The world's largest photography competition, the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards announced its Grand Prize winners.
Iranian photographer Asghar Khamseh, who works for the Mehr News Agency, won the "Iris d'Or Photographer of the Year and the $25,000 prize for a powerful series of portraits of acid attack victims, "Fire http://amazinglawns.co.za/ of Hatred."
< br>Here are the winners and finalists, chosen from a record-breaking 230,103 entries, in 14 documentary and fine art professional categories -- each judged on a body of work. They winners were selected from a Sprinkler System Installation Fort Worth shortlist, announced in February 2016. Winners and shortlisted work will be on exhibit at Somerset House, London from April 22-May 8, 2016.
Landscape winner - "Land of Nothingness"
Maroesjka Lavigne, Belgium
A country named after a desert. One of the least densely populated places on earth, Namibia's landscape draws you in, through a vast brown plain of scorched earth, and steers you over the white surface of a salt pan to finally arrive in the Sprinkler System Fort Worth gold tones of the sand dunes.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a florist who refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding broke the state's antidiscrimination law, even though she claimed doing so would violate her religious beliefs.
A lower court had fined Barronelle Stutzman, a florist in Richland, Washington, for denying service to a gay couple in 2013, and ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine.
Stutzman argued that she was exercising her First Amendment rights. But the court held that her floral arrangements do not constitute protected free speech, and that providing flowers to a same-sex wedding would not serve as an endorsement of same-sex marriage.
"As Stutzman acknowledged at deposition, providing flowers for a wedding between Muslims would not necessarily constitute an endorsement of Islam, nor would providing flowers for an atheist couple endorse atheism," the opinion said.
Stutzman's lawyers immediately said they would ask the U. S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision.
"It's wrong for the state to force any citizen to support a particular view about marriage or anything else against their will," Stutzman's attorney, Kristen Waggoner, wrote in a statement issued after the ruling. "Freedom of speech and religion aren't subject to the whim of a majority; they are constitutional guarantees."
It's one of several lawsuits around the country -- including some involving bakers -- about whether businesses can refuse to provide services over causes they disagree with, or whether they must serve everyone equally.
A Colorado case involving a baker who would not make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to Lambda Legal. In 2014, the court declined to hear an appeal of a case out of New Mexico that went against a photographer who denied https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsaVuq0ULck a same-sex couple service.
Gov. Jay Inslee lauded Thursday's ruling, saying it was "in favor of equality for all Washingtonians."
"By ruling that intolerance based on sexual orientation is unlawful, the Court affirmed that Washington state will remain a place where no one can be discriminated against because of who they love," Inslee said in a written statement.
Stutzman had previously sold the couple flowers and knew they were gay. H owever, Stutzman told them that she couldn't provide flowers for their wedding because same-sex marriage was incompatible with her Christian beliefs.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the couple sued her, saying she broke state anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws, and the lower court agreed. The state's nine high court justices upheld that verdict.
The court rejected several arguments put forth by Stutzman, including the assertion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsaVuq0ULck that since other florists were willing to serve the couple, no harm occurred.
"As every other court to address the question has concluded, public accommodations laws do not simply guarantee access to goods or services. Instead, they serve a broader societal purpose: eradicating barriers to the equal treatment of all citizens in the commercial marketplace," the court wrote. "Were we to carve out a patchwork of ex ceptions for ostensibly justified discrimination, that purpose would be fatally undermined."
The case thrust the great-grandmother into the national spotlight and she testified before state lawmakers in Indiana and Kansas.
Michael Scott, a Seattle attorney who worked with the American Civil Liberties Union to represent Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed -- the couple denied the flowers -- had previously told justices he didn't believe Stutzman's floral creations constituted speech. By providing flowers for a same-sex marriage, he argued, "she's not endorsing same-sex marriage. She's selling what she sells."
Ferguson had said the state's argument rested on longstanding principle, and uprooting it would weaken antidiscrimination law.
After the arguments in the Supreme Court case last November, at a packed theater at Bellevue College, a large crowd of Stutzman's supporters greeted her outside, chanting her name and waving signs that said "Justice For Barronelle ."
In a http://ambler.temple.edu/arboretum/about-ambler-arboretum/arboretum-history February 2015 ruling, Benton County Superior Court Judge Alexander Ekstrom found that Stutzman's refusal to provide flowers because of sexual orientation violated Washington's anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws. The following month, Ekstrom ordered Stutzman to pay a $1,000 penalty to the state and $1 in costs and fees.
Stutzman entered the florist business 30 years ago, when her mother bought a flower shop.
At a press conference following the ruling, Ferguson said that under Washington law, a business is not required to provide a particular service, but if it does so for couples of the opposite sex, it must provide that service equally to same-sex couples. Ferguson noted that Stutzman is not currently selling wedding flowers, but if she were to resume that side of her business, she would not be allowed to sell to only heterosexual couples.
"The state Supreme Court has made that very clear," he said.
Have you been dreaming of remodeling your kitchen? Whether it be to create more space, update the look, or increase your home value, kitchen remodels are a great investment for your home. Here are 4 major components of a kitchen remodel:
1. Layout
The layout of your kitchen is one of the most, if not the most, important components of your kitchen remodel. Since kitchens often undergo so much usage, it is important that the work flow is efficient and works for your needs. Some experts say that a no-fail solution to efficient kitchens is the "work triangle." The work triangle was developed in the 1940's to examine the efficiency between the three major kitchen appliances: the refrigerator, sink, and stove. The "work triangle" is a great tool to use when planning your kitchen layout.
2. Materials and Finishes
The materials and finishes you choose will largely depend on your budget and personal preferences. Some major decisions that need to be made for a kitchen remodel include: countertop material, cabinetry, and flooring. Material options can dramatically range in prices, so it is important to do your research on each option. Some popular countertop materials include Best Home Improvement College Station granite, quartz, laminate, concrete, and marble. Flooring options range from ceramic tile, hardwood, linoleum, vinyl, among many others. Cabinets are also available in a wide range of materials including: solid wood, plywood panel, aluminum, wood veneer, and http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/remodeling/ polyethylene.
3. Lighting
Kitchens require lots of light for safety when cooking. Along with adding safety to your kitchen, lights can set the tone of the whole space. Like cabinets, flooring, and countertops, there are many lighting options for your kitchen. A good option for kitchens are several can lights, pendant lights over a bar/breakfast bar area, and under-cabinet lighting. Lighting is also a good way to make some energy-efficient choices through choosing LED or fluorescent bulbs.
4. Finishing Touches
Finishing touches can make or break a space. Some finishing touches to keep in mind are: paint color, seating options, backsplash, as well as other decorative items. A good rule of thumb is to contrast your cabinet color with your paint color to add some dimension to your space. For example, a d ark paint color paired with dark cabinetry could leave the room feeling too dark. Create the illusion of more light by choosing a lighter color. The same concept applies to your backsplash. Your backsplash should contrast with your cabinet and countertop, as well as add visual interest to the space. Don't be afraid to steer from subway tiles and choose a more decorative option. The finishing touches of the space are a great way to let your personality shine through.
There are many factors that have to be considered in a kitchen remodel, including: layout, materials, lighting, and the finishing touches. A kitchen remodel can be an overwhelming and stressful project if it is not planned out, which is why it is important to get a professional's opinion and guidance. If you are considering a kitchen remodel for your home, feel free to call Balducci Additions and Remodeling to schedule a no-obligation appointment.
Stop Zika: San Francisco Plant (Codiaeum variegatum) Kills Mosquito Eggs and LarvaeWouldn't you know it, a teen has found a way to kill mosquito eggs and larvae within Sprinkler System Denton 24 hours by using a common plant. What's more, the San Francisco plant (aka Codiaeum variegatum aka http://www.yellowbook.com/s/landscaping/buffalo-ny/ Garden Croton or Variegated Croton) is super easy to grow indoors and outdoors. It requires hardly any care. I even included a handy make-your-own plant extract recipe to kill mosquito eggs and larvae in and around your own home. Fortunately, on Zazzle, this plant is available for purchase from a reputable, customer-support Sprinkler System Installation based company (so I included it within this article).
An automatic watering system for the greenhouse doesn't need to cost a fortune. In fact, they are very simple to make, and once set up, will allow you to get on with other things, or even go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox7DicTda0I on vacation, knowing that your plants will not shrivel up and die through lack of water while you are away.
Greenhouse plants, as we all know, need regular and frequent waterings especially during the hotter days of spring and summer.
With the system outlined in the video above, you can carry the water into the greenhouse from elsewhere, as once it is in the container you choose to use as a reservoir, it will only need the occasional topping up.
The bigger the reservoir, the less often you will need to replenish the water.
On top of the bench place a double layer of black polythene, making sure it reaches all the sides. This is to stop water from draining away naturally.
Place the capillary matting on top of this.
Attach the hose to the pump, and place in reservoir.
Fill the reservoir with water until it is around three quarters full.
Plug the pump into your timer switch, and set it to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox7DicTda0I come on for a minute or two, twice day, or more often if you live in an area of extreme heat.
Each time the pump runs, water from the reservoir will wash over all the capillary matting area, then return to the water container it came from, minus, of course, what your plants have drank and a little bit more that is absorbed by the matting.
It takes typically less than a minute to thoroughly wet the whole area, in what could be called a flood wash watering.
You can even add liquid fertilizer to the water, to make sure your plants have all the nutrients they need.
This automatic irrigation system is simple to set up, inexpensive to prepare and run, and absolutely anybody could put it together, no matter how untechnically minded you are.
Go ahead and fit one up - your plants will love you for it!
Lithium Battery All requests by the United States will export dangerous goods packaging, transportation, the United States recently announced that the draft regulations will directly affect China Lithium Battery Exports. Yesterday, "the U.S. lithium battery packaging, shipping TBT notification council" held in Shenzhen Guest House, experts, and enterprises to actively respond and will put forward their own amendments to the draft, as much as possible to reduce and avoid possible trade losses.
The United States to change the lithium battery regulations
It is understood, February 12, 2010, the United States issued by the secretariat WTO lithium battery packaging and transport requirements on the draft regulations TBT notification, to be removed "dangerous substances regulations" in terms of the exemption of small lithium batteries, the transport of dangerous goods in accordance with all lithium batteries. The briefing will increase upon implementation of the lithium-ion b attery packaging and transport costs, affect the healthy development of the battery industry and foreign trade.
According Power supply Trade associations relevant information, our annual output of lithium-ion batteries after Japan and South Korea, ranked third in the world. According to statistics, to lithium-ion batteries as the representative of China's secondary battery accounted for 12.5% global market share of lithium-ion battery production in Guangdong accounts for about two-thirds of the country's total production, Shenzhen is China's largest lithium battery production base and export base. Emerged in Shenzhen BYD, BAK, B & K and other leading companies, the top ten in the domestic lithium battery, Shenzhen enterprises accounted for half of the country.
How to reasonably protect their interests? Yesterday, commissioned by the State, by the standards of the Shenzhen Municipal Court notified the contractor of the TBT Council was held in Shenzhen Guest House, Comme rce, State Administration of Quality Supervision, Ministry of Communications, China Battery Industry Association, the Air Transport Association, and representatives of key enterprises, some comments on the draft together Best Attorney to form the Government's written comments on behalf of my views, will be submitted to inform the country of issuance, follow-up negotiation as a technical basis, the maximum extent possible to reduce and prevent the possible loss of trade.
"TBT council to" show the Chinese point of view
"Response on foreign trade barriers, we are a passive response from the initial stage, to actively participate in http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Attorney change, that is, to put forward our comments on the draft opinion, to reconsider the issue of the country, in this respect, China's voice and influence is getting < a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx5hfLp3Vqc">Best Attorney stronger. "WTO Secretary of Commerce on behalf of Na Liu introduced the formation of consultative advice, my advice would be on the one hand to comments issued by States in the form of reports to the other, will be transferred to the Chinese ambassador to the United States Embassy United States Government, while also The TBT next briefing to discuss the full expression of the views of the Chinese government and enterprises, for the regulations to minimize the impact of our industry.
AQSIQ director Wang Li Zhou TBT study also introduced, "TBT appraisal technology is become an effective means of dealing with trade." To him, the WTO provides that any WTO / TBT (World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade) Member States trade in the product introduction of new standards, new regulations, draft regulations must be notified to the Member States, the countries of their product technology int roduced new standards, new regulations have comments, suggestions rights in order to eliminate all non- reasonable international trade barriers, establish a rational and fair international trade order and rules. In recent years, about 1,700 each year a number of countries have made public the draft regulations.
Present, China has been actively involved in deliberations of the draft, expressing the voice of the Chinese government and enterprises. It is understood that the draft last year, 200 Chinese comments, in which more than 50 comments to this notification, of which five were accepted. Review the current draft includes the State, the draft key trading countries; and draft related to our key products; related to chemical safety in the draft and so on.
Experts suggest that companies involved from the start
It is understood that the draft releas ed each year, the large number of countries and many sectors, the state can only focus areas, key countries to comment on the draft although some at the national level are not included in the list of priorities comments, but once implemented it will be some industries and regions have a significant impact, this proposal Wang Li Zhou, associations and enterprises from passive acceptance of foreign trade regulations, to play ahead of quantity, time tracking related to the draft, the draft, if that does not produce a fair or on the industry significant impact, through the appropriate channels active response towards the adoption of the draft impact of the introduction of appraisal.
Grim records mark the 10th anniversary of Hamas rule in Gaza -- the longest-ever daily electricity and water cuts, 60 percent youth unemployment, and a rising backlog of thousands waiting for a rare chance to exit the blockaded territory.
Unable to offer a remedy, the Islamic militant group has been doubling down on oppression. It has jailed the few who dare complain publicly, including the young organizers of a street protest against power cuts and an author who wrote on Facebook that "life is only pleasant for Hamas leaders."
Polls show almost half the people would leave altogether if they could, but that support for the group, despite three short, devastating wars with Israel, is steady at around a third. With potential opponents crushed, there is no obvious path to regime change.
Meanwhile, for most of Gaza's 2 million people, life is bound to get worse.
The international http://www.hom eimprovementexperts.co/improvements/stage1 isolation of Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, will likely continue -- and with it the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after the group seized Gaza in June 2007.
A new political program that Hamas hoped would mollify the West and Arab nations instead underscored its ideological rigidity; while softer in tone, the manifesto reaffirms a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWoSWNwtVKA call to armed struggle and the creation of an Islamic state in historic Palestine, including what is now Israel.
There are also signs that one of Hamas' remaining foreign backers, Qatar, is in trouble. On Monday, four Arab countries cut ties with the Gulf nation, in part over its support of Islamist groups, such as Hamas. Qatar reportedly asked several Hamas leaders-in-exile to leave.
Hamas also faces financial pressure by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose f orces it drove from Gaza a decade ago. Fed up with failed reconciliation efforts, the West Bank-based Abbas has warned he would cut more Gaza subsidies, such as electricity payments.
Hamas spokesman Salah Bardaweel dismissed suggestions Hamas should step aside, but acknowledged a deal to improve Gaza's lot is unlikely as long as the 82-year-old Abbas, who runs autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, remains in power.
He said Hamas was never given a chance to govern. "How do you hold someone accountable for a failure he did not create?" he said, referring to the blockade.
Bardaweel was recently skewered on social media after asserting Gaza will remain "steadfast."
Local writer Abdullah Abu Sharekh landed in jail after writing on Facebook that "people are not steadfast."
"They cannot do anything because you (Hamas) rule Gaza with iro n and fire ... you brought Gaza back to the Middle Ages," he wrote.
After his release Saturday, he wrote that he was deprived of sleep for five days and forced to stand for long periods or sit on small chairs.
Stirrings of unrest are quashed.
A trio of unemployed friends in their 20s from the town of Beit Lahiya said Hamas has harassed them since they mobilized thousands in a rare street protest against chronic power cuts in January. They said they've been detained, beaten and repeatedly summoned to security compounds.
Activist Mohammed al-Taluli, 25, said pressure built again several weeks ago as daily rolling power cuts worsened, with four hours of electricity followed by outages of 14 to 18 hours. Al-Taluli said he and his friends received death threats to deter them from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWoSWNwtVKA protesting, and that it was effective because no one can protect them from Hamas.
"People are asking us every day if we are planning a new demonstration," al-Taluli said, speaking in a room decorated with photos of revolutionary idols like Che Guevara. "But ... we are afraid."
Palestinian rights groups say Hamas practices mirror those of its West Bank rivals. Both governments have carried out arbitrary arrests and mistreated detainees, and both monitor social media and civil society to silence dissent.
Hamas leaders often tolerate criticism by well-known figures, but strike back when they detect a threat to their rule, said Samir Zakout of the Gaza rights group al-Mezan.
Over the past decade, Hamas has also executed 28 people, most of them alleged informers, after trials widely condemned as a sham. This includes three men executed last month, after a field tribunal tried them in less than a week.
The three had been accused of involvement in killing a Hamas leader, Mazen Faqha, near his apartment building in March. Hamas violent ly interrogated dozens of people and claimed this netted dozens of informers.
Relatives of one of the three who were killed, 38-year-old Abdullah al-Nashar, said they believe he had indeed collaborated with Israel, lured by an Israeli exit permit from Gaza. But Al-Nashar's father, Ahmed, said his son had nothing to do with the Faqha killing and didn't deserve to die.
Hamas' rise to power was fueled by frustration with corruption during the rule of Abbas' Fatah movement. Hamas also rejected Fatah's attempt to negotiate Palestinian statehood on lands Israel captured in 1967, including Gaza.
In 2006, months after Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas defeated Fatah in parliamentary elections. Subsequent failed attempts to negotiate a power-sharing deal and Hamas-Fatah street fighting culminated in the June 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza.
Ahmed al-Nashar, 63, said he had voted for Hamas hoping "they would do something good in the name of religion," but has concluded "there is no future here with these people."
Hamas said it was sabotaged from the start.
Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns, enforced a crushing border blockade, banning most movement and exports. Three Israel-Hamas wars, in part triggered by a Hamas arms buildup, further devastated the territory and its economy.
Meanwhile, the international community stuck to its initial conditions for dealing with Hamas, including renouncing violence, even as it called for lifting the blockade.
This leaves Gazans in a miserabl e limbo.
"Our life is just a long series of waiting," said Abed Meqdad, a teacher. "You wait for electricity to come, for the crossing to reopen, for the situation to improve, and nothing gets done."
For weeks, dozens of Palestinians have rallied at the fence separating Israel from Gaza, hurling rocks at the soldiers stationed on the Israeli side in protest of their dire living conditions.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said a Palestinian was killed there on Tuesday. The Israeli military said soldiers fired warning shots in the air after Palestinians tried to damage the fence.
Transcript for Getting 'Ghosted' on Lawn Care Can Be Costly
America" on the lookout. This morning, we're focusing on ghosting. Where customers claim that workers pretend to do work they never did. ABC's linsey Davis has the story on how people say they're being ripped off. Reporter: Across the country, homeowners distraught that the grass isn't always greener when lawn care service allegedly goes wrong, turning their green glory into a bound disgrace, some taking their complaints to youtube. This was a mistake. Reporter: But it's not just complaints about work being done, sometimes it's about no work being done Sprinkler System Installation Mckinney at all and still Biddle for their service. What some called "Ghosting." This area looks completely dead to me. Reporter: This Florida resident's surveillance cameras were rolli ng when a trugreen pest control worker showed up. Maintain my lawn and they violated my trust. Reporter: Watch. The worker returns to his truck and before leaving drops the flag on the grass before Sprinkler System Mckinney providing any work. He's not allow. Watch this 2010 instant caught on tape. A https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/lawn-sprinklers Lauren care service worker leaving a flag on the lawn all for nothing. In 2014, the better business bureau received more than 5,000 complaints for a variety of reasons. Average customer spent $700 annually. Including upkeep visits like his cameras recorded. They fired the employee and refund ed the customer. They issued a statement -- he did some green after all, back in his pocket. For those who are seeing red because they don't have grass that looks like this, grass that green the better business bureau say it's tough to prov e ghosting, if you can, they recommend installing a camera. Lara. Linsey Davis, thank you so much. Coming up on "Good morning America" -- sunny days ahead for
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
