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Inside the home Anton Black shared with his mother, a collage of photographs pays homage to a gifted athlete and aspiring model on the verge of becoming a father. The makeshift shrine is adorned with track-and-field medals Black proudly wore in one photo.

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German police suspect a landscape gardener is responsible for killing one man and injuring two other people from beyond the grave.

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YNW Melly pleads not guilty to double murders

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he Financial Times, it's about to send a massive flood of cash into the pockets of the most prepared Americans.

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Celtics vs. Warriors score: Golden State falls by 33 in worst home loss of Steve Kerr era

The Celtics led wire-to-wire on Tuesday night

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Celtics vs. Warriors score: Golden State falls by 33 in worst home loss of Steve Kerr era

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The Celtics led wire-to-wire on Tuesday night

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My cousin KC Lightfoot recently broke the school pole vaulting record at Baylor University that has been set for 28 years, and took first place in the Big 12 (Yes, there's a Big 12 for pole vaulting) He's only a Freshman in college with a new record of 18'7.5"

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Man arrested, charged in connection with death of wife who had been missing since 2012

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Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to de-legitimize the 2020 election

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donald trump is laying the groundwork to de-legitimize the 2020 election - cnnpolitics

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Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to de-legitimize the 2020 election

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Even as the 2020 race begins in earnest, President Donald Trump is already suggesting that Democrats cannot beat him fairly -- raising the specter that if he loses next November, he will suggest that the election was not legitimate.

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U.S. Bank Stadium uses $4.6 Million on Curtains to Block Sun at 2019 Final Four.

Preventing sunlight from entering the area is needed to keep the lighting consistent, which requires U.S. Bank Stadium officials to eliminate one of the features that the venue is best known for.

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College Basketball Mike Chiari Andy Clayton-King/Associated Press @mikechiari Featured Columnist
Millions of dollars' worth of curtains are being used to block out natural light at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis ahead of the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament's Final Four.

According to Mara Klecker of the Star Tribune, $4.6 million in heavy, gray curtains are being installed as a "darkening solution."

Preventing sunlight from entering the area is needed to keep the lighting consistent, which requires U.S. Bank Stadium officials to eliminate one of the features that the venue is best known for.

While U.S. Bank Stadium manager Patrick Talty lamented the situation by saying, "We have to take our biggest asset away," Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Chairman Michael Vekich views the covering process as a good thing.

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U.S. Bank Stadium to Use $4.6 Million Curtains to Block Sun at 2019 Final Four

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College Basketball Mike Chiari Andy Clayton-King/Associated Press @mikechiari Twitter Logo Featured Columnist Millions of dollars' worth of curtains are being used to block out natural light at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis ahead of the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament's Final Four.

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Some of the most strangest things left in ubers. 1.     8 week old coffee-colored Chihuahua
2.     Black faux fur neck cuff in a size large
3.     A photo of a New Years kiss
4.     6 chicken tenders from 7 Eleven
5.     A black and white tuxedo for a small dog
6.     Full set of 18k gold teeth
7.     Professional grade hula hoop
8.     Salmon head
9.     Medium sized medicated marijuana pipe
10. Birth certificate and social security card
11. Star Wars skateboard

12. Very important headband with peacock feathers
13. A propane tank
14. A tray of eggs
15. White leather snakeskin Louboutin heels
16. Lego championship wrestling belt
17. A pack of headbands
18. Ed Sheeran concert tank top
19. Breast pump with breast milk
20. Two packs of Italian sausage and a Thanksgiving ham
21. A shopping cart
22. Ancestry kit
23. Lotion and beard oil
24. Silver & peach colored Venetian masquerade mask
25. Small handmade cat puppet
26. Babe Ruth signed baseball

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You won't be shocked to hear that weekends and late nights are among the times that Uber riders most often leave stuff behind in their cars, but you may be surprised at what some of those things are.

A baseball signed by Babe Ruth, a fish tank full of water and fish and a bejeweled Elvis cape are among the 50 oddest items on the ride-share company's latest Lost and Found report.

One rider even left their 8-month old Chihuahua behind, and another a medical marijuana pipe. (At least we assume they were two different people.) Drivers also found a fog machine, dirty laundry and a set of deer antlers.

The Uber app has a feature that lets absent-minded users contact their driver to set up a time to retrieve their possessions, with a $15 fee, but that may be a challenge for many as the MOST common items left behind are phones, followed by cameras, wallets and keys.

Here's hoping you don't lose all of them on the same trip.

The 10 most common items left in Uber cars:

1. Phone

2. Camera

3. Wallet

4. Keys

5. Purse / Backpack

6. Clothing

7. Glasses

8. Headphones

9. Vape / E-cig

10. ID / License

The 50 most unique lost items, according to Uber:

1. 8 week old coffee-colored Chihuahua

2. Black faux fur neck cuff in a size large

3. A photo of a New Years kiss

4. 6 chicken tenders from 7 Eleven

5. A black and white tuxedo for a small dog

6. Full set of 18k gold teeth

7. Professional grade hula hoop

8. Salmon head

9. Medium sized medical marijuana pipe

10. Birth certificate and social security card

11. Star Wars skateboard

12. Very important headband with peacock feathers

13. A propane tank

14. A tray of eggs

15. White leather snakeskin Louboutin heels

16. Lego championship wrestling belt

17. A pack of hair and a brown brush shaped like a foot

18. Ed Sheeran concert tank top

19. Breast pump with breast milk

20. Two packs of Italian sausage and a Thanksgiving ham

21. A shopping cart

22. Ancestry kit

23. Lotion and beard oil

24. Silver & peach colored Venetian masquerade mask

25. Small handmade cat puppet

26. Babe Ruth signed baseball

27. White gold wedding band with diamonds

28. McDonald's visor and a large fries

29. Harry Potter Magic Wand

30. A special pizza costume

31. A bird

32. Red pouch with hammock inside that says "hang loose"

33. Cheer skirt with a lion head

34. Yeezy boost 350 butters

35. A mannequin

36. Two pieces of my ever-so-special white wedding cake

37. A fog machine

38. Japanese style mandolin

39. Full fish tank with fish and water

40. An Elvis cape with a few jewels on it

41. One Gucci flip flop

42. Red Lobster takeout

43. Limited edition Chance the Rapper Starbucks gift card

44. 5×7 prom picture of me and my husband

45. 10 lbs pulled pork and 10 lbs pulled chicken

46. Rose gold Kim Kardashian lumee case

47. A piece of parchment paper with sap on it

48. Deer antlers and a welding helmet

49. My dirty laundry

50. A small plush toy of a cat eating a pizza slice

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A live dog is among the 50 strangest things left in Ubers

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You won't be shocked to hear that weekends and late nights are among the times that Uber riders most often leave stuff behind in their cars, but you may be surprised at what some of those things are.

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A South Korean garbage dump has grown out of control, posing a health and safety hazard to those living and working nearby.

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south korean garbage pile is out of control  - cnn video

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South Korean garbage pile is out of control - CNN Video

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A South Korean garbage dump has grown out of control, posing a health and safety hazard to those living and working nearby. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.

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The U.S. has flown a B-52 bomber mission near disputed islands in the South China Sea, according to U.S. Pacific Air Forces.The last reported B-52 mission in the vicinity of the South China Sea was in November.“Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and participated in routine training missions, March 4, 2019,” said a statement from the U.S. Pacific Air Forces.

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The U.S. has flown a B-52 bomber mission near disputed islands in the South China Sea, according to U.S. Pacific Air Forces.

The last reported B-52 mission in the vicinity of the South China Sea was in November.

"Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and participated in routine training missions, March 4, 2019," said a statement from the U.S. Pacific Air Forces.

"One bomber conducted training in the vicinity of the South China Sea before returning to Guam, while the other conducted training in the vicinity of Japan in coordination with the U.S. Navy and alongside our Japanese air force counterparts before returning to Guam," it continued.

DigitalGlobe/Getty Images

The B-52 aircraft involved in the mission are part of the U.S. Air Force's Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP) based in Guam. Since 2004, the U.S. has rotated B-1, B-52 and B-2 long-range bombers out Andersen AFB in Guam to conduct training missions in Asia.

Much like the U.S. Navy's freedom of navigation operations when it sails past two disputed island chains claimed by China in the South China Sea, the Air Force missions are intended to assert that the area is international airspace as well, much to China's chagrin.

In the South China Sea, China claims as its own territory the Paracel Islands as well as seven artificial islands in the Spratly Islands chain. It has militarized both chains and claims sovereignty over the waters and airspace surrounding the islands.

U.S. Pacific Air Forces last confirmed a B-52 mission in the South China Sea on Nov. 20 of last year.

That mission was one of a series of B-52 flights in the region that had taken place in the vicinity of the South China Sea last fall.

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US B-52 flies over disputed islands in the South China Sea

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The U.S. has flown a B-52 bomber mission near disputed islands in the South China Sea, according to U.S. Pacific Air Forces. The last reported B-52 mission in the vicinity of the South China Sea was in November.

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Live dog is among the 50 strangest things left in ubers

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You won't be shocked to hear that weekends and late nights are among the times that Uber riders most often leave stuff behind in their cars, but you may be surprised at what some of those things are.

A baseball signed by Babe Ruth, a fish tank full of water and fish and a bejeweled Elvis cape are among the 50 oddest items on the ride-share company's latest Lost and Found report.

One rider even left their 8-month old Chihuahua behind, and another a medical marijuana pipe. (At least we assume they were two different people.) Drivers also found a fog machine, dirty laundry and a set of deer antlers.

The Uber app has a feature that lets absent-minded users contact their driver to set up a time to retrieve their possessions, with a $15 fee, but that may be a challenge for many as the MOST common items left behind are phones, followed by cameras, wallets and keys.

Here's hoping you don't lose all of them on the same trip.

The 10 most common items left in Uber cars:

1. Phone

2. Camera

3. Wallet

4. Keys

5. Purse / Backpack

6. Clothing

7. Glasses

8. Headphones

9. Vape / E-cig

10. ID / License

The 50 most unique lost items, according to Uber:

1. 8 week old coffee-colored Chihuahua

2. Black faux fur neck cuff in a size large

3. A photo of a New Years kiss

4. 6 chicken tenders from 7 Eleven

5. A black and white tuxedo for a small dog

6. Full set of 18k gold teeth

7. Professional grade hula hoop

8. Salmon head

9. Medium sized medical marijuana pipe

10. Birth certificate and social security card

11. Star Wars skateboard

12. Very important headband with peacock feathers

13. A propane tank

14. A tray of eggs

15. White leather snakeskin Louboutin heels

16. Lego championship wrestling belt

17. A pack of hair and a brown brush shaped like a foot

18. Ed Sheeran concert tank top

19. Breast pump with breast milk

20. Two packs of Italian sausage and a Thanksgiving ham

21. A shopping cart

22. Ancestry kit

23. Lotion and beard oil

24. Silver & peach colored Venetian masquerade mask

25. Small handmade cat puppet

26. Babe Ruth signed baseball

27. White gold wedding band with diamonds

28. McDonald's visor and a large fries

29. Harry Potter Magic Wand

30. A special pizza costume

31. A bird

32. Red pouch with hammock inside that says "hang loose"

33. Cheer skirt with a lion head

34. Yeezy boost 350 butters

35. A mannequin

36. Two pieces of my ever-so-special white wedding cake

37. A fog machine

38. Japanese style mandolin

39. Full fish tank with fish and water

40. An Elvis cape with a few jewels on it

41. One Gucci flip flop

42. Red Lobster takeout

43. Limited edition Chance the Rapper Starbucks gift card

44. 5×7 prom picture of me and my husband

45. 10 lbs pulled pork and 10 lbs pulled chicken

46. Rose gold Kim Kardashian lumee case

47. A piece of parchment paper with sap on it

48. Deer antlers and a welding helmet

49. My dirty laundry

50. A small plush toy of a cat eating a pizza slice

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A live dog is among the 50 strangest things left in Ubers

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You won't be shocked to hear that weekends and late nights are among the times that Uber riders most often leave stuff behind in their cars, but you may be surprised at what some of those things are.

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Drivers on an interstate in the Bay Area wound up in the cash lane Monday as one family chose a unique way to remember its loved one: dumping $500 on the highway.

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Drivers on an interstate in the Bay Area wound up in the cash lane Monday as one family chose a unique way to remember its loved one: dumping $500 on the highway.

Multiple people contacted the California Highway Patrol on Monday afternoon after wads of cash ended up strewn across several lanes of Interstate 880 in Hayward.

Dashcam footage obtained by KTVU shows cars coming to a stop as drivers and passengers rushed out to grab the money on the highway's southbound lanes.
MASSIVE HAUL OF CASH STILL MISSING AFTER BRINK'S TRUCK DUMPED MONEY ON NJ HIGHWAY, POLICE SAY
Family members, who asked to not be identified, told the television station that they had thrown about $500 out of their car, all in $20 bills on the way back from a funeral.

Dumping the dough was just a way to honor the man who died, according to a family member.

It's an "Oakland thing," a relative told KTVU.
CASH SPILL ON NEW JERSEY HIGHWAY LEADS TO MULTIPLE CRASHES, CHAOS DURING MORNING COMMUTE
Hayward CHP Officer Manuel Leal told KTVU there were multiple calls about $20 bills blowing on the freeway, but when officers arrived at the scene the money was gone.
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The incident was similar to one that happened last year in New Jersey, when an armored truck spilled cash along a highway during the morning rush hour and sparked chaos.

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Family throws $500 in $20 bills out onto California freeway to remember loved one

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Drivers on an interstate in the Bay Area wound up in the cash lane Monday as one family chose a unique way to remember its loved one: dumping $500 on the highway. Multiple people contacted the California Highway Patrol on Monday afternoon after wads of cash ended up strewn across several lanes of Interstate 880 in Hayward.

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High school student Tanner Wilson, has saved money for the past two years working part time at a car mechanic shop and bought his friend Brandon an electric wheelchair because Brandon's other manual wheelchair had been causing him pain.

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high school student's selfless gift of an electric wheelchair changes makes his friend's life a little easier  - cnn

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A teen saves for 2 years to buy his friend an electric wheelchair

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Two high school buds in Norman, Arkansas are reminding the world about the power of friendship and how it can change lives.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have many weapons on the offense. One of them is WR Tyreek Hill. He is so much of a weapon that him and the Chiefs are talking about a record-breaking contract extension.

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Kansas City Chiefs Mike Chiari Ben Margot/Associated Press @mikechiari Featured Columnist
The Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly in negotiations with wide receiver Tyreek Hill on a "record-setting" contract extension, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Hill is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2019, and he will make just over $2 million. Since Kansas City selected him in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, Hill has developed into one of the NFL's top wideouts and return men and has three Pro Bowl nods to his credit.

The 25-year-old speedster is coming off a career year. He registered 87 receptions for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2018 along with a rushing touchdown and a punt-return score. He was named a first-team All-Pro as a flex player for the first time in his career after earning the distinction for his return prowess as a rookie in 2016.

Hill has now topped 1,000 receiving yards in consecutive seasons after he grabbed 75 passes for 1,183 yards and seven scores in 2017.

The quarterback switch from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes helped Hill, and he was a key factor in Mahomes' being named the 2018 NFL MVP.

Kansas City is in line to be a contender in the AFC once again after reaching the AFC Championship Game last season and taking the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots to overtime. In three NFL campaigns, Hill has reached the playoffs three times and played in four postseason games.

The NFL's largest contract in total value for a wide receiver is the five-year, $90 million deal Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the New York Giants last year. Since Hill is a year younger than OBJ and the salary cap continues to go up, it is easy to see Hill surpassing that mark.

Kansas City has arguably the NFL's most potent offense with Mahomes throwing to Hill and All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce. It will remain intact in 2019, and there is little doubt that the Chiefs front office will look to keep the group together for many years beyond that.

Since Mahomes and Kelce both have multiple years remaining on their deals, Hill is the first significant player who must be addressed on the offensive side of the ball.

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NFL Rumors: Tyreek Hill, Chiefs Discussing 'Record-Setting' Contract Extension

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Kansas City Chiefs Mike Chiari Ben Margot/Associated Press @mikechiari Twitter Logo Featured Columnist The Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly in negotiations with wide receiver Tyreek Hill on a "record-setting" contract extension, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Hill is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2019, and he will make just over $2 million.

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A famous "puzzle" from perhaps the world's most famous theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, has been solved, after a missing page was found. The handwritten page was part of an appendix of a 1930 paper written by Einstein towards a unified field theory. It was discovered approximately two weeks ago, officials at Hebrew University said, nestled alongside other Einstein archives.

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A famous "puzzle" from perhaps the world's most famous theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, has been solved, after a missing page was found.

The handwritten page was part of an appendix of a 1930 paper written by Einstein towards a unified field theory. It was discovered approximately two weeks ago, officials at Hebrew University said, nestled alongside other Einstein archives.

"But in the copies we had, one page was missing, and that was a problem. That was a puzzle," Hanoch Gutfreund, scientific advisor to the university's Einstein archive, said in comments to the AFP.
EINSTEIN'S FAMOUS 'GOD' LETTER SELLS AT AUCTION FOR RECORD-BREAKING AMOUNT
He added: "And to our surprise, to our delight, that page is nowhere. It came with the new material."

Much to the university's delight, the mystery has now been solved. "This article was one of many in Einstein's attempts to unify the forces of nature into one, single theory and he devoted the last 30 years of his life to this effort," the university said in a statement.

Included in the rest of the 110-page archive, which was unveiled to coincide with Einstein's 140th birthday later this month, include letters from the German-born physicist expressing concern about the rise of the Nazi party and a host of other scientific and personal issues.

In the 1935 letter to his son, Hans Albert, Einstein writes that things in Germany "are slowly starting to change," adding "Let's just hope we won't have a Europe war first ... the rest of Europe is now starting to finally take the thing seriously, especially the British."

Einstein had expressed his reservation about the party years earlier, when he wrote a letter in August 1922 to his younger sister, Maja.

"Out here, nobody knows where I am, and I'm believed to be away on a trip," Einstein wrote in the letter. "Here are brewing economically and politically dark times, so I'm happy to be able to get away from everything."
RARE EINSTEIN LETTERS, REVEALING HIS ESCAPE FROM THE NAZIS, UP FOR AUCTION
In 1933, Einstein wrote letters that detailed his escape from the Nazis and his work helping Jews escape Hitler's regime.

Gutfreund would not say what the university paid for the 110 papers, only noting that Einstein was a "colorful person," in addition to being a world-renowned scientist. "That's rare in scientific persona," he said.

"Einstein already has become a myth detached from his real person, and this myth will perpetuate itself for years to come and I don't see an end to it," curator Roni Grosz added in the statement.
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Einstein was one of the founders of the Hebrew University and served as a non-resident governor of the Jerusalem institution. He died in 1955 at the age of 76.

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Famous Einstein 'puzzle' solved as missing page comes to light

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A famous "puzzle" from perhaps the world's most famous theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, has been solved, after a missing page was found. The handwritten page was part of an appendix of a 1930 paper written by Einstein towards a unified field theory.

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Two sisters are accused of killing their 85-year-old father in a chilling, premeditated plot that was uncovered four years later, thanks to a man, who had a sexual relationship with both sisters and came forward

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Two sisters are accused of killing their 85-year-old father in a chilling, premeditated plot that was uncovered four years later, thanks to a man, who had a sexual relationship with both sisters and came forward, authorities said.

Linda Roberts, 61, and Mary-Beth Tomaselli, 63, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the 2015 death of their father, Anthony Tomaselli, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

"This is in some respects - as we sometimes call these things - it's the perfect murder, because there was absolutely no sign of struggle, no sign of foul play," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters Tuesday. "He had cancer, he had dementia, he was seriously ill ... They could have easily gotten away with it."

Pinellas County Sheriffs Office

The alleged crime took place on March 6, 2015, when the sisters were at their father's Palm Harbor, Florida, home. The sisters called 911 for help and paramedics rushed to the scene and tried to do CPR on Anthony Tomaselli, but he was declared dead, according to the sheriff's office.

At the time "there did not appear to be any foul play or criminal activity," the sheriff's office said.

Anthony Tomaselli had an "extensive medical history and when contact was made with his primary care physician, he agreed to sign the death certificate," the sheriff's office said. "The physician listed the cause of death as natural due to Tomaselli's advanced age and medical history."

But this year, on Feb. 13, a man, who had a sexual relationship with both sisters, contacted authorities to say he had a recording of Linda Roberts confessing, Gualtieri said.

Pinellas County Sheriffs Office

The man then helped authorities obtain recordings from both women about the crime, Gualtieri said.

The women allegedly said on the recordings that they first plotted to kill their father with alcohol and sleeping pills, but that didn't work, and they allegedly tried to suffocate him with a pillow, according to the sheriff's office.

"When that did not work, they stuffed a rag down his throat, pinched his nose, and held his arms down until he stopped breathing and died," according to the sheriff's office.

Pinellas County Sheriffs Office

Mary-Beth Tomaselli allegedly said her adult daughter was at the home at the time so she gave her sleeping pills so she wouldn't see what happened to her grandfather, authorities said.

The sisters allegedly said they "faked" finding their father dead and staged giving him CPR and calling 911 for help, authorities said.

The sisters allegedly said "they 'euthanized' their father" in a "premeditated" killing "because he was going to die within a couple months and would not live in an Assisted Living Facility," the sheriff's office said.

After Anthony Tomaselli's death, his daughters sold his home and split the money with their brother, who was not involved in the alleged crime, authorities said.

The sisters admitted to the allegations when they were arrested Tuesday - a day before their father's death anniversary, according to the sheriff.

The sheriff praised the man, who allegedly recorded the sisters, for coming forward.

Roberts and Tomaselli are expected to get arraigned for the charges on Wednesday.

ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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How sisters allegedly killed elderly dad in 'perfect murder,' covered it up for years

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Two sisters are accused of killing their 85-year-old father in a chilling, premeditated plot that was uncovered four years later, thanks to a man, who had a sexual relationship with both sisters and came forward, authorities said.

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From $22 an hour to $11: GM job cuts in Ohio show a hot economy is still leaving parts of America behind

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LORDSTOWN, Ohio -Scott Mezzapeso had to do something last month he never imagined: call his ex-wife and warn her that he might not be able to pay child support on time. Mezzapeso has a tattoo of his daughter on his left arm and rarely misses her high school softball games, but money has become extremely tight. General Motors is shuttering its plant here, and Mezzapeso is one of roughly 5,400 casualties.

Mezzapeso earned $22 an hour with good benefits at Magna, a GM supplier that made seats for the Chevy Cruze, but he was laid off last summer as the auto giant scaled back Cruze production and suppliers did the same. Now he makes $11 an hour working part time at Bruno Bros. Pizza, the only job he has found after months of sending out his résumé.
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With GM set to shut down production here Wednesday, Lordstown shows how the nation's booming jobs market is still leaving vast segments of America behind. Last year was the best for manufacturing jobs in more than two decades, but the Youngstown, Ohio, region where Lordstown is located has continued to lose manufacturing jobs in recent years. About a quarter of the country's metro areas have faced the same fate, many in the Rust Belt, according to data provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The common prescription for laid-off workers from economists and business leaders - retrain and switch careers or move to another part of the country with more jobs - is proving inadequate for workers such as Mezzapeso.

"To be 100 percent honest, I thought I would be laid off for a few months and then go back to work," Mezzapeso said. "At 47, I'm too old to go back to school."

Most jobs Mezzapeso sees pay half of what he used to earn. His 1999 Chevy Tahoe gets lousy gas mileage, making it difficult to take a low-paying job a long drive away.

Friends urge him to go to school and try welding or advanced manufacturing. He and other GM casualties here qualify for the federal government's marquee retraining program - Trade Adjustment Assistance - that covers all costs for up to two years of classes plus a weekly stipend, meaning they get paid to attend school.

But only about 30 percent have enrolled in TAA, according to Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services.

Many workers echo Mezzapeso's sentiments that they are too old to go back to school or that they tried but found the classes overwhelming.

When Mike Bajnok lost his $30-an-hour GM job last summer, he followed the state of Ohio's advice and used TAA to enroll in a program to become a "CNC machinist," a worker who can set up and operate specialized heavy machinery.

He quit after the first week.

"I just didn't get it. From Day One, I was lost," says Bajnok, who is 58. "The instructor told us to put in the flash drive. My skills are so bad, I had to ask him how to do that."

Moving to another GM factory in Tennessee, Michigan or Indiana, as the company said many workers can do, does not seem like a good option, either. Bajnok lives with his parents, who are 86 and 91, and takes care of them. His two daughters and grandchildren are also here, making uprooting hard. He hopes GM will reopen this plant.

About 700 workers from the Lordstown plant have transferred, according to the local union.

Many of the GM workers lack the basic computer and math skills to enroll in advanced manufacturing or nursing programs at local community colleges or technical schools. TAA typically isn't used for remedial course work, and people don't always know what other programs to tap.

"A lot of people are coming out of the plant with less than a high school diploma," said Dwayne Alexander, an Ohio workforce development assistant.

The state of Ohio has set up a fully staffed transition center at the United Automobile Workers Local 1112 union hall in Lordstown, where experts such as Alexander help people through their options for life after GM. Many workers he meets walked out of high school and into the factory. They have never made a résumé before, let alone filled out an online job application.

GM is cutting its plant here because it no longer wants to make small cars such as the Cruze in the United States. As of this week, the company has laid off 4,500 workers since cuts began in early 2017, and another roughly 900 have lost jobs at nearby suppliers.

If Lordstown has any chance of reopening, workers will know soon. This fall, GM and the United Automobile Workers union have to negotiate a new labor contract over worker pay, conditions and head count.

So far, GM chief executive Mary Barra has promised only to "keep an open mind." The company reported near-record profits last year of $11.8 billion before taxes as truck and SUV sales remain hot.

A GM spokesman said that these were "tough decisions" and that "virtually any employee who wants a job will have a job" at another plant, although that does not apply to suppliers, and he mentioned only 2,700 available positions right now - amid layoffs at five big plants.
'You've got to move on'
Cicero Davis is not optimistic GM Lordstown will return. He worked at the factory installing batteries in the Cruze and was cut in the initial round of layoffs in early 2017. His buddies on the battery line told him they would see him again soon, but he was one of the first to enroll in TAA.

Temporary layoffs are common in the auto industry as demand fluctuates for vehicles, his co-workers said. They also pointed to President Trump's promises to bring back manufacturing jobs.

Trumbull County, where the factory is located, voted blue for decades but swung to Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Losing jobs overseas is a particularly sore point here since a GM factory in Mexico also started making the Cruze.

But Davis was at GM for only two years before the layoffs hit, and he was still considered a temporary worker, meaning he was paid about $20 an hour versus $30 for permanent employees. He felt less loyalty to the company and was one of the few workers at the plant driving a Honda, not a U.S. brand.

When the 54-year-old heard about TAA, he quickly signed up for classes to earn his commercial driver's license, which enables him to drive trucks and buses. His trucking school did training drives on the road in front of the GM Lordstown plant.

"You've got to move on. These companies aren't waiting for you to return," said Davis.

Today Davis is making more money than he did at GM. Shortly after earning his trucker's license, he got a full-time job as an overnight corrections officer at a state prison. It pays "about $20 an hour" with good health benefits, he said. On days off, he transports RVs for extra cash and conducts interviews for the U.S. census.

He is a success story, but he knows many are not. A friend from GM now works the cash register at a liquor store and asks him for advice.

"A lot of people here are still going through a grief cycle over this," Davis said. "I have to tell my GM friends to go apply for the Affordable Care Act so they'll have health insurance."
'It takes time to sink in'
At the union hall transition center, Alexander, the workforce development assistant, asks workers a litany of questions about their skills, how far from home they are willing to travel for a job, whether they would consider going back to school and how much money they need to pay their monthly mortgage, car payment, child care and more.

The answers are almost always the same: People want another factory job right away that is close by and pays over $15 an hour. They do not initially think of retraining.

"There's a strong work ethic here. Most want to get another job," said Alexander, who has to gently explain that their next job might involve a pay cut or driving 40 minutes away. "These people had a good lifestyle at GM. When that is taken away, it takes time to sink in."

Economists at career websites LinkedIn and Indeed say auto manufacturing workers typically stay in blue-collar jobs, although some end up in retail.

GM workers click most often on job postings for customer service representative, store clerks, warehouse jobs and "team assemblers," according to an analysis by Indeed for The Washington Post. All of those jobs have an average annual salary of under $35,000.

Economists recommend retraining, but barriers are high for blue-collar workers. Fewer workers receive on-the-job training today than in the 1990s, says Martha Gimbel, research director for Indeed's Hiring Lab, and the U.S. government spends a tiny fraction of what most other advanced nations do on retraining.

"High-paid white-collar workers get to invest in training and development for their entire careers, but that's not what we're doing for workers in manufacturing," Gimbel said.
'Worst thing you can do'
GM has been the heartbeat of this blue-collar area, providing middle-class lives for tens of thousands of families since the 1960s, including Mezzapeso's father, who put in 30 years at the factory and retired with a full pension and health benefits.

Many homes and store fronts in the area have a poster up that says "Drive it home" and "Support GM Lordstown," with an image of Ohio and a road running through it.

Trump visited nearby Youngstown early in his presidency and told the crowd not to sell their homes because the jobs were "all coming back."

When GM announced just after Thanksgiving that it would idle the Lordstown plant and four others in 2019, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that the company "was not going to be treated well." But he also said "it really doesn't matter" because the jobs will be replaced "like, in two minutes."

Mezzapeso is starting to feel like this will be akin to the Great Recession all over for him, a period when he tended bar, cut down trees and did whatever odd jobs he could to survive before the Magna position came along.

The past few weeks have brought difficult conversations with his teenage daughter and older son. Mezzapeso's ex-wife is in the final GM shift that's now getting laid off. It's possible GM will send her a forced-transfer notice, basically requiring her to move to a plant in another state. If she says no, she would only be able to work at GM Lordstown - a gamble.

Mezzapeso has promised his daughter, a junior, that he will do whatever it takes to stay in the area so she can finish high school here.

"I feel the worst thing you can do to kids is uproot them," Mezzapeso said. "I don't have good options right now."

heather.long@washpost.com

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From $22 an hour to $11: GM job cuts in Ohio show a hot economy is still leaving parts of America behind

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LORDSTOWN, Ohio -Scott Mezzapeso had to do something last month he never imagined: call his ex-wife and warn her that he might not be able to pay child support on time. Mezzapeso has a tattoo of his daughter on his left arm and rarely misses her high school softball games, but money has become extremely tight.