A sitting of the House of Assembly is also scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 10 a.m. The sitting of the Senate is scheduled for Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 10 a.m. In keeping with the protocols established by the authorities for management of COVID-19, the public will not be allowed in the chamber gallery during the sittings. The public can view the live proceedings on the National Television Network NTN Channel 122, Government of St. Lucia Facebook and YouTube. The St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association has been hard hit by the challenges of COVID-19, however the organisation is ensuring that its members are not unduly affected. More in this report. In the current situation of the global health crisis due to COVID-19, the operations of non-governmental organisations such as the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association have been significantly impacted. Anthony Avril, Executive Director of the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association, spoke on some of the difficulties being faced by the association during this period. The two main streams of revenue for the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association. One depends on funds received for projects through grants, donations and no technical support for the various things that we are doing. Whether it comes from government, from funding agencies, from corporate communities, from individuals, these are the ways that monies come into the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association. And the second stream to that is through the eye clinic, which generates some as well. The island was thrown into emergency mode around the middle of March and that certainly stopped everything. People are not working, they are not in a position to donate. And what has happened is that the COVID-19 has not only attacked St. Lucia, COVID-19 has declared war on the world. With the effort to bring comfort and meet the needs of the more vulnerable members, the association has been reaching out to their members using the mapping project to assist their needs during this period. The mapping project entails a database of the blind and low-visioned individuals, including their name and address, their skills and their needs. Rosemary Compton, Outreach Officer at the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association, gave insight as to the condition of the members of the association. I would like to say that it's really an interesting time and a challenging time for a lot of our clients as I reach out to them but it's not possible to go into their homes in one of the cases maybe and from a distance, but then most of the persons that have been in contact with us through the telephone and they are very responsive and they would express their needs. Of course, a lot of them, normally, they are not able to meet their basic needs and especially at a time like this when people could not have moved around and so on, they found it a little challenging and that's why we were happy when we got some assistance from the Red Cross through Nemo to give some care packages to some of our clients and then prior to that, there were clients that we were not really aware of but because of this emphasis on mapping and reaching people around the island, we were not able to reach out to more people and to know what their needs are and so on. As of April 31, 2020, approximately 225 blind and low-visioned individuals have been registered with the mapping project. From the Government Information Service, I am Anitia Antoine reporting. St Lucia's nurses have received support from the Make It Happen Foundation as the organization continues to champion the cause of frontline workers. A substantial financial contribution to the St Lucia Nurses Association stems from the proceeds of the sold-out All Pink International Women's Day event, Tea and Testimony, which was held on March 8, 2020. In a handing over ceremony on Thursday, May 21, 2020, a check of $22,500 was officially presented to the President of the St Lucia Nurses Association, Alicia Baptiste, by Make It Happen founder, Mrs. Raquel Doubley-Shasny. And this is NTIA Nightly Up Next, Primus Hutchinson with the NTIA Nouvelle of We All. Be aware of and follow water conservation practices. Here are a few tips to help you save water. Wash dishes in a basin of water instead of a running tap. Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while scraping them. Check toilets for leaks by putting dye in the tank. If color shows in the bowl without flushing, there is a leak. Leaking toilet can waste thousands of gallons of water. Use a bucket instead of a hose to wash cars and reuse grey water from laundry to water plants. Water conservation reduces energy consumption and strain on the water distribution system. Conserve water whenever possible, and remember, every job counts. A message brought to you by the Water and Sewage Company Incorporated, Wasco. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchinson for the NTIA Nouvelle of We All. My name is Ota Genel. I am the Secretary of State of the United States of America for information on the NTIA Nouvelle of We All. I am from the National Television Agency for NTIA Nouvelle of We All. I am from Primus Hutchinson. I have established the O-N-KING hospital for a public hearing that comes to place to clarify and explain the different situations that public hearing has in general. It comes to pay my service and also to place people who are sick in the hospital. This results in the pleasure of the public hearing. For this reason, the management of the O-N-KING hospital and the public hearing in general is an arrangement that is operational for the present. All the operations of the emergency that is done immediately are patients who are in the hospital after that. As I mentioned before, any patient is in the hospital after the discharge of the emergency service, a person who is sick after the discharge, a person who is sick after the discharge, a person whose health is fully recovered immigration by the Obama Administration cannot be sent directly to the obstetrics for gynaecology, a person whose maternity had been sent directly to the healthcare office for the hospital. All the patients are in obstetrics, Ecology, Abbey Award, Maternity, Cytuvé, Bill L'Opitalio, and Puyotuvé Discharge. First, consultation, Lay-on, and Tuiya Casualty, where I stay at the same place as the $10,000 that the entire municipality pays. First, the application for a service that is on Tuvé and Casualty is actually presented to the personal L'Opitalio for the provision of the service that you receive. For the service that your client receives at the hospital, you can receive $20,000 from the patients. Everyone who is on the way is on the pension and the DVD that you receive is $60,000 from Nippu Pé for the service at the hospital, or in King. The first is the document, Hot Plaster, by NIC. The DVD that you receive is $26,000 from Nippu Pé for the service that you will find at the company that she works in. The second is the Ministry of Health at Egality透社 to support public highlighted by the history. The company is designed to help that public sector education in the same way that we implement protocols and measures to ensure that the students who find restrictions are safe. But is there a reality that the school is supposed to be made to deal with the head of education, Dr. Fiona Meyer, as well as the head of medical officers, Dr. Sharon Belma George, and the head of education, to discuss reality According to Dr. Meyer, the situation is very difficult, especially for parents and children. Dr. Meyer has seen that he understands and appreciates the sacrifice I have made, the efforts I have made, but he wants the parents to understand that he has not listened to the first students who have entered the study. He has also finished Form 5. With us, I spoke with Madam CMO, Dr. Sharon Belma George, and I said to ourselves, as soon as possible, it is possible for us to support this mother who lives in the school. So we look at these mothers, we do not look at all mothers, we do not look at Plipiti, just like the mother, but we look at Grade 6, the mother who took the exam, with Grade 6, which is in Form 5, which is finished, which is secondary, so that the school can go to different places. The whole school has to go to these children. So we appreciate that. But we want all the parents who listen to us, we do nothing to put the children in a bad situation in the school. According to Dr. Meyer, the head of medical officers, Dr. CMO, who continuously discusses because that is the case for these students, in Grade 6, in the 16th form, we look at the education at Magé. We look at the teachers, we look at the mothers' friends, we look at the mother's friends, we look at the mother's 오케이, we look at the mother's The school is on the other side of the street. They are all young people. First, they teach us how to work. And then they teach us how to work. And then they teach us how to take care of our children. I want to talk about my mother who was a transporter to come to school. My mother who was a transporter to eat. We are in a situation that is very powerful. When we go to school, we never give all these people to school. We never give them to us.  Ministers of Agriculture, my name is Ezekiel Joseph. I continue to be called by the farmers to do good quality food. I want to discuss with you the Minister of Agriculture to make sure that the government is able to provide a good quality food for the country and the nation. We have to continue to do good quality food. Ministers, I want to talk about my mother who was a transporter to come to school to take care of our children because we are in a situation where we are not good quality. But Ezekiel, I want to talk about the farmers to do good quality food. I continue to do good quality food. I want to encourage farmers to do good quality food. But I want to mix with the other. Wisconsubility for good quality. Wisconsubility farmers. It is not a wisconsubility for the government. So, you have to do good quality food. That's why I want to talk about my mother. Hello, Minister of Agriculture. Every country has to produce good quality food for the country and the nation. Ministers, I want to talk about my mother. I want to talk about my mother. I want to talk about my mother. I want to talk about my mother who was a transporter to come to school. So, let me talk about how these people are going to do good quality food and how we can make it good quality food. They have to pay 50 cents or 25 cents to pay the whole thing. It's not an economic slur. So this is an opportunity to sell by farmers. Farmers near West Coast Ability. They have to sell everything. The quality is good. If you don't have the money, you can't buy anything. You can't buy anything. So you don't have to expect to buy anything, if you don't have any problems. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your time. I have a lot of invitations. I would like to see you again when I have time. I will be back with more news. See you later. See you later. I am Janelle Norville.


Hey, this is Brett, and this 2021 Ram 1500 Crew Cab 5'7' Short Box Rebel Level 2 is stock number 13849Z. I am here at Summit Automotive in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Your new and used light-duty truck and Ram headquarters this 2021 Ram 1500 has the 5.7 liter V8 Hemi engine with the e-torque assist. It's paired up with the 8-speed automatic transmission. This truck has been fully-safetyed and inspected by our service shop per the state of Wisconsin inspection process. It has a fresh oil and filter change. All the fluids have been checked and topped off, and it is 100% ready to go. I'm going to go all the way around inside underneath, start it up, and take a look under the hood to give you the most accurate representation possible of this truck. Billet Silver over Diamond Black Pro-Code is the color scheme. I shoot all my videos in 4K, and if you like the video, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel, which is youtube.com slash summit auto. Click the bell notifications. You'll get updates on videos I do each and every day, as well as having access to one of the largest catalogs of vehicle walk-arounds and truck walk-arounds on YouTube. So that's pretty awesome. Over 8,000 videos on there comes with the painted alloy wheels and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrak tires. These are LT27570R18s, and they definitely have kind of a mud terrain tread pattern to them. This one has the four-corner airbag suspension on it, frame and underbody is exceptionally clean on this truck. And this is a one-owner clean title history, clean car fax from Wisconsin. LED headlamps, LED running lights, and LED fog lamps. The front bumper is kind of a matte finished black paint. That's an excellent shape, didn't see any dents or dings on there. You get the front bumper parking sensors, the ram stamp grille, and the hood is in fantastic condition as well. You get the rebel decal on that hood. Didn't see any dents or dings, and the passenger side front fender is absolutely perfect. Passenger side front wheel, no major scuffs or scrapes on that. And billet silver, it's got just a little bit of metal flake to it. And the diamond black also has metal flake to it, so that's a really cool color combination. And as you go down this side of this 2021 Ram 1500, take note of how clean the body is, how reflective and mirror-like that paint is. I take these HD videos so if you are far away or even if you're close by and you just cannot make the trip down but you're still interested in purchasing the vehicle, you can see the truck, hear the truck, and have confidence in the vehicle that you're looking at before you even get here. So when you do get here, there's absolutely no surprises. And you can make a smart and informed buying decision from wherever you're at, or make the decision to get the truck shipped to you, or just make the decision to come take a look at the truck because it is that nice. And if this video helps you do that, let your salesman know that you saw the video, it was helpful and that brat sent you back wheels in excellent shape, and the back tires have just as much tread as the front tires. You get the plastic wheel well liners, which keeps your frame looking like new. These have an aftermarket exhaust, so it is just a little bit louder than stock, but it's kind of nice because you get just a little bit of a noise to it. Factory step bars, get the rebel graphics back here. These are just decals or stickers. You could take those off if you didn't like them. LED tail lamps, rear bumpers in great shape. You get the full towing package, the kind of black chrome finished tailpipes. Receiver hitch four pin and seven pin wiring, the tailgate is in fantastic condition. Note that you get the blacked out four by four RAM and rebel logos. I'm not sure if this is a night package or night or not, it might be. LED tail lamps, you get a back flip, fold up tonneau cover, and that's in really nice condition. It has a shock down assist tailgate. Also you get spray and bed liner and a bed mat, so it's kind of a combo here. Obviously a spray and bed liner goes all the way across, but then you get this mat on top of it so stuff isn't sliding around, which is really nice. That shuts nice and solidly, and as we go down the driver side, just as clean as that passenger side, I didn't see any dents, I didn't see any dings. Very nice and clean. This one does have the capitalist feel fill, if you've never had one of those, it's pretty awesome. Never get gas on your hands again, and the back wheel for full disclosures in excellent shape too.  No dents, no dings, paint is like new. Very very nice. Heated mirrors, blind spot wiring, built in blind spot mirrors, and directional signals. Entering ghost system.  It's actually kind of a mesh. It's leather, and then it's got this kind of rubber-ish vinyl type material. You get the rebel stitched into the bolster there. And both these seats are heated and cooled, and power, driver side lumbar, factory all-weather floor mats, power pedals, auto headlamps, tilt, telescopic steering wheel, power windows, locks, mirrors, and memory driver seat. These mirrors do power fold in. I always like showing both sides so that you know that both sides are working properly. We'll take a quick look at the back seats. They are just as nice as the front seats. No rips or tears back here. It does have the latch child safety system for any child car seats you may have. Power slide and rear window with the built-in rear defrost. Speakers in the ceiling. Seats are in excellent shape. They are heated on the outboard side. You get the all-weather floor mats back here. You also get in-floor storage with removable bins for easy cleaning. You can put ice and drinks in here, and it's like you have too many coolers wherever you go. Or if you're not in Wisconsin, just extra storage space. There are heated seat buttons, two USBs, two USB C's, and a 115-volt 400-watt plug-in. Child safety locks on the back doors and the inside and bottoms of the doors all look fantastic. We'll hop inside, check out the miles, the radio, and everything that this truck has to offer on the interior. You get the rebel animation at the beginning there, which is pretty cool. This one has the seven-inch LCD display. You get the rebel instrument cluster digital spinometer compass display. All that good stuff. It's all configurable. Comes with the heated leather-wrapped steering wheel. Cruise controls. Adaptive cruise controls, gear selector, Bluetooth, and information center controls, as well as audio controls on the back of the steering wheel. Push-button start, eight-speed automatic transmission. You get your push-button four-wheel drive. Start-stop capabilities, downhill assist control. It does have the axle lock on there. And here is your Uconnect 12-inch 4C radio. You get AM, FM, and Sirius XM radio capabilities, climate controls on each side. You also have your controls for your heated seats and heated steering wheel controls. Your backup camera is right here. They've made these HD now in the Rams, so that's pretty nice.  You can actually zoom in over the hitch to get hooked up to your boat camper trailer the first time. Every time you have all your different apps on here, including Projection Manager, we can project your cell phone to the screen. We did a demo on Android Auto if you want to check that out. You also have all your climate controls that you can do on the screen or up here. And you have your factory navigation system as well. There is Highway 41, so that is working fantastically. You get your factory brake controller, your four-corner air suspension. You can actually raise and lower this truck to a desired height. It has Off-Road Mode 1, Off-Road Mode 2, Normal Ride Height, and then Lowered Height so that you can easy entry and exit of the truck. Heal-A-Century, Remote Start, Power Drop-Down, Tailgate. You can also lower the truck by pressing that button right there to get in to it easier. Stability Control Toe-Hall, Front and Rear Parking Sensors. Turn those off and on. Two USBs, two USB C's, and an Augsjack. Those get a wireless cell phone charge pad, and down there is your 115-volt 400-watt plug-in. You get the cup holders and coin sliding tray right here. Pasture Side Glove Boxes. You get the Rebel badge on there, which is pretty cool looking. And the Pasture Side Format and Seat are in excellent condition. This truck has never been smoked in and has the power viscer of second-row fixed glass, power front sunroof, assist and SOS buttons, map lights, sunroof and sunshade controls, window controls, and you also have your Home Link buttons for your garage door security systems and lighting systems. This one also has the rear view mirror camera, so it's actually a video of what's going on right behind you. You can raise it, lower it, dim it, or make it brighter, and then you can just make it a normal mirror like so. This one does have the Harman Kardon Premium Sound System. We'll start it up and take a look under the hood. Check out all those LED lights in the front as well. Starts right up. No check engine lights or anything like that. Here it's got just a little bit, a little bit louder than a stock exhaust, but not too bad. We'll listen to it. I think it sounds great. There are those LED tail lamps. I would personally like to thank you for checking out the video today, and hopefully from this HD video. You've been able to verify the quality condition options and of course cleanliness of this truck all the way around inside and out, and I've got to pop it here for a second. All right, let's take a look under that hood. 5.7 liter V8 Hemi engine with the e-torque assist. Engine bay is very clean, runs very smooth. Once again, this truck has been fully safe and inspected by our service shop as a fresh oil and filter change, all the fluids have been checked and topped off, and it is 100% ready to go there as the emissions sticker.  And I would highly recommend this truck to make quality and condition standpoint. I'd ship this one to California, New York, Florida, Texas, wherever. Whoever is going to get this truck is going to love it. And to see more pictures of this truck or one of our other 550 new and used cars, trucks, SCVs, minivans, Wranglers, halftones, recorder tons, one-tons, you name it. We've got to go to that website right there, summitautor.com. All pictures and descriptions of every single vehicle, all at summitauto.com. If you'd like to check out more HD videos, you can go to youtube.com slash summitauto. Click the bell notifications to get updates on the videos I do each and every day. Here at Summit Automotive, in fact, in a second, you will see a link to subscribe to my YouTube channel in the upper left. There are links to more Ram 1500 truck videos that I've done in the upper right, a link to this vehicle on our website in the lower left. And there are links to one of our latest YouTube videos in the lower right. Click those, check this out. We're super excited to help you with this Ultra Clean 2021 Ram 1500 Crew Cab Short Box Rebel Level 2 in Billet Silver over Diamond Black. Thanks again for checking out the video. Remember to like, subscribe, and share on the YouTube channel. I really appreciate it. Thanks again.


Good morning, everybody. Please be seated. The University School of Law and our 2022 commencement ceremony. It is thrilling to see everyone here today. My name is Gregory Bowman, and I have the honor and privilege of being the dean and a faculty member at this fine law school. And I have the honor and privilege of welcoming these soon-to-be graduates to the legal profession. You woke up this morning, students. And by the end of this ceremony, you will be lawyers. You will be members of the legal profession, and my faculty and staff colleagues and I are so very proud of you. Now, law school is not easy. It is challenging. It is stressful. But the knowledge that these graduates have developed while in law school through hard work and dedication are powerful. Each one of you has the ability to change the world as you see fit. One client, one project at a time.  And it is why I became a law professor to help others along the same path that has meant so much to me. Now, my law school faculty and staff colleagues are proud of all of you for another reason as well, which is namely that in addition to the ordinary stresses and strains of law school, you have overcome the extraordinary challenge of going to law school during a pandemic. And that is not easy, and that is an understatement. But we have been so impressed, and I have been moved by your determination. And I think that as lawyers, you will have a resiliency and a toughness, a determination that will serve you well in your lives and your careers. Because let's be honest, there is always something standing in your way. And now you know you don't have to let it stop you. You have done the impossible by going to law school and surviving and thriving in a pandemic. Even when things look impossible, they are not. You know that firsthand from experience. So I have a request. All of you who are graduating, please take a moment to pat yourselves on the back. Please pat yourselves on the back. And now please pat the people beside you on the back as well. You are each other's colleagues. You have helped each other to this moment of success. And we are really, really proud of you. Now, one mark of a great law school is a great board of directors. And our law school certainly has a great board of directors. Our board of directors is chaired by the honorable William E. Smith, judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. Judge Smith, we are so pleased to have you here with us today and I'm very pleased to welcome you to the podium to make a few remarks to our graduates. Thanks, Dean. I wanna take a moment to recognize our, and it's a pleasure and a privilege to be here on behalf of the board of directors, first of all. I wanna take a moment to just recognize our terrific honorary degree recipients here. Very personal to me that these three individuals I've known for many years. Judge McConnell, who's my colleague on the Federal District Court, Judge Justice Flaherty, who I've known for 25 or more years retired from the Supreme Court and my co-teacher for I think the last 13 years. And U.S. Attorney Rollins, who, as she reminded me last night, I first met as a baby attorney in a very difficult case in which she and Judge McConnell were both attorneys on opposite sides. So it's a wonderful group of honorary degree recipients. I want to recognize our board of directors who along with the faculty and the staff and the administration of the law school work behind the scenes to make this law school what it is and to bring the value to this degree that you have all earned. We're giving of their time and their talent and their treasure. And I'd like to recognize our board of directors and ask those of them that are here who come from the business, legal, and the bench, community across Rhode Island and across the nation. Those who are here, I'd ask them just to stand and take a little recognition. I'd just like to leave you with a couple of thoughts as you get to the graduates who are the main focus of the event today. Congratulations to all of you. And I'd like to leave you with just a couple of thoughts. You're gonna get a lot of advice today. I hope you remember some of it. The first piece of advice I'd like to give you is to embrace the idea of being a servant leader. You now are a member of this wonderful profession. It's an honor to be a member of the legal profession. Remember it is a profession and you are servants. You're servants to your clients, to your communities, to the bar, take this degree that you've earned and the privilege that you have of being a lawyer and give back to the communities that you work in. Give back to the legal community, give back to you the communities where you live and work. Just remember servant leadership. Second, I'd like to encourage you to be good to yourselves and to be good to your colleagues. You're going to be lawyers for a long, long time. It's a stressful profession. It's gonna be difficult. You're gonna be highs and lows. Take care of yourself. Recognize the stress when it occurs. Deal with it. Be good to your colleagues. Last night, as we had a little reception for the honorary degree recipients, Rachel Rawlins recounted to me the very difficult case that we were involved in many years ago when she was just a baby attorney. Judge McConnell represented the plaintiff. She had some of the defendants. It was a really hard case. And Judge McConnell recounted a story about how his brother, Bob, who helped him represent the widow and the family in the case, said that frequently the widow would often ask, how's that nice woman who took my deposition years ago? That nice woman was Rachel Rawlins, who's receiving the honorary degree today. The point of this is these are lawyers, judges, public servants who have learned how to be professionals at the top of the legal profession, but have never lost the ability to be kind to each other and to be civil with each other. So in all that goes with being a lawyer and the competitiveness and the argument, don't lose sight of the fact that what goes around comes around and you should always be good to each other. And finally, stay in touch and remember that your law school, its faculty, its board, all of us are here for you if you need us. And your success is our success and don't forget your law school. Thank you. Thank you, Judge, for being with us here today and for giving us those words of wisdom. Graduates, as I've already stated today, you become lawyers and today you also become members of the Roger Williams University School of Laws alumni community. Our law school's graduates support our programs and our students of today and in the future in many important ways. They help us judge new court arguments. They mentor and hire our graduates and our students. They teach at the law school as adjunct professors. They provide financial support to the law school and to our students. And by practicing law with excellence and with the mission to serve others, they paved the way for the next generation of lawyers and leaders. And I cannot think of a better person than Nicole Benjamin, a member of our board and a graduate of our law school to welcome you to the legal profession and also welcome you into the Law Alumni Association. In addition to being a graduate of Roger Williams University School of Law as I said, she's a member of our board of directors. She's vice chair of that board and she is also on the university's board of trustees. She's a graduate of our law school in the class of 2006. She's currently a shareholder at the law firm of Adler Pollock and Sheehan in Providence, Rhode Island. It is my pleasure to welcome her to the podium today to say a few words. Nicole, thank you for being here. Thank you Dean. Good morning and good day to all honored guests, family, friends, our platform guests, Chief Judge Smith, Chief Judge McConnell, the other distinguished members of the judiciary and most importantly, very soon to be alumni. On this commencement day, it is my pleasure to bring you greetings from over 3,500 members of the Law Alumni Association. And as a graduate of the law school today, you begin your new role, one that you will play every day for the rest of your lives, that of an alumnus of this law school. For days, years and decades to come, the Law Alumni Association will be your connection to the school of law, its faculty and staff and your classmates. And I urge you to become an active member of the law alumni community. Stay in touch with your alma mater and continue to advance the interests of your law school. Your involvement will provide valuable insight, energy and support, and will keep the school of law in the upward trajectory that we've enjoyed. In recognition of your achievements, I formally welcome you to the Roger Williams University School of Law Alumni Association. Congratulations graduates. Thank you Trustee Benjamin very much. The School of Law is indeed fortunate to have awarded honorary degrees this morning to three very special members of the legal profession. Namely, the Honorable Francis X Flaherty of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, the Honorable John J. McConnell Jr., who serves as Chief Judge of the U.S. District for the District of Rhode Island and United States Attorney Rachel Splain-Rollins of the District of Massachusetts. We are now pleased to recognize and honor each of these honorary degree recipients. So first I would ask Judge Smith and his role as Chair of the Law School's Board of Directors to escort the Honorable John J. McConnell Jr. to the podium. You needed an escort because that was a very long walk. Chief Judge McConnell, thank you for being here with us today. You have lived a life of impact and service in your career as a lawyer. In your role as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, you hear a full docket of both civil and criminal cases in addition to your significant administrative duties as Chief Judge. Nominated by President Barack Obama, you were confirmed to the Federal Judiciary by the U.S. Senate in May of 2011. And in your time as a member of the Federal Judiciary, you've been appointed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. of the United States Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Committee on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States. You were also a past member of the First Circuit Judicial Council and the First Circuit Jury Plan Committee and you currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Federal Judges Association. Before becoming a federal judge, you had a highly successful career as a trial attorney for 25 years. You tried cases in more than 13 states, representing persons injured by asbestos and lead pain exposure. And you were also a lead negotiator for the $365 billion settlement between various states and tobacco companies. Students, that's a billion with a B. Also, at the beginning of your legal career, you clerked for the late Associate Justice, Donald H. Shea of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. You have served as a distinguished member of the Board of Trustees of Roger Williams University and over the course of many years, you have held court at our law school's location in Bristol, Rhode Island, in order to provide our students with a firsthand opportunity to see a federal court in action. And our students here, our graduates here today, have seen that and learned from you. You currently serve as chairperson of the Board of Crossroads, Rhode Island, chair of the Board of Trinity Repertory, as a member of the Board of the Nonviolence Institute and on the Board of many other community organizations. So, Chief Judge McConnell, for your lifelong service to the advancement of law and justice in the state of Rhode Island, for your meaningful public service and for your support of Roger Williams University School of Law and its students, we were honored this morning to confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Law's honoris causa. Congratulations. Let's go over here and get a photo. All right, Judge, your work is not done here. You're gonna get to escort someone else to the podium.  Wherever you want. Justice Flaherty, you've made an enormous impact on the legal profession on the state of Rhode Island and the country during your lifetime.  You're the eldest of five children in what you have described as, and I quote, a loud, boisterous, rollicking Irish family. In my opinion, that sounds like the best kind of family possible. After finishing college, you served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970. Your service included deployment to Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta where you earned the Bronze Star for Valor as a platoon leader among other awards and decorations. Thank you for your service. After returning to the United States, you completed law school, you worked as an assistant city solicitor for the city of Warwick, and then you turned to local politics. You served three terms on the Warwick City Council followed by three terms as that city's mayor. You also served on the Rhode Island Board of Governors for higher education from 1998 to 2003. In 2003, you were appointed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court where you served for almost 18 years, writing more than 600 opinions and dissents and participating in approximately 2,500 decisions, and you retired from the court on December 31, 2020. Since 2007, you have taught students at Roger Williams University School of Law as an adjunct professor of law. From 2011 to 2020, you served on our law school's board of directors and for much of that time as vice chair. Earlier this year, you were appointed by me as the law school's distinguished jurist and residence. Justice Flaherty, for your lifelong service in support of the advancement of law and justice in the state of Rhode Island and for your unflagging support of our law school and our students, we were honored this morning to confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Law's Honoris causa. Congratulations. And now, Judge Smith, if you would please escort Rachel Splain-Rollins to the podium. US Attorney Rollins, we are so proud to honor you today at this commencement ceremony. Your accomplishments to date are impressive and I am confident that you are far from done with making a difference in your career. In your position as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, you are the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the first black woman to hold that position. Nominated by President Joe Biden in July, 2021, you were confirmed to this position by the US Senate in December, 2021 and sworn in one month later in January, 2022. Prior to your confirmation, you served as Suffolk County District Attorney for three years. You were the first woman ever elected as Suffolk County District Attorney and the first woman of color ever to hold the position of District Attorney in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to that, you served as Chief Legal Counsel to the Massachusetts Port Authority and also as General Counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. In 2007 to 2011, you served as Assistant US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, serving in both the civil and criminal divisions of that office. Earlier in your career, you worked as an attorney at Bingham-Becuchan LLP and from 1999 to 2002, you were a field attorney for the National Labor Relations Board. You started your legal career as a clerk for Associate Judge, Frederick L. Brown of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. During a 2019 visit to Roger Williams University School of Law, you said the following to our students and I quote, I cannot tell you how many people have said to me in every job I've had, oh, there's never been a woman who's done this before. There's never been a visible person of color who's done this before. You've got to put all of that noise out of your head. The work is the most important thing. Your work must be excellent. And I think those are words to live by. And so US Attorney Rawlins, for your lifelong and ongoing service to the cause of justice and equity, we were honored this morning to confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Laws, honors Calza, congratulations. US Attorney Rawlins, you're up. We're so pleased to have you here to provide our commencement address today. Thank you. Thank you, Dean Bowman. And congratulations to the law school graduates of the class of 2022. On behalf of the honorary degree recipients, Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. and the honorable Frances Flaherty, retired associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, I have been given a very few short minutes to impart some wisdom upon you guys on this beautiful day. Before I do, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the many, many families parents, grandparents, guardians, siblings, significant others and friends in the audience. I know the tremendous sense of pride that you must all be feeling today, seeing your graduate earning their diploma, undoubtedly a dream turned reality after many, many years of school. And I'm sad to say, student loans are coming, but we're gonna, folks are right. In all sincerity, I hope you feel a shared sense of accomplishment because each of you have played a very significant role in their success through your love, support and continued guidance. So I only have three points to make to you today. First, we all know that people have tons of lawyer jokes.   At every single critical moment in our country's history, lawyers have been at the forefront and on the front lines, changing laws, sparking conversations and starting movements, striving to always make our great nation even better and more inclusive.  But I need to be clear, nobody's authentic self is entitled to harm or humiliate and certainly not kill. There is no hierarchy as to who is more entitled to a full and authentic life. We are all entitled to that right. Second, see, this is gonna be quick, we're already on number two. Second, change rarely happens when we are happy and comfortable. You are now or soon to be law school graduates, I'm 51 so you guys look like your babies to me. But think of the times in your short lives where you have grown and shifted, adapted and improved, failures, losses, rejections and closed doors. They hurt, they can be awful, but they are also usually the times when we grow. Opportunities that we may have never considered or may never have been available miraculously present themselves. Exceptional people fail, what distinguishes them from everyone else is exceptional people pick themselves up quicker and get back at it.  Get up quickly, which brings me to my third and final point, get in the game, get involved. It is so easy to complain from the sidelines or the audience. Haters are rarely in the game. They don't run for office because no one would vote for them. They don't offer viable solutions, they just complain. And sometimes their noise is loud. It can be overwhelming, deafening even, ignore it. Keep focused and keep moving toward your goals, whatever they are. If I listened to all of the people that told me I couldn't or shouldn't do something. Like for example, run for district attorney in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, which includes Boston, I would never have run for and been elected with, by the way, 80% of the vote. But nobody's counting, nobody's counting that. Nobody's counting. I wouldn't, right? And if I wasn't DA, I wouldn't be US attorney, right? So the list goes on and on and on of all the things that people have told me know about. You can make a difference right now, even at your young age. You do not have to wait like I did at the ripe old age of 46 to decide to run for office. So I will say in closing, I want you to get involved because the world needs you. So congratulations again and go Hawks. Thank you, US attorney, that was really, really wonderful. The valedictorian of the class of 2022 is Edward A. Jankarelli Jr. And it is my great pleasure to welcome him to the podium to offer his remarks. Good, almost, afternoon everyone. My name is Ed Jankarelli and in just this first sentence, this is probably the most that many of my classmates have ever heard me talk. Fear not, however I promise I didn't save it all up for now. I'm not sure how sweet my remarks will be but I can guarantee you they'll be fairly short. I am honored beyond measure to stand before you in this capacity today. The few of you who know me well can attest that I took my job as a student here very seriously but you'd also know that this honor was not something that I was ever really gunning to achieve. Don't get me wrong, I'm truly proud to have finished where I did but given the way these past few years went I am much more satisfied to have crossed a finish line at all. I certainly don't need to remind any of you how difficult this journey was for all of us and despite how it may have looked from afar it was no picnic for me either. Life gave me plenty of obstacles to navigate over the past three years and at times didn't really seem to take inventory of the obstacles already in my path. Fortunately, however I found the strength to muddle through and I'm really glad that I did. I'm grateful too that my family, my friends and my faith all helped me chart the course to the finish line. But let's be real, compared to many of you I know I had it relatively easy. I have always stood in awe of those of you who on top of a full course load managed to start, expand or just sustain your families. Who put your boots on the ground in the all important fight for racial and social justice. And who chipped away at your law school work after completing a full shift at a real job in order to stay afloat. And all of that by the way while managing not just to keep up but to shine during your law school careers.  Now the list of people whose support deserves my acknowledgement here is far too long for me to meet my goal of keeping this speech short. So I'll highlight only a few. A special thanks to the greatest parents in the world, Big Ed and Wendy. Whose ability to tolerate my particular brand of cantankerousness was impressive enough before law school and by this point more than merits their consideration for the Medal of Freedom. To my family, my friends and the folks who defeat the purpose of any distinction between those two categories, thanks for being the best fan section a guide could ever ask for. And to my little cousins and my other favorite group of kids, thank you for all that you do to keep my heart light. I promise you it means more than you know. Couple of folks in the Roger Williams community deserve special mention here. First, the one and only Professor Carl T. Bogus. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your research assistant for your insight and your guidance throughout my time here. And above all for your friendship. I thought about trying the whole let's go to work thing, but there's no way I could do that justice. Professor Susan Heyman. Thank you not only for being an exceptional professor. Yes, thank you not only for being an exceptional professor, but for the kindness and the grace that you showed me this past semester my grandfather passed away. Allowing me the time to take time to process and to grieve before shifting back into academic gear, lessen the burden for me and for my family during a particularly difficult time. And for that I'm forever grateful. And last but in no way least, Dean Michael Yelmoski. Thank you for the opportunity to extern with the honorable Judge Celia this year for your support throughout that experience and for everything you've done to make this law school the place that it is.  Now, before I go I'd like to make too small but I think important requests of the class of 2022. First, let's do our best to stay humble. It's true that we've just completed an arduous academic journey. And probably true that many of us will go on to make meaningful changes to our frighteningly complicated world. But anyway you slice it and no matter what we end up contributing all of us will end each day the exact same way we started it. That is as human beings. In my view the world already has far too many people with an aggrandized sense of self-importance. So let's try not to add any more to the mix. And second, let's do our best to help others once we have the means to do so. If I've learned anything over the past few years it's that different people can experience the same event in vastly different ways. One of the attempted rallying cries from the early days of the pandemic always struck me as particularly irritating this idea that we're all in the same boat. As it turns out nothing could be further from the truth. I'm not even convinced that we're all in the same body of water frankly. But to the extent that this career gives us the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger and better boat I think it's incumbent upon all of us to offer whatever help we can to those still struggling to navigate the waters. At this point as Judge Selya would say we need go no further. Or as my new new would have said, God rest his soul. Okay, I gotta go. Best wishes and warmest regards to the class of 2022. That was fantastic Ed, thank you. Okay, so now it is time for the main event. Will the candidates for the degrees of Juris Doctor and Master of Studies in Law please rise? It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty of the School of Law to certify that these candidates are eligible for the degree of Juris Doctor or Master of Studies in Law and by virtue of the authority granted by the State of Rhode Island and delegated by the Board of Trustees of Roger Williams University and the Law School's Board of Directors. I hereby confer upon each of you the respective degree for which you have been recommended with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations. We are now going to invite the candidates to, for graduation to please come forward to the stage and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Jared Goldstein will present each candidate.  We also recognize the graduates who are not here today, Austin Talman, Cum Laude, Brittany Paige Hayes, Alexandra Anne Gubista, Victoria Lee, Jose Lopez, Jara Botello, Kristen Anne Billings, T. Dylan Collins, Christopher V. Genev, Cum Laude, Steven Dennis Gill, Master of Studies in Law, Zachary J. Grader, Cum Laude, Mark Harrington, Jessica A. Lin, Heather Niveson, Richard Tavares Jr., Magna Cum Laude, Amanda Vieira Ries, Cum Laude, Nancy Vasquez Rios, Cum Laude, Gabrielle Brianna Benjamin, Congratulations to the Roger Williams University School of Law class of 2022. Graduates, or should I say counselors, please be seated. Now we're almost to the end of the ceremony. And before we close, I want all of our graduates, our newly-meantive colleagues in the law, to know that on behalf of all faculty and staff members at the law school, we will miss you. You have enriched our lives. You have made the law school a better place, and you are going to make the legal profession an even better profession than it already is. So my own wish for you is that I hope you lead careers and lives of meaning. Be lawyers and leaders in the way that you see fit. Strive to make the world a better place. We know you will do great things.  After this ceremony, I invite all of you to the second floor of the law school for refreshments and to informally continue this celebration. To the members of the audience here and watching online, thank you for joining us today. This is a team effort. Our students, our new colleagues have succeeded because of your support. So thank you again, and if you would, please remain seated until the platform party and the graduates have filed out. Thank you so much for joining us today.