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Which corner bookcase is best?
If you have empty wall space or need to fill out a larger living room or bedroom, consider a corner bookcase. Functional and appealing to the eye, the right bookcase can ensure your corner isn’t going to waste.
Finding your best option depends on the size and decor of your room and how you plan to use the shelf, but one of the best is Union Rustic Mel Iron Corner Bookcase. It’s sturdy and durable, and its industrial design goes with almost any scheme.
What to know before you buy a corner bookcase
More stylish than functional
Corner bookcases are narrow, so they won’t hold as much as barrister bookcases. Be selective with what you choose to display. They work best with smaller items, making them a great way to show off photos and knickknacks. If you have the wall space, consider matching bookcases in each corner to add style and symmetry to the room.
How to pick the right size
Corner bookcases’ sides are connected in the back at a 90-degree angle to fit flush against the wall. There are three measurements to consider when selecting a corner bookcase for your space:
- Height: How high the bookcase goes up on the wall.
- Length: How long the bookcase runs along the wall.
- Depth: How far out the shelving sticks out from the wall.
Consider the dimensions of your room and the location of the nearby furniture. Stylistically, you don’t want to crowd your furniture. You also want to consider the location of wall outlets and whether a bookcase will limit access.
What to look for in a quality corner bookcase
Material
The most common materials used to make corner bookcases are wood, particleboard and metal.
- Wood: Wood is commonly used to make traditional-looking bookcases, and they can be stained in various colors. Wood looks good and is sturdy.
- Particleboard: This looks very similar to wood, but it’s less expensive and less sturdy, so when buying a particleboard bookcase, be conscious of what you plan to display.
- Metal: Metal bookcases are sleek and sturdy. They tend to have a lean, elegant, industrial look, making them an ideal fit for modern or minimalistic decor.
Color
Dark brown and black are the most common colors because they fit well with most design schemes. White and light-colored bookshelves are a good choice if you want to add brightness to the room or give the illusion of more space.
Anti-tipping brackets
Because corner bookcases are tall and narrow, stability can be an issue. A thick rug could exacerbate the issue and limit what you can store on the shelves.
Stability can vary depending on the quality and material of the bookcase, but some come with anti-tipping brackets that secure them to the wall. If style is a priority, select one with the brackets hidden from view.
How much you can expect to spend on a corner bookcase
A corner bookcase can range from $50-$500, depending on its size, materials and design details. A basic model with five shelves will usually run you $50-$150, while a hand-crafted or multi-unit corner bookcase can cost over $1,000.
Corner bookcase FAQ
How can I brace my corner bookcase to keep it from falling over?
A. If it doesn’t come with an anti-tipping kit, you can support it using evenly spaced brackets you get from a hardware retailer. The size and placement of the brackets depends on the size and design of the bookcase.
How should I arrange my bookcase?
A. Display heavier items on the bottom shelves and lighter items on the top, so it’s not top-heavy. When it comes to shelving, play around with the room between the shelves to create an open space that draws attention to the items on display.
What’s the best corner bookcase to buy?
Top corner bookcase
Union Rustic Mel Iron Corner Bookcase
What you need to know: Add space, style and decor to the corners of your living room, apartment or entryway with this fan-shaped five-tier bookcase.
What you’ll love: Built with high-quality medium-density fiberboard and solid framing, it’s sturdy and durable. The sleek industrial design makes this excellent for displaying photos and knickknacks.
What you should consider: It’s reinforced with anti-tipping brackets that are sturdy and functional but can be noticeable.
Where to buy: Sold by Wayfair
Top corner bookcase for the money
Furinno Turn-N-Tube Multipurpose Corner Bookcase
What you need to know: Available in 15 colors and with three, four or five shelves, this functional case is a great addition to any room.
What you’ll love: Made from composite wood and tubes of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, this is sturdy and easy to assemble. It’s versatile, and the tube panel system can be adjusted to multiple heights, so you can custom design it to fit your needs.
What you should consider: Although a great shelf for storage, it’s not the most stylish, high-end design. It’s also less sturdy when placed on thick carpet.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Homissue Industrial Corner Bookcase
What you need to know: The vintage rustic detail and extra space on the six shelves make this case a piece of statement decor.
What you’ll love: Among quality design features are an X-shade and metal braces that support the structure and provide visual appeal from any side. It also comes with floor protectors and extra supporting legs. It is easy to assemble and comes with additional pieces if anything gets lost or broken.
What you should consider: Some customers found it challenging to connect the metal and wooden components.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-06-03T16:25:29+00:00 | wivb.com | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/best-corner-bookcase/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – A new bill filed in the Florida Senate is set to get results for renters by requiring landlords to disclose information about flood zones.
Senate Bill 716 was introduced this week by State Sen. Linda Stewart in response to people suffering major losses during both hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
The bill will require current and future renters to be notified if their unit is in a flood zone.
Good Samaritan Society Village resident Diane Barrett said a flood notification would’ve been helpful in her case. She was one of the hundreds of residents affected by flooding caused by Hurricane Ian at the Kissimmee living facility.
[TRENDING: 17-year-old found shot to death in Orange County | Palm Bay councilman Pete Filiberto accused of DUI, carrying cocaine in shoe | Brevard community rallies behind family whose son played in Super Bowl | Become a News 6 Insider]
“We would not have moved there if they would have said there was any chance of that happening,” said Barrett, adding she and her husband now have to stay with their two daughters as they attempt to rebuild their lives. “So, there are actually three families living here. We’ve had to start over with clothes, furniture, things that we thought we would never have to buy again, not at this point.”
Tampa-based community legal services attorney Jorge Acosta has been working with some residents from Good Samaritan, saying “The important thing is not to be caught by surprise.”
Acosta said the new flood bill may affect landlords due to fewer people being interested in their property if it’s in a flood zone or landlords having to provide more accommodations to renters to compensate for being in a flood zone.
“People have to look at that closely and be more considerate of the potential damage that could occur and that has to be factored into whenever someone decides to construct,” Acosta said.
The bill will also require landlords to provide specific information to tenants regarding the property’s inclusion in a flood zone.
Acosta said while the bill itself may hurt landlords, builders or contractors, it offers necessary information for tenants.
“If we don’t (offer that information), we’re just going to continue repeating the whole hurricane issue and water rising everywhere,” he said.
Barrett said she hopes this bill will help get results for tenants like her.
“They need to be held accountable,” Barrett said. “I mean how many people... just lost their place of living, and don’t know where to go?”
At this time, the bill has only been filed and still has to go through the State House and Senate before heading to the governor’s office.
If approved, it would take effect as soon as July.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | 2023-02-14T15:14:45+00:00 | clickorlando.com | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/02/14/florida-bill-filed-to-require-landlords-to-disclose-flood-zone-information-to-renters/ |
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
LOS ANGELES - Angus Cloud, who starred in HBO's hit series "Euphoria," has died at age 25.
According to a report from TMZ, Cloud – who was known for his role as "Fezco" in the show – died at his family's home in Oakland.
TMZ shared the family's statement, which was written, in part, "It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways."
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The news of Cloud's death comes as the 25-year-old actor recently lost his father. Cloud had posted a tribute to his late father on social media with the caption, "miss [you] breh."
As of Monday afternoon, officials did not say how Cloud died.
In a statement to the LA Times, an HBO spokesperson described Cloud as a "talented and a beloved part of the HBO and ‘Euphoria’ family."
"We are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Angus Cloud," the statement reads. "He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family. We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time."
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Stay with FOX 11 News for the latest. | 2023-07-31T23:01:18+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/news/euphoria-star-angus-cloud-dies-at-25-tmz-reports |
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) – An 18-year-old was shot in the face while leaving her own birthday party over the weekend, her family says.
Breanna Keys was hit by a stray bullet Friday just before 9:30 p.m. Nexstar’s WREG went to the scene and found several vehicles with bullet holes in them. Her mother, Latrice Kennon, said Keys and her boyfriend were both struck while leaving her birthday party.
“She didn’t deserve none of this because she was an innocent bystander,” Kennon said. “They were backing up. They made a left turn, and that’s when the shooting started happening out of nowhere.”
According to police, Keys and her boyfriend were taken to the hospital by a private vehicle.
“My son called me,” Kennon said. “He’s in the house right now. He’s still shaken up, too. He’s 12. Then my little baby, she’s 3. She was out there.”
Keys’ boyfriend was listed in non-critical condition.
Kennon said Keys is now alert and stable. Doctors told her that she will need to have multiple jaw surgeries.
“She got wires all in her mouth,” Kennon said. “She’s missing five teeth. She got a trach(sic) in her throat. No child should have to go through that.”
Kennon does not believe her daughter was the intended target and has no idea who pulled the trigger. She also said Keys was planning to attend nursing school, but those plans are now on hold. She hopes police find whoever shot her daughter.
“They need to get locked up, and they need to pay for what they done to my child,” Kennon said.
No arrests have been made at this time, according to police. This is an ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information concerning the shooting is being urged to call CrimeStoppers Memphis at (901)-528-CASH. | 2022-06-28T14:36:07+00:00 | cenlanow.com | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/teen-shot-in-face-while-leaving-her-own-birthday-party-family-says-2/ |
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said an initiative launched by his office has the potential to become a “game changer” in fighting human trafficking.
The initiative mobilizes communities and landlords to identify and shutter illicit massage businesses that might be enabling human trafficking.
"We know that human trafficking is happening in our communities, and the H.O.P.E. Initiative has the potential to be a real game changer in our fight against it,” Cameron said Wednesday.
Last October, the attorney general's Office of Trafficking and Abuse Prevention and Prosecution launched the Human Trafficking Outreach Prevention and Education Initiative, or H.O.P.E Initiative, The goal is to make Kentucky inoperable for businesses that engage in human trafficking.
Since then, landlords in Bullitt, Fayette, Hardin and Laurel counties were notified of suspected human trafficking on their property, Cameron's office said. More than half the landlords contacted terminated or declined to renew leases with the alleged illicit businesses, it said. | 2023-01-19T11:15:35+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Kentucky-AG-promotes-effort-to-combat-human-17727407.php |
Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $100,000 In Iris Energy To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options
NEW YORK, Dec. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Iris Energy Limited ("Iris Energy" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: IREN) and reminds investors of the February 13, 2023 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.
If you suffered losses exceeding $100,000 investing in (a) Iris ordinary shares pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents (defined below) issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering conducted on or about November 17, 2021 (the "IPO" or "Offering"); and/or (b) Iris securities between November 17, 2021 and November 1, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period") and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). You may also click here for additional information: www.faruqilaw.com/IREN.
There is no cost or obligation to you.
Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading minority and Woman-owned national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia.
Iris touts itself as a leading owner and operator of institutional-grade, highly efficient, proprietary Bitcoin mining data centers powered by 100% renewable energy.
Iris's Bitcoin mining operations purportedly generate revenue by earning Bitcoin through a combination of block rewards and transaction fees from the operation of specialized computing equipment called "miners" or "Bitcoin miners" and exchanging these Bitcoin for fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars or Canadian dollars on a daily basis.
Iris has three wholly-owned special purpose vehicles, referred to as "Non-Recourse SPV 1", "Non-Recourse SPV 2", and "Non-Recourse SPV 3" (collectively, the "Non-Recourse SPVs"), each of which was incorporated for the specific purpose of financing certain of the Bitcoin miners operated by the Company.
On October 25, 2021, Iris filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with the IPO, which, after several amendments, was declared effective by the SEC on November 16, 2021 (the "Registration Statement").
On or about November 17, 2021, Iris conducted the IPO, issuing approximately 8.27 million of its ordinary shares to the public at the Offering price of $28 per ordinary share for approximate proceeds to the Company of $215 million, before expenses, and after applicable underwriting discounts and commissions.
On November 18, 2021, Iris filed a prospectus on Form 424B4 with the SEC in connection with the IPO, which incorporated and formed part of the Registration Statement (the "Prospectus" and, together with the Registration Statement, the "Offering Documents").
The Complaint alleges that the Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation. Additionally, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the Offering Documents and Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) certain of Iris's Bitcoin miners, owned through its Non-Recourse SPVs, were unlikely to produce sufficient cash flow to service their respective debt financing obligations; (ii) accordingly, Iris's use of equipment financing agreements to procure Bitcoin miners was not as sustainable as Defendants had represented; (iii) the foregoing was likely to have a material negative impact on the Company's business, operations, and financial condition; and (iv) as a result, the Offering Documents and Defendants' public statements throughout the Class Period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.
On November 2, 2022, Iris issued a press release disclosing, among other things, that "[c]ertain equipment (i.e., Bitcoin miners) owned by [Non-Recourse SPV 2 and Non-Recourse SPV 3] currently produce insufficient cash flow to service their respective debt financing obligations and have a current market value well below the principal amount of the relevant loans" and that "[r]estructuring discussions with the lender remain ongoing."
On this news, Iris's ordinary share price fell $0.51 per share, or 15.04%, to close at $2.88 per share on November 2, 2022—a nearly 90% decline from the Offering price.
As of the time the Complaint was filed, Iris's ordinary shares continue to trade significantly below the $28 per share Offering price, damaging investors.
The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.
Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Iris Energy's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.
Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.
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SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP | 2022-12-24T02:18:53+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/12/23/iris-energy-deadline-alert/ |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its Western allies clashed with Russia and Iran at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday over Tehran’s advancing uranium enrichment and its reported supply of combat drones to Moscow being used to attack Ukraine.
The sharp exchanges came at the council’s semi-annual meeting on implementation of its resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major countries known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the U.S. under then-President Donald Trump left in 2018.
At the start of the meeting, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Britain, which hold the council presidency, of seeking to hold “an openly politicized show” by inviting Ukraine to take part in the meeting when it is not part of the JCPOA. He demanded a procedural vote on its participation.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood countered, accusing both Iran and Russia of participating in the transfer of drones used in Ukraine without prior Security Council approval in violation of the 2015 resolution.
“This is a matter of life or death for the Ukrainian people,” Wood said. “It would be unconscionable to deny Ukraine the opportunity to speak at this meeting when it is experiencing the devastating effects of Iran’s violation of resolution 2231 firsthand.”
Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward, who was chairing the council meeting, then called for a vote on whether Ukraine could participate. Twelve members voted “yes,” while China and Russia voted “no” and Mozambique abstained.
The United States, Britain, France and Ukraine have urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to send investigators to Ukraine to examine debris from drones used in Russia’s attacks, insisting that resolution 2231 gives him a mandate to open an investigation.
Russia insists he has no such authority and Nebenzia warned the U.N. Secretariat against taking any such action. Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani added that any U.N. findings “based on such illegal activities is null and void.”
U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo said in her briefing to the council that France, Germany, Ukraine, the U.K. and U.S. had written letters concerning alleged transfers of drones from Iran to Russia and had provided photographs and their analyses of the recovered drones.
“The Secretariat continues to examine the available information,” DiCarlo said, giving no indication of when or if a U.N. investigation would take place.
Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the council that more than 1,000 drone launches over Ukraine had been recorded and that analysis by Ukrainian and international experts confirmed their Iranian origin.
Russia’s Nebenzia accused Ukraine and the West of fomenting misinformation and dismissed the evidence as comical.
France, Germany and the UK, which are parties to the JCPOA, said in a joint statement that Iran has also been in violation of its nuclear commitments under the 2015 deal for four years.
They pointed to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s reports that Iran’s total stockpiles of enriched uranium are now 21 times the amount permitted under the 2015 nuclear deal — and the IAEA’s detection in January of uranium particles enriched to 83.7%, which is almost at weapons-grade levels of 90%. Any stockpile of uranium at that level could be quickly used to produce an atomic bomb if Iran chooses.
The 2015 nuclear deal limited Tehran’s uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms (661 pounds) and enrichment to 3.67% — enough to fuel a nuclear power plant. But following the U.S. withdrawal, Tehran escalated its nuclear program and has been producing uranium enriched to 60% purity — a level for which nonproliferation experts already say Tehran has no civilian use.
Iran informed the IAEA that “unintended fluctuations” in enrichment levels may have occurred accounting for the particles enriched to 83.7%, and Iravani, the Iranian ambassador, and Russia’s Nebenzia both said the issue has been resolved.
France, Germany and the UK said Iran also “continues to develop and improve ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons,” pointing to a May 25 test of a missile they said is capable of delivering a warhead to a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
U.S. ambassador Wood said “Iran’s ballistic missile activity – especially in light of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and its threatening rhetoric – is an enduring threat to regional and international peace and security.”
Iravani countered that “Iran is fully determined to vigorously pursue its peaceful nuclear activities including enrichment.”
Negotiations on the U.S. rejoining the deal and Iran returning to its commitments broke down last August. European Union Ambassador Olof Skoog told the council the EU compromise text is still on the table “as a potential point of departure for any renewed effort to bring the JCPOA back on track.”
Iravani said: “We are still prepared for the resumption of negotiations should the other side be ready to do the same.” | 2023-07-08T02:13:19+00:00 | wcia.com | https://www.wcia.com/news/international/ap-west-clashes-with-russia-and-iran-at-un-over-tehrans-uranium-enrichment-and-drones-for-russia/ |
LM Funding America, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2022 Financial Results
Published: May. 16, 2022 at 4:15 PM CDT|Updated: 4 hours ago
TAMPA, Fla., May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LM Funding America, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMFA) ("LM Funding" or the "Company"), a technology-based specialty finance company offering unique funding solutions to community associations that has expanded into the cryptocurrency mining business, today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022.
We are excited to receive our first shipments of mining machines from Bitmain and look forward to generating our first Bitcoin anticipated in the third quarter of 2022
Financial Highlights for the Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022:·
- Paid an additional $7.1 million in first quarter to Bitmain for the 5,046 machines on order, of which 841 have been delivered, and anticipate shipments of 841 machines per month from June 2022 through October 2022.
- Cash position of $24.5 million as of March 31, 2022.
- The Company had $23.9 million in deposits on mining machines.
- Net equity per share on March 31, 2022 was $4.48 (calculated as stockholders' equity divided by 13,091,955 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2022).
- Revenues increased to $191,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 as compared with $177,000 for the comparable quarter in 2021.
- Net cash used by operating activities was approximately $528,000 for the first quarter 2022.
- Net loss attributable to LM Funding for the first quarter of 2022 was $5.7 million, which includes $3.6 million of stock option/compensation expense and a realized loss on securities of $0.4 million, versus net income of $4.4 million for the first quarter of 2021, which included a $5.7 million realized gain on securities.
"We are excited to receive our first shipments of mining machines from Bitmain and look forward to generating our first Bitcoin anticipated in the third quarter of 2022," stated Mr. Bruce Rodgers, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of LM Funding. "We expect the recent downturn in Bitcoin pricing may provide us with pricing discounts on machines we currently have under contract as well as opportunities to purchase additional machines at lower prices."
On April 21, 2022, LMF Acquisition Opportunities, Inc. ("LMAO") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with LMF Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and direct, wholly owned subsidiary of LMAO, and SeaStar Medical, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
About LM Funding America:
LM Funding America, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is a technology-based specialty finance company that provides funding to nonprofit community associations (Associations) primarily located in the state of Florida, as well as in the states of Washington, Colorado and Illinois. The company offers funding to Associations by purchasing a certain portion of the associations' rights to delinquent accounts that are selected by the Associations arising from unpaid Association assessments. The company is also involved in the business of purchasing delinquent accounts on various terms tailored to suit each Association's financial needs, including under the company's New Neighbor Guaranty™ program. The company is also entering the cryptocurrency mining business through a new subsidiary, US Digital Mining and Hosting Co., LLC.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," and "project" and other similar words and expressions are intended to signify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions but rather are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Important factors which could materially affect our results and our future performance include, without limitation, our ability to implement our plan to develop and grow a cryptocurrency mining business specializing in Bitcoin,our ability to purchase defaulted consumer receivables at appropriate prices, competition to acquire such receivables, our dependence upon third party law firms to service our accounts, our ability to obtain funds to purchase receivables, ability to manage growth or declines in the business, changes in government regulations that affect our ability to collect sufficient amounts on our defaulted consumer receivables, the impact of class action suits and other litigation, our ability to keep our software systems updated to operate our business, our ability to employ and retain qualified employees, our ability to establish and maintain internal accounting controls, changes in the credit or capital markets, changes in interest rates, deterioration in economic conditions, and negative press regarding the debt collection industry which may have a negative impact on a debtor's willingness to pay the debt we acquire, as well as other factors set forth under "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. The occurrence of any of these risks and uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on the company's business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc. | 2022-05-17T01:53:10+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2022/05/16/lm-funding-america-inc-reports-first-quarter-2022-financial-results/ |
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the holidays quickly approaching, it's time to start planning out those menus and Pit Boss® can help make it easier by freeing up some oven space.
Pit Boss wood pellet grills aren't just for grilling and smoking. They're also like a second oven. Consistent temperature control, even heat distribution, and the ability for hands-off cooking allow pellet grills to bake bread, cookies, turkey, and even a casserole just the same as an indoor oven.
This makes using a Pit Boss grill perfect for holiday baking.
What is possible to bake in a Pit Boss?
Anything that can be cooked in an oven – like bread, casseroles, and desserts – can be made with a Pit Boss.
Simply power on the grill, allow it to reach the desired temperature, and pop the dish in. It's a second oven!
Will the food be too smoky?
Many people worry that baking food in a pellet grill or smoker will overpower it with smoke, but that isn't the case. This is because the grill won't exude as much smoke when cooking at the higher temperatures required for baked goods.
When pellet grills are set to temperatures below 225°F, the auger slowly feeds wood pellets into the burn pot which allows the pellets to smolder and produce smoke. Baked dishes are usually prepared at temperatures of around 350°F and higher.
Pit Boss recommends using hardwood pellets with a mild gourmet smoke flavor to compliment baked goods, such as Cherry or Apple Blends.
How to bake in a Pit Boss:
Use cast iron or ceramic dishes for best results. These materials are ideal to cook with on a Pit Boss due to heat distribution and absorption, which aids in achieving a more even cook.
Then, set the grill's temperature according to the recipe. The baking time may vary slightly, so check on the dish as it cooks like when using an oven.
It's a good idea to cover baked goods toward the end of the cook to prevent over-browning. Once the crust or the exterior of a baked item forms and browns according to preference, cover it with foil or a pie crust shield.
And there you have it: easy as pie!
Visit the Pit Boss website to learn more.
Nikki Rowell nikki.rowell@dansons.com
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SOURCE Pit Boss Grills | 2022-11-14T18:03:05+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2022/11/14/how-free-up-oven-space-this-holiday-season/ |
PETALUMA, Calif., March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tangram Insurance Services, Inc. ("Tangram"), a Managing General Agency (MGA) and Program Manager, has announced leadership team growth with the addition of Heidi Wolf as Senior Vice President of Operations and Christina Conlan as Vice President of Finance and Accounting.
Heidi joins Tangram as SVP of Operations. She oversees all operational aspects for the company, including compliance, BPO management, system/technology deployments and administration, billing, and workflow management. She brings over 23 years of industry experience, most recently as the Director of Operations for a large, national MGA. Heidi began her career on the insurance carrier side, where she spent over 10 years in Business Development and Underwriting for a large national insurance company. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she earned a B.S. in Business Administration, with a minor in Operations Management.
Christina began her career in the insurance industry over 20 years ago selling commercial truck insurance for a large specialty MGA based in the Northeast. She later moved into the accounting realm and spent the past 15 years building a finance operation to support fast growing MGA and retail operations . At Tangram, she will oversee and support all aspects of accounting, budgeting, M&A and more. Christina holds a BA in Psychology from Immaculata University and later received her MBA in accounting/business management from DeSales University.
"Christina and Heidi bring years of meaningful knowledge and relevant experience to Tangram. I am thrilled to add leaders who will enhance our growth strategy, team, and culture," said Rekha Skantharaja, CEO of Tangram Insurance Services.
Christina Conlan
VP of Finance and Accounting
cconlan@tangramins.com
707-241-9004
Heidi Wolf
Senior Vice President of Operations
hwolf@tangramins.com
707-786-6283
About Tangram Insurance Services, Inc.
Tangram Insurance Services, Inc. is a national program manager bringing in-depth expertise and specialized program capabilities to many industries. With 20 years of experience in the program space, Tangram partners with top insurance companies to deliver niche insurance solutions. For more information, please visit tangramins.com.
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SOURCE Tangram Insurance Services, Inc. | 2023-03-21T15:58:21+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2023/03/21/tangram-insurance-services-announces-leadership-team-expansion/ |
LOS ANGELES — Ask veteran television executive Frank Cicha to recall the last time the daytime TV schedule has seen such turnover, and he has a ready answer: Never.
What Cicha terms daytime’s “re-rack” has created openings for “The Jennifer Hudson Show” and “Sherri,” with Sherri Shepherd, both debuting Monday, and “Karamo” with Karamo Brown of “Queer Eye” fame, starting Sept. 19.
They’re joining a daytime lineup that includes continuing talk-variety series “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and “The Drew Barrymore Show”; “Tamron Hall" and ratings leaders “The View,” “Dr. Phil” and “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”
Gone from the picture are the long-running shows led by Ellen DeGeneres, Wendy Williams and Maury Povich. Others that have turned off the stage lights include “The Nick Cannon Show,” “Dr. Oz” and “The Real.”
Success with daytime’s female-skewing audience isn’t guaranteed no matter a contender’s resume or fame, as illustrated by the short-lived runs of hosts including Queen Latifah, Megan Mullally and Harry Connick Jr.
“Talented people have tried to grace daytime, but if they don’t have an every-person appeal and they don’t interview people well” they wash out, said marketing analyst Stacey Lynn Schulman, founder and chief executive of Human Insight.
The producers behind Shepherd and Hudson’s shows express confidence their respective hosts have the right touch.
Hudson, the “American Idol” alum who went on to award-winning screen, stage and music success, is “funny, authentic and genuine,” said executive producer Mary Connelly, who held that job with DeGeneres’ show.
“What we’ve learned in our short time together is how much the audience loves Jennifer, and how much she loves the audience,” Connelly said. “We’re going to have all the conventions of a talk show, but one of the things that will make the show stand out is her interactions with the audience.”
David Perler, executive producer and showrunner for “Sherri,” said Hudson’s depth of talk-show experience, including her tenure as a co-host on “The View” and subbing for the health-challenged Williams, is a big advantage.
“It’s so easy to work with somebody who has done this for many years and different incarnations,” Perler said. The new show is built around her desire to “make you feel better when you leave at the end of the hour than you did before.”
“At the root of it, which is just who Sherri is, is always going to be the comedic element. She’s funny. She loves to laugh, and she’s still going out there and doing stand-up,” Perler said.
Brown, whose entry is from the production team behind “Maury” and “The Steve Wilkos Show,” has said he wants to ”connect with people from all walks of life” and plans to discuss issues including infidelity, race and parenting.
The new hosts, all of whom are Black, are expanding daytime TV’s lagging diversity. But veteran TV journalist Hall waves off the idea that they can be lumped together.
“We are owed the respect to recognize what each of us bring to the table and how each of us are different. And I think that’s very important at this time where we are seeing a number of shows hosted by people who happen to be Black,” she said. “We’re not all the same, and to make us all the same is unfair.”
There’s an inevitable hodge-podge scheduling in syndicated TV because shows carried nationwide can have varying air times and stations. One way to get to an edge is to inherit the home of an established show — the case with Shepherd, whose distribution includes Williams’ Fox-owned station slots.
DeGeneres’ NBC-owned station turf is going primarily to Clarkson. That upgrade, coupled with the “kind of America’s sweetheart” appeal she’s demonstrated on her show, could give her an edge in the revamped landscape, Schulman suggested.
Clarkson’s show is making a format tweak to give her more time to connect with guests, said Alex Duda, the show’s executive producer and showrunner. It will open its fourth season Monday with a fan-oriented celebration of the 20th anniversary of the singer’s “American Idol” victory.
“We thought we would bring music to the masses, so we got this big box that is like a recording studio on wheels,” Duda said, and kicked off a road trip in New York where “anybody could come in and do a virtual duet with Kelly.”
Hudson’s show will be joining Shepherd’s on Fox-owned stations, a chance for the two to complement each other rather than compete in those markets.
“I love the idea of a total freshness and newness to syndication in our blocks,” said Cicha, executive vice president of programming for Fox Television Stations. “Some shows have stayed on for years because they could, not necessarily because they should.”
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Writer Gary Gerard Hamilton in New York contributed to this report. | 2022-09-10T21:00:47+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/jennifer-hudson-sherri-shepherd-part-of-daytime-tv-makeover/2022/09/10/8a21c87e-3142-11ed-bcc6-0874b26ae296_story.html |
TULSA, Okla. − A young Tulsa man successfully ran across the country of Lebanon to raise money for charity.
Monif Habib loves running and his family. While he grew up in Green Country, the majority of his family lives overseas in Lebanon. Habib has visited twice himself. After seeing the poor conditions, he felt he had to help.
Habib decided to use his love of running to make his goal happen. He set out for run from Tripoli to Beirut, more than 50 miles, all to raise $5,000 for the Lebanese Food Bank.
In mid-May, he reached both goals.
The run took him just under 8 hours with four stops for a refuel and bathroom break.
“You see the oceans right below you and the mountains right next to you, it's honestly hard to concentrate on the road when you're running, it's some of the coolest places,” he said about the scenery.
He raised just over his fundraising goal which he said will pay for a couple hundred food boxes for families in need. He told FOX23 he is so thankful for everyone’s support along the way. | 2023-05-19T16:08:47+00:00 | fox23.com | https://www.fox23.com/news/local/tulsa-man-runs-across-lebanon-to-raise-thousands-for-charity/article_093b2078-f5b1-11ed-8381-3bdefa138070.html |
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders, already on a roll with three consecutive victories, could soon get a major infusion of offensive talent.
Tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow (oblique) are eligible to come off injured reserve this week. Given the short turnaround to play at the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, the more likely scenario is both players will return next week.
Coach Josh McDaniels alluded Monday to when cornerback Nate Hobbs came off IR two weeks ago, but was ill and didn't practice. As a result, Hobbs didn't play that week at Seattle, but was activated for Sunday's 27-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Raiders will have only walkthrough practices this week, so Waller and Renfrow won't get a chance to get in a proper workout before returning to game action.
“Obviously, with no practice and those kinds of things, it’s a little bit of a unique situation,” McDaniels said. "We’re going to have some discussions, I think, later this morning once we kind of get a handle on where our team is relative to the health of it from yesterday’s game. ... You've got to be careful a bit and try to make a smart decision, but we’re going to kind of let the health of the team assist us in some of those discussions.”
The Raiders (5-7) have more than made up for the losses of those players with their recent play, using the combination of wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs to average just shy of 30 points in the past three games.
Adams has two 100-yard receiving games over those three weeks with four total touchdowns. Jacobs rushed for more than 100 yards each game with three total TDs.
The returns of Waller and Renfrow, whether it's this week or next, would figure to only help the offense. Waller had 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine TDs in 2020, though his numbers slipped to 55 receptions, 665 yards and two scores last season. Renfrow caught 103 passes last year for 1,038 yards and nine TDs.
Even if those two don't return this week, the Raiders have shown they can win with the players they have. Now they face the defending champions, but at 3-9 the Rams resemble little of the team that held up the Lombardi Trophy in February.
“They’ve had challenges like we have in terms of health and all that, but this is a team that obviously is very resilient,” McDaniels said. "This team is going to battle, there’s no doubt about it, so going to have our hands full.”
WHAT’S WORKING
The Raiders have discovered a pass rush the past three weeks, getting a combined 11 sacks. They had 10 in the first nine games. Against the Chargers, Las Vegas sacked Justin Herbert five times and hit him 14 times.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Las Vegas has to find ways to get off to better starts. The Raiders have been shut out in the opening quarter in four of the past six games, and they totaled 14 points. Opponents have scored 38 in the first period over that span.
STOCK UP
DE Chandler Jones entered that Chargers game with a half-sack. He had three in the first half alone and made key tackle on Herbert that forced a turnover on downs. Jones also batted down a pass. This is the player the Raiders thought they were getting when they acquired him in the offseason.
STOCK DOWN
Protecting the ball has suddenly become an issue. The Raiders have four turnovers in the past two games after committing just seven until then. Though they won both games, it's not a sustainable path if the Raiders keep handing over the ball at that kind of rate.
INJURIES
CB Rock Ya-Sin (knee), DT Andrew Billings (fibula), LB Jayon Brown (hand) and CB Tyler Hall (back) did not practice Monday. Jacobs (quadriceps/calf), RB Ameer Abdullah (hamstring), CB Duron Harmon (quadriceps), C Andre James (quadricep), S Isaiah Pola-Mao (ankle) and DE Kendal Vickers (back) were limited.
KEY NUMBER
100.4 — That is Derek Carr's passer rating in his five Thursday appearances. He has thrown five touchdown passes without an interception.
NEXT STEPS
The Raiders will have extra time to prepare for the Dec. 18 home game against the New England Patriots, where McDaniels spent 18 seasons, including 13 as offensive coordinator. The NFL on Monday flexed what was supposed to be the stand-alone Sunday night game to 4:05 p.m. EST.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | 2022-12-06T01:34:13+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/Darren-Waller-Hunter-Renfrow-could-soon-be-back-17633522.php |
David McCullough, Pulitzer-winning historian, dies at 89
NEW YORK (AP) — David McCullough, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose lovingly crafted narratives on subjects ranging from the Brooklyn Bridge to Presidents John Adams and Harry Truman made him among the most popular and influential historians of his time, has died. He was 89.
McCullough died Sunday in Hingham, Massachusetts, according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. He died less than two months after his beloved wife, Rosalee.
“David McCullough was a national treasure. His books brought history to life for millions of readers. Through his biographies, he dramatically illustrated the most ennobling parts of the American character,” Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp said in a statement.
A joyous and tireless student of the past, McCullough dedicated himself to sharing his own passion for history with the general public. He saw himself as an everyman blessed with lifelong curiosity and the chance to take on the subjects he cared most about. His fascination with architecture and construction inspired his early works on the Panama Canal and the Brooklyn Bridge, while his admiration for leaders whom he believed were good men drew him to Adams and Truman. In his 70s and 80s, he indulged his affection for Paris with the 2011 release “The Greater Journey” and for aviation with a best-seller on the Wright Brothers that came out in 2015.
Beyond his books, the handsome, white-haired McCullough may have had the most recognizable presence of any historian, his fatherly baritone known to fans of PBS’s “The American Experience” and Ken Burns’ epic “Civil War” documentary. “Hamilton” author Ron Chernow once called McCullough “both the name and the voice of American history.”
McCullough’s celebrations of the American past also led to the toughest criticism against him — that affection turned too easily to romanticization. His 2019 book “The Pioneers” was faulted for minimizing the atrocities committed against Native Americans as 19th century settlers moved westward. In earlier works, he was accused him of avoiding the harder truths about Truman, Adams and others and of placing storytelling above analysis.
“McCullough’s specific contribution has been to treat large-scale historical biography as yet another genre of spectatorial appreciation, an exercise in character recognition, a reliable source of edification and pleasant uplift,” Sean Wilentz wrote in The New Republic in 2001. Interviewed that same year by The Associated Press, McCullough responded to criticism that he was too soft by saying that “some people not only want their leaders to have feet of clay, but to be all clay.”
But even peers who found flaws in his work praised his kindness and generosity and acknowledged his talent. And millions of readers, and the smaller circle of award givers, were moved by his stories. For years, from a wireless cottage on the grounds of his house on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, McCullough completed works on a Royal Standard typewriter that changed minds and shaped the marketplace. He helped raise the reputations of Truman and Adams, and he started a wave of best-sellers about the American Revolution, including McCullough’s own “1776.”
McCullough received the National Book Award for “The Path Between the Seas,” about the building of the Panama Canal; and for “Mornings on Horseback,” a biography of Theodore Roosevelt; and Pulitzers for “Truman,” in 1992, and for “John Adams” in 2002. “The Great Bridge,” a lengthy exploration of the Brooklyn Bridge’s construction, was ranked No. 48 on the Modern Library’s list of the best 100 nonfiction works of the 20th century and is still widely regarded as the definitive text of the great 19th century project. Upon his 80th birthday, his native Pittsburgh renamed the 16th Street Bridge the “David McCullough Bridge.”
McCullough also was a favorite in Washington, D.C. He addressed a joint session of Congress in 1989 and, in 2006, received a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Politicians frequently claimed to have read his books, especially his biographies of Truman and Adams. Jimmy Carter cited “The Path Between the Seas” as a factor in pushing for the 1977 treaties which returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama, and politicians on both sides of the issue cited it during debate. Barack Obama included McCullough among a gathering of scholars who met at the White House soon after he was elected.
The historian was non-partisan for much of his life, but spoke out against Donald Trump in 2016, leading a group of historians that included Burns and Chernow in denouncing the Republican presidential nominee as a “monstrous clown with a monstrous ego.” McCullough also had one emphatic cause: education. He worried that Americans knew too little about history and didn’t appreciate the sacrifices of the Revolutionary era. He spoke often at campuses and before Congress, once telling a Senate Committee that because of the No Child Left Behind act “history is being put on the back burner or taken off the stove altogether in many or most schools, in favor of math and reading.”
McCullough also was active in the preservation of historical regions. He opposed the building of a residential tower near the Brooklyn Bridge and was among the historians and authors in the 1990s who criticized the Walt Disney Company’s planned Civil War theme park in a region of northern Virginia of particular historical significance.
“We have so little left that’s authentic and real,” McCullough said at the time. “To replace what we have with plastic, contrived history, mechanical history is almost sacrilege.”
McCullough took on a few rascals in his books, notably the conniving New York politicians involved with the Brooklyn Bridge, but he preferred to write about people he liked, comparing it to the choice of a roommate. Revulsion at the private life of Pablo Picasso drove him to abandon a planned book on the artist, while his biography on Adams was originally supposed to be on Adams and Thomas Jefferson, whose character also proved too flawed.
McCullough, whose father and grandfather founded the McCullough Electric Company, was born in Pittsburgh in 1933. He loved history as a child, recalling lively dinner conversations, portraits of Washington and Lincoln that seemed to hang in every home and the field trip to a nearby site where Washington fought one of his earliest battles. He majored in English at Yale University and met playwright Thornton Wilder, who encouraged the young student to write. McCullough worked at the United States Information Agency, Sports Illustrated and the American Heritage Publishing Company before deciding that he wanted to try a book about an event that took place in his home state in 1889 — the Johnstown Flood, which killed more than 2,000 people and was as much a disaster in its time as Hurricane Katrina was more than a century later.
McCullough researched the book in his spare time, and pleaded in vain with Little, Brown and Company to publish him. He ended up with Simon & Schuster, which released the book in 1968 — for an advance of $5,000 — and remained his publisher for the rest of his career.
“The Johnstown Flood” was successful enough that McCullough worried he would be typecast as an author of failure, “Bad News McCullough.” Publishers were asking him to write about the Chicago Fire and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. So for his next book, “The Great Bridge,” he told a story of success. “That I knew little or nothing about civil engineering, that I had never done well in math or physics or had much interest in things mechanical didn’t deter me in the least,” he later wrote. “I was too excited. There was so much I wanted to know.”
McCullough followed with “The Path Between the Seas”; and “Mornings on Horseback,” published in 1981 and praised by Gore Vidal as “part of a new and welcome genre: the biographical sketch.” “Mornings on Horseback” won the National Book Award, but, Vidal noted, was overshadowed by the release of Edmund Morris’ Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.” It would be the last time a McCullough book received second billing.
He had considered a biography of Franklin Roosevelt, but instead related to Roosevelt’s less dynamic, more forthright successor, Harry Truman. McCullough spent the next decade writing the book, living for a time in Truman’s hometown, Independence, Missouri, and making a daily routine, as the former president did, of a morning walk.
“Truman,” published in 1992, was a million seller that capped and confirmed a long rise in the standing of a man who had left office 40 years earlier with an approval rating under 30% and now was virtually canonized as an honest and tenacious leader. Among the book’s fans were presidential hopeful Ross Perot, who bluntly compared himself to Truman, and the first President Bush, who even consulted with McCullough during his unsuccessful bid for re-election.
“John Adams,” published in 2001, was just as popular and just as helpful to its subject, with Congress passing legislation later that year to build a monument in honor of the second president. “1776″ came out in 2005, followed by an illustrated edition two years later. An HBO miniseries based on “John Adams,” starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney, aired in 2008. Tom Hanks was planning a miniseries based on McCullough’s book on the Wright brothers.
McCullough had five children and an affinity for happily married politicians such as Truman and Adams that could be traced to his wife, Rosalee Barnes, whom he married in 1954 and who died in June. She was his editor, muse and closest friend. At his home in Martha’s Vineyard, McCullough would proudly show visiting reporters a photograph of their first meeting, at a spring dance, the two gazing upon each other.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-08-08T18:02:55+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/2022/08/08/david-mccullough-pulitzer-winning-historian-dies-89/ |
ATLANTA (AP) — Govs. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire on Thursday immediately banned the use of TikTok and popular messaging applications from all computer devices controlled by their state governments, saying the Chinese government may be able to access users’ personal information.
Both Republican governors banned the messaging app WeChat and other apps owned by Chinese firm Tencent. Sununu went further, banning apps owned by Chinese firm Alibaba and telecommunications hardware and smartphones made by Chinese firms including Huawei and ZTE.
Kemp also banned Telegram, saying its Russian control poses similar risks.
“The state of Georgia has a responsibility to prevent any attempt to access and infiltrate its secure data and sensitive information by foreign adversaries such as the CCP,” Kemp wrote in a memo, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. “As such, it is our duty to take action to preserve the safety and security of our state against the CCP, entities it controls and other foreign cyberthreats.”
Sununu said the ban “will help preserve the safety, security, and privacy of the citizens of New Hampshire.”
Kemp cited comments by FBI Director Chris Wray earlier this month that China could use the app to collect data on its users that could be used for spying operations.
Sununu ordered state agencies to remove any prohibited software or hardware within 30 days.
Kemp and Sununu are among at least 14 governors to take such an action, part of a wave that also includes calls for Congress to ban the use of the programs from federal government computers.
Some agencies swiftly took action. Within an hour, Georgia’s Department of Transportation posted a farewell video on TikTok to its 2,834 followers, saying “Follow us on Instagram, we will no longer be posting to TikTok! Thank you all for the engagement.” The department had posted more than 80 videos since October 2021.
Andrew Isenhour, a spokesperson for Kemp, said guidelines to be issued by the Georgia Technology Authority later Thursday would include exceptions that would allow law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to access the platforms with special permission.
The ban will not apply to Georgia public universities, Isenhour said. Many of which use TikTok to court potential new students and communicate with current students and athletic fans.
Other states that have issued bans including Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
The U.S. Senate passed a bill in 2020 to ban TikTok, but it never passed the House. Other bills to regulate or ban TikTok and other apps are also pending in Congress. The U.S. armed forces have prohibited the app on military devices.
Critics say they fear the Chinese government is gaining access to critical information through the application and could be using it to spread misinformation or propaganda.
While there has been much debate about whether the Chinese government is actively collecting TikTok data, observers say TikTok would have to comply with any potential requests from Chinese security and intelligence requests to hand over data because the company’s owner ByteDance, is a Chinese company.
ByteDance moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown told The Associated Press earlier this month that the bans “are largely fueled by misinformation about our company.”
TikTok Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas, based in Los Angeles, has said the company protects all American users’ data and that Chinese government officials have no access to it.
Former President Donald Trump issued blanket orders against Chinese tech companies that sought to block new users from downloading WeChat and TikTok in 2020, but lost in court. President Joe Biden has taken a narrower approach, ordering a Commerce Department review of security concerns. U.S. officials and the company are now in talks over a possible agreement that would resolve American security concerns.
A researcher with the conservative Heritage Foundation last month called on government officials to ban TikTok from operating entirely in the United States. But some other experts say the threat is overstated and that China gains little advantage from TikTok information that isn’t publicly available.
___
Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
___
Associated Press reporter Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H., contributed to this story.
___
This story has been corrected to show Georgia public universities will not be affected by the ban. | 2022-12-16T14:05:36+00:00 | nwahomepage.com | https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/national/ap-georgia-becomes-latest-to-ban-tiktok-from-state-computers/ |
STUTTGART, Germany, May 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ONGOAL TECH showcased its battery slurry mixing and battery material production line models at The Battery Show Europe 2023 from May 23rd to 25th. The company replicated its comprehensive solutions for battery materials production and three types of slurry-mixing processes through immersive 3D miniatures.
Partnering with top global power battery OEMs like CATL, BYD, and CALB, ONGOAL TECH, the leading global integrated service provider of material handling systems, possesses extensive experience and know-how in the Lithium-ion battery industry, and as a leader, it is committed to pushing boundaries of technology innovation in battery manufacturing.
Click to watch the Video: ONGOAL TECH Shines Again at The Battery Show Europe 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njEDV4Z-7ng
One-Stop Solution for Anode and Cathode Materials
ONGOAL TECH strives to provide customers with stable, reliable, efficient, and complete solutions, covering process design, utility design, core equipment development, and customized intelligent control systems. ONGOAL TECH supports material suppliers with:
- Designs that better meet production requirements, such as patented tenon interlock ceramic plates in the Colter Mixer (Plough Mixer) to reduce metal contamination.
- Increased production capacity enhances large-scale manufacturing capability, with the largest model of Colter Mixer (Plough Mixer) up to 6000L in operation(lager size in testing )
- Comprehensive, end-to-end service covering design planning, construction guidance, core equipment manufacturing, and after-sales support.
Covering 3 Types of Battery Slurry Mixing Equipment Concurrently
ONGOAL TECH offers three types of slurry mixing technologies and equipment: the Dual Planetary Slurry Mixing System, High Efficiency Slurry Mixing System, and Twin-screw Continuous Slurry Mixing System. These systems cover the entire process from feeding, metering, slurry-mixing and dispersion, to slurry transferring, providing step-by-step product matrices to meet diverse production requirements. ONGOAL TECH brings to the battery industry:
- Incoming material inspection to address production concerns and ensure smooth operations.
- Advanced technology upgrades that align with industry trends, reducing the investment by 23% with the High Efficiency Slurry Mixing System.
- Standing out as one of the few companies with expertise in all three generations of mixing equipment.
In recent years, ONGOAL TECH has gained extensive experience in implementing overseas projects through collaborations with clients in Europe and America. Looking ahead, the company will accelerate its international expansion, create higher-quality and more comprehensive solutions, and contribute to a "zero-carbon" era through global manufacturing, global services, and global cooperation, supporting partners worldwide.
About ONGOAL
Established in 2008, ONGOAL is a National High-Tech Enterprise in China. The company provides complete engineering design and delivery services, core equipment and accessories, software, and other technical services to its customers.
Focused on automatic one-stop material handling solutions, ONGOAL integrates core modules such as dosing, storage, pneumatic conveying, metering, batching, mixing, dispersing, packaging, and intelligent control. ONGOAL's products and systems are widely used in industries such as battery slurry mixing, battery materials, fine chemicals, food and medicine, rubber, and plastics. It is a trusted expert in material handling.
For more details, please contact:
Chris Xie
T: +86 18820300825
E: chrisxie@ongoaltech.com
More about us at ONGOAL website https://en.ongoaltech.com/about.html
ONGOAL LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/76602416/admin/
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SOURCE ONGOAL TECH | 2023-05-29T09:18:01+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2023/05/29/ongoal-tech-moves-battery-production-line-battery-show-europe-2023/ |
Augment CXM's deep learning engine builds on Sutherland's AI-based agent assist
technology, empowering brands to deliver transformative customer experiences
ROCHESTER. N.Y., Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sutherland, an experience-led digital transformation company, today announced that it has acquired AI-based customer experience platform company Augment CXM to extend Sutherland's AI solutions portfolio and help global brands improve efficiency, boost customer satisfaction and drive loyalty and conversion.
Augment CXM's technology further supports Sutherland's commitment to deliver impactful customer journeys for global brands by enhancing the work of people with the very best in AI and intelligent automation. Sutherland's use of "Human-in-the-Loop" AI training models couples AI capabilities with human intelligence to optimize performance by providing real-time AI-based insights and suggested responses.
"The addition of Augment CXM technology to our solutions expands and accelerates the innovative AI solutions we deliver," said Doug Gilbert, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Sutherland. "This powerful combination of augmenting human intelligence with AI technology to solve complex business problems enables our clients to achieve transformational business outcomes."
Integrating Augment CXM's technology with Sutherland AI-based human assist technology solutions results in a significant leap forward. Augment CXM's client base, some of the most well-known brands in the world, have experienced as much as 30% gains in agent efficiency and 44% increases in sales conversion rates.
"Our clients have the highest expectations for end-user experiences and content quality. Those expectations drive the need for business agility," Benjamin Shan, VP Conversational AI at Sutherland. "Sutherland has innovative solutions to address these customer needs and the addition of Augment CXM technology to our stack advances our roadmap —taking our ability to exceed expectations to a whole new level."
For more information, visit Sutherland Conversational AI.
Sutherland is an experience-led digital transformation company. Our mission is to deliver exceptionally designed and engineered experiences for customers and employees. For over 35 years, we have cared for our client's customers, delivering measurable results and accelerating growth. Our proprietary, AI-based products and platforms are built using robust IP and automation. We are a team of global professionals, operationally effective, culturally meshed, and committed to our clients and to one another. We call it One Sutherland.
Media Contacts:
Jim Cameron
Sutherland Public Relations
SutherlandPR@teamlewis.com
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SOURCE Sutherland | 2022-09-22T15:17:32+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/09/22/sutherland-acquires-augment-cxm/ |
By DANICA KIRKA and MICHAEL CASEY (Associated Press)
BOSTON (AP) — The Prince and Princess of Wales embarked Wednesday on their first overseas trip since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, aiming to showcase the younger face of a monarchy that is tackling important issues like climate change as it attempts to remain relevant in a modern, multicultural Britain.
The three-day trip to Boston is focused on Prince William’s splashy initiative to award millions of dollars to a new generation of environmental entrepreneurs who are developing everything from cleaner burning stoves to alternatives to leather. It will include visits to a program for at-risk youth, a sustainability lab and a tour of Boston’s shoreline to see the city’s effort to combat climate change.
It will culminate Friday in the awarding of the prince’s signature Earthshot Prize, a global competition aimed at finding new ways to protect the planet and tackle climate change.
After their arrival, the beaming royal couple strolled onto a stage at City Hall Plaza — William wearing a single-vent navy suit and Kate radiant in a Burberry dress and Alexander McQueen coat, and earrings by designer Shyla London — amid tight security and a cheering crowd, many snapping photos and video.
Prince William told the crowd that one of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches was the inspiration to hold the second Earthshot Prize in Boston.
“It was that moonshot speech that inspired me to launch the Earthshot Prize with the aim of doing the same for climate change as President Kennedy did for the space race. And where better to hold this year’s awards ceremony than in President Kennedy’s hometown,” William said.
Later, the couple sat courtside for a Boston Celtics-Miami Heat game, joined by team managing partner Wyc Grousbeck, co-owner and president Steve Pagliuca and his wife, Judy, along with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Gov.-elect Maura Healey.
The royal couple was announced to a cheering Garden crowd during a timeout in the second quarter and briefly shown on the video screen. But a security official stepped in front of the camera, eliciting a chorus of boos.
The visit comes less than three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth, whose personal popularity dampened criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign. King Charles III, William’s father, has made clear that his will be a slimmed-down monarchy, with less pomp and ceremony than its predecessors.
“I think this is less about saving the Earth and more about saving the royal family,’ said Boston University professor Arianne Chernock, an expert in modern British history. “To be honest, we’ve seen Charles as king and his first months in that position trying to feel his way, find his way towards being a more relevant, more modern monarch. And I think we see something similar happening with William and Kate.’
Part of that reset involves reclaiming the hearts and minds of people in America, where William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, and sister-in-law, Meghan, have dominated the media since moving to California in 2020. Harry and Meghan have criticized the royal family for alleged racism and insensitive treatment and built their own media profile by making films and podcasts for Netflix and Spotify.
The Netflix series “The Crown” has also resurrected some of the more troubled times of the House of Windsor, including the collapse of Charles’ marriage to the late Princess Diana, William’s mother, amid mutual allegations of infidelity.
But William and Kate are keen to tell a different story, about their work on environmental issues, mental health and early childhood education.
During a gala concert celebrating the queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June, William delivered a speech highlighting his grandmother’s and father’s pioneering work on the environment, as images of jungles and oceans were projected on the walls of Buckingham Palace behind him.
Kate last week wrote an opinion piece on the need to improve the lives of young children that appeared in The Daily Telegraph, one of Britain’s most influential newspapers, alongside a photo of the princess sitting cross-legged among a group of elementary school students.
William and Kate’s last visit to the United States was in 2014, not long after their wedding. During that trip, the glamorous young couple were feted as they toured the eastern U.S. Eight years later, now in their 40s and with three young children, the prince and princess are finally having a return engagement.
On Wednesday, they were greeted at the airport by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker before heading to City Hall to meet Mayor Wu and Gov.-elect Healy ahead of a visit to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library and Museum. President Joe Biden planned to greet the couple later in the week.
City Hall, along with 15 other landmarks, was lit up in green to mark the kickoff of the Earthshot celebrations.
Andrew Warburton, who grew up in Bristol, England, praised their environmental work while waiting for the event. “They represent the future in that way,” he said.
Pamela Spencer, a school teacher, waited with her two sisters in hopes of giving William and Kate a bouquet of flowers.
“They are following in the footsteps of her late majesty. I’m really here to show them they have a lot of support in New England,” Spencer said.
On Thursday, William and Kate will visit Roca Inc., highlighting the racial equity group’s efforts to improve the lives of young people by addressing issues such as poverty, incarceration and trauma from urban violence. They will also visit Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, a leader in research into the long-term impact of early childhood experiences.
But throughout the trip, William’s eye will be on the Earthshot Prize.
The ability of the royals to shine a light on the issue and fuse their fame with entertainers such as Billie Eilish, who is set to headline the awards show, is likely to make people pay attention.
Earthshot offers 1 million pounds ($1.2 million) in prize money to each of the winners of five separate categories: nature protection, clean air, ocean revival, waste elimination and climate change. The winners and all 15 finalists also receive help in expanding their projects to meet global demand.
The winners are set to be announced Friday at Boston’s MGM Music Hall as part of a glitzy show headlined by Eilish, Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding and Chloe x Halle. The show will also feature videos narrated by naturalist David Attenborough and actor Cate Blanchett.
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Kirka reported from London. Associated Press Sports Writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
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College grads expect to make $50,000 more at their first job than they actually will, survey finds
(CNN) - A new survey shows the next crop of college graduates have unrealistic expectations about their first job.
The survey by Real Estate Witch shows students expect to make a six-figure salary at their first job, when the reality is less than half of that.
In fact, the survey shows the undergraduate class of 2022, across all majors, overestimate their starting salaries by 88%, expecting to make at least $50,000 more than they actually will.
The average starting salary for college graduates is $55,260, but current college students expect to make nearly $104,000 in their first job, Real Estate Witch found.
Journalism grads had the most unrealistic expectations, overestimating their starting salaries by 139% – they expected to make $107,000 their first year, when the actual average is below $45,000.
Only 15% of 2022 graduates have accepted a job offer.
The survey also found that 52% of students do not believe college is worth the debt, and 40% regret attending.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-06T16:39:56+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/2022/05/06/college-grads-expect-make-50000-more-their-first-job-than-they-actually-will-survey-finds/ |
EAU CLAIRE (WQOW) - The '2023 Wisconsin Employee-Owned Company of the Year' award has gone to a local business.
Realityworks in Eau Claire earned the title earlier in March. The Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP Association, recognized Realityworks' commitment to employee-owned ownership through its actions of clear communication and endorsement of the ESOP vision.
Realityworks was founded in 1994 and has created hands-on learning products to enhance students' education from an infant simulator to nursing manikins to bariatric simulators.
Company officials said they strive to create a positive workplace culture for their 90 employees.
"It feels great to be recognized. This is something that our employees just really feel a lot of pride in working together toward this mission and just building the company together. To be recognized within the ESOP community is an awesome feeling," said Jessica Bierman, human resources director of Realityworks.
With this state award, the organization is eligible to win the national ESOP Company of the Year award.
The winner will be announced in May at the national conference in Washington, D.C. | 2023-03-16T01:56:33+00:00 | wqow.com | https://www.wqow.com/eye_on_eau_claire/realityworks-in-eau-claire-named-2023-wisconsin-employee-owned-company-of-the-year/article_ffb3d5f0-c37d-11ed-8ef6-f334c002317c.html |
Updated March 13, 2023 at 5:27 PM ET
At least seven of the eight people who were found dead over the weekend on the shores of Black's Beach in San Diego are presumed to have been nationals of Mexico, according to the Mexican consulate general. That's based on the identifications they carried.
The deaths are believed to have been related a capsized boat that local authorities discovered near the city's Torrey Pines neighborhood.
Around 11:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, authorities received a 911 call that a boat carrying at least eight people had overturned and that victims were in the water.
The call was made by a Spanish-speaking woman who was on a separate boat with eight people that had already reached the shore, according to San Diego Fire Department officials.
Initial search attempts were hampered by the high tide and weather conditions on Saturday evening. After six hours of search and recovery efforts, authorities said they found in total eight deceased people and two small overturned fishing boats known as pangas, Mónica Muñoz, a spokeswoman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, told NPR.
Officials also found several life jackets and fuel barrels, Muñoz said.
No survivors were encountered during the search, and the bodies of all of the victims were turned over to San Diego County Medical Examiner, she added. Searches continued the next day for other passengers who may have been missing. The U.S. Coast Guard said they suspended the search at 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday.
All eight victims appeared to be adults, local fire officials said.
Both local and federal authorities suspect that the boats were carrying migrants who were attempting to reach the U.S.
"This is one of the worst maritime smuggling tragedies that I can think of," Lifeguard Chief James Gartland said at a press conference on Sunday.
Officials also did not have any information on what may have caused the boats to capsize, as of Sunday, but Gartland noted that the area where the boats were found is generally hazardous — even in the daytime.
"You could land in some sand or get to waist-high, knee-high water and think that you're safe and be able to exit the water, but there's long inshore holes," he said. "So, if you step into those holes, those rip currents will pull you along the shore and back out the sea."
Along with local firefighters and lifeguards, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard assisted in the rescue and recovery efforts.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-03-13T22:08:45+00:00 | kvpr.org | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-03-12/at-least-7-victims-of-a-capsized-boat-in-san-diego-are-presumed-to-have-been-mexicans |
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
The trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is well underway despite only being in its second day. And as we'll hear, President Trump has had a lot to say about the trial. Manafort faces charges of bank and tax fraud. The jury has already heard from the prosecution that Manafort led a lavish life and allegedly considered himself above the law. The defense says that Manafort put his financial affairs in the hands of his former partner Rick Gates, whom he trusted.
NPR national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has again spent the day at the federal courthouse in northern Virginia. Hey there, Carrie.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hi, Audie.
CORNISH: So I understand there was a statement today that caused quite a reaction regarding Rick Gates. What happened?
JOHNSON: Yeah. So the judge in this case, T.S. Ellis, interrupts lawyers from both sides very often, prompting them to hurry up. And at one point he interrupted the government to say, you're going to offer Mr. Gates to testify, aren't you? And one of the prosecutors in the case, Uzo Asonye, said, he may testify in this case, your honor, he may not. Asonye wasn't committal one way or the other.
He went on to say that they are calibrating their case on a day-to-day basis trying to shorten it and did not make a commitment about whether Rick Gates, Manafort's former business partner, will take the stand. That would be important because Manafort wants to put Rick Gates on trial and point the finger of blame at Rick Gates for the many offenses - tax and bank offenses for which Manafort is charged.
CORNISH: In the meantime, tell us about the witnesses they did call and what they had to say.
JOHNSON: Yeah, sure. We zipped through many witnesses today, I think eight or nine by my count. One was Matthew Mikuska, a special agent who was involved in the search of Paul Manafort's condominium in the Alexandria, Va., area last year. Mikuska testified that contrary to reporting at the time, they knocked three times on the door and announced themselves as FBI agents before opening the door and that they did not come in the middle of the night. They came shortly after 6 a.m. Mikuska did initially get the date of the search wrong, which was kind of a problem. But he eventually cleaned that up.
And then, Audie, we had a stream of witnesses to testify about how Paul Manafort spent some of the money he allegedly failed to report as income. There were landscaping people, a real estate agent and then perhaps most memorably a couple of people representing luxury men's wear companies. A couple of them wore amazing, immaculately tailored suits, so amazing that one of the defense lawyers assigned to cross-examine them, Jay Nanavati, had to say, I apologize in advance for my suit, which kind of broke up the whole courtroom.
CORNISH: What was the atmosphere like?
JOHNSON: You know, things have been moving very, very rapidly in this case, so rapidly that after the jury went on a break, outside the presence of the jury one of the prosecutors said, we are moving more quickly than we anticipated. The government thinks it can wrap up its case by next week. The judge responded that he was very happy to hear that. So this case may last even fewer than three weeks as predicted.
As for the atmosphere, the judge was quite cranky with both sides interrupting the government on numerous occasions, trying to maintain that it's not a crime to be a rich person and in fact in America that's celebrated as success - a success, not a criminal offense. The judge also has barred government and the defense from using the word oligarch, which is interesting in this case because Manafort is alleged to have done a lot of work for Ukrainian oligarchs over the years. But the jury is not going to hear that word if the judge has his mind.
CORNISH: And short time left. When the president tweets, is there a worry that that could affect jurors in the trial?
JOHNSON: Not a worry at this point. The judge has instructed the jury to stay off social media, stop listening to the radio, I'm sorry to say watching television and even stop talking to their family members about what they are seeing and hearing in court.
CORNISH: That's NPR's national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Carrie, thank you.
JOHNSON: My pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | 2023-04-12T22:54:46+00:00 | kosu.org | https://www.kosu.org/u-s-news/2018-08-01/paul-manafort-enters-second-day-of-trial |
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation slowed for a second straight month on a sharp fall in gas prices, yet excluding energy most other items got more expensive in August, a sign that inflation remains a heavy burden for American households.
Consumer prices surged 8.3% in August compared with a year earlier, the government said Tuesday, down from an 8.5% jump in July and a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1%, after a flat reading in July.
But excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices jumped 0.6% from July to August — up sharply from 0.3% the previous month and dashing hopes, for now, that core prices might be starting to moderate. In the 12 months ending in August, core prices jumped 6.3%, up from 5.9% in July. Rents, medical care services and new cars all grew more expensive in August.
Core prices typically provide a clearer read on where costs are headed than overall inflation does. Stock index futures tumbled on the worse-than-expected core figures, with many investors fearful that the Federal Reserve will now raise interest rates even faster in its drive to curb inflation.
Inflation remains far higher than many Americans have ever experienced and is keeping pressure on the Fed. The central bank is expected to announce another big increase in its benchmark interest rate next week, which will lead to higher costs for many consumer and business loans.
Inflation has escalated families’ grocery bills, rents and utility costs, among other expenses, inflicting hardships on many households and deepening gloom about the economy despite strong job growth and low unemployment. Groceries continue to rise rapidly, jumping 0.7% from July to August. In the past year, they have soared 13.5% — the biggest 12-month increase since 1979.
Even if inflation peaks, economists expect it could take two years or more to fall back to something close to the Fed’s annual 2% target. The cost of rental apartments and other services, such as health care, are likely to keep rising in the months ahead.
Republicans have sought to make inflation a central issue in the midterm congressional elections. They blame President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed last year for much of the increase. Many economists generally agree, though they also say that snarled supply chains, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and widespread shortages of items like semiconductors have been key factors in the inflation surge.
Yet the signs that inflation might have peaked — or will soon — could bolster Democrats’ prospects in the midterm elections and may already have contributed to slightly higher public approval ratings for Biden. In his speeches, Biden has generally stopped referring to the impact of high prices on family budgets. He has instead highlighted his administration’s recent legislative accomplishments, including a law enacted last month that’s intended to reduce pharmaceutical prices and fight climate change.
Nationally, the average cost of a gallon of gas has dropped to $3.71, down from just above $5 in mid-June. Many businesses are also reporting signs that supply backlogs and inflation are beginning to fade.
General Motors has said the pandemic disruptions to overseas production of semiconductors, which have reduced auto output, have significantly dissipated and that supply chain disruptions overall have improved about 80% from the worst days of the pandemic.
Over the past year, prices of meat, milk and fruits and vegetables have soared by double-digits. But executives at Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery chain, said that falling prices for farm commodities like wheat and corn could slow cost increases for food.
Next week, most Fed watchers expect the central bank to announce a third straight three-quarter-point hike, to a range of 3% to 3.25%. The Fed’s rapid rate increases — the fastest since the early 1980s — typically lead to higher costs for mortgages, auto loans and business loans, with the goal of slowing growth and reducing inflation. The average 30-year mortgage rate jumped to nearly 5.9% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the highest figure in nearly 14 years.
Chair Jerome Powell has said the Fed will need to see several months of low inflation readings that suggest price increases are falling back toward its 2% target before it might suspend its rate hikes.
Wages are still rising at a strong pace — before adjusting for inflation — which has elevated demand for apartments as more people move out on their own. A shortage of available houses has also forced more people to keep renting, thereby intensifying competition for apartments.
Rising rents and more expensive services, such as medical care, are also keeping inflation high. | 2022-09-13T14:38:04+00:00 | myfox8.com | https://myfox8.com/news/lower-gas-prices-slow-inflation-for-2nd-month-in-a-row/ |
Woman accused of spitting on St. Clair Shores, Eastpointe police charged
Eastpointe — A 35-year-old woman accused of spitting on police officers and resisting arrest has been charged, officials said Wednesday.
Shaina Sarah Perez was arraigned Tuesday in 38th District Court on three counts of assaulting a police officer, attempted resisting and obstructing arrest as well as assault and battery, according to court records.
A judge set her bond at $50,000 and scheduled her next court date, a preliminary examination, for April 26.
If convicted, she faces up to two years in prison for each felony count of assaulting a police officer, up to one year for attempted resisting arrest, also a felony, and up to 93 days for assault and battery, a misdemeanor.
Eastpointe police said Perez was arrested Sunday with the help of St. Clair Shores police officers.
The St. Clair Shores officers had responded to a report of an assault in progress at a gas station on Nine Mile at Interstate 94 in Eastpointe. They said the subject was uncooperative and spit on the three of them.
Eastpointe police arrested a suspect, later identified as Perez. During the arrest, Perez spit on the Eastpointe officers and tried to flee, according to authorities. | 2022-04-13T18:45:52+00:00 | detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2022/04/13/woman-accused-spitting-st-clair-shores-eastpointe-police-charged/7304820001/ |
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. (KTVX) – A man is dead after falling from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, authorities have confirmed.
Friday afternoon, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim west of the Bright Angel Point Trail on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Responding rangers located the body of a 44-year-old man approximately 200 ft. below the rim. The visitor was reportedly off the trail when he accidentally fell off the edge.
The man has not yet been identified, and additional details have not yet been released. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Rangers say visitors should remain on designated trails and walkways, staying a safe distance from the edge of the rim.
Earlier this summer, a Tennessee woman died in the park after falling into the Colorado River while on a commercial river trip. A few days prior, another woman died after rangers received reports of a hiker in distress. | 2022-08-28T23:31:35+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/44-year-old-man-dies-after-falling-200-feet-off-rim-at-grand-canyon/ |
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A Huntersville EV charging company will get more than 200 new jobs thanks to a $4.2 million investment.
The Mecklenburg County Office of Economic Development announced at an event Tuesday its partnership with Atom Power for an expansion of its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Huntersville. The expansion includes 205 new jobs by 2027.
The company located in The Park-Huntersville will create positions for electrical, mechanical and software engineers, electrical technicians, and other manufacturing and support personnel. The average salary is expected to be $91,804.
Atom Power founder Ryan Kennedy attended both Central Piedmont Community College and UNC Charlotte, where he started the business. Kennedy ultimately invented the most advanced and only digital breaker switch ever approved for commercial use, the county said.
In attendance at today’s project announcement were Gov. Roy Cooper, Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and Economic Development Committee Chair Susan Rodriguez-McDowell (District 6), and other local and state representatives.
“We are excited for the growth of Atom Power and about the future of our county that will now be enhanced by the new advanced manufacturing jobs, the investment in the North Mecklenburg community, and the opportunity to provide jobs that improve the futures of many citizens in Mecklenburg County,” said Rodriguez-McDowell.
Financial support for the project includes a Job Development Investment Grant, training support from the North Carolina Community College System and local incentives from Lake Norman Economic Development and Mecklenburg County.
Partners include Mecklenburg County Economic Development, Town of Huntersville, Lake Norman Economic Development, Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, North Carolina General Assembly, and the North Carolina Community College System. | 2023-05-09T21:02:13+00:00 | qcnews.com | https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/mecklenburg-county/huntersville-ev-charging-company-to-expand-with-200-new-jobs-through-meck-partnership/ |
Ukraine has started using US provided cluster munitions in combat
By Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann and Alex Marquardt, CNN
(CNN) — Ukrainian troops have started firing the cluster munitions provided by the US as part of their counteroffensive against Russia, according to two US officials and another person briefed on the matter.
The US is still waiting for updates from Ukrainian forces about how effective the munitions have been on the battlefield, one of the officials said.
The US announced on July 8 that it would be sending the controversial munitions, and they were delivered to Ukrainian forces about a week later, as CNN first reported.
Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavsky told CNN at an interview in central Ukraine last week that the munitions “can radically change (the battlefield).”
“The enemy also understands that with getting this ammunition, we will have an advantage,” Tarnavsky said.
Cluster munitions scatter “bomblets” across large areas, which would allow Ukrainian forces to target larger concentrations of Russian forces and equipment with fewer rounds of ammunition.
But the bomblets can also fail to explode on impact, and can pose a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines. The UK, France, Germany and other key US allies have outlawed the munitions under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but the US and Ukraine are not signatories to the ban.
The US sent the M864 and M483A1 models of cluster munitions, CNN has reported, which the administration said were tested in recent years to ensure they had a lower than 2.35% dud rate. The dud rate refers to the percentage of bomblets that fail to explode and pose a risk to civilians.
The US decided to send the cluster munitions primarily to help alleviate a potential shortage of ammunition on the frontlines. It is not clear whether the heavy amount of artillery ammunition Ukrainians forces have been expending day-to-day would have been sustainable long-term without the cluster munitions, officials and military analysts said.
CNN reported earlier this week that the US and Europe are struggling to provide Ukraine with the large amount of ammunition it will need for a prolonged counteroffensive against Russia, and western countries are racing to ramp up production to avoid shortages on the battlefield that could hinder Ukraine’s progress.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer last week that the Ukrainians pledged in writing to only use the cluster munitions in “appropriate places” and not in populated areas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that Russia has a stockpile of cluster munitions and will consider using them against Ukraine “if they are used against us.” But Russia has already used the munitions several times in Ukraine, CNN has previously reported, including in densely populated areas.
In March, the United Nations said it had compiled credible reports that Russian forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times. A CNN investigation last year found that the Kremlin fired 11 cluster rockets at Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, during the war’s opening days.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | 2023-07-20T18:40:24+00:00 | krdo.com | https://krdo.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2023/07/20/ukraine-has-started-using-us-provided-cluster-munitions-in-combat/ |
Gun violence in Chicago is always a hot-button political topic and for good reason. Rampant gun violence has plagued Chicago’s streets for decades.
But in political circles, the topic is rarely discussed in terms of how to actually solve the city’s gun problem.
Instead, it’s used by Republicans to gin up fear among conservatives when discussing Black and brown communities. Despite conservative fearmongering on crime in Democrat-led cities and states, Chicago’s gun violence is slowly beginning to decrease.
According to ABC News, shootings in Chicago were down 20% through the end of summer. Homicides were also down 16% during the same period, and 101 fewer people were shot this summer as compared to last.
Homicides in the nation’s 50 largest cities were also down nearly 5% from last year after two years of pandemic-era increases.
In an interview with ABC News, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown discussed the reasons for the slight but welcoming decline. Brown accredited some of their success in combating gun violence to community engagement as well as an improved method of deployment of officers to crime-ridden areas.
“It’s the most complex policing landscape ever in this country’s history,” Brown told ABC News. “We are making progress, but the complexities make it such that it is so fragile. The ebbs and flows of violence are persistent.”
Brown also told ABC News that the Chicago Police have been taking about 12,000 guns off the city’s streets every year, including “ghost guns” or unregistered firearms, but admitted he didn’t think they, “were even chipping away” at the ghost gun problem.
Brown says his team will continue to fight against gun violence but stressed that policing is only one part of the solution.
“We’re talking about policing, but this is about economic development,” he told ABC News. “This is about poverty. This is about, in many instances, race.”
It’s also about messaging and empathy. For far too long Republicans have used Chicago’s struggle with gun violence as a tool to demonize the Black people who live there, furthering the empathetic divide.
Through their social media talk shows and right-wing AM stations, conservatives use misinformation to convince their constituents that gun violence is a Black problem when in reality it’s an American problem we all should be invested in.
An October study by Reboot, which surveyed 350 people between the ages of 18 and 74, found that more than 40% of the participants said they use “independent news outlets, like podcasts, YouTubers, or newsletters and websites that are not affiliated with a mainstream news organization.” Sixteen percent said they ask friends and family members, while 13% said they ask their social media friends and networks for help. Folks just aren’t getting the truth.
If you need an example of a Republican using crime as a fearmongering tactic and false narratives to gin up votes, look no further than Ron Johnson’s first debate against Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin’s senate race.
During the debate, Barnes called out the Senator for his hypocrisy on crime and policing when it came to the Jan. 6 riots.
It is obvious Republicans don’t mind using misinformation to create the narratives they believe will win them elections. In the meantime, local officials in cities like Chicago continue to try to solve real issues that affect real people.
SEE ALSO:
In Ron Johnson Debate, Mandela Barnes Destroys GOP’s Fearmongering Narrative On Crime
Op-Ed: Black Voters See Through Republican Misinformation And Manipulation In Georgia Senate Race
The post Gun Violence In Chicago Drops Despite Republican Fearmongering On Crime appeared first on NewsOne.
Gun Violence In Chicago Drops Despite Republican Fearmongering On Crime was originally published on newsone.com | 2022-10-11T00:58:57+00:00 | wtlcfm.com | https://wtlcfm.com/3340661/gun-violence-in-chicago-drops-despite-republican-fearmongering-on-crime/ |
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has considerable control over infectious diseases but now struggles against cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer as causes of early deaths, according to a new study published Thursday.
The Lancet Global Health, a prestigious British-based medical journal, reported that five non-communicable diseases — ischaemic heart disease, stroke, congenital defects, cirrhosis, and chronic kidney disease — were among the 10 leading causes of early deaths in the impoverished Islamic nation.
However, the journal said some of Pakistan’s work has resulted in an increase in life expectancy from 61.1 years to 65.9 over the past three decades. The change is due, it said, “to the reduction in communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases.” That’s still 7.6 years lower than the global average life expectancy, which increased over 30 years by 8% in women and 7% in men.
The study says “despite periods of political and economic turbulence since 1990, Pakistan has made positive strides in improving overall health outcomes at the population level and continues to seek innovative solutions to challenging health and health policy problems.”
The study, which was based on Pakistan’s health data from 1990 to 2019, has warned that non-communicable diseases will be the leading causes of death in Pakistan by 2040.
It said Pakistan will also continue to face infectious diseases.
“Pakistan urgently needs a single national nutrition policy, especially as climate change and the increased severity of drought, flood, and pestilence threatens food security,” said Dr. Zainab Samad, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Aga Khan University, one of the authors of the report.
“What these findings tell us is that Pakistan’s baseline before being hit by extreme flooding was already at some of the lowest levels around the globe,” said Dr. Ali Mokdad, Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at IHME. “Pakistan is in critical need of a more equitable investment in its health system and policy interventions to save lives and improve people’s health.”
The study said with a population approaching 225 million, “Pakistan is prone to the calamitous effects of climate change and natural disasters, including the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and catastrophic floods in 2010 and 2022, all of which have impacted major health policies and reform.”
It said the country’s major health challenges were compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and last summer’s devastating flooding that killed 1,739 people and affected 33 million.
Researchers ask Pakistan to “address the burden of infectious disease and curb rising rates of non-communicable diseases.” Such priorities, they wrote, will help Pakistan move toward universal health coverage.”
The journal, considered one of the most prestigious scientific publications in the world, reported on Pakistan’s fragile healthcare system with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine. The study was a collaboration with a Karachi-based prestigious Aga Khan University and Pakistan’s health ministry.
The study also mentioned increasing pollution as one of the leading contributors to the overall disease burden in recent years. Pakistan’s cultural capital of Lahore was in the grip of smog on Thursday, causing respiratory diseases and infection in the eyes. Usually in winter, a thick cloud of smog envelops Lahore, which in 2021 earned it the title of the world’s most polluted city. | 2023-01-20T01:59:52+00:00 | kron4.com | https://www.kron4.com/news/world/ap-international/ap-study-non-infectious-diseases-cause-early-death-in-pakistan/ |
From Stormtracker 18 Chief Meteorologist Matt Schaefer:
It was even warmer today across Western Wisconsin with highs near 90 degrees! While mid to upper 80s was most common, a few spots did hit the 90 degree mark. That includes Eau Claire, Chetek, and Black River Falls.
Eau Claire's high was the first at or above 90 this year, and the first time since last August. It has been 301 days since a high of 92 on August 3 of last summer, which is nearly 10 months ago.
It remains warm this evening, but it also is a bit more humid today than the past week or so. Still, dew points weren't uncomfortable in the Chippewa Valley, but they did rise into the low to mid 50s at times, and the higher humidity to the west will begin to move in tonight.
Dew points will approach 60... READ MORE | 2023-06-01T00:56:28+00:00 | wqow.com | https://www.wqow.com/weather/forecast/higher-humidity-will-bring-slightly-better-chances-for-isolated-to-scattered-showers-and-thunderstorms/article_3dbcea9a-fffa-11ed-8f7c-77ef3f7ae077.html |
Miracle of Birth Center pulls out extra stops to keep animals safe in extreme heat
(ABC 6 News) – Hundreds of people and animals walk through the Olmsted County Fair every year. And some of the guests, are even born there.
We are talking about the Miracle of Birth Center. All the animals have come in from local farms to give birth at the center. So far, calves, piglets, baby goats, and chickens have been born. Just like us, they need some extra care in the heat.
“Pigs don’t sweat so to help cool them down, we have fans but we are also squirting them with water,” said Tracy Nelson, a Barn Manager at the Miracle of Birth Center.
“On the flip side of it, these brand-new babies need a heat lamp. So it’s 90 some degrees out and we have to have a heat lamp for our little babies because that’s what they need. So just knowing farmers are taking really good care of their animals.”
The barn is open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Saturday night. | 2023-07-27T16:31:35+00:00 | kaaltv.com | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/miracle-of-birth-center-pulls-out-extra-stops-to-keep-animals-safe-in-extreme-heat/ |
CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has opened abstract submissions for its 43rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions in Denver, Colorado on 19-22 April, 2023. This event will feature educational content spanning the breadth of clinical practice and research concerning heart and lung transplantation, advanced heart and lung disease, mechanical circulatory support, and pulmonary vascular disease.
"Abstracts, representing the latest and greatest science in advanced heart and lung disease and their therapies, are the cornerstone of the ISHLT Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions," says Howard Eisen, MD, ISHLT 2023 Scientific Program Chair. "Abstracts and presentations at an ISHLT meeting are a way of getting feedback and improving your science as well as developing collaborations. If those are your goals, please submit your abstracts to the ISHLT Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions. We look forward to seeing you in Denver in 2023."
Abstract submissions are accepted in three areas: Research Abstracts, Early Career Clinical Case Reports, and Late-Breaking Clinical Science. The ISHLT welcomes submissions from all specialists engaged in treating advanced heart and lung disease, particularly those working on novel therapies. ISHLT2023 will feature some of the most ground-breaking investigative studies, including sessions on COVID-19.
"At ISHLT2023, attendees from all parts of the transplant care team will gather to enhance our knowledge and improve the care of our patients," says Andreas Zuckermann, MD, ISHLT President. "Answering the Call for Abstracts is incredibly important to ensure an international body of researchers is represented among the world's most influential professionals in the field of end-stage heart and lung failure and transplantation."
For more information about ISHLT2023, and to see full details on the Call for Abstracts, visit ishlt.org/ishlt2023.
About ISHLT
The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies. With members in more than 45 countries, ISHLT is the world's largest organization dedicated to the research, education and advocacy of end-stage heart and lung disease. ISHLT members represent more than 15 different professional disciplines. For more information, visit www.ishlt.org.
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SOURCE The International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation | 2022-08-01T17:43:37+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/08/01/submit-your-best-science-ishlt-accepting-abstracts-its-2023-annual-meeting/ |
Since Elon Musk took control of Twitter in late October, confusion over what is, and what is not allowed on the platform, even what a verified account is, has run rampant. Rules and policies can change daily, or even hourly. Little of what's transpired at Twitter in almost two months under Musk's leadership has anything to do with what was originally his biggest complaint about the platform: the scourge of bots, or spam accounts.
Here's a rundown of some of the events, policy changes and confusion that has been a hallmark of Musk's Twitter.
Oct. 27: Musk takes control of Twitter and fires the CEO, chief financial officer and the company’s top attorney.
Oct. 28: Some accounts recirculate long-debunked conspiracy theories in an attempt to “test” whether Twitter’s policies on misinformation were still being enforced.
Oct. 30: Musk tweets a link to an unfounded rumor about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband. He later deleted the tweet.
Oct. 31: Musk fires Twitter's board of directors and makes himself the board’s sole member.
Nov. 3: General Mills and Audi pause ads on Twitter. Other advertisers express concerns about content moderation under Musk and whether staying on Twitter might tarnish their brands.
Nov. 5: Twitter announces a $7.99 per-month subscription service that includes a blue check just ahead of U.S. midterm elections, previously given only to verified accounts.
Nov. 6: After a raft of bogus “verified” accounts begin posting on the platform, Musk says Twitter will suspend any impersonation account that fails to make clear it's a parody account.
Nov. 7: Musk urges “independent-minded voters” to vote Republican in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections.
Nov. 9: Musk seeks to reassure big companies that advertise on Twitter that his chaotic takeover of the social media platform won’t harm their brands, acknowledging that some “dumb things” might happen in the short term. Musk creates an “official” label for high-profile Twitter accounts, and abolishes it hours later.
Nov. 10: The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that the number of tweets containing one of several different racial slurs soared in the week after Musk bought Twitter.
Nov. 11: Twitter's relaunched blue-check “verification” labels for anyone willing to pay $8 a month was flooded by a wave of imposter accounts Twitter had approved, including a bogus Eli Lilly & Co. account that tweeted that insulin was free. Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, Musk’s own companies Tesla and SpaceX were also impersonated, as well as the accounts of various professional sports and political figures.
Nov. 13: Musk further guts the teams that battle misinformation on Twitter as outsourced moderators are let go.
Nov. 17: Democratic senators ask federal regulators to investigate any possible violations by Twitter of consumer-protection laws or of its data-security commitments.
Nov. 19: Donald Trump’s account is reinstated, reversing a ban that has kept the former president off the social media site since a pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The decision was based on the results of a poll Musk tweeted to followers.
Nov. 21: Twitter reinstates the personal account of far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, which was banned in January for violating the platform’s COVID-19 misinformation policies.
Nov. 25: Twitter announces plans to revamp its premium service with different colored check marks, including gold for companies, gray for government accounts, and blue for anyone who will pay for it.
Nov. 28: Twitter ceases enforcement of its policy against COVID-19 misinformation on the platform.
Nov. 30: A top European Union official warns Musk that Twitter needs to beef up measures to protect users from hate speech, misinformation and other harmful content to avoid fines or even a ban in the 27-nation bloc.
Dec. 10: Twitter again attempts to launch its premium service for $8 per month for web users, but it's now $11 per month for iPhone and iPad users.
Dec. 12: Twitter dissolves its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of around 100 independent civil, human rights and other organizations that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the platform.
Dec. 14: Twitter suspends an account that used publicly available flight data to track Elon Musk’s private jet, despite a pledge by the social media platform’s new owner to keep it up because of his free speech principles. The account is restored hours later with rules that impose new conditions on all users about sharing anyone’s current location, and then the account is suspended again.
Dec. 15: The accounts of journalists who cover Musk are suspended, among them reporters working for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Voice of America and other publications. The accounts are restored a day later after a Twitter poll.
Dec. 19: More than half of 17.5 million users who responded to a Twitter poll created by Musk over whether he should step down as head of the company voted yes by the time the poll closed. There was no immediate announcement from Twitter, or Musk, about whether he would resign, though Musk said that he would abide by the results. | 2022-12-19T21:23:05+00:00 | local10.com | https://www.local10.com/business/2022/12/19/musks-twitter-rules-a-dizzying-whiplash-inducing-timeline/ |
CAIRO (AP) — A Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly ran aground Thursday in Egypt’s vital Suez Canal, though authorities said they were able to refloat it after it momentarily disrupted the waterway.
The Xin Hai Tong 23 ran aground at the southern mouth of the Suez Canal, the body that oversees the waterway said in a statement. The ship was being towed to another area by three tug boats after an “emergency malfunction,” it said, that caused it to stop sailing.
The Suez Canal Authority said that traffic flow had returned to normal in the canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Leth Agencies, which oversees traffic in the canal, had said that four other vessels were stopped in line behind it after it ran aground.
The ship is a bulk carrier, which typically carries cargo. The ship measures some 190 meters (625 feet) by 32 meters (105 feet).
The Ever Given, a colossal container ship that crashed into a bank on a single-lane stretch of the canal in March 2021, blocking the waterway, was bigger. A massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats, helped by the tides, freed the skyscraper-sized vessel six days later, ending the crisis and allowing hundreds of waiting ships to pass through the canal. | 2023-05-25T10:24:43+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/world-news/ap-international/ap-hong-kong-flagged-vessel-briefly-runs-aground-in-egypts-vital-suez-canal-later-refloated/ |
Portugal rolls with Cristiano Ronaldo on bench — will he stay there?
Cristiano Ronaldo did his best to hide his disappointment.
Despite not being named to Portugal’s starting lineup by coach Fernando Santos for Tuesday’s round of 16 meeting with Switzerland — snapping a string of 18 consecutive World Cup starts dating to 2006 — the 37-year-old superstar put a brave face on it before, during and after his team’s dominating 6-1 victory.
Wearing a yellow FIFA bib along with the rest of the Portuguese substitutes, Ronaldo smiled and winked at fans during the warmup. He joined the pile of bodies after Gonçalo Ramos, his 21-year-old replacement in Santos’ starting XI, opened the scoring after just 17 minutes.
He appeared genuinely happy when 39-year-old central defender Pepe, his friend and longtime teammate with both the national team and Real Madrid, doubled the Seleção’s advantage later in the first half with a rare strike — just his eighth in 132 appearances for his country.
Inside, though, Ronaldo had to be fuming.
One of the greatest players of his generation, Ronaldo has made it clear for months, if not years, that he has no intention of riding off quietly into the sunset.
So peeved was he with his lack of a starring role at Manchester United this season — he was still starting some games and coming off the bench in others, at least until he refused to enter a Premier League match in October — that he forced his way out midseason by very publicly and very deliberately torching the club’s owners and manager.
RELATED: Ronaldo will reportedly join Saudi club Al Nassr in January
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (r) high-fives Portugal's Goncalo Ramos during his substitution. Next to him are Portugal's Pepe (l) and Portugal's coach Fernando Santos. (Photo by Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Indeed, Ronaldo had been in Santos’ lineup in each of Portugal’s first three games, and his petulant reaction to being subbed out late in last week’s first-round finale to South Korea understandably infuriated his coach.
Santos insisted benching Ronaldo against the Swiss was tactical, not punitive. That could be true. Ronaldo is a luxury player at this point in his legendary career. Inside the penalty box, he remains as efficient a finisher as there is in the sport. Outside of it, he can’t or won’t do the non-stop defensive running that is required of all modern strikers.
It was still a monumental decision, though.
Ronaldo had played every minute of the last three World Cups for Portugal. Now it’s clear he’ll occupy only a supporting role.
Ramos scored the Seleção's third goal, then completed his hat trick in the 67th minute. He’s not going back to the bench.
And Ronaldo isn’t getting back in again, at least not from the beginning.
How will he handle that humiliation not just publicly, but behind the scenes? Will he be a good soldier in the hopes that his teammates can carry him to his first World Cup title, just like they did when he got injured in the first half of the Euro 2016 final? That was different, to be sure. Ronaldo was the undisputed alpha dog then. Now, if he doesn’t play nice, his battered pride could torpedo Portugal’s hopes instead.
It's hard to know which way it will go. Even in his absence Tuesday, Ronaldo was the main attraction. There were more photographers’ lenses trained on him sitting on the bench before the match than on Portugal’s starters.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal gestures after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between Portugal and Switzerland at Lusail Stadium on December 6, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Evrim Aydin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A recent poll conducted by Portuguese newspaper A Bola claimed 70% of respondents wanted Ronaldo benched, but that wasn’t the reality Tuesday inside Lusail Iconic Stadium. The red and green-clad fans in attendance let out a huge cheer when Ronaldo started to warm up in the second half. Then they began chanting his name.
All of this puts Santos in an incredibly difficult spot.
When their hero finally replaced Ramos with a little more than a quarter-hour to go, the thunderous response was as loud as it was for any of Portugal’s five goals. Pepe dutifully ran over to give him the captain’s armband he’d donned in his stead.
Ronaldo nearly stole the show with a goal that was nullified by the offside flag. Afterward, he led the team in applauding the supporters. He was also the first player to disappear into the tunnel.
Portugal showed Tuesday that they don’t need Ronaldo to win this World Cup. But he’s still going to be not just a story the rest of the way, but the story. He always is. How that story ends has yet to be written.
It will be a fascinating tale either way.
Read more from the World Cup:
- Cristiano Ronaldo benched by Portugal coach for Swiss match
- Morocco steals show, ousting Spain to move into quarters
- Brazil's celebrations are what World Cup is all about
- Brazil is dominating the World Cup … and having a ton of fun
- With Neymar back, Brazil is more dangerous than ever
- Quick guide to surviving penalty-kick shootouts at World Cup
- World Cup turning into a superstar showcase as bracket narrows | 2022-12-06T22:55:11+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/sports/with-cristiano-ronaldo-on-bench-portugal-rolls-into-quarters |
BERLIN, Sept. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cinespace Studios (Cinespace), a global platform of production facilities, announced today a series of key leadership changes at Studio Babelsberg, a leading German film studio majority owned by Cinespace. The appointments, which were announced at Studio Babelsberg's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 30, 2022, help streamline the leadership function of the Cinespace platform and further the company's vision to build a premier global production platform for content creators across the globe.
Effective September 1, 2022, Studio Babelsberg will expand its Management Board to include five members. New members are:
- Andy Weltman, previously Managing Director at APA International and former Executive Vice President at Pinewood International, who will serve as Co-CEO and Co-Chairman of Studio Babelsberg,
- Ashley Rice, Co-Managing Partner and President of Cinespace, former Executive Vice President of Production at Legendary Television
- André Bleeker, CFO of A&O Hotels and Hostels headquartered in Berlin.
Mr. Weltman, Ms. Rice, and Mr. Bleeker will lead the business alongside Dr. Carl L. Woebcken and Mr. Christoph Fisser, existing members of the Management Board, in day-to-day operations and strategy for Studio Babelsberg. They will work in tandem with Cinespace's existing leadership team, which includes Ms. Rice, Eoin Egan, Co-Managing Partner and COO; and Keith Gee, Co-Managing Partner and CFO. Marius Schwarz, former CFO of Studio Babelsberg, stepped down from his role following the completion of his term on June 30, 2022. He will continue to serve the company an advisory capacity.
"I am excited to join the Studio Babelsberg team and look forward to working with the board to lead the studio into its next stage of growth," said Mr. Weltman. "With its unique heritage and the expanded reach that the Cinespace platform brings, Studio Babelsberg is well positioned to continue to attract world-class productions to Germany and create significant job growth and economic benefits for the German film and television production sector as well as the Potsdam region."
Additionally, industry executive Ty Warren has been elected to the company's Supervisory Board and will serve alongside existing members Michael Abel and Maria Terzini. Mr. Warren is currently on the Cinespace board and most recently served as the Global Head of Physical Production at Netflix. He replaces Matthias Platzeck, who stepped down from his position for personal reasons ahead of the AGM.
"On behalf of Cinespace, we are pleased to welcome Andy and Ty to the Management and Supervisory Boards at Studio Babelsberg," said Ms. Rice. "With Studio Babelsberg, Cinespace is one of the largest sound stage operators with a growing global footprint. We are excited to further integrate with this announcement and look forward to working together to support and enable great content creation."
The Studio Babelsberg Annual Report 2021, the agenda, and the voting results of the AGM are available on the Studio Babelsberg website at www.studiobabelsberg.com/en/corporate/investor-relations/.
Cinespace Studios is a best-in-class global platform of production facilities that supports content providers and their creatives. The platform is one of the largest sound stage operators globally with locations in Chicago, Toronto, and Studio Babelsberg in Germany. Cinespace Studios delivers the highest level of service while increasing the quality of the overall production experience and nurtures its local communities to support workforce development and crew diversity.
Media Contact
Cinespace Studios
Catherine Shin
Catherine.shin@cinespace.com
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SOURCE Cinespace Studios | 2022-09-02T15:41:53+00:00 | waff.com | https://www.waff.com/prnewswire/2022/09/02/cinespace-studios-announces-updates-platform-following-annual-general-meeting-studio-babelsberg/ |
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WXIN) – An Indiana man charged for participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots will now be permitted to go on a previously scheduled cruise following a delay in his trial.
Antony Vo, a 28-year-old from Bloomington, was charged in June 2021 with the following:
- Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority,
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds,
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building,
- Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building
After being charged, Vo’s trial date was set for Nov. 14. However, the trial was delayed and moved to February of 2023, because Vo’s attorney had a scheduling conflict.
Court documents show that Vo was not consulted about the new February trial date, causing him to again file for continuance. In his request, Vo partially cited a previously planned cruise trip as a reason for the continuance.
The delay was ultimately granted on Friday, though the courts specifically stated that Vo’s cruise was not a factor in the decision.
“The 42 Motion to Continue Trial is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part,” court docs read. “Defendant’s planned cruise is not good cause for continuing the trial, but his counsel’s scheduling conflict is.”
The same document, however, says Vo is indeed allowed to embark on the cruise.
“It is further ORDERED that Defendant is permitted to travel outside the Continental United States solely for the purpose of traveling on a cruise from February 6-13, 2023, and that Defendant must notify his pre-trial officer of his travel plans and keep him apprised of the details and/or any changes to the schedule,” docs read.
Vo’s new trial date has been set for April 10, 2023.
The FBI initially learned of Vo’s actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots after receiving tips pointing to images and video on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, which showed him in Washington, D.C. and inside the Capitol building after it had been breached by rioters.
One tip came from someone who knew Vo from Indiana University. Another person who had attended high school with Vo also came forward.
According to court documents, both witnesses said they recognized Vo as the person in the photos in D.C., and said Vo was known to “engage with conspiracy theories.” They said Vo was an avid supporter of former President Trump and followed libertarian ideologies.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Vo’s social media accounts and found he had multiple conversations on Facebook and Instagram acknowledging he was in the Capitol building on January 6. He sent photos to several people as proof.
Court documents detailed that Vo wrote in one conversation, “President [Trump] asked me to be here tomorrow so I am with my mom LOL.” In another, Vo claimed, “My mom and I helped stop the vote count for a bit.” | 2022-11-19T18:30:34+00:00 | kfor.com | https://kfor.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/indiana-man-charged-in-capitol-riots-allowed-to-go-on-cruise-after-trial-delay/ |
14-foot python found on the side of the road in New York
MEDFORD, N.Y. (Gray News) – Authorities in New York found a 14-foot python on the side of the road.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, officers received a report Feb. 14 of a large snake on the side of the road in the town of Medford, which is in Long Island.
When officers arrived, they found the snake curled up in a ball, deceased.
Officers removed the snake from the roadway to “appropriately dispose of it,” but not before they measured it.
Turns out, the reticulated python was 14 feet long.
Officials said it is illegal to keep these types of snakes as pets in New York state, and the snakes can only be possessed by those with a Dangerous Animal License.
Officials said they are investigating the owner of the snake but did not provide further details.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2023-03-06T22:54:08+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/2023/03/06/14-foot-python-found-side-road-new-york/ |
Poland building electronic barrier on border with Russia
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland says it is building a state-of-the-art electronic barrier at its land border with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, which is also a European Union external frontier. The barrier, which will be equipped with 24-hour monitoring cameras and motion detectors, will run for 210 kilometers (130 miles) and is due to be completed in the fall. Poland feels threatened by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is a strong supporter of Kyiv in the 14-month-old conflict. Last year, Poland built a wall on its border with Belarus to stop a massive inflow of migrants. Warsaw said the inflow was organized by Belarus and Russia to destabilize Poland and the wider EU. | 2023-04-18T16:53:01+00:00 | keyt.com | https://keyt.com/news/2023/04/18/poland-building-electronic-barrier-on-border-with-russia/ |
President Joe Biden signed a bill on Friday that prevents 12 rail unions from going on strike next week. The president signed the bill to head off a potentially crippling supply chain disruption in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Biden signed the bill after the House and Senate took bipartisan votes this week to advance the legislation.
The bill includes an increase in paid time off and wages for rail workers. What it doesn't include, however, is additional paid sick time, which was the main sticking point.
Although eight of the 12 unions signed a collective bargaining agreement, the unions say they would have gone on strike unless all 12 unions have finalized a contract.
The legislation binds the remaining unions to the same type of contract signed by the other eight unions.
Given the risk of clogging supply chains in the weeks leading up to Christmas, he has urged Congress to intervene, upsetting unions. Biden convened congressional leaders on Tuesday to rally bipartisan support.
Trade groups said in a letter to Congress that a rail strike would cause a $2 billion per day loss to the economy.
It is why groups like the National Retail Federation urged Congress to act.
The possibility of a rail strike has been on the horizon for months. The Biden administration got involved during the summer by getting the sides to hold off on a strike during a 60-day cooling-off period in July. That period expired in September.
During that time, the Presidential Emergency Board came up with a recommended contract for the sides, which included a 24% compounded wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, with a 14.1% wage increase effective immediately for union employees. The retroactive pay increase would provide an average of $11,000 per employee in back pay.
It also gives employees additional paid time off and cap employee insurance contributions at 15%. | 2022-12-02T17:48:05+00:00 | kjrh.com | https://www.kjrh.com/news/national/president-biden-signs-bill-that-averts-rail-strike-despite-opposition-from-unions |
BATESVILLE, Ind., July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) will hold a conference call and simultaneous webcast Thursday, August 4, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. ET. They will discuss the results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, which ended June 30, 2022. The live webcast, including a slide presentation, will be available at http://ir.hillenbrand.com under the "News & Events" tab and will be archived on the company's investor relations website through Friday, September 2, 2022.
To access the conference call, listeners in the United States and Canada may dial +1 (877) 407-8012, and international callers may dial +1 (412) 902-1013. Please use conference call ID number 13731866. A replay of the call will be available until midnight ET, Thursday, August 18, 2022, by dialing +1 (877) 660-6853 toll free in the United States and Canada or +1 (201) 612-7415 internationally and using the conference ID number 13731866.
Hillenbrand will issue a press release reporting its results after the market closes on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. The full text of the release and financials will be available at http://ir.hillenbrand.com.
About Hillenbrand
Hillenbrand (NYSE: HI) is a global industrial company operating in over 40 countries with over 10,000 associates serving a wide variety of industries around the world. Guided by our Purpose — Shape What Matters For Tomorrow™ — we pursue excellence, collaboration, and innovation to consistently shape solutions that best serve our associates, customers, communities, and other stakeholders. Hillenbrand's portfolio includes brands such as Coperion, Milacron Injection Molding & Extrusion, and Mold-Masters, in addition to Batesville. To learn more, visit: www.Hillenbrand.com.
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SOURCE Hillenbrand, Inc. | 2022-07-21T20:37:14+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/21/hillenbrand-schedules-third-quarter-2022-earnings-call-august-4-2022/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)Zach Edey had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 24 Purdue to an 80-68 victory over West Virginia on Thursday night in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
Mason Gillis added 14 points for the Boilermakers (4-0), and Brandon Newman came off the bench to score eight points.
Erik Stevenson scored 17 points as the Mountaineers (3-1) lost for the first time this season. Joe Toussaint added 16 points off the bench.
The Boilermakers took a 43-32 lead into halftime. Edey led the way with 12 first-half points.
”I thought he had an average game,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said of Edey. ”He’s a really good player. One of the best players in the country. When you get 24 and 12 and you had an `average’ game, that’s pretty cool.”
The Mountaineers cut into the Boilermakers’ lead with a 9-0 run late into the second half, closing within four points before Braden Smith knocked down a 3-pointer with five minutes left to give Purdue a seven-point edge. That was the closest West Virginia got.
Stevenson scored six straight points to help West Virginia keep pace early in the second half, but exited the game at the 13-minute mark with an apparent leg injury. He checked back in with four minutes remaining.
”We were 4-0 because we were better,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. ”We still didn’t execute. We turned the ball over at a very alarming rate and we refused to rebound it.”
Purdue outrebounded West Virginia 34-32 and shot 47.1% from 3-point range (8 for 17).
West Virginia played solid defense, forcing 18 turnovers, but couldn’t get its shots to fall, going 5 for-22 (22.7%) from beyond the arc.
BIG PICTURE
Purdue: The Boilermakers handled an unranked West Virginia team to stay undefeated and advance to the PKL semifinals.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers picked up their first loss of the season at the hands of a ranked opponent.
UP NEXT:
Purdue: The Boilermakers will face the winner of Thursday night’s Gonzaga-Portland State game on Friday in the PKL semifinal.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers will face the loser of the Gonzaga-Portland State game in a consolation game on Friday.
UP NEXT:
Purdue: Will face No. 6 Gonzaga on Friday in the semifinals.
West Virginia: Will face Portland State in a consolation game Friday.
—
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 | 2022-11-25T22:07:25+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/sports/ncaa-basketball/edeys-double-double-powers-no-24-purdue-past-west-virginia/ |
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We've placed cookies on your device to improve your browsing experience. They're safe and don't contain sensitive information. | 2022-11-15T04:07:33+00:00 | tj.news | https://tj.news/daily-gleaner/102009864 |
An Ellsworth lawyer with a controversial history in New York City has been suspended indefinitely from practicing law in Maine after being charged with several crimes.
Scott L. Fenstermaker was charged last fall in Washington County with trespassing, assault, reckless conduct and attempted theft. The charges stem from a Sept. 28 incident when an argument broke out as he was trying to get an Addison towing company owner to release his client’s car from the impound lot. The charges against Fenstermaker are still pending.
Fenstermaker’s case is a rare example of a defense lawyer facing criminal charges for alleged activities that he claims were simply an attempt to represent the best interests of his client.
In the suspension order, written and signed by Justice Thomas McKeon, the judge supported the recommendation of the Maine Overseers of the Bar, which oversees the conduct of licensed lawyers in Maine.
“Fenstermaker’s conduct serves as an imminent threat to clients, the public and to the administration of justice,” McKeon wrote in the suspension order, which was signed March 17.
The order is to remain in effect until further order by the state supreme court.
McKeon said Fenstermaker must immediately cease all contact with clients or potential clients, stop practicing law, vacate his offices, and take down all websites or social media accounts and other forms of advertising. The judge appointed Ellsworth lawyer Barry Mills to assume responsibility for all aspects of Fenstermaker’s law practice, including representing his clients, while Fenstermaker serves his suspension.
Fenstermaker said Wednesday his suspension “was politically-motivated and is illegal under state, federal and international law.” He said Maine’s legal community is unaccustomed to his style of legal representation but that he has not violated any professional codes of conduct or laws in legally defending his clients.
“I think it is an effort to stop my course of conduct as a lawyer since I was admitted to the Maine Bar,” Fenstermaker said.
Fenstermaker said he plans to contest the order in federal court. He said that he is in the process of handing at least some of his casework over to Mills, but that he is worried that if he fully complies with the order it will violate his ethical obligations he still has to his clients in New York and that it will strip him of his ability to contest the order.
“I’m going to ask for a delay,” he said.
Among the cases that Fenstermaker is required to hand over to Mills is a class action lawsuit he filed last month in federal court in Bangor.
Fenstermaker filed the lawsuit on behalf of car owners who have had their vehicles impounded during traffic stops, claiming the seizures violate state and federal constitutions. Named as defendants in the case are the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Hancock and Washington counties, the municipalities of Ellsworth and Dexter, and three towing companies.
Robert Granger, the district attorney for Washington County, declined Wednesday to comment on either the criminal case against Fenstermaker or on his suspension by the Maine Overseers of the Bar.
During his 30-year career as a lawyer in New York City, where he lived prior to moving to Ellsworth in 2020, Fenstermaker was a prosecutor and represented detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
He represented defendants charged in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, including Ammar al-Baluchi, an alleged courier for Osama bin Laden, and Mustafa bin-Ahmed al-Hawsawi, who allegedly helped fund the attacks.
Fenstermaker has also represented Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi Arabian who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen in 2000, among other high-profile criminal cases.
While living in New York, Fenstermaker ran in 2016 for a seat in Congress but received less than 1 percent of the vote, according to Politico. | 2023-03-22T23:34:11+00:00 | bangordailynews.com | https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/03/22/news/hancock/scott-fenstermaker-suspended-maine-bar-n6hjn1me0n/ |
NEW YORK, Feb. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues its investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Bright Green Corporation (NASDAQ: BGXX) resulting from allegations that Bright Green may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Bright Green securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=11980 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On June 2, 2022, Green Market Report ("Green Market") published a report entitled "Bright Green Former CEO Claims Valuation Fraud," which stated that the Company "involves a burned-down building, a years-long battle with the state of New Mexico, a bankruptcy case, and an angry former CEO who is accusing the company of fraud." John Stockwell, listed CEO in 2017, filed for bankruptcy in the state of New Mexico in 2017. After a greenhouse fire "devastated Stockwell financially," the reported stated that "greenhouses were transferred to Lynn Stockwell who then transferred the property to Bright Green." In addition, the report stated that Bright Green's former CEO John Fikany is suing the company, alleging "Bright Green was a "sham, operated illegally and fraudulently." He alleges that the Stockwell's "engaged in acts of fraudulent misrepresentation and attempted to force Fikany to aid and abet them in making fraudulent misrepresentations to investors concerning the valuation and progress of Bright Green Corporation."
On this news, Bright Green's stock price fell 15% to close at $3.04 per share on June 3, 2022.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
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SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | 2023-02-25T02:22:08+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/02/25/rosen-top-ranked-national-investor-attorneys-encourages-bright-green-corporation-investors-inquire-about-class-action-investigation-bgxx/ |
Internova Travel Group reminds consumers why it's better to book a vacation through a real human being
NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With so many choices about where to go, where to stay and what to do, figuring out all the details that go into a vacation can be overwhelming. That's why National Plan for Vacation Day is the perfect time to learn about the advantages of using a travel advisor.
National Plan for Vacation Day — Jan. 31 this year — is celebrated on the last Tuesday in January and organized by the U.S. Travel Association. It's designed to encourage Americans to plan their vacation days for the entire year at the start of the year.
"We know that many Americans often don't take all of the vacation time that they get," said J.D. O'Hara, CEO, Internova Travel Group, one of the industry's largest travel services companies representing more than 100,000 travel advisors worldwide. "Countless studies have shown that taking time off has tremendous benefits for our physical and mental well-being. Vacations give us a chance to explore new places, reduce stress and strengthen bonds with family and friends. And if you really want a low-stress experience, let a travel advisor do all the work."
When it comes to booking a vacation, nearly 80 percent of Americans prefer working with a human being over an online travel agency, according to an Internova survey. And younger travelers are increasingly using the services of a travel professional, especially in light of disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Travel advisors have developed a deep relationship with supplier partners in all facets of a trip. They have exclusive access to discounts, perks and booking options that benefit their clients.
For example, Internova's SELECT Hotels & Resorts is a carefully curated collection of more than 1,600 of the world's most distinguished premium properties where clients receive special amenities. Internova SELECT In-Country Partners is a carefully vetted international portfolio of more than 150 destination management companies and specialty tour operators.
Travel advisors have years of experience in planning a variety of trips and they're passionate travelers themselves, with firsthand knowledge of the most popular destinations both domestically and abroad. They do the research, saving time and providing clients with the best options for their needs and budget.
Most importantly, travel advisors provide peace of mind. Their clients can be confident that if any questions or problems arise during their trip, they can contact a real human being who knows them.
Travel Weekly's 34th annual Travel Industry Survey, conducted by Phocuswright and sponsored by Internova, asked travel advisors to select the top benefits they provide that their clients would not be able to get on their own. Their top responses included full support and travel advice from an expert, advocacy for clients, including making sure they get a refund or credit if their travel plans change, creating personalized, curated travel itineraries and exclusive access to travel experiences.
While the market for artificial intelligence is growing rapidly, it's clear that for some transactions, consumers prefer working with a human being and they prefer the personal service that only a travel advisor can provide.
A survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Internova found that consumers appreciate the benefits of connecting with a real human being versus using an automated website when making a purchase, including booking a trip.
Seven in 10 respondents said they feel they get better service when speaking with a person and 63 percent feel more confident that issues will be resolved when they work with a person, versus doing things digitally. They get more detailed information about their options, have the ability to ask follow-up questions and receive responses that are tailored to their situation.
Internova Travel Group includes the world's most experienced and well-traveled leisure, luxury and corporate travel advisors. To find an Internova advisor, go to internova.com/advisors.
About Internova Travel Group
Internova Travel Group is one of the largest travel services companies in the world with a collection of leading brands delivering high-touch, personal travel expertise to leisure and corporate clients. Internova manages leisure, business and franchise firms through a portfolio of distinctive divisions. Internova represents more than 100,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations predominantly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries.
CONTACT:
Elizabeth Gaerlan
egaerlan@internova.com
212-944-1125
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SOURCE Internova Travel Group | 2023-01-26T16:29:27+00:00 | kcbd.com | https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2023/01/26/celebrate-national-plan-vacation-day-by-planning-your-next-trip-with-travel-advisor/ |
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Thursday that the body of an Israeli teen that was taken by Palestinian militants from a West Bank hospital is being returned to his family.
Relatives of Tiran Pero, 17, said Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin entered the hospital where Pero was seeking treatment after a car crash. They disconnected him from hospital equipment while still alive, according to his father, and removed him from the hospital. The Israeli military said Pero was already dead when he was snatched.
Pero was from Israel's Druze Arab minority.
The incident threatened to ratchet up already boiling tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. Palestinian militants in the past have carried out kidnappings to seek concessions from Israel.
More than 130 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2006.
The fighting has surged since a series of Palestinian attacks in the spring killed 19 people in Israel.
The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed.
Another eight Israelis have been killed in a fresh wave of Palestinian attacks in recent weeks. On Wednesday, twin explosions at two bus stops in Jerusalem killed a teen and wounded at least 18 people. | 2022-11-24T06:11:40+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/Body-of-Israeli-citizen-taken-by-militants-17608195.php |
JORDAN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) –
Jordan-Elbridge broke open a tight game in the 4th quarter, outscoring LaFayette by 11 on their way to a 52-32 win on Wednesday night.
Jack Barrigar paced the Eagles attack with a game-high 24 points. Nolan Brunelle chipped in 21 points for J-E in the win. Bryant Moses was the only player in double figures for the Lancers with 11 points.
Jordan-Elbridge (5-0) returns to action on Friday at MPH. LaFayette (4-1) will look to rebound on Sunday against Pulaski at Liverpool High School. | 2022-12-15T07:01:08+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/sports/high-school-sports/jordan-elbridge-boys-top-lafayette-in-battle-of-unbeatens/ |
Suspect, 40, arraigned on murder charges in Philadelphia mass shooting that killed 5
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 40-year-old accused of killing a man in a house and then gunning down four others on the streets of a southwest Philadelphia neighborhood before surrendering to police officers has been arraigned on murder and other charges.
Kimbrady Carriker was arraigned Wednesday on five counts of murder as well as charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons counts of possession without a license and carrying firearms in public, prosecutors said.
A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old youth were also wounded by gunfire and another 2-year-old boy and a woman were hit by shattered glass in the Monday night rampage that made the working-class area of Kingsessing the site of the nation’s worst violence around the July Fourth holiday.
Police called to the scene found gunshot victims and started to help them before hearing more shots. Some officers rushed victims to hospitals while others ran toward the gunfire and chased the firing suspect.
Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom, the homicide unit commander, said witness interviews and video indicated that the suspect went to several locations in a ski mask and body armor, carrying an AR-15-style rifle.
“The suspect then began shooting aimlessly at occupied vehicles and individuals on the street as they walked,” he said. The vehicles included a mother driving her 2-year-old twins home — one of whom was wounded in the legs and the other who was hit in the eyes by shattered glass.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the “armed and armored individual” was firing “seemingly at random.”
Cornered in an alley, the suspect surrendered and was found to have not only the rifle but also a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest, police said.
Philadelphia police on Tuesday afternoon identified the victims as 20-year-old Lashyd Merritt, 29—year-old Dymir Stanton, 59-year-old Ralph Moralis and 15-year-old Daujan Brown, all pronounced dead shortly after the Monday night gunfire; and 31-year-old Joseph Wamah Jr., who was found in a home early Tuesday, also with multiple bullet wounds.
Investigators believe Wamah was the first victim killed, but he wasn’t found by family members until hours later, Ransom said.
A 2-year-old boy shot four times in the legs and a 13-year-old shot twice in the legs were in stable condition, as were a 2-year-old boy and a 33-year-old woman injured by shattered glass.
A representative of the Defender Association of Philadelphia said he believed the office would be representing Carriker and declined immediate comment on the charges.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-07-05T15:14:53+00:00 | kaaltv.com | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/suspect-40-arraigned-on-murder-charges-in-philadelphia-mass-shooting-that-killed-5/ |
Prosecutors to call more witnesses in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial before jury visits scene where his wife and son were killed
By Alta Spells, Elizabeth Wolfe and Dianne Gallagher, CNN
A day after defense attorneys rested their case in Alex Murdaugh’s weekslong double murder trial, prosecutors on Tuesday intend to call a handful of rebuttal witnesses before the jury visits Murdaugh’s sprawling South Carolina estate where his wife and son were shot to death in 2021.
The state plans to call four or five witnesses to testify on issues raised by the defense, and hopes to finish with all of them by the end of the Tuesday, prosecutor Creighton Waters said.
Judge Clifton Newman approved a request from the defense on Monday to allow the jury to view Murdaugh’s property in Islandton, particularly its dog kennels where the bodies of Murdaugh’s wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and son Paul Murdaugh were found. That visit will happen sometime after the rebuttal witnesses’ testimony, Newman said without specifying a day.
The defense rested its case Monday after calling 14 witnesses, including Murdaugh, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two weapons charges in the June 7, 2021, killings.
Murdaugh is separately facing 99 charges related to alleged financial crimes that will be adjudicated later.
In his two-day testimony last week, Murdaugh pushed back on prosecutors’ accusations that he killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and distract from the financial misconduct allegations, some of which the state says were about to come to light before the fatal shootings.
“If I was under the pressure that they’re talking about here, I can promise you I would hurt myself before I would hurt one of them, without a doubt,” Murdaugh said on the stand Friday.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors have called more than 60 witnesses and sought to poke holes in Murdaugh’s account of his whereabouts the night of the killings, using cell phone data, video and other evidence to suggest he tried to manufacture an alibi.
While Murdaugh maintains he left home that night to visit his mother in a nearby town, he admitted in court that he lied to investigators when he said he had not been at the scene on the night of the killings until the bodies of his son and wife were found.
Murdaugh acknowledged his voice can be heard in a video appeared to be filmed that evening at the dog kennels before the killings, and testified he previously lied about being there because of “paranoid thinking” stemming from his addiction to painkillers.
“I don’t think I was capable of reason, and I lied about being down there, and I’m so sorry that I did,” Murdaugh said.
The defense has painted Murdaugh as a loving father and husband being wrongfully accused of the killings after what it says has been a mishandled investigation and crime scene.
Among the witnesses called by Murdaugh’s attorneys were his former legal partner who testified the scene was not properly secured, and a forensics expert who said his analysis suggests two shooters carried out the killings.
Murdaugh’s only surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, also testified last week, saying his father was “destroyed” and “heartbroken” following the killings.
Timeline of killings and Murdaugh’s whereabouts under scrutiny
In the absence of direct evidence connecting Murdaugh to the killings — no murder weapon, bloody clothing or eyewitnesses — key arguments in his trial have revolved around the timeline of events and Murdaugh’s whereabouts the night of June 7, 2021.
Prosecutors have used a video filmed at the dog kennels shortly before authorities say the killings took place to argue Murdaugh was at the scene just minutes before the fatal shootings.
Multiple witnesses — including now Murdaugh himself — have testified that Murdaugh’s voice can be heard in the background of the video, which was filmed on Paul’s phone starting at 8:44 p.m.
Now that Murdaugh has admitted he lied to investigators about being at the scene that evening, his defense attorneys are tasked with persuading the jury that Murdaugh is telling the truth about leaving the property that night and returning later to find the bodies of his wife and son.
Murdaugh testified last week that he went down to the kennels at Maggie’s request, but then returned to the house and laid down on a couch. When he got up, he said, he drove to visit his ailing mother at her home in nearby Almeda, before returning to his property later that night. Police say he called 911 at 10:07 p.m. to report finding the bodies.
To show the killings could have taken place after Murdaugh left the kennels, the defense has tried to establish that Maggie and Paul’s time of death could have fallen in a much longer time window than prosecutors have presented.
More than a week ago, Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey testified that he estimated the time of death to be around 9 p.m. — just minutes after Murdaugh’s voice was captured on the video — based in part on armpit checks he conducted to feel how warm the bodies were.
Harvey, who said he arrived on scene at 11:04 p.m., also testified that rigor mortis — the stiffening of a body’s joints and muscles following death — had not yet set in, and that it typically starts developing one to three hours following death.
However, when asked by the defense if the pair could have been shot anytime between 8 or 10 p.m., Harvey said yes.
A forensic pathologist, Jonathan Eisenstat, testified Monday that armpit temperature checks are “just not a valid method to try to make a determination of time of death,” calling the technique “just a guess.”
Instead, he said, someone arriving on scene should first check the ambient temperature of the area where the body is found and then take a rectal temperature to get as close to a core body temperature as possible.
Harvey testified earlier that he did not take rectal temperatures that night. During cross examination, prosecutors asked if the coroner had an idea of when the killings occurred since he did not take exact temperatures.
“You really do not have a general idea as to when that incident actually occurred?” Deputy Attorney General Attorney Don Zelenka asked Harvey.
“Yes sir, that’s true,” Harvey said.
The defense has also tried to portray the investigation into the case as shoddy, arguing that the crime scene was not secure or handled carefully. One witness, Mark Ball, one of Murdaugh’s former law firm colleagues, testified no barricades or police tape were set up to block several visitors from entering the property the night of the killings.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Eric Levenson, Chris Youd, Maxime Tamsett, Adrienne Vogt and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report. | 2023-02-28T08:55:44+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/news/national-world/cnn-national/2023/02/28/prosecutors-to-call-more-witnesses-in-alex-murdaughs-murder-trial-before-jury-visits-scene-where-his-wife-and-son-were-killed-2/ |
STOCKHOLM, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Swedish Match AB recommends that the shareholders of Swedish Match accept the offer.
Background
This statement is made by the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Swedish Match AB (publ) ("Swedish Match" or the "Company") pursuant to Section II.19 of Nasdaq Stockholm's Takeover Rules (the "Takeover Rules").
Philip Morris Holland Holdings B.V. ("PMHH"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Philip Morris International Inc. ("PMI"), has today announced a public cash offer to Swedish Match's shareholders to transfer their shares in Swedish Match to PMHH (the "Offer"). Under the terms of the Offer, PMHH is offering SEK 106 per Swedish Match share in cash (the "Offer Price"), which values the issued share capital of Swedish Match at approximately SEK 161.2 billion.1) The Offer Price represents a premium of approximately:
- 39.4 percent compared to the closing share price of SEK 76.06 on May 9, 2022 (the last day of trading prior to market speculation regarding a potential public offer for the Company)2);
- 39.7 percent compared to the volume-weighted average trading price of SEK 75.86 for the shares during the last 30 trading days ended on May 9, 2022 (the last day of trading prior to market speculation regarding a potential public offer for the Company)3); and
- 46.6 percent compared to the volume-weighted average trading price of SEK 72.33 for the shares during the last 90 trading days ended on May 9, 2022 (the last day of trading prior to market speculation regarding a potential public offer for the Company)4).
1) Based on all outstanding 1,520,714,190 shares in Swedish Match, i.e. excluding 4,285,810 shares held in treasury by Swedish Match.
2) Representing a premium of 11.6 percent compared to the closing price of SEK 95.00 on May 10, 2022 (the last day of trading prior to this announcement).
3) Representing a premium of 31.7 percent compared to the volume-weighted average trading price of SEK 80.51 during the last 30 trading days ended on May 10, 2022 (the last day of trading prior to this announcement).
4) Representing a premium of 43.4 percent compared to the volume-weighted average trading price of SEK 73.94 during the last 90 trading days ended on May 10, 2022 (the last day of trading prior to this announcement).
The acceptance period of the Offer is expected to commence on or around June 23, 2022 and expire on or around September 30, 2022, subject to any extensions.
Completion of the Offer is conditional upon, amongst other things, PMHH becoming the owner of more than 90 percent of the total number of shares in Swedish Match and the receipt of all necessary regulatory, governmental or similar clearances, approvals, decisions and other actions from authorities or similar, including from competition authorities, in each case on terms which, in PMHH's opinion, are acceptable. PMHH has reserved the right to waive these and other conditions for completion of the Offer. PMHH has also reserved the right to extend the acceptance period and, to the extent necessary and permissible, will do so in order for the acceptance period to cover applicable decision-making procedures at relevant authorities.
At the written request of PMHH, the Board has permitted PMHH to conduct a confirmatory due diligence review of Swedish Match in connection with the preparation of the Offer. In connection with such review, PMHH has received certain information concerning Swedish Match's financial performance for the first quarter 2022. Swedish Match will today announce this information through a separate press release. Except as set out above, PMHH has not received any inside information in connection with such review.
Swedish Match has retained Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE ("Goldman Sachs") as financial adviser and Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå as legal adviser in relation to the Offer. KANTER Advokatbyrå has also assisted Swedish Match with certain legal advice related to the Offer.
Goldman Sachs has, in its capacity as financial adviser, provided an opinion to the Board that, as of May 11, 2022 and based upon and subject to the factors, limitations and assumptions set forth therein, the SEK 106 in cash per share to be paid to the shareholders of Swedish Match in the Offer is fair from a financial point of view to the shareholders of Swedish Match. The full text of the written opinion of Goldman Sachs, which sets forth assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered and limitations on the review undertaken in connection with the opinion, is attached to this statement. Goldman Sachs provided its opinion and advice solely for the information and assistance of the Board in connection with its consideration of the Offer and not to the shareholders of Swedish Match. The Goldman Sachs opinion is not a recommendation as to whether any shareholder of Swedish Match should tender their shares in connection with the Offer or any other matter. Goldman Sachs's fee as financial adviser is contingent on the size of the Offer consideration and whether the Offer is completed.
In addition, SEB Corporate Finance, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ) ("SEB Corporate Finance") has also, at the request of the Board, provided an opinion according to which the Offer is fair to Swedish Match's shareholders from a financial point of view (subject to the assumptions and considerations set out in the opinion). The opinion is attached to this statement. SEB Corporate Finance will receive a fixed fee for providing the opinion, which is not contingent on the size of the Offer consideration, the acceptance level of the Offer or whether it is completed.
The Board's evaluation of the Offer
Since its listing in 1996, Swedish Match has created a growing business, through consistent execution and significant investments in its portfolio of products, brands, and markets. With a stated vision of "A world without cigarettes", Swedish Match's efforts in smokefree products have proven to resonate with consumers who are seeking attractive and less harmful alternatives to cigarettes. Swedish Match is the market leader in the U.S. nicotine pouch category with its ZYN branded offering. Swedish Match is investing for the future in support of the growth for its U.S. nicotine pouch business, as well as in nicotine pouches and other product categories across markets.
In assessing the merits of the Offer, the Board has considered the long-term growth prospects of the Company as described above as well as the risks and challenges associated with executing against these prospects. These risks include possible negative impacts on the Company and its business as a result of the highly competitive markets in which the Company operates as well as the constraints that existing and new regulation regarding, among other, things tobacco excise taxes, nicotine pouch federal (and further state) taxes, marketing, packaging, warning labels, ingredients, product approvals, and the introduction of new products may put on the Company and its business.
The Board has analysed the Offer using the methods normally used for evaluating public offers for listed companies, including Swedish Match's valuation in relation to comparable listed companies and comparable transactions, premiums in previous public offers, equity analysts' expectations regarding Swedish Match and the Board's view on Swedish Match's long-term value based on expected future cash flows. The Board has also taken into account that the Offer comprises cash consideration, which, subject to completion of the Offer, provides the Swedish Match shareholders with a de-risked opportunity to realise value from their investment in cash in the near future and at a meaningful premium to traded prices of the Swedish Match share.
Having concluded this assessment, the Board believes that the terms of the Offer recognise Swedish Match's long-term growth prospects, taking into account the risks associated with the realisation of those prospects.
Under the Takeover Rules the Board is required, on the basis of PMI's statements in the announcement of the Offer, to make public its opinion of the effects the implementation of the Offer may have on Swedish Match, specifically employment, and its views on PMI's strategic plans for Swedish Match and the effect these may be expected to have on employment and the places where Swedish Match carries on its business. PMI has in this respect stated that "PMI recognizes that the employees and management team of Swedish Match have built a highly successful business with an excellent track record, and PMI has the utmost respect for them. PMI's current plans for the future business and general strategy, as described above, do not include any material changes with regard to Swedish Match's operational sites, or its management and employees, including their terms of employment. Swedish Match has a complementary organization with a talented, dedicated workforce, excellent culture and a strong base of skills in Sweden, the U.S. and across the world. PMI would intend to nurture this talent and provide additional opportunities as the companies grow together. Importantly, PMI intends to provide compensation and benefits consistent with Swedish Match's current programs, including the Profit Sharing Foundation in Sweden. In addition, PMI intends to preserve and develop Swedish Match's operational presence in Sweden, where much of the Company's skills base is located, as well as in Richmond, Virginia, the site of the head office for Swedish Match's U.S. Division. PMI has no plans to divest the Lights business." The Board assumes that this description is accurate and has in the relevant aspects no reason to take a different view.
Based on the above, the Board recommends that Swedish Match's shareholders accept the Offer.
The resolution to make the above statement has been supported by all board members except for Pär-Ola Olausson (appointed by the union IF Metall).
Pär-Ola Olausson is of the view that Swedish Match has the competence and the experience to remain independent in the long-term and that the terms of the Offer do not reflect the long-term fundamental value of the Company.
This statement shall in all respects be governed by and construed in accordance with substantive Swedish law. Disputes arising from this statement shall be settled exclusively by Swedish courts.
Stockholm, May 11, 2022
For more information please contact:
Johan Wredberg, Director Communications and Media Relations
Telephone: +46 730 27 93 43
E-mail: johan.wredberg@swedishmatch.com
This information is information that Swedish Match AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 7.45 a.m. CET on May 11, 2022.
Goldman Sachs Fairness Opinion, dated May 11, 2022
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
Board of Directors
Swedish Match AB
Sveavägen 44
SE-118 85 Stockholm, Sweden
Ladies and Gentlemen:
You have requested our opinion as to the fairness from a financial point of view to the holders (other than Philip Morris International Inc. ("Buyer") and its affiliates) of the outstanding shares, quotient value SEK 0.2465 per share (the "Shares"), of Swedish Match AB (the "Company") of the SEK 106 in cash per Share to be paid to such holders in the Tender Offer (as defined below) by Philip Morris Holland Holdings B.V. ("Acquisition Sub"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Buyer, in accordance with the terms set forth in the press release issued by Acquisition Sub on 11 May 2022 (the "Offer Press Release"). The Offer Press Release provides for a tender offer for all of the Shares (the "Tender Offer") pursuant to which Acquisition Sub will pay SEK 106 in cash per Share for each Share accepted. The Offer Press Release further provides that, following completion of the Tender Offer and subject to the satisfaction of the requirements of the Swedish Companies Act, Acquisition Sub intends to commence compulsory redemption proceedings for all outstanding Shares not purchased pursuant to the Tender Offer, as to which compulsory redemption proceedings we express no opinion.
Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, Sweden Bankfilial and its affiliates (collectively, "Goldman Sachs") are engaged in advisory, underwriting and financing, principal investing, sales and trading, research, investment management and other financial and non-financial activities and services for various persons and entities. Goldman Sachs and its employees, and funds or other entities they manage or in which they invest or have other economic interests or with which they co-invest, may at any time purchase, sell, hold or vote long or short positions and investments in securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments of the Company, Buyer, any of their respective affiliates and third parties, or any currency or commodity that may be involved in the transaction contemplated by the Offer Press Release (the "Transaction"). We have acted as financial advisor to the Company in connection with, and have participated in certain of the negotiations leading to, the Transaction. We expect to receive fees for our services in connection with the Transaction, all of which are contingent upon consummation of the Transaction, and the Company has agreed to reimburse certain of our expenses arising, and indemnify us against certain liabilities that may arise, out of our engagement. We have provided certain financial advisory services to the Company and/or its affiliates from time to time for which our Investment Banking Division may receive compensation. We also have provided certain financial advisory and/or underwriting services to Buyer and/or its affiliates from time to time for which our Investment Banking Division has received, and may receive, compensation, including having acted as book runner with respect to Buyer's $1,500,000,000 bond issuance in October 2020. We may also in the future provide financial advisory and/or underwriting services to the Company, Buyer, and their respective affiliates for which our Investment Banking Division may receive compensation.
In connection with this opinion, we have reviewed, among other things, the Offer Press Release; a final draft of the statement of the Board of Directors of the Company in relation to the Tender Offer to be issued on 11 May 2022; annual reports to shareholders of the Company for the five fiscal years ended 31 December 2021; certain interim reports to shareholders of the Company; certain other communications from the Company to its shareholders; certain publicly available research analyst reports for the Company; and certain internal financial analyses and forecasts for the Company prepared by its management, as approved for our use by the Company (the "Forecasts"). We have also held discussions with members of the senior management of the Company regarding their assessment of the past and current business operations, financial condition and future prospects of the Company; reviewed the reported price and trading activity for the Shares; compared certain financial and stock market information for the Company with similar information for certain other companies the securities of which are publicly traded; reviewed the financial terms of certain recent business combinations in the tobacco industry, high growth consumer industry and in other industries; and performed such other studies and analyses, and considered such other factors, as we deemed appropriate.
For purposes of rendering this opinion, we have, with your consent, relied upon and assumed the accuracy and completeness of all of the financial, legal, regulatory, tax, accounting and other information provided to, discussed with or reviewed by, us, without assuming any responsibility for independent verification thereof. In that regard, we have assumed with your consent that the Forecasts have been reasonably prepared on a basis reflecting the best currently available estimates and judgments of the management of the Company. We have not made an independent evaluation or appraisal of the assets and liabilities (including any contingent, derivative or other off-balance-sheet assets and liabilities) of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and we have not been furnished with any such evaluation or appraisal. We have assumed that all governmental, regulatory or other consents and approvals necessary for the consummation of the Transaction will be obtained without any adverse effect on the Company or on the expected benefits of the Transaction in any way meaningful to our analysis. We have assumed that the Transaction will be consummated on the terms set forth in the Offer Press Release, without the waiver or modification of any term or condition the effect of which would be in any way meaningful to our analysis. We have also assumed that the terms set forth in the offer document that will be published by Acquisition Sub in connection with the Transaction will not differ from those set forth in the Offer Press Release in any way meaningful to our analysis.
Our opinion does not address the underlying business decision of the Company to engage in the Transaction, or the relative merits of the Transaction as compared to any strategic alternatives that may be available to the Company; nor does it address any legal, regulatory, tax or accounting matters. We were not requested to solicit, and did not solicit, interest from other parties with respect to an acquisition of, or other business combination with, the Company or any other alternative transaction. This opinion addresses only the fairness from a financial point of view to the holders (other than Buyer and its affiliates) of Shares, as of the date hereof, of the SEK 106 in cash per Share to be paid to such holders in the Tender Offer pursuant to the Offer Press Release. We do not express any view on, and our opinion does not address, any other term or aspect of the Offer Press Release or Transaction or any term or aspect of any other agreement or instrument contemplated by the Offer Press Release or entered into or amended in connection with the Transaction, including, the fairness of the Transaction to, or any consideration received in connection therewith by, the holders of any other class of securities, creditors, or other constituencies of the Company; nor as to the fairness of the amount or nature of any compensation to be paid or payable to any of the officers, directors or employees of the Company, or class of such persons, in connection with the Transaction, whether relative to the SEK 106 in cash per Share to be paid to the holders (other than Buyer and its affiliates) of Shares in the Tender Offer pursuant to the Offer Press Release or otherwise. We are not expressing any opinion as to the prices at which the Shares will trade at any time, as to the potential effects of volatility in the credit, financial and stock markets on the Company, Buyer or the Transaction, or as to the impact of the Transaction on the solvency or viability of the Company or Buyer or the ability of the Company or Buyer to pay their respective obligations when they come due. Our opinion is necessarily based on economic, monetary, market and other conditions as in effect on, and the information made available to us as of, the date hereof and we assume no responsibility for updating, revising or reaffirming this opinion based on circumstances, developments or events occurring after the date hereof. Our advisory services and the opinion expressed herein are provided solely for the information and assistance of the Board of Directors of the Company in connection with its consideration of the Transaction and such opinion does not constitute a recommendation as to whether or not any holder of Shares should tender such Shares in connection with the Tender Offer or any other matter. This opinion has been approved by a fairness committee of Goldman Sachs.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that, as of the date hereof, the SEK 106 in cash per Share to be paid to the holders of Shares (other than Buyer and its affiliates) in the Tender Offer pursuant to the Offer Press Release is fair from a financial point of view to the holders (other than Buyer and its affiliates) of Shares.
Very truly yours,
GOLDMAN SACHS BANK EUROPE SE, SWEDEN BANKFILIAL
SEB Corporate Finance Fairness Opinion, dated May 10, 2022
To the Board of Directors of Swedish Match AB
The Board of Directors (the "Board") of Swedish Match AB ("Swedish Match") has requested the opinion of SEB Corporate Finance, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB ("SEB Corporate Finance"), as to the fairness, from a financial point of view, to the holders of shares of Swedish Match ("Shares") of the offer consideration of SEK 106, in cash per Share, (the "Offer Consideration") proposed to be paid to those holders of Shares that tender their Shares pursuant to a public offer (the "Offer") by Philip Morris Holland Holdings BV, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Philip Morris International Inc. ("PMI"), which Offer is planned to be announced on or around May 11, 2022.
In connection with the presentation of this opinion, SEB Corporate Finance has, inter alia, reviewed a draft, provided to SEB Corporate Finance on May 10, 2022, of the press release describing the Offer (including the terms and conditions of the Offer set out therein) (the "Draft Press Release"), certain publicly available and other business and financial information relating to Swedish Match (including annual reports for the financial years 2020 and 2021 and the interim report for the first three months of 2022 and certain reports prepared by equity analysts) as well as certain financial forecasts and other information and data which were prepared by the management of Swedish Match and provided to, or discussed with, SEB Corporate Finance, and that Swedish Match has directed SEB Corporate Finance to utilize for the purposes of its analyses (including extrapolations based on certain alternative assumptions prepared and provided to SEB Corporate Finance by the management of Swedish Match). In addition, SEB Corporate Finance has held discussions with senior members of the management of Swedish Match concerning the businesses, operations, financial position and prospects of Swedish Match.
Based on the documents and information reviewed by SEB Corporate Finance as described herein, SEB Corporate Finance has performed discounted cash flow analyses of Swedish Match. Furthermore, SEB Corporate Finance has considered certain financial and stock exchange related information regarding Swedish Match in comparison with certain other companies with similar operations and other transactions that SEB Corporate Finance considered relevant in evaluating Swedish Match and the Offer. SEB Corporate Finance has also reviewed the historical share price and trading activity of Shares on Nasdaq Stockholm and has performed such other analyses and studies as SEB Corporate Finance has deemed appropriate for rendering this opinion.
SEB Corporate Finance has relied, without independent verification, upon the accuracy, completeness and reasonableness, in all material aspects, of all the financial and other information and data publicly available or provided to or otherwise reviewed by or discussed with SEB Corporate Finance and SEB Corporate Finance has assumed that no information material for the evaluation of Swedish Match's future earnings capacity or for SEB Corporate Finance's assessment of the Offer and the Offer Consideration has been omitted.
With respect to financial forecasts and other information and data provided to or otherwise reviewed by or discussed with SEB Corporate Finance by the management of Swedish Match, SEB Corporate Finance has been advised by the management, and SEB Corporate Finance has assumed, that such financial forecasts and other information and data (including extrapolations thereto) were reasonably prepared on bases reflecting the best currently available estimates and judgments of Swedish Match management as to the expected future financial performance of Swedish Match and the other matters covered thereby. SEB Corporate Finance has also assumed that such financial forecasts and estimates provided by the management of Swedish Match to SEB Corporate Finance have been provided to, and reviewed by, the Board with the understanding that such information will be used and relied upon by SEB Corporate Finance in connection with rendering this opinion.
With respect to the publicly available research analysts' estimates relating to Swedish Match reflected in such financial forecasts and other information and data, SEB Corporate Finance has assumed that they reflect reasonable estimates and judgments as to, and are a reasonable basis upon which to evaluate, the future financial performance of Swedish Match and the other matters covered thereby. SEB Corporate Finance further has assumed that the financial results reflected in the financial forecasts and other information and data utilized in its analyses will be realized at the times and in the amounts projected.
SEB Corporate Finance has not conducted any due diligence in order to verify, and has assumed, the accuracy, completeness and reasonableness of, the information received or reviewed by SEB Corporate Finance, and it has not made any independent evaluation or assessment of the assets and liabilities (contingent, off-balance sheet or otherwise) of Swedish Match or any other entity, nor has it made any physical inspection of the properties or assets of Swedish Match or any other entity. SEB Corporate Finance has assumed that the Offer will be consummated in accordance with the terms set forth in the Draft Press Release and in compliance with all applicable laws, documents and other requirements, without waiver, modification or amendment of any material term, condition or agreement, and that, in the course of obtaining the necessary governmental, regulatory or third party approvals, consents, releases, waivers and agreements for the Offer, no delay, limitation, restriction or condition, nor any divestiture requirements, amendments or modifications, will be imposed or occur that would have an effect in any way meaningful to SEB Corporate Finance's analyses or this opinion. Representatives of Swedish Match have advised SEB Corporate Finance, and SEB Corporate Finance has assumed, that the final terms and conditions of the Offer will not vary materially from those set forth in the Draft Press Release. SEB Corporate Finance is not expressing any opinion with respect to accounting, tax, regulatory, legal or similar matters and it has relied upon the assessments of representatives of Swedish Match as to such matters.
This opinion does not address any terms (other than, from a financial point of view and as of the date hereof, the Offer Consideration proposed to be paid to those holders of Shares that tender their Shares pursuant to the Offer) or other aspects or implications of the Offer, including, without limitation, the form or structure of the Offer, the form of the Offer Consideration or any terms, aspects or implications of any shareholders', non-competition, non-solicitation, non-hire or non-disruption or other agreement, arrangement or understanding to be entered into in connection with or contemplated by the Offer or otherwise. SEB Corporate Finance's assignment does not include expressing an opinion on the underlying business decision of Swedish Match to effect the Offer, the relative merits of the Offer as compared to any alternative business strategies that might exist for Swedish Match, including whether any other transaction would potentially be more favorable for the holders of Shares, or the effect of any other transaction in which Swedish Match might engage. Furthermore, SEB Corporate Finance has not been asked by the Board to, and it did not, participate in the negotiation or structuring of the Offer or explore the possibility of any offer from another party as regards Swedish Match or any part thereof. SEB Corporate Finance also expresses no view as to, and this opinion does not address, the fairness (financial or otherwise) of the amount or nature or any other aspect of any compensation to any officers, directors or employees of any parties to the Offer, or any class of such persons, relative to the Offer Consideration or otherwise.
SEB Corporate Finance's opinion is based upon current market, economic, financial and other conditions as in effect on, and upon the information made available as of, the date hereof. Any change in such conditions or information may require a revaluation of this opinion. Although subsequent developments may affect this opinion, SEB Corporate Finance has no obligation to update, revise or reaffirm this opinion. This opinion does not include any assessment as to the prices at which Shares or any other securities will trade or otherwise be transferable at any time, including following announcement or consummation of the Offer.
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB ("SEB") is a leading bank in the Nordic market and offers Swedish Match and other clients various financial services, including providing and arranging loans. Furthermore, SEB has operations within securities trading and brokerage, equity research and corporate finance. In the ordinary course of business within securities trading and brokerage, SEB or any of its affiliates may, at any point in time, hold long or short positions in, and may for its own or its clients' accounts trade in, Shares and other securities issued by Swedish Match.
As a result of its position in the Nordic market, other parts of SEB, apart from SEB Corporate Finance, are at any point in time, engaged in business with Swedish Match, and SEB Corporate Finance has provided, and may at any point in time provide, financial advice to Swedish Match regarding other transactions. As the Board is aware, SEB, including SEB Corporate Finance, and its affiliates in the past have provided, currently are providing and in the future may provide investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services to Swedish Match and its affiliates unrelated to the proposed Offer, for which services SEB and its affiliates have received and expect to receive compensation, including, during the past two years, participating in a credit facility of Swedish Match. Although SEB and its affiliates have not provided investment banking, commercial banking and other similar financial services to PMI during the past two years for which SEB or its affiliates received or expect to receive compensation, SEB and its affiliates may provide such services to PMI and its affiliates in the future, for which services SEB and its affiliates would expect to receive compensation.
SEB Corporate Finance will receive a fixed fee for this opinion, irrespective of the outcome of the Offer. In addition, Swedish Match has agreed to reimburse SEB Corporate Finance's expenses and to indemnify SEB Corporate Finance against certain liabilities arising out of its engagement.
SEB Corporate Finance's advisory services and this opinion are provided for the information of and assistance to the Board in connection with its consideration of the Offer and does not constitute a recommendation as to whether the holders of Shares should accept the Offer or how any such holder of Shares should act on any matters relating to the proposed Offer or otherwise.
Based upon the foregoing and such other matters that SEB Corporate Finance deems relevant, it is SEB Corporate Finance's opinion that, as of the date hereof, the Offer Consideration to be paid to those holders of Shares that tender their Shares pursuant to the terms of the Offer is fair, from a financial point of view, to such holders.
This opinion shall be governed by and construed in accordance with substantive Swedish law and any dispute, controversy or claim relating to this opinion shall be exclusively settled by Swedish courts.
Stockholm, May 10, 2022
SEB Corporate Finance, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ)
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SOURCE Swedish Match | 2022-05-11T10:19:26+00:00 | wlox.com | https://www.wlox.com/prnewswire/2022/05/11/statement-by-board-directors-swedish-match-ab-relation-public-cash-offer-by-philip-morris-holland-holdings-bv/ |
Aubri Juhasz
Aubri Juhasz is the education reporter for New Orleans Public Radio. Before coming to New Orleans, she was a producer for National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. She helped lead the show's technology and book coverage and reported her own feature stories, including the surge in cycling deaths in New York City and the decision by some states to offer competitive video gaming to high school students as an extracurricular activity. | 2022-07-24T14:07:22+00:00 | klcc.org | https://www.klcc.org/2022-07-24/a-guaranteed-income-program-in-rural-georgia-hopes-to-reduce-income-inequality |
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. >> NASA is skipping next week’s launch attempt of its new moon rocket because of a tropical storm that’s expected to become a major hurricane.
It’s the third delay in the past month for the lunar-orbiting test flight featuring mannequins but no astronauts, a follow-up to NASA’s Apollo moon-landing program of a half-century ago. Hydrogen fuel leaks and other technical issues caused the previous scrubs.
Currently churning in the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Ian is expected to become a hurricane by Monday and slam into Florida’s Gulf coast by Thursday. The entire state, however, is in the cone showing the probable path of the storm’s center — including NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Given the forecast uncertainties, NASA decided today to forgo Tuesday’s planned launch attempt and instead prepare the 322-foot rocket for a possible return to its hangar. Managers will decide Sunday whether to haul it off the launch pad.
If the rocket remains at the pad, NASA could try for an Oct. 2 launch attempt, the last opportunity before a two-week blackout period. But a rollback late Sunday or early Monday likely would mean a lengthy delay for the test flight, possibly pushing it into November.
The Space Launch System rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA. Assuming its first test flight goes well, astronauts would climb aboard for the next mission in 2024, leading to a two-person moon landing in 2025. | 2022-09-24T21:14:40+00:00 | staradvertiser.com | https://www.staradvertiser.com/2022/09/24/breaking-news/nasa-delays-moon-rocket-launch-due-to-potential-hurricane/ |
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — After divorcing her abusive husband, Loh Siew Hong spent three years searching for their three children. Once the couple split up, her former husband took the kids with him and refused to tell her their whereabouts.
Last year, Loh finally located her children — twin daughters and son, who range in age now from 11 to 15. But she also discovered that their father had converted from Hinduism to Islam — and he'd had the kids converted to Islam as well, to ensure he'd keep custody.
Loh is now contesting the children's conversions in a closely watched case that has thrown into sharp relief the stark ethnic and religious identity markers that make up the bedrock of Malaysian state policy.
The landmark legal case has divided Malaysia, a constitutionally Muslim country bisected by identity group politics. The country's laws forbid non-Muslims like Loh from marrying Muslims or raising Muslim children without first converting herself.
"The religious authorities feel that by giving in to Madam Loh, we are sacrificing our might of Islam. It's just a battle of egos," says Srimurugan Alagan, a lawyer on Loh's legal team.
Loh's case cuts across normally rigid ethnic and religious lines
Since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Malaysia has prioritized economic and educational protections for its dominant Muslim Malay population and Indigenous citizens, at the expense of ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens, whose ancestors were brought to the country by the British as cheap labor.
The government says that only by channeling resources to explicitly delineated ethnic and religious groups can Malaysia's multilingual and multiethnic society exist peacefully.
Loh has gained custody of her three young children for now, but wants their conversion to be overturned. In May, a judge ruled against her, but she is appealing. Malaysia has a dual secular-Shariah legal system, and secular courts have been hearing her cases.
Her appeal to overturn the children's conversion comes as rhetoric about protecting Malay Muslim rights is reaching a fever pitch, with the country heading into state elections in August.
"People respond to this issue in a very emotional way because it's not just about the children," says Rozana Isa, the director of Sisters in Islam, a gender equality advocacy group in Malaysia that reinterprets Islamic teachings from a feminist perspective. "What comes into play is about how then Islam must be protected at all costs."
The fevered identity politics have turned what is essentially a private custody dispute into a national spectacle. Loh, who is Hindu and of Chinese and Indian descent, says she is now the subject of sustained harassment and intimidation from pro-Islam and pro-Malay people who falsely accuse her of trying to take Muslim children away from their faith.
"My children cannot even go to playground. People take pictures of them and post them on Facebook, saying children go to playground wearing shorts and never wearing the tudung [a headscarf]," she laments.
The case plays into Malaysian politics, which tend to favor Malay Muslims
The public furor around Loh's case traces back to the long period of colonialism Malaysia endured under multiple rulers, the longest being under British rule. After independence, the nation made pro-Malay and Islamic tenets explicit in its constitution.
"The Malays reclaiming their religious identity is a byproduct of them trying to decolonize themselves," says Nadia Lukman, a researcher on migration and identity at Iman Research in Kuala Lumpur. "It is the anger towards the Western influence, and the Western influence that has been given to us for the past 300 years."
But power-sharing with the country's non-Malay groups, notably ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens, can be fragile. In 1969, after pro-ethnic Chinese opposition politicians made unexpected gains in elections, pro-Malay activists instigated violent riots that resulted in the killings of hundreds of ethnically Chinese Malaysians.
Since then, Malaysian politics have become even more pro-Malay and Muslim-focused. Like the United States, Malaysia today is a medley of diverse ethnicities, religions and languages. But unlike the U.S., where race-based policies are being contested and there is separation between church and state, Malaysia makes race and religion key deciders in how public resources are accessed.
Ethnic Malays — defined by the country's constitution as being Muslim and following Malay cultural customs — as well as various Indigenous groups are part of the "Bumiputera," a demographic category that translates literally to "prince of the soil." Bumiputera groups receive preferential bank loan interest rates and a discount on housing prices. Ninety percent of public university spots are reserved for them.
Authorities argue this is to address the historical income disparity favoring Chinese and Indian Malaysians over ethnic Malays. Although many ethnic Chinese and Indian Malaysians were brought over as indentured laborers by British colonial authorities, they concentrated in urban areas and quickly ventured into their own commercial activities, building up wealth in the 20th century that ethnic Malays, who were mostly rural, could not access.
Some non-Muslims convert to Islam to access Bumiputera rights — or to be able to marry a Muslim. Non-Muslim parents usually cannot have custody of Muslim children. Pro-Islam groups have also encouraged people to convert to boost Muslim numbers.
A young political party aims to center the discourse around class, not religion or race
"[Malays] always talk about the social contract, about Malays being the right, rightful owner of the land, and Chinese and Indians are coming from outside," says Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, a Malaysian politician who is ethnically Malay. "But slowly I am trying to introduce this idea that the social contract needs to be revisited because this social contract was done over 60 years ago. The world has changed, the country has changed, the people has changed. The social contract needs to be changed as well."
As the nation's politics have grown increasingly dominated by identity issues, political parties adhere largely along ethnic lines. Gerrymandered voting districts and a first-past-the-post voting system means political candidates must pander to ethnic group interests to win seats.
In 2020, Aziz and several young Malaysian activists, including Lim Wie Jet, a lawyer and politician who is ethnically Chinese, helped start MUDA, a multiracial party focused on bringing younger politicians into power and talking about economic outcomes by class, rather than ethnicity and religion.
"You adopt a mindset where you shouldn't rely on the authorities or the government to help you," says Lim. "That's been ingrained to almost all minority ethnic Chinese and Indian from a very young age, I believe."
But his upstart party faces strong headwinds. In 2020, the multiracial coalition of parties ruling Malaysia collapsed, in part due to strong Malay Muslim pressure. A hard-line Islamist party — the Malaysia Islamic Party or PAS — made strong gains during general elections last year. Rattled by an economic slowdown and endemic corruption, its voters believe they must band more closely together to protect Malay Muslim interests.
"MUDA has always been labeled as liberals and I have always been labeled as a traitor, a Malay traitor of my own race. These are the usual setbacks," says Aziz.
The court will determine if Loh's kids are voluntarily Muslim
All this has made conversion to Islam a sensitive and highly intimate subject.
"There's no federal law that stops one parent from converting a child without the consent of the other, and there is no political will to do it because the moment they pass such law, it is viewed as anti-Islam and the government in power will not get the Malay Muslim majority support," says Alagan, Loh's lawyer.
Now, a state court in Kuala Lumpur must determine whether Loh's three children are genuinely, voluntarily Muslim. The case is in its first appeal and is expected to conclude this year.
Loh maintains her children were forced to take Islamic classes and wear Islamic dress such as the hijab while with their father, but she argues that does not mean they are truly religious.
Now that they are back under her care, she says they follow Hindu religious customs. But in May, a judge decided that the children were still practicing Islam. Earlier this year, another Malaysian court also ruled against another woman's request to overturn her own conversion as a child.
Loh's case has invited comparisons to a previous case, 14 years ago, of Indira Gandhi, a Malaysian woman who sued her ex-husband after he converted their three children to Islam without obtaining her permission. A court agreed to overturn their conversions — but did not grant Gandhi custody, and she has yet to see one of her daughters.
Loh's case is even more significant, experts say, because she is not suing her ex-husband but rather challenging any precedence Malaysia's Islamic courts may have over civil matters, including family law and custody.
Religious matters, such as conversion, are usually adjudicated by religious courts in Malaysia. But Loh's case — straddling civil law issues like custody — falls in a gray area between the two court systems. Should a civil court rule in her favor on appeal, the onus would then be on the Islamic courts to decide whether to heed that ruling.
"The issues here involve the scope of where the religious authority ends," says Bridget Welsh, a researcher at the University of Nottingham who studies Malaysia and is based there. "This case is about the level of political power and the lines where these things are being drawn, with political pressures expanding and pushing those lines further into the religious freedom and decisions of non-Muslims."
Loh's case is also taking place in a political environment that has become even more polarized between Muslims and non-Muslims. And unlike Gandhi, she lost her first case to overturn the unilateral conversion. Rhetoric about protecting Malay Muslim interests is heating up ahead of state elections in July. The country's Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnic groups increasingly self-segregate their children into different schools. Each accuses the other of encroaching on their beliefs.
Ethnic Chinese advocates have accused Malay authorities of introducing too much Islamic teaching in schools, while Muslim groups have been embroiled in a 15-year legal fight over allegations of Christian proselytizing.
The suspicion and hostility have left their mark on Loh. A street food vendor, she says she spends most of her meager income paying rent for a gated community in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, in order to weed out the people who try to take pictures of her children or harass her. She is also fearful that her ex-husband, who lives nearby, may try again to take the children away from her.
If Loh wins her appeal, she is planning to celebrate by quietly fading back into obscurity in the company of her children.
"Just leave me alone," she says.
Liani MK contributed reporting from Kuala Lumpur.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-07-18T16:57:56+00:00 | kanw.com | https://www.kanw.com/npr-news/2023-07-18/in-malaysia-a-mom-is-contesting-her-kids-conversion-to-islam-its-a-landmark-case |
INDIANAPOLIS – Sophomores Jayden Taylor and Simas Lukosius each poured in 18 points, helping Butler to an 89-42 victory over The Citadel Saturday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The home Bulldogs (3-1) had the three-point shot falling, as they hit 17 of their 31 attempts (54.8 percent), including four makes each from Taylor, Lukosius, and Chuck Harris. Butler also manhandled the visiting Bulldogs (2-2) in the paint, racking up 42 rebounds to just 24 for The Citadel.
Next up for Butler is the Battle 4 Atlantis, and the Dawgs will open against No. 22 Tennessee Wednesday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m. | 2022-11-20T04:47:11+00:00 | fox59.com | https://fox59.com/sports/college-hoops/butler-shoots-the-citadel-out-of-hinkle-89-42/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Northwest Natural Holding Company (NWN) on Wednesday reported profit of $56.2 million in its first quarter.
The Portland, Oregon-based company said it had net income of $1.80 per share.
The natural gas distributor posted revenue of $350.3 million in the period.
Northwest Natural expects full-year earnings to be $2.45 to $2.65 per share.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on NWN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/NWN | 2022-05-04T11:04:50+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Northwest-Natural-Q1-Earnings-Snapshot-17146617.php |
WFO BUFFALO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, December 27, 2022
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WINTER STORM WARNING
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Buffalo NY
315 AM EST Tue Dec 27 2022
...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST THIS
AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Lake effect snow. Additional snow accumulations of 4 to
8 inches.
* WHERE...Jefferson and Lewis counties.
* WHEN...Until 1 PM EST this afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous
conditions could impact the morning commute.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Widespread accumulating snow will create dangerous travel
conditions.
Submit snow reports through our website or social media.
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST THIS
* WHAT...Lake effect snow. Additional snow accumulations of 3 to 5
inches in the most persistent lake snows.
* WHERE...Erie county, mainly across the Buffalo Southtowns from
Angola to Hamburg to West Seneca.
* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous
Lake effect snow will fall in relatively narrow bands. If
traveling, be prepared for rapidly changing road conditions and
visibilities.
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Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-12-27T09:00:22+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/NY-WFO-BUFFALO-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17678766.php |
There’s a steady persistence about Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood.
It’s easy for a Democrat to get frustrated and disillusioned in an overwhelmingly Republican, hyper-partisan Florida House, but Woodson works hard on her bills and budget items, against all odds. She has an opponent in the Aug. 23 primary, but voters in House District 105 should re-nominate her for a second term in Tallahassee.
A retired career social services administrator, Woodson, 62, worked for Miami-Dade County for 35 years on housing, education and mental health issues. She has a master’s in public administration from St. Thomas University and has lived in Hollywood for 26 years.
In her first term, she showed a skill at bringing home money for local needs, such as $500,000 for a mobile breast cancer awareness unit for the city of West Park (Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it). If re-elected, she’ll push for it next year (more persistence).
[ WATCH: Sun Sentinel editorial board interview with Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood ]
Woodson’s Democratic primary opponent, Dr. Imran Uddin Siddiqui of Miramar, did not respond to our invitation to an interview, and did not submit a questionnaire to the newspaper. Siddiqui said our email notification to him on July 14 was not received.
Siddiqui reports no campaign contributions — none — and says he has refused to accept any. He has loaned his campaign $4,000.
Rep. Woodson has raised $82,000.
The winner of the Aug. 23 primary faces Republican Vincent Parlatore in November in a heavily Democratic district. A two-year term in the Florida House pays $29,697 a year.
Woodson’s work ethic, and Siddiqui’s invisibility, make this an easy call. In Florida House District 105, the Sun Sentinel recommends Marie Woodson.
Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its staff members. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. | 2022-08-06T14:28:32+00:00 | sun-sentinel.com | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-op-endorse-florida-house-105-woodson-20220806-oszops7wtbeqnknqg2pr4gmesi-story.html |
GONZALES, La. (AP) — GONZALES, La. (AP) — Crown Crafts Inc. (CRWS) on Wednesday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $1.3 million.
The Gonzales, Louisiana-based company said it had net income of 13 cents per share.
The maker of children's products posted revenue of $19 million in the period.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CRWS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CRWS | 2023-02-15T13:24:53+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/business/article/crown-crafts-fiscal-q3-earnings-snapshot-17785525.php |
Plumbers working hard to repair burst pipes after sub-zero temperatures hit the region
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - As the region warms up from the recent arctic cold front, multiple areas have seen water mains and pipes bursting due to sub-zero temperatures.
Road closures and water boil advisories are common as repairs are completed by municipal utility crews.
Even with preparation for the weather, both commercial and residential customers have still experienced plumbing-related complications.
Homes and businesses are relying on private plumbing companies to repair the damage done by cold weather. Residents are still seeing frozen pipes and complete loss of service.
Amidst a plumber shortage, plumbing companies are doing what they can to keep up with emergencies.
“We’ve done our best to try to keep up,” said Chris Works, general manager at Shane Elmore Plumbing. “We’ve had some exuberant wait times and we’re doing our best to try and help everybody out.”
Companies like Shane Elmore Plumbing, have been rescheduling routine maintenance appointments to handle more emergent needs.
As everything begins to thaw, it is important to continue monitoring your home or business for leaks that could indicate a ruptured pipe.
If you notice a leak or flooding, turn off your water and call a plumber immediately.
Copyright 2022 WBKO. All rights reserved. | 2022-12-28T05:20:25+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/2022/12/28/plumbers-working-hard-repair-burst-pipes-after-sub-zero-temperatures-hit-region/ |
Consumer Product Safety Commission discusses banning gas stoves
If the Consumer Product Safety Commission's talk leads to action, the flame will go out on gas stoves.
CBS News is reporting the Consumer Product Safety Commission's concern is chronic health hazards, like respiratory conditions and asthma.
That is enough for a woman who currently has a gas stove to rethink her preferred cooking method.
"If it is a health concern, obviously, I am going to choose health," said Maria, who prefers cooking with gas.
According to the Iowa Restaurant Association, at least 90 percent of the state's restaurants cook with gas.
"I've never been to a kitchen that hasn't used gas stoves," said Carl Wertzberger, of Gilroy's Kitchen, Pub and Patio.
Wertzberger says at the end of the day we need gas for our ovens, stoves and fryers.
He is hoping his kitchen hood system, an industry standard when it comes to ensuring air quality in the kitchen, is more than enough to keep their cooking flame from flickering out.
"What it does is it takes all those agents from cooking and the gas stoves and it beautifully captures it in this captive air system. To ensure we are always bringing in fresh quality air," Wertzberger said. | 2023-01-11T00:57:10+00:00 | kcci.com | https://www.kcci.com/article/consumer-product-safety-commission-banning-gas-stoves/42450129 |
Companies can now prevent brand-damaging content from appearing next to their online ads by leveraging the Seekr Score, a content evaluation scoring algorithm
VIENNA, Va., Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Seekr, an internet technology company that offers information discovery and content evaluation, and Freestar, a leading monetization partner for publishers, e-commerce sites and app developers, today announced a partnership to monetize search on Seekr that will offer online advertisers the opportunity to target high-quality, brand-safe content. Powered by AI, Seekr offers the first search engine that reimagines what web results can look like when bias and misinformation are removed.
Seekr will offer brand-safe targeting capabilities using the Seekr Score, a set of proprietary algorithms that incorporate machine learning to sift through daily news stories and offer a score that reflects the reliability and credibility of every article. The inclusion of the Seekr Score will allow brands to target advertisements based on an article's reliability and will bolster confidence for brands concerned with having their ads appear next to poor quality, unreliable, or potentially brand-damaging content.
Programmatically sold advertising was worth $418 billion in 2021, and is expected to reach $725 billion by 2026. According to an October 2022 report on the role that some ad tech vendors play in funding disinformation, the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) continues to observe high-profile brands funding sources of disinformation via online advertising — often without the brand's knowledge of where their ads are being placed. Ad placements such as these increase the risk of damage to brands' reputations and undermine the public stances taken by many brands against hateful attitudes and beliefs.
"Billions of dollars of advertising are lost every year funding websites that cannot identify misinformation," said Seekr CEO and founder Pat Condo. "Brands benefit when their ads appear alongside reliable news sources. Our use of the Seekr Score in partnership with Freestar will ensure that people have the ability to view high-quality content and related advertising. The Seekr Score will become critical to bolstering brand safety."
Access the Seekr Press Kit or learn more at https://seekr.com.
Seekr is an internet technology and content evaluation company that prioritizes transparency and empowers users with choice and control by streamlining access to reliable information. Powered by AI, Seekr offers the first fully transparent search engine that reimagines what web results can look like when they remove bias and misinformation. Seekr utilizes an independent search index, sophisticated data science, and rigorous journalistic standards to determine the quality of news articles and their political lean — giving everyone access to technology that makes it easy to find trustworthy content in context.
All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
Mindy M. Hull
Mercury Global Partners for Seekr
+1 415 889 9977
seekr@wearemgp.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Seekr Technologies | 2022-11-15T14:14:57+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/11/15/brand-safe-advertising-gets-boost-with-seekr/ |
Authorities are investigating a deadly shooting in southwest Philadelphia Monday night. Five people were killed and two children were wounded. Police say a man carrying multiple weapons opened fire over several blocks before he was apprehended.
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks to Rodrigo Torrejón, reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-07-04T18:45:41+00:00 | nprillinois.org | https://www.nprillinois.org/2023-07-04/deadly-shooting-in-philadelphia-leaves-5-dead-2-children-injured |
Clemson softball team sweeps Georgia Tech
(Clemson Athletics) - The No. 5/5 Clemson softball team erupted for eight runs in the top of the fifth inning to propel the Tigers to a 13-0 run-rule victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon at Mewborn Field. The Tigers improve to 32-1 (9-0 ACC), after clocking their 13th run-rule victory and 14th shutout of the season. Georgia Tech falls to 16-15 (2-7 ACC) after the loss.
Being under a weather delay didn’t slow down the Tigers’ offense from finishing with nine hits in five innings of work led by Maddie Moore, Valerie Cagle and Aby Vieira each tallying two hits. Cagle, Caroline Jacobsen and Alia Logoleo each hit a home run. Logoleo led Clemson with three RBIs, while McKenzie Clark, Jacobsen, Moore and Cagle tallied two each.
Jacobsen didn’t let the rain dampen her fire, picking up Sunday afternoon where she ended Saturday. With two outs, Jacobsen took advantage of a 3-1 count to blast a two-run homer out of left center to plate Cagle in the process. This was Jacobsen’s ninth home run of the season and third of the weekend series.
Clemson went back to work in the third inning as Moore led off with a double off the wall in left center. Jacobsen put two runners on after getting hit by a pitch to allow Logoleo to send a three-run shot over the fence in center field to extend Clemson’s lead to 5-0 after three.
In the fifth, Cagle was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Ansley Houston, who was running for Cagle, was joined on the base path by Logoleo, who was also hit. Vieira found the gap in left field for an RBI double to plate Houston and put runners on second and third. Ally Miklesh drew a walk to load the bases, and Reedy Davenport drew a five-pitch walk to score Logoleo and make it 7-0 in favor of the Tigers.
Clemson didn't slow down as Clark and Moore hit back-to-back doubles that plated two runners each time. Getting through the entire lineup brought Cagle back to the plate as the Yellow Jackets switched pitchers. Without a second glance, Cagle drove the fourth pitch of her at bat out of dead center for a two-run homer to make it 13-0 and secure the five-inning win. That marked Cagle’s team-high 11th home run of 2023.
Cagle started in the circle in the series finale and threw five innings with four strikeouts while only giving up one walk and a hit. The redshirt junior improves to 15-1 after tossing her 11th-complete game and fifth solo shutout on the year.
Up Next
The Tigers return to McWhorter Stadium on Tuesday, March 28 hosting in-state rival South Carolina in the Palmetto Series presented by S.C. Education Lottery. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ACCNX. Fans should be advised that tickets are no longer available online for the South Carolina game, but a limited number of tickets will be held for purchase at the gates of McWhorter Stadium on a first-come, first-serve basis. | 2023-03-27T01:30:12+00:00 | wyff4.com | https://www.wyff4.com/article/clemson-softball-team-sweeps-georgia-tech/43422009 |
"Our strong results in the fourth quarter and record performance last year reflect a commitment to customers - from leisure and corporate travelers to ride share drivers. With a focus on asset return and risk management, we showed better operating performance, more disciplined fleet management and a commitment to financial returns," said Stephen Scherr, Hertz chair and chief executive officer. "Our team delivered on renewed demand for travel, which is continuing. In 2023, we will build on our progress to grow our business across the Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty brands. We look to our investments in electrification and technology to yield increasing operating leverage and improved returns and an even better product to our customers around the world."
ESTERO, Fla., Feb. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ) ("Hertz", "Hertz Global" or the "Company") today reported results for its fourth quarter and full year 2022.
For the fourth quarter 2022, the Company generated total revenues of $2.0 billion, up 4% from the fourth quarter of 2021, and up 7% on a constant currency basis. RPD and RPU were at fourth quarter record levels and volume was up 3% led by post-pandemic demand recovery. Depreciation continued to normalize during the quarter. Excluding litigation settlements of $168 million in the quarter, direct operating expense per transaction day was $33, down $2 from the third quarter 2022, demonstrating improved operating leverage. Net income was $116 million and Adjusted Corporate EBITDA was $309 million, a 15% margin. For the quarter, loss per share was $0.01 and adjusted earnings per share was $0.50.
Operating cash flow was $277 million for the quarter. Fleet capex of $312 million was a source of cash in the fourth quarter, driven by fleet rejuvenation and seasonal defleeting. As a result, adjusted free cash flow was $424 million, reflecting a 137% conversion from Adjusted Corporate EBITDA. The Company acquired 19 million shares, or 6% of its common stock, during the quarter.
HIGHLIGHTS
Q4 2022
- Revenue of $2.0 billion
- GAAP net income of $116 million, or $(0.01) per diluted share
- Adjusted net income of $173 million, or $0.50 per diluted share
- Adjusted Corporate EBITDA of $309 million, a 15% margin
- Operating cash flow of $277 million
- Adj. operating cash flow of $156 million; adj. free cash flow of $424 million
FY 2022
- Revenue of $8.7 billion
- Record GAAP net income of $2.1 billion, or $3.36 per diluted share
- Record adjusted net income of $1.5 billion, or $3.74 per diluted share
- Record Adjusted Corporate EBITDA of $2.3 billion, a 27% margin
- Operating cash flow of $2.5 billion
- Record adj. operating cash flow of $2.0 billion and adj. free cash flow of $1.5 billion
- Corporate liquidity of $2.5 billion at December 31st, including $943 million in unrestricted cash
- Company repurchased 128 million common shares during 2022, a 28.5% reduction of its capital base
SUMMARY RESULTS
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
In December 2022, the Company amended its European ABS facility to add the fleet in Italy, increase aggregate maximum borrowings to €1.1 billion and extend the maturity from October 2023 to November 2024.
During the fourth quarter 2022, the Company repurchased 19 million shares for $315 million and has over $1.1 billion remaining under the Board's authorization.
The Company's liquidity position was $2.5 billion at December 31, 2022, of which $943 million was unrestricted cash.
EARNINGS WEBCAST INFORMATION
Hertz Global's live webcast and conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2022 results will be held on February 7, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call will be broadcast live in listen-only mode on the Company's investor relations website at IR.Hertz.com. If you would like to access the call by phone and ask a question, please go to https://register.vevent.com/register/BI78420368890940eab75ec4e147ae0783, and you will be provided with dial in details. Investors are encouraged to dial-in approximately 15 minutes prior to the call. A web replay will remain available on the website for approximately one year. The earnings release and related supplemental schedules containing the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures will be available on the Hertz website, IR.Hertz.com.
UNAUDITED FINANCIAL DATA, SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULES, NON-GAAP MEASURES AND DEFINITIONS
Following is selected financial data of Hertz Global. Also included are Supplemental Schedules, which are provided to present segment results, and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to their most comparable GAAP measure. Following the Supplemental Schedules, the Company provides definitions for terminology used throughout the earnings release and its view of the usefulness of non-GAAP measures to investors and management.
In the first quarter of 2022, the Company began using Average Rentable Vehicles when calculating Available Car Days, Total RPU and Utilization instead of Average Vehicles. Average Rentable Vehicles excludes vehicles for sale on the Company's retail lots or actively in the process of being sold through other disposition channels. Prior periods have been restated to conform with the revisions, as appropriate. The Company has also restated historical quarterly and annual periods beginning with first quarter 2018 to reflect this change and has posted this information to its investor relations website at IR.Hertz.com.
ABOUT HERTZ
The Hertz Corporation, a subsidiary of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental brands throughout North America, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The Hertz Corporation is one of the largest worldwide vehicle rental companies, and the Hertz brand is one of the most recognized globally. Additionally, The Hertz Corporation owns and operates the Firefly vehicle rental brand and Hertz 24/7 car sharing business in international markets and sells vehicles through Hertz Car Sales. For more information about The Hertz Corporation, visit www.hertz.com.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained or incorporated by reference in this release, and in related comments by the Company's management, include "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements include information concerning the Company's liquidity and its possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of its business strategies. These statements often include words such as "believe," "expect," "project," "potential," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "seek," "will," "may," "would," "should," "could," "forecasts," "guidance" or similar expressions. These statements are based on certain assumptions that the Company has made in light of its experience in the industry as well as its perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in these circumstances. The Company believes these judgments are reasonable, but you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results, and that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of important factors, both positive and negative, that may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed or furnished to the SEC.
Important factors that could affect the Company's actual results and cause them to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, among other things:
- the Company's ability to purchase adequate supplies of competitively priced vehicles at a reasonable cost in order to efficiently service rental demand, including as a result of disruptions in the global supply chain;
- the Company's ability to attract and retain effective frontline employees and senior management and other key employees;
- levels of travel demand, particularly business and leisure travel in the U.S. and in global markets;
- significant changes in the competitive environment and the effect of competition in the Company's markets on rental volume and pricing;
- occurrences that disrupt rental activity during the Company's peak periods including in critical geographies;
- the Company's ability to accurately estimate future levels of rental activity and adjust the number and mix of vehicles used in its rental operations accordingly;
- the Company's ability to implement its business strategy or strategic transactions, including its ability to implement plans to support a large scale electric vehicle fleet and to play a central role in the modern mobility ecosystem;
- the Company's ability to adequately respond to changes in technology impacting the mobility industry;
- the mix of program and non-program vehicles in the Company's fleet can lead to increased exposure to residual risk upon disposition;
- financial instability of the manufacturers of the Company's vehicles, which could impact their ability to fulfill obligations under repurchase or guaranteed depreciation programs;
- an increase in the Company's vehicle costs or disruption to its rental activity due to safety recalls by the manufacturers of its vehicles;
- the Company's access to third-party distribution channels and related prices, commission structures and transaction volumes;
- the Company's ability to offer an excellent customer experience, retain and increase customer loyalty and market share;
- the Company's ability to maintain its network of leases and vehicle rental concessions at airports and other key locations in the U.S. and internationally;
- the Company's ability to maintain favorable brand recognition and a coordinated branding and portfolio strategy;
- the Company's ability to effectively manage its union relations and labor agreement negotiations;
- the Company's ability, and that of its key third-party partners, to prevent the misuse or theft of information the Company possesses, including as a result of cyber security breaches and other security threats, as well as to comply with privacy regulations across the globe;
- a major disruption in the Company's communication or centralized information networks or a failure to maintain, upgrade and consolidate its information technology systems;
- risks associated with operating in many different countries, including the risk of a violation or alleged violation of applicable anti-corruption or anti-bribery laws and the Company's ability to repatriate cash from non-U.S. affiliates without adverse tax consequences;
- risks relating to tax laws, including those that affect the Company's ability to recapture accelerated tax depreciation and expensing, as well as any adverse determinations or rulings by tax authorities;
- the Company's ability to utilize its net operating loss carryforwards;
- the Company's exposure to uninsured liabilities relating to personal injury, death and property damage, or otherwise;
- changes in laws, regulations, policies or other activities of governments, agencies and similar organizations, including those related to accounting principles, that affect the Company's operations, its costs or applicable tax rates;
- the recoverability of the Company's goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets when performing impairment analysis;
- costs and risks associated with potential litigation and investigations, compliance with and changes in laws and regulations and potential exposures under environmental laws and regulations;
- the Company's ability to comply with ESG regulations, meet increasing ESG expectations of stakeholders, and otherwise achieve its ESG goals;
- the availability of additional or continued sources of financing at acceptable rates for the Company's revenue earning vehicles and to refinance its existing indebtedness;
- volatility in the Company's stock price and certain provisions of its charter documents which could negatively affect the market price of the Company's common stock;
- the Company's ability to effectively maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting; and
- the Company's ability to implement an effective business continuity plan to protect the business in exigent circumstances.
Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in the Company's filings with the SEC, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such statements speak only as of the date of this release, and, except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
NON-GAAP MEASURES AND KEY METRICS
The term "GAAP" refers to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Adjusted EBITDA is the Company's segment measure of profitability and complies with GAAP when used in that context.
NON-GAAP MEASURES
Non-GAAP measures are not recognized measurements under GAAP. When evaluating the Company's operating performance or liquidity, investors should not consider non-GAAP measures in isolation of, superior to, or as a substitute for measures of the Company's financial performance as determined in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share ("Adjusted EPS")
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) represents income or loss attributable to the Company as adjusted to eliminate the impact of GAAP income tax; vehicle and non-vehicle debt-related charges; restructuring and restructuring related charges; acquisition accounting-related depreciation and amortization; reorganization items, net; pre-reorganization and non-debtor financing charges; gain from the sale of a business; change in fair value of Public Warrants; unrealized (gains) losses on financial instruments and certain other miscellaneous items on a pre-tax basis. Adjusted Net Income (Loss) includes a provision (benefit) for income taxes derived utilizing a combined statutory rate. The combined statutory rate is management's estimate of the Company's long-term tax rate. Its most comparable GAAP measure is net income (loss) attributable to the Company.
Adjusted EPS represents Adjusted Net Income (Loss) on a per diluted share basis using the weighted-average number of diluted shares outstanding for the period. Its most comparable GAAP measure is diluted earnings (loss) per share.
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EPS are important operating metrics because they allow management and investors to assess operational performance of the Company's business, exclusive of the items mentioned above that are not operational in nature or comparable to those of the Company's competitors.
Adjusted Corporate EBITDA and Adjusted Corporate EBITDA Margin
Adjusted Corporate EBITDA represents income or loss attributable to the Company as adjusted to eliminate the impact of GAAP income tax; non-vehicle depreciation and amortization; non-vehicle debt interest, net; vehicle debt-related charges; restructuring and restructuring related charges; reorganization items, net; pre-reorganization and non-debtor financing charges; gain from the sale of a business; change in fair value of Public Warrants; unrealized (gains) losses on financial instruments and certain other miscellaneous items.
Adjusted Corporate EBITDA Margin is calculated as the ratio of Adjusted Corporate EBITDA to total revenues.
Management uses these measures as operating performance metrics for internal monitoring and planning purposes, including the preparation of the Company's annual operating budget and monthly operating reviews, and analysis of investment decisions, profitability and performance trends. These measures enable management and investors to isolate the effects on profitability of operating metrics most meaningful to the business of renting and leasing vehicles. They also allow management and investors to assess the performance of the entire business on the same basis as its reportable segments. Adjusted Corporate EBITDA is also utilized in the determination of certain executive compensation. Its most comparable GAAP measure is net income (loss) attributable to the Company.
Adjusted operating cash flow and adjusted free cash flow
Adjusted operating cash flow represents net cash provided by operating activities net of the non-cash add back for vehicle depreciation and reserves, and exclusive of bankruptcy related payments made post emergence. Adjusted operating cash flow is important to management and investors as it provides useful information about the amount of cash generated from operations when fully burdened by fleet costs.
Adjusted free cash flow represents adjusted operating cash flow plus the impact of net non-vehicle capital expenditures and net fleet growth after financing. Adjusted free cash flow is important to management and investors as it provides useful information about the amount of cash available for, but not limited to, the reduction of non-vehicle debt, share repurchase and acquisition.
KEY METRICS
Available Car Days
Available Car Days represents Average Rentable Vehicles multiplied by the number of days in a given period.
Average Vehicles ("Fleet Capacity" or "Capacity")
Average Vehicles is determined using a simple average of the number of vehicles in the fleet whether owned or leased by the Company at the beginning and end of a given period.
Average Rentable Vehicles
Average Rentable Vehicles reflects Average Vehicles excluding vehicles for sale on the Company's retail lots or actively in the process of being sold through other disposition channels.
Depreciation Per Unit Per Month ("Depreciation Per Unit" or "DPU")
Depreciation Per Unit Per Month represents the amount of average depreciation expense and lease charges per vehicle per month, exclusive of the impacts of foreign currency exchange rates so as not to affect the comparability of underlying trends. This metric is important to management and investors as it reflects how effectively the Company is managing the costs of its vehicles and facilitates comparisons with other participants in the vehicle rental industry.
Total Revenue Per Transaction Day ("Total RPD"or "RPD"; also referred to as "pricing")
Total RPD represents revenue generated per transaction day, excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange rates so as not to affect the comparability of underlying trends. This metric is important to management and investors as it represents a measure of changes in the underlying pricing in the vehicle rental business and encompasses the elements in vehicle rental pricing that management has the ability to control.
Historically, the Company excluded revenue generated from ancillary retail vehicles sales. Effective in the third quarter 2021, the Company revised its calculation of Total RPD to include ancillary retail vehicle sales revenues to better align with current industry practice. Prior periods shown have been restated to conform with the revised definition.
Total Revenue Per Unit Per Month ("Total RPU" or "Total RPU Per Month")
Total RPU Per Month represents the amount of revenue generated per vehicle in the rental fleet each month, excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange rates so as not to affect the comparability of underlying trends. This metric is important to management and investors as it provides a measure of revenue productivity relative to the number of vehicles in our rental fleet whether owned or leased, or asset efficiency.
Historically, the Company excluded revenue generated from ancillary retail vehicles sales. Effective in the third quarter 2021, the Company revised its calculation of Total RPU to include ancillary retail vehicle sales revenues to better align with current industry practice. Also, historically, the company used Average Vehicles as the denominator to calculate Total RPU and effective in the first quarter of 2022, the Company revised the calculation to use Average Rentable Vehicles. Prior periods shown have been restated to conform with the revised definition.
Transaction Days ("Days"; also referred to as "volume")
Transaction Days represents the total number of 24-hour periods, with any partial period counted as one Transaction Day, that vehicles were on rent (the period between when a rental contract is opened and closed) in a given period. Thus, it is possible for a vehicle to attain more than one Transaction Day in a 24-hour period. This metric is important to management and investors as it represents the number of revenue-generating days.
Vehicle Utilization ("Utilization")
Effective in the first quarter of 2022, in connection with the appointment of the new CEO (who serves as our Chief Operating Decision Maker) and arising from significantly increased activity in vehicle dispositions, we began using Average Rentable Vehicles when calculating Available Car Days, Total RPU and Utilization instead of Average Vehicles. Average Rentable Vehicles excludes vehicles for sale on the Company's retail lots or actively in the process of being sold through other disposition channels. We believe this is a better measure of the productivity of our rental fleet as it is unaffected by fluctuations in disposition activity. Prior periods have been restated to conform with the revisions, as appropriate.
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SOURCE Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. | 2023-02-07T13:55:59+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2023/02/07/hertz-reports-strong-fourth-quarter-record-full-year-2022-net-income-adjusted-corporate-ebitda/ |
ACCOMARCA, Peru — Scene of one of the worst massacres of Peru’s internal conflict in the final decades of the 20th century, the town of Accomarca is closing a chapter that’s been open for more than 35 years.
Peru’s internal conflict from 1980 to 2000 saw the army fight the Shining Path rebel group. In total, almost 70,000 people died. Some who survived remember what people went through.
Justa Chuchón, 48, still has fresh memories of what she saw and recalls surviving four incidents in which she could have been killed.
“Finally, our friends and neighbors will find rest,” said Chuchón, who was 10 years-old the first time she thought she was going to be killed. In 1983, soldiers stormed her house in Accomarca and one of them pushed his rifle against her chest. She said the soldier kicked her and her brothers and ordered them to pick up and bury the bodies of 11 people. The soldiers accused them of being Shining Path rebels.
A total of 80 caskets, including those of people killed as late as 2000, were being buried in a graveyard on what used to be a military base where soldiers tortured locals they thought were Shining Path rebels, according to subsequent investigations.
Of the caskets, only 37 will contain remains, the rest will have clothing that was recovered and identified by families as belonging to their loved ones.
The Shining Path established clandestine bases in rural towns like Accomarca, where the group killed the local authorities and forced farmers to feed its members. In response, the army accused the farmers of having become “terrorists” and killed some of them..
Chuchón said that in July 1985, a group of soldiers stormed into the town’s fair and some of them raped her and her cousin. “I didn’t know if I should scream or cry,” she said. “I asked him not to kill me.”
The worst for Accomarca came on Aug. 14, 1985, when soldiers started shooting at its houses. They gathered 69 people, including elders, women and children. The soldiers raped the women, then placed those gathered into three houses. They shot up and dynamited the houses, and set them on fire, as people watched in terror, including Chuchón.
That day Chuchón escaped death because she was with her grandmother. Her parents had gone to another town to play in a rural fair, because her father was a harpist.
A week after the massacre, once her parents came back, the family fled Accomarca for Lima.
In Peru’s capital, family members of the victims denounced the massacre before Congress and for years sought justice.
A legislative committee investigated the case and in 1985 it interrogated army second lieutenant Telmo Hurtado, who pleaded guilty in connection to the massacre.
“One cannot trust a woman, an elder or a boy,” he said before the committee. He was dubbed “the butcher of the Andes” by the media, but he wasn’t initially convicted for the massacre. He was sentenced to four years in prison for not having reported the killings to his superiors. He remained in active duty in the army.
After Hurtado retired in 1999, he went to live in Miami, but the families of the victims kept asking for justice, and he was finally arrested and extradited in 2011 to face charges for the massacre in Peru. He changed his testimony and said he was following orders. He accused the army of committing extrajudicial killings.
Finally, a Peruvian tribunal found Hurtado and nine other army officers guilty of the massacre. They were sentenced to 23 to 25 years in prison. But five of them remain fugitives, including retired general Wilfredo Mori, who gave the verbal order to kill the 69 people in Accomarca.
“What’s the point of convicting them if they’re still free?” Chuchón asked..
___
Briceño reported from Lima, Peru. | 2022-05-21T01:06:19+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/peruvian-town-finally-buries-the-victims-of-massacre/2022/05/20/8bb447da-d895-11ec-be17-286164974c54_story.html |
OXFORD, Miss. (WTVA) - Police identified one of the teenagers accused of auto burglary in Oxford.
Xavian Ivy, 18, of Oxford, initially faced four counts of auto burglary. Two juveniles were also arrested. Police did not identify them.
The auto burglaries were reported on Aug. 17 in the area of Old Taylor Road. According to an Oxford Police news release, security cameras captured footage of Ivy and the others.
Investigators also connected Ivy to auto burglaries that happened the previous month in the same area of Oxford, per police.
As a result, Ivy faces two additional auto burglary charges and sale of a stolen firearm. | 2022-08-23T17:31:56+00:00 | wtva.com | https://www.wtva.com/news/oxford-police-identify-suspect-in-old-taylor-road-auto-burglaries/article_fb9240a2-22ff-11ed-b9ec-5b59a99be0b5.html |
They call him “El Jefe,” he is at least 12 years old and his crossing of the heavily guarded U.S.-Mexico border has sparked celebrations on both sides.
“El Jefe” — or “The Boss” — is one of the oldest jaguars on record along the frontier, one of few known to have crossed a border partly lined by a wall and other infrastructure to stop drug traffickers and migrants, and the one believed to have traveled the farthest, say ecologists of the Borderlands Linkages Initiative, a binational collaboration of eight conservation groups.
That assessment is based on photographs taken over the years. Jaguars can be identified by their spots, which serve as a kind of unique fingerprint.
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The rare northern jaguar’s ability to cross the border suggests that despite increased impediments, there are still open corridors and if they are kept open “it is feasible (to conserve) the jaguar population in the long term,” said Juan Carlos Bravo of the Wildlands Network, one of those groups in the initiative.
But some fear for the jaguars’ future. Although it was the government of President Donald Trump that reinforced and expanded the border wall with Mexico, the Biden administration has announced plans for closing four gaps between the U.S. state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora — the two states the jaguars traverse.
Conservationists do not know how many jaguars there are in the Sierra Madre Occidental, but of the 176 that have been identified over two decades by the Northern Jaguar Project — another group in the initiative — only two others besides “El Jefe” are known to have crossed the border, Bravo said. In one case, conservationists are not sure if the jaguar crossed the border alive or dead since only its skin was found.
The first photograph of “El Jefe” was taken by a hunter southeast of Tucson, Arizona, in 2011, Bravo said. The jaguar became famous in Arizona and a local school named him “El Jefe.” Motion sensor cameras installed in transit areas photographed the jaguar in Arizona again in 2012 and in 2015.
Conservationists were stunned when they confirmed that a photograph taken by another member of the coalition, Profauna, last November in the center of Sonora was “El Jefe.” The discovery meant not only that jaguars could still cross the border but that other jaguars they had lost track of could also still be alive, the initiative said in a statement.
Hunted in the southwestern United States for rewards offered by the government to promote cattle ranching, they were thought to have disappeared from the U.S. by the end of the 20th century. Jaguar populations are currently concentrated on Mexico’s Pacific coast, southeastern Mexico, Central America and central South America.
A sighting of jaguars in the United States in 1996 prompted studies that found a reproductive point in the center of Sonora.
The NGOs banded together to operate on both sides of the border to track the cats, create sanctuaries, understand where they moved and seek the support of landowners in the U.S. and Mexico to protect them, Bravo said.
Besides the difficulty of determining where to put cameras to record the animals and the subsequent analysis of the images, conservationists in Mexico face another problem: drug cartels.
“There is a presence of armed groups and drug traffickers” who pass through the same isolated areas as the jaguars, Bravo said by telephone from Sonora. “It is important to move carefully, work with the people in the communities that tell us where not to go. ... All of this is making it very, very complicated.”
The border is the main challenge for hopes to repopulate the American Southwest with jaguars, with walls impeding movement by those animals as well as the American antelope, the black bear and the Mexican wolf, Bravo said. Light towers and the roads used by the Border Patrol also are a problem, he added. | 2022-08-10T19:48:51+00:00 | nbcmiami.com | https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/national-international/border-crossing-jaguar-el-jefe-caught-on-camera-in-mexico/2832475/ |
LEHI, Utah, Nov. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PCF Insurance Services (PCF), a top 20 U.S. insurance brokerage firm, announced today its acquisition of Voluntary Benefits at Work (VB@Work). This insurance brokerage group designs and implements voluntary employee benefits solutions. VB@Work combines state-of-the-art benefits analysis, communication, enrollment, billing, and support services, providing a strategic competitive advantage for the company across the benefits industry.
"We are excited about what Voluntary Benefits at Work will bring to our partner network," says Peter C. Foy, Chairman, Founder, and CEO of PCF Insurance. "In a time when the average employee is highly tuned in to these types of benefits, its focus on the ancillary benefits is unlike most in the industry. Adding this niche offering to PCF Insurance's portfolio of Agency Partners expands coverage of our offerings and increases the availability of innovative protection against unique risks."
PCF Insurance Partner Network is comprised of skilled professionals with deep experience in insurance, risk management, and financial services, which stems from its growing books of business, its strong relationships with carriers, and the robust analysis of extensive data to identify trends and emerging risks within the insurance industry.
"PCF Insurance was the best fit to drive our high-growth niche insurance agency to its full potential. We enjoy solid working relationships with many large and small professional health and welfare benefits brokers who rely on our expertise. By joining PCF, we'll be able to expand our offerings and create value for our clients and their employees," said Tonya Lancaster, Principal of VB@Work.
Brian Ely, Principal of VB@Work continued, "Because the landscape is constantly shifting, employee benefits can be one of the most expensive and difficult expenditures to manage for employers. With PCF Insurance supporting us with resources, buying power, and cross-selling opportunities, we are not only able to fuel substantial future growth for our agency, but pass those value-add services along to our clients."
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About Voluntary Benefits at Work
With 40 years of experience in the benefits industry, Voluntary Benefits at Work (VB@Work) provides best-in-class employee benefits solutions to employers who want to stay on the cutting edge of employee care. VB@Work is a recognized expert in an increasingly complex, yet vital component of any firm's employee benefits plan. Learn more at vbwork.com.
About PCF Insurance Services
A top 20 U.S. broker headquartered in Lehi, Utah, PCF Insurance Services is a leading full-service consultant and insurance brokerage firm offering a broad array of commercial, life and health, employee benefits, and workers' compensation solutions. Propelled by its people, PCF Insurance's agency-centric operating model and entrepreneurial environment support its tremendous growth profile, offering partners alignment through equity ownership, significant leadership incentives, and resources to over 3,100 employees throughout the U.S. Ranked #20 on Business Insurance's 2022 Top 100 Brokers and #13 on Insurance Journal's 2022 Top Property/Casualty Agencies, PCF Insurance is a notable leader in the insurance space. Learn more at pcfins.com.
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SOURCE PCF Insurance Services | 2022-11-29T18:17:17+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/11/29/pcf-insurance-services-announces-acquisition-business-insurance-broker-voluntary-benefits-work/ |
STRASBOURG, France (AP) — European Union lawmakers are set to vote Wednesday on a candidate to replace a disgraced former parliament vice president, after a key suspect in the cash-for-influence corruption scandal rocking the assembly made a plea bargain with prosecutors, raising the prospect that more names might surface.
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Former parliament vice president Eva Kaili was removed from her post after she was taken into custody early last month facing charges of corruption, money laundering and membership of a criminal organization.
Belgian prosecutors suspect that Kaili; former parliamentarian Pier Antonio Panzeri; Kaili’s partner and Panzeri’s friend Francesco Georgi; and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, head of the charity group No Peace Without Justice, were paid by Qatar and Morocco to influence decision-making at the assembly. Both countries deny the allegations.
The federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that Panzeri had agreed to become an informant and reveal more information about the scandal in exchange for a lighter sentence. He’s pledged to tell investigators the names of those involved and what financial arrangements were made with other countries.
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Several EU lawmakers and officials have said that the corruption allegations are the most damning to have hit the parliament. The center-left Socialist and Democrats, the second biggest political group in the assembly, has been the prime target, and its members are wary that things might get worse.
The S&D group have nominated Marc Angel, a Luxembourg member of the EU parliament, to replace Kaili. He has received the backing of the two other biggest groups and seems almost certain to be endorsed in a vote in Strasbourg, France, later Wednesday.
Panzeri’s lawyer avoided reporters as he left the main Brussels courthouse on Tuesday but later, in an interview with Belgian broadcast RTBF, said that the 67-year-old Italian would probably only now receive a five year suspended sentence, with one year to be served in detention.
The lawyer, Laurent Kennes, said that Panzeri would also be fined 80,000 euros, and would have to give up the estimated 1 million euros that prosecutors suspect he earned from his corruption dealings.
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Kennes said that Panzeri “wants to talk, to get things off his chest. He is vulnerable, he’s locked up, he’s depressed. Under those circumstances he wants to be able to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
The scandal came to public attention on Dec. 9 after police launched more than 20 raids, mostly in Belgium but also in Italy. Hundreds of thousands of euros were found at a home and in a suitcase at a hotel in Brussels. Mobile phones and computer equipment and data were seized.
Prosecutors also suspect Panzeri’s wife and daughter of taking part in the scheme and have issued arrest warrants to have them handed over by Italian authorities. | 2023-01-18T10:39:43+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/EU-lawmakers-to-vote-after-scandal-suspect-makes-17724739.php |
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Kellington is from Midwest City and graduated from Oklahoma State.
You may never again see what Brandon Weeden was at OSU or what David Johnson was at Tulsa: exceedingly talented and exceedingly patient.
Flurry of Cowboys enter transfer portal, WRs Stephon Johnson Jr. and Bryson Green among them
The OSSAA made the adjustment Tuesday due to it not classifying Holland Hall properly before the season.
It is expected to employ about 50 people at a site about a mile west of the one that was originally proposed for an REI in Tulsa.
Several minutes after leading Dale to the most surprising Tournament of Champions boys title in at least a decade and arguably much longer, Da…
When fans feel good about the quarterback position and the program as a whole, it impacts season-ticket sales.
Rumors took over by midday Wednesday. The topic “Oklahoma State” was trending nationally on the social media site. More locally, the term “Gundy” trended, with more than 3,000 tweets revolving around that term.
Oklahoma's 1st District congressman isn’t saying no to the possibility of becoming a compromise candidate after he was nominated by Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert on Thursday.
Former NFL running back Peyton Hillis has been hospitalized after he reportedly saved children from drowning off the Florida coast.
The 42-year-old reality star thinks it is time for her to "let loose a little bit." Find out more in this week's roundup of celebrity news. | 2023-01-07T06:48:13+00:00 | tulsaworld.com | https://tulsaworld.com/4-bedroom-home-in-collinsville---424-900/article_19e4d52a-c699-550d-8b82-62d0116edb0b.html |
Next snow chance on Thursday and Friday
Rain, snow, and a wintry mix possible late this week
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – We’re tracking our next weather-maker set to impact the region Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. SE MN and NE IA could see rain, snow, and a wintry mix from this next system.
Here’s what we know:
A strong low-pressure system will move into the region Thursday afternoon. Temperatures are expected to be above freezing in the afternoon. We’ll start with rain across SE MN and NE IA Thursday afternoon and evening. As the center of the low moves east of the Mississippi River, cold air will slowly move into the region. This will drop temperatures to below freezing, which will change our precip type through the evening. A slushy wintry mix and snow will be possible Thursday night into Friday morning.
Amounts:
Rainfall:
Rainfall amounts will range from 0.20-0.40″ for most of SE MN and NE IA.
Snowfall Potential:
Our snowfall potential is not high with this next system. Accumulations are expected to be minor at this time. Higher totals will be in central and northern Minnesota stretching from Minneapolis to Duluth. Most areas around SE MN and NE IA can expect a couple of inches of snow. I think it will be tough for snow to stick on the roads during the duration of this storm.
Temperature Trend:
This storm system will bring in some cold temperatures for Saint Patrick’s Day. Highs Friday will be in the lower 20s strong northwesterly winds gusting to around 35-40 mph. Cold temperatures will continue into the weekend with highs in the 20s on both Saturday and Sunday.
We’ll slowly recover into the middle 30s by next Monday.
Nick
Copyright 2023 KTTC. All rights reserved. | 2023-03-14T20:53:20+00:00 | kttc.com | https://www.kttc.com/2023/03/14/next-snow-chance-thursday-friday/ |
WHL
All Times Local
Eastern Conference
Central Division
East Division
Western Conference
B.C. Division
U.S. Division
Note: Two points for a team winning in overtime or shootout; the team losing in overtime or shootout receives one which is registered in the OTL or SOL columns.
Tuesday's results
Saskatoon 2 Brandon 1 (OT)
Red Deer 6 Regina 5 (OT)
Prince Albert 6 Victoria 3
Seattle 4 Swift Current 2
Wednesday's results
Winnipeg 5 Saskatoon 3
Lethbridge 4 Moose Jaw 1
Regina 6 Calgary 5 (SO)
Prince Albert 4 Vancouver 1
Kamloops 5 Portland 1
Tri-City 6 Swift Current 1
Friday's results
Winnipeg 7 Brandon 6 (OT)
Regina 3 Lethbridge 2
Moose Jaw 4 Edmonton 1
Prince Albert at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Portland at Tri-City, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Swift Current at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday's results
Edmonton at Calgary, 2 p.m.
Winnipeg at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 6 p.m.
Tri-City at Portland, 6 p.m.
Lethbridge at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Everett, 6:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Prince Albert at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday's games
Moose Jaw at Calgary, 2 p.m.
Brandon at Saskatoon, 4 p.m.
Regina at Medicine Hat, 4 p.m.
Tri-City at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
Red Deer at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
Victoria at Kamloops, 5 p.m.
Spokane at Seattle, 5:05 p.m.
Tuesday's games
Edmonton at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Portland, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Wednesday's games
Edmonton at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Winnipeg, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m. | 2023-02-04T06:18:54+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/hko-whl-standings-17763331.php |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers leading the negotiations on a bill to fund the federal government for the current fiscal year announced late Tuesday they’ve reached agreement on a “framework” that should allow them to complete work on the bill over the next week and avoid a government shutdown.
Congress faces a midnight Friday deadline to pass a spending bill to prevent a partial government shutdown. The two chambers are expected to pass another short-term measure before then to keep the government running through Dec. 23, which will allow negotiators time to complete work on the full-year bill.
“Now, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will work around the clock to negotiate the details of final 2023 spending bills that can be supported by the House and Senate and receive President Biden’s signature,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
Earlier in the day, Senate leaders said lawmakers from the two parties were nearing an agreement, but Republicans warned Democrats that lawmakers would need to complete their work by Dec. 22 or they would only support a short-term extension into early next year. That would give House Republicans more leverage over what’s in the legislation, since they will be in the majority then.
“We intend to be on the road going home on the 23rd. We intend not to be back here between Christmas and New Year’s, and if we can’t meet that deadline, we would be happy to pass a short-term (resolution) into early next year,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader in the Senate.
McConnell voiced confidence Republicans would be able to meet their priorities of increasing spending on defense without “having to pay a bonus above what President Biden asked for” on non-defense priorities. He said Democrats were willing to accept that because they had previously passed two bills on a party-line basis that allow for more government spending on various domestic priorities.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said last week that the two parties were about $25 billion apart in what is expected to be about a $1.65 trillion package, not including mandatory spending on programs such as Social Security and Medicare. However, Democrats in their statements did not indicate what topline spending number had been reached in the framework announced Tuesday. | 2022-12-14T19:36:18+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-lawmakers-announce-framework-on-bill-to-keep-govt-open/ |
HOUSTON, Dec. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Data Projections has once again made SCN's Top 50 Integrators List in 2022. "At Data Projections, our goal is to serve our clients with the highest possible level of audio/visual integration to better facilitate and enhance their own missions and successes. To be recognized multiple times by a publication with the caliber of Systems Contractor News as one of the top fifty integrators in the nation is welcome confirmation that we are a vital part of the AV industry," said Matthew Zaleski, President of Data Projections.
"It is always an honor to receive this SCN distinction, but in many ways this particular recognition means even more as our society emerges from a pandemic," Zaleski continued. "I think it illustrates we have successfully assisted our clients in bridging the gap between a pre and post COVID world without significant disruption to meaningful and effective communication."
Being recognized as an industry leader is nothing new for Data Projections. Over the years, the company has received prominent certifications and been recognized by the Better Business Bureau for their services.
"As an AV integrator, we are grateful for recognition from our industry peers, but at the end of the day we are most thankful for clients who choose to entrust their AV vision and goals to us," Zaleski concluded.
Founded in 1987, Data Projections has grown into a leader in the audio/visual solutions industry. With offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Data Projections focuses on the businesses and institutions that also call Texas home. Data Projections offers its clients the ability to connect with others, collaborate in innovate ways and simplify even the most technically complex processes. Visit www.dataprojections.com to learn more.
CONTACT:
Beth Guide
713-703-3030
beth@verticalweb.com
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SOURCE Data Projections | 2022-12-06T20:14:38+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2022/12/06/data-projections-makes-scns-2022-top-50-integrators-list/ |
A problem with the Gay Pride movement is that it has gone beyond the demand that LGBTQ+ persons be treated with dignity to demanding that their behavior be applauded. In other words, they have moved from demanding accommodation of their beliefs and behavior to approbation of them.
Those who for religious or other reasons believe that certain sexual behaviors are violations of moral law are told they must change their views or at best be labelled as unloving bigots, or at worst be “cancelled.” This is not right. It is not right to attack or bully LGBTQ+ persons; they should be free to be open about their opinions, but they should not require that others agree with them.
The orthodox of the three major religions in America believe, for defendable reasons, that homosexual behavior is morally wrong. It is not right to demand that such persons be required by law to take actions which directly imply their approbation of LBGTQ+ actions (e.g., bake a wedding cake for a gay marriage).
As the Opinion piece in the June 11 The Patriot News said, those on both sides of this issue should “be kinder to one another,” which includes accepting and respecting those with whom one disagrees.
Alexander Shine, Carlisle, Pa. | 2023-06-14T15:21:22+00:00 | pennlive.com | https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2023/06/the-gay-pride-movement-cant-demand-everyone-approve-of-homosexual-behavior-pennlive-letters.html |
Local Mustards Packing A Punch
Red Jalapeño Mustard
Sheridan’s LocalFolks Foods makes this deliciously pungent local mustard speckled with seeds and spices. The flavor opens with a huff of apple cider vinegar, followed by a powerful but quick explosion of jalapeño heat. localfolksfoods.com
Cthulhu
In addition to rubs and sauces, local mustard from pitmaster John Barker comes this potent, full-seed version as part of his Skull and Mortar line of flavor bombs. Fittingly, it takes its name from one of H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional beasts. skullandmortar.com
Plum Mustard
Wildwood Market packages an extra-grainy spread that has a hint of fruitiness. Unusually delicate and well balanced, it belongs on a charcuterie board between the salami and soft cheese. 1015 Virginia Ave., 317-737-2653, wildwoodmarket.com
Pickled Mustard Seed
Just three ingredients (mustard seeds, sugar, and vinegar) make up this popping pickled garnish sold in the refrigerated case at Turchetti’s Salumeria. 1106 Prospect St., 317-426-3048, turchettis.com
Peppered Gold
Sweet and sticky molasses, tamarind, and smoky chipotle create an interesting depth in this mild, pepper-flecked backyard sauce from Muncie-based John Tom’s Barbecue. johntomsbbq.com
Dill Mustard
Tiny threads of dill run through Dillman Farm’s silky Dijon. Like an herbaceous Grey Poupon with a kick of vinegar up front, this Bloomington-made spread would make an excellent deviled egg ingredient. dillmanfarm.com | 2022-06-27T20:47:08+00:00 | indianapolismonthly.com | https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/food-and-drinks/dining/local-mustards-packing-a-punch |
CBC lawmakers call on DOT to address racial inequity in traffic enforcement
By Eva McKend, CNN
Over two dozen members of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus are calling on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to address concerns about the safety of Black motorists.
“On our nation’s roads and highways, Black motorists have experienced disproportionate scrutiny and excessive force under the guise of traffic enforcement,” a letter sent Thursday to Buttigieg reads. The lawmakers who signed onto the letter were led by Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Hank Johnson of Georgia.
Traffic enforcement is often a state and regional matter, and the lawmakers who sent the letter maintain these problems are not specific to or as a result of the Biden administration, but, in reality, are the result of generations of systemic racism.
The members of Congress who sent the letter are urging Buttigieg to use his high-profile post to condemn discrimination and racial profiling from law enforcement and enact reforms.
“Generations of Black people have been unjustly subjected to biased traffic enforcement and police interaction. While driving laws have been enacted at every level of government to safeguard the public, officers selectively enforce these laws to the detriment of Black drivers,” the letter reads.
“As Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), we urge you to condemn the status quo of traffic enforcement and develop reforms to reduce racial inequities in traffic stops,” the letter states.
The lawmakers are specifically calling for the evaluation of public campaigns and grants designed to promote policing in traffic safety. They argue the federal government has the power to ensure federal funds do not contribute to racist enforcement. The CBC members want to ensure the money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act supports initiatives like traffic light upgrades that reduce the need for law enforcement responses.
“As our nation’s Secretary of Transportation, you play a pivotal role in issuing guidance, collecting data, promulgating regulations, and funding priorities that move our nation closer to transit equity,” the letter reads.
In response to a request for comment on the letter, a DOT spokesperson said, “The Department takes this issue very seriously. We will continue to work to ensure our traffic safety programs, including grant-making, uphold both safety and equity.”
The lawmakers reference Bureau of Justice Statistics data they maintain illustrate the disparity. More than 20 million people are pulled over for traffic violations every year and Black motorists are overrepresented compared to their White counterparts, the letter notes.
Progressives have long called for reimagining traffic and road safety.
In Vermont, Chittenden County prosecutor Sarah George stopped pursuing charges in cases where evidence was collected during a “non-public safety” traffic stop like failing to signal a lane change or driving too slowly. She issued a public memo to this effect at the end of 2021.
“When the data shows an enormous discrepancy in who is being targeted during traffic stops, that discrepancy means a disproportionate number of Black and Brown folks being criminally charged. In order to eliminate the fatal realities of these traffic stops, the legislature and those who do control police actions and resources must intervene,” said George, who describes the letter sent by lawmakers as important.
Other officials in states and municipalities across the country have taken similar actions in an effort to reduce what can sometimes escalate to deadly interactions with motorists including in Virginia, Oregon and Philadelphia, the letter notes. Of the more than 1,000 people killed by police last year, about 7% involved traffic violation encounters according to Mapping Police Violence, a group that tracks police shootings in the United States.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-07T00:33:04+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2023/04/06/cbc-lawmakers-call-on-dot-to-address-racial-inequity-in-traffic-enforcement/ |
WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, April 28, 2023
_____
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
818 PM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northeastern Dimmit
County through 900 PM CDT...
At 818 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Las Vegas, or near Big Wells, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and penny size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Big Wells and Las Vegas.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
LAT...LON 2849 9958 2864 9956 2864 9939 2847 9940
TIME...MOT...LOC 0118Z 272DEG 27KT 2858 9946
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of southeastern Webb
At 818 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from Ranchitos Las Lomas to Laredo Community
College. Movement was southeast at 25 mph.
HAZARD...Half inch hail.
IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.
Laredo, Rio Bravo, El Cenizo, Texas A&M, Laredo International
Airport, Oilton, United South High School, Aguilares, Ranchitos Las
Lomas, St Augustine High School South Laredo, Doctors Hospital Of
Laredo, Laredo Country Club, Laredo Community College and Mirando
City.
This includes the following highways...
Interstate 35 between mile markers 1 and 8.
US Highway 59 between mile markers 804 and 824.
US Highway 83 between mile markers 718 and 734.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1100 PM CDT for
south central Texas.
LAT...LON 2727 9949 2730 9949 2731 9954 2734 9951
2741 9949 2745 9950 2748 9948 2750 9949
2750 9953 2757 9951 2760 9954 2770 9935
2769 9917 2752 9887 2727 9928 2727 9933
2732 9937 2726 9945 2726 9948
TIME...MOT...LOC 0118Z 309DEG 23KT 2766 9921 2748 9951
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH
_____
Copyright 2023 AccuWeather | 2023-04-29T02:01:07+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/weather/article/tx-wfo-austin-san-antonio-warnings-watches-and-17926326.php |
BOSTON — While the Celtics’ third quarter woes will take most of the headlines, there were other factors that went into their Game 1 loss to the Heat. The C’s were outscored 46-25 in the third quarter Wednesday at TD Garden as the Heat’s offense put up massive numbers to flip a nine-point halftime C’s lead into a 12-point Heat advantage.
Jaylen Brown said the Celtics were too cool and played like it was a regular-season game. Marcus Smart said the C’s get bored with the little things at times. All those factors resulted in the Celtics falling 123-116 to the Heat in Game 1 and into a 1-0 hole in the East Finals. On the flip side, the C’s offense also failed to deliver in the second half. Boston put up 66 points at halftime; the C’s mustered up just 50 points in the second half.
Jayson Tatum was at the forefront of those struggles. The All-Star still finished with 30 points and seven rebounds to lead the Celtics as his overall numbers were good, finishing 9-for-17 from the floor. But he didn’t attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter while putting up three turnovers. He did have six fourth-quarter points off free throws, but the Celtics more from their best player.
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“We’ve got to play with more pace,” Tatum said. “I think in the third quarter, we kind of played too slow, mainly because we weren’t getting stops. In the fourth quarter, we made a couple runs, got to push the ball, and those go hand in hand with getting stops and getting out in transition. So, it starts on the defensive end. Just play with some more pace, play a little bit faster.”
The C’s offense slowed considerably in the second half. They committed 10 turnovers compared to just seven assists on 17 made field goals. The defense giving up multiple Heat buckets didn’t help either, as Tatum pointed out when it came to attacking the Heat. Miami also only committed three turnovers in the second half as it was much more stingy with the ball.
All those factors led to the Celtics dropping another Game 1 of a series. They’ve shown time and again they can climb out of that hole, but the C’s don’t have much margin for error going forward. The Celtics will look to bounce back at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Garden for Game 2.
“In the third quarter, we gave up too many points,” Tatum said. “Sometimes we didn’t get back, had some turnovers, spacing, defensive coverages that we kind of got mixed up on that we went over today in shootaround. A lot of things that we can control to be better at.”
- Massachusetts sports betting is live. Learn more about the best sportsbooks in MA, including the latest Caesars promo code and details on WynnBet’s promo code. | 2023-05-18T10:08:22+00:00 | masslive.com | https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/05/jayson-tatum-pinpoints-celtics-struggles-in-game-1-loss-to-heat.html |
A study released Thursday revealed that e-cigarette sales increased by 46.6% between January 2020 and December 2022.
During that study period, the number of brands increased by 46.2%, from 184 to 269 brands.
Sales of prefilled devices decreased, while disposable devices increased.
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Sales of flavors such as fruit, candy, and desserts that appeal to youth also increased.
“The tobacco industry is well aware that flavors appeal to and attract kids, and that young people are uniquely vulnerable to nicotine addiction,” said Robin Koval, CEO and President, Truth Initiative. “While we are encouraged by FDA’s recent actions to curb unlawful marketing of flavored e-cigarettes, we all must work with even greater urgency to protect our nation’s youth from all flavored e-cigarettes, including disposables.”
The five top-selling brands were Vuse, JUUL, Elf Bar, NJOY, and Breeze Smoke, with Elf Bar (now marketed as EBDESIGN) emerging as the top-selling disposable brand in the country.
“The dramatic spikes in youth e-cigarette use back in 2017 and 2018, primarily driven by JUUL, showed us how quickly e-cigarette sales and use patterns can change,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, Ph.D., MPH, director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “Retail sales data are key to providing real-time information on the rapidly changing e-cigarette landscape, which is essential to reducing youth tobacco use.”
The retail sales data included sales from brick-and-mortar retailers only.
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The data did not include purchase age or sales data from tobacco-specialty stores, including vape shops and internet retailers.
“The surge in total e-cigarette sales during 2020-2022 was driven by non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette sales, such as menthol, which dominates the prefilled cartridge market, and fruit and candy flavors, which lead the disposable e-cigarette market. Data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey also highlight the popularity of these flavored e-cigarettes among U.S. middle and high school students,” said Fatma Romeh Ali, Ph.D., MA, a Health Economist at the CDC Foundation and lead author of the study.
According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth use of tobacco in any form, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe.
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IN OTHER NEWS:
©2022 Cox Media Group | 2023-06-22T22:16:00+00:00 | wsbtv.com | https://www.wsbtv.com/news/national/e-cigarette-sales-skyrocket-2020-2022/KVGDNR7PCNAOZJCGXPWEYPS6UU/ |
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Saturday afternoon's drawing of the Illinois Lottery's "LuckyDay Lotto Midday" game were:
09-11-18-36-44
(nine, eleven, eighteen, thirty-six, forty-four)
Estimated jackpot: $450,000
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Saturday afternoon's drawing of the Illinois Lottery's "LuckyDay Lotto Midday" game were:
09-11-18-36-44
(nine, eleven, eighteen, thirty-six, forty-four)
Estimated jackpot: $450,000 | 2022-10-08T18:14:51+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-LuckyDay-Lotto-Midday-17495970.php |
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)Kim English is just 34 years old, but has already moved around a lot in his coaching career, serving as an assistant at three schools over six years before landing his first head coaching job at George Mason in 2021.
It was going to take a special opportunity for him to pack up and move again.
“Every place I’ve been, I’ve wanted to stay there forever. I really want to stay at a place for a long time,” English said Thursday. “I’m sick of moving,”
He believes he has found that place in Providence.
English was named the Friars’ new basketball coach on Thursday, ending a fast search by first-year Providence athletic director Steve Napolillo that was created after Ed Cooley left to take the job at Big East rival Georgetown.
English becomes the 16th coach in school history. Cooley resigned on Monday following 12 seasons. He complied a 242-153 record with the Friars that included seven appearances, but just three March Madness victories.
English was 34-29 in two seasons at George Mason, leading the Patriots to a 20-13 record this past season. It was the first time the school reached the 20-win milestone since 2016-17.
George Mason president Gregory Washington said it would begin a national search to replace English.
In English, the Friars get a hungry, young coach who has built his reputation on recruiting. He said his secret sauce finding players is simple.
“You work at it. You do it every day. You’re relentless,” English said.
He played college basketball at Missouri and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round in 2012. But his NBA tenure was short and he was waived in 2013. He had a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls in 2014 and also played two years professionally overseas.
English began his coaching career as an assistant under Frank Haith at Tulsa in 2015 and spent two seasons there before being hired by Tad Boyle in 2017 as an assistant coach at Colorado. In 2019, former Friars coach Rick Barnes brought English to Tennessee as an assistant coach and he stayed until being hired by George Mason
He feels as if he has found a kindred spirit in Napolillo, who sold him on the passion the administration and community have for the Friars’ basketball program.
The intel he got about Providence and Napolillo aligned with what he observed when he got the chance to meet him.
“His passion, his fire, his love for Providence basketball really speaks to me. It really spoke to me what he was looking for,” English said. “As a first-year athletic director to be in this situation and to go at it and not just do what other people may have been comfortable with. … That’s what you want in a partnership.”
English also said he’s impressed by facilities at Providence that he said are among the best he’s seen.
Napolillo said the reason he was able to move so quickly on the hire was because he heeded the advice of his mentors who told him to always be prepared to have to fill a coaching vacancy.
“You always need to have names in a drawer for any coaching situation. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. ”This year, as noise kept growing and growing, I had a list in my drawer.”
That list also included a Sports Illustrated article he saved from last year that listed some rising coaches. He can’t recall why, but for some reason he highlighted English’s name in the story.
English has already started working and began recruiting not long after signing his contract on Wednesday night, he said.
He also confirmed that Dennis Felton, one of his assistants at George Mason, will join him at Providence. Felton served as a Friars assistant under Barnes from 1992 to 1994.
In a Big East that is stacked from top to bottom with coaching talent, English feels as if the pieces are in place to build something special.
“I’ve had no reason to take a bad job,” English said. “I was a 20-something-year-old assistant in the SEC. I didn’t have to rush. If I’m going to have interest in it, it’s going to be really good.”
For him, that translated into being in a position to bring the Friars a national championship.
“If you want to win the big trophy, you’ve got to be in the big dance,” English said. “At the mid-major level it’s getting increasing harder to get to the big dance. This gives us an opportunity. If we are competing for Big East championships, we’re going to be in the show.”
—
March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 | 2023-03-24T19:53:44+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/sports/ncaa-mens-basketball/providence-hires-kim-english-as-next-basketball-coach/ |
TEMPE, Ariz. and PRAGUE, April 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: GEN) today announced that its fiscal 2023 fourth quarter and full year financial results will be released Thursday, May 11, 2023, after market close. Following the press release, Gen management will host a conference call and webcast at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET.
Fiscal 2023 Q4 and Full-Year Earnings Call
May 11, 2023
2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET
Conference call dial-in and live webcast link available on Investor.GenDigital.com
About Gen
Gen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted Cyber Safety brands, Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner. Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately, and confidently today and for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy and identity protection to more than 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at GenDigital.com.
CONTACTS
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SOURCE Gen Digital Inc. | 2023-04-13T21:08:46+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/prnewswire/2023/04/13/gen-announce-fiscal-2023-fourth-quarter-full-year-results-may-11-2023/ |
To fully exploit the cloud and achieve the highest return on investment, a fine balance is needed to deploy a vast amount of moving parts in a continuously evolving process.
NEWTOWN, Pa., May 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud computing has driven, and continues to drive, a paradigm shift for enterprise IT. Mastering the cloud has become essential for businesses … but what does that mean, and how can it be achieved? In a recent report titled 'From Taming Cloud Complexity to Achieving Cloud Mastery,' EPAM Continuum, the integrated business, technology and experience consulting practice of EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM), answers the most pressing questions on the topic and reveals how to achieve the ultimate goal, mastering cloud complexity.
"The roadmap to cloud is not complicated, but it is far more complex compared to traditional IT. We found that some approaches don't lead to sustainable cloud transformation, which was one of the driving forces why we created this report," said Miha Kralj, VP of Cloud Strategy at EPAM. "We expanded on the idea that it is possible to tame the complexity of the cloud and took it a step further and validated that by explaining how organizations can achieve a level of mastery within your cloud ecosystem. And by mastery, we don't mean a final destination, but rather a constant journey."
The report is based on a survey of more than 400 senior IT leaders from North America and the United Kingdom. These leaders have extensive experience using the cloud in their enterprises and represent a cross-section of vertical industries, including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, insurance and retail.
Five Cloud Mastery Success Factors:
- Managing the Strategy. A strategic, thoughtful and intentional approach to cloud computing is the path to success. 96.75% of the organizations surveyed have a Cloud Center of Excellence, which becomes the foundation for understanding, mastering, and getting parameters, guidelines and guardrails around their cloud ecosystem.
- Mastering the Costs of the Cloud. Navigating the cloud's new utility computing models can be a challenge. Not recognizing that new financial processes are required can result in unexpected consequences. 60% of organizations surveyed were "unpleasantly" surprised by a cloud bill.
- Building New Skills. Effective migration to the cloud, development and deployment, cost management, security and compliance all require new skills. And these skills are in short supply. Only 34% of organizations surveyed believe they have the skills necessary to master the cloud and transform culture.
- Experienced Partners. An experienced, trusted partner can accelerate an organization's adoption and mastery of the cloud; conversely, not taking advantage of partners' expertise can lead to profound business trouble.
- Mastering the Pace of Change. Few technological advances have occurred with greater rapidity than the cloud. 70% of respondents felt they were on top of the pace of change, yet only 18.6% have adopted new technologies within their ecosystem.
"For organizations to remain competitive, the cloud is a must," continues Kralj. "It's not just cloud; it's not just a migration; it's not just lifting and shifting. It's taking advantage of the technology opportunity the cloud provides to serve your business, drive business value, and gain competitive edge innovation."
To read the full Cloud Mastery Report, visit: https://www.epam.com/from-taming-cloud-complexity-to-achieving-cloud-mastery.
To learn more about how EPAM solves cloud complexity from the inside out, visit epam.com/services/cloud.
ABOUT EPAM CONTINUUM
EPAM Continuum is the integrated strategy, experience and technology consulting network within EPAM, and the main service brand under which all EPAM consulting and creative services go to market. We fuse integrated consulting with EPAM's engineering expertise to accelerate the pace at which our clients derive market benefit from new innovations and digital transformation investments.
We're a globally integrated hybrid team of strategists, advisors, designers, technologists, data scientists and creatives. Using applied systems thinking, we identify how to create value within our clients' increasingly complex business challenges. We believe the right solutions are the ones that improve people's lives and fuel competitive advantage. We don't just create blueprints, operating models and business plans; our thinking comes to life in code and products – and in market. Learn more at www.epam.com/epam-continuum and follow us on LinkedIn.
ABOUT EPAM SYSTEMS
Since 1993, EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM) has leveraged its advanced software engineering heritage to become the foremost global digital transformation services provider – leading the industry in digital and physical product development and digital platform engineering services. Through its innovative strategy; integrated advisory, consulting, and design capabilities; and unique 'Engineering DNA,' EPAM's globally deployed hybrid teams help make the future real for clients and communities around the world by powering better enterprise, education and health platforms that connect people, optimize experiences, and improve people's lives. In 2021, EPAM was added to the S&P 500 and included among the list of Forbes Global 2000 companies.
Selected by Newsweek as a 2021 and 2022 Most Loved Workplace, EPAM's global multidisciplinary teams serve customers in more than 50 countries across six continents. As a recognized leader, EPAM is listed among the top 15 companies in Information Technology Services on the Fortune 1000 and ranked four times as the top IT services company on Fortune's 100 Fastest Growing Companies list. EPAM is also listed among Ad Age's top 25 World's Largest Agency Companies for three consecutive years, and Consulting Magazine named EPAM Continuum a top 20 Fastest Growing Firm.
Learn more at www.epam.com/ and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes estimates and statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Our estimates and forward-looking statements are mainly based on our current expectations and estimates of future events and trends, which affect or may affect our business and operations. These statements may include words such as "may," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or similar expressions. Those future events and trends may relate to, among other things, developments relating to the war in Ukraine and escalation of the war in the surrounding region, political and civil unrest or military action in the geographies where we conduct business and operate, difficult conditions in global capital markets, foreign exchange markets and the broader economy, and the effect that these events may have on our revenues, operations, access to capital, and profitability. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions, the risk factors discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the factors discussed in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, particularly under the headings "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to several risks and uncertainties and are made based on information currently available to us. EPAM undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law.
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SOURCE EPAM Systems, Inc. | 2023-05-11T14:32:24+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/05/11/mastering-cloud-complexity-remains-challenge-finds-new-epam-continuum-report/ |
Abby De La Rosa is breaking down her relationship with Nick Cannon! The model is the mother of Cannon’s 14-month-old twins, Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, and is expecting another child sometime this year.
During a conversation on the Lovers and Friends podcast, the 31-year-old DJ dished on their connection.
“Nick is my primary partner,” De La Rosa shared, adding that people have a misconception about her and Cannon’s relationship because he is involved with other women. "Being in a polyamorous relationship doesn’t mean you have low self-esteem or self-worth."
“Technically speaking, we all know about each other,” she noted of the other mothers of Cannon's kids. “It’s just how much do you want to know. How much are you choosing to know, and I trust the connection I have with Nick.”
In addition to De La Rosa, Cannon has children with several other women, and has been open about his connection with each one of them.
For now, De La Rosa shared that she is currently practicing monogamy, due to her pregnancy.
“Yes, during this pregnancy I'm monogamous by choice,” she said. “And that’s very important for me to state. But if a connection comes, it doesn’t necessarily have to be sex. And I think that’s what everybody always thinks is, ‘Oh My God, you guys are having one big orgy,’ and it’s not. It’s actually quite the opposite and it’s beautiful.”
De la Rosa shared that when she met Cannon, he “brought a freeing vibe” that allowed her space to focus on herself and enjoy the connection.
And while she doesn’t mind comments about their relationship, when it comes to her parenting, she isn’t here for the judgement.
"I become hypersensitive when people attack me and my motherhood,” she said. "Me being open in my relationship does not change or take away from the type of mother that I am to my kids,” she added. "I'm excited for my kids to grow up and be like, 'Mom and dad, y'all did it your way.' And I love that.'"
On Thursday, Cannon announced that he welcomed his ninth child with LaNisha Cole. In addition, the Wild N' Out host is also expecting his third child with Brittanny Bell -- who is the mother of his children, 5-year-old son Golden and 1-year-old daughter Powerful Queen.
Cannon is also father of son Legendary -- whom he welcomed with Bre Tiesi in July, 11-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan with ex-wife Mariah Carey. In June 2021, Cannon and Alyssa Scott welcomed a baby boy, Zen, who sadly died in December at just five months old following a battle with brain cancer.
In August, a source dished to ET about how the mother of Cannon's children all get along with each other. "The mothers of Nick Cannon's children are cordial and respectful to each other for the most part," the source said. “They mostly stick to their own families and what concerns them directly.”
RELATED CONTENT: | 2022-09-15T22:41:16+00:00 | 9news.com | https://www.9news.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-tonight/pregnant-abby-de-la-rosa-speaks-out-on-her-polyamorous-relationship-with-nick-cannon/603-d65c897c-10ed-4785-b185-c428b994a5f8 |
MOLINE, Ill., Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- John Deere (NYSE: DE) has been named a CES® 2023 Innovation Awards Best of Innovation honoree in the Robotics category, and an honoree in the Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility category for its fully autonomous tractor. This is the fourth consecutive year John Deere has received an Innovation Award from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). The announcement was made ahead of CES 2023, the world's most influential technology event, during which John Deere will deliver a keynote. CES 2023 takes place January 5-8 in Las Vegas, NV and digitally.
John Deere's fully autonomous tractor integrates technology such as cameras, artificial intelligence (AI), sensors, and ultra-fast GPU processors to navigate through a field without an operator in the cab – helping customers be more efficient, productive, and profitable.
"Farmers never have a shortage of work to do on any given day," said Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer for John Deere. "With our fully autonomous tractor, farmers have the flexibility to focus on the most pressing tasks within their operation while the machine handles what they don't have time or labor to do. We continue to invest in autonomy and automation to support the important work our customers do every day."
The CES Innovation Awards program, owned and produced by the CTA, is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in 28 product categories. Judges reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetic, and design.
The Robotics category of the Innovation Awards highlights programmable or otherwise intelligent machines capable of performing specific tasks or replicating human movement or interactions. The Vehicle Intelligence & Advanced Mobility category highlights automotive and other transportation products and services that integrate technology into the driving or riding experience, whether by enhancing safety, navigation, improving the passenger experience, or enabling self-driving functionality.
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a global leader in the delivery of agricultural, turf, construction, and forestry equipment. We help our customers push the boundaries of what's possible in ways that are more productive and sustainable to help life leap forward. Our technology-enabled products including John Deere Autonomous 8R Tractor, See & Spray™, and E-Power Backhoe are just some of the ways we help meet the world's increasing need for food, shelter, and infrastructure. Deere & Company also provides financial services through John Deere Financial.
For more information on Deere & Company, visit us at www.deere.com/en/news/.
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SOURCE Deere & Company | 2022-11-16T23:34:25+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2022/11/16/john-deere-wins-two-ces-2023-innovation-awards-robotics-vehicle-tech-amp-advanced-mobility-categories/ |
November inflation rises at the slowest rate this year, beating expectations
The annual level of inflation continued to improve in November, registering the smallest monthly increase since the end of 2021, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation, rose 7.1% year-over-year in November, a slowdown from the 7.7% increase in October. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.1% from October to November.
The increase was driven by a surge in prices for shelter and food, according to the report. Shelter costs continued to rise rapidly, up another 0.6% in November. The food index increased 0.5% in November, following a 0.6% increase in October. The food-at-home index also rose 0.5% in November.
But gas prices decreased by 2% in November, following a 4% increase in October. The energy index fell 1.6% in November after rising 1.8% in October.
"Both topline and core CPI inflation slowed in November, showing some measure of progress in the ongoing struggle to tame inflation," Morning Consult Economic Analyst Kayla Bruun said. "That said, price levels remain quite elevated compared with a year ago for many categories, and these high prices continue to put pressure on household budgets and force trade-offs with purchasing decisions.
"Morning Consult's data suggests easing price pressures are likely to continue amid softer demand for a variety of goods and services," Bruun continued.
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Millions of borrowers mistakenly told they were approved for student loan relief
Fed expected to slow interest rate increase at next meeting
Inflation has now declined two percentage points from its peak of 9.1% annual growth in June. The better inflation figures are likely to be a welcome and hopeful sign for policymakers and boost chances that the Federal Reserve will slow the rate of increases at its upcoming December meeting, according to two economists.
In November, the Fed increased rates by 75 basis points, marking the sixth rate hike this year and cited the still-high inflation numbers as one of the reasons it continued with its aggressive monetary policy. The Fed has set a 2% inflation target.
"The Federal Reserve is expected to increase the fed funds rate by 50 basis points tomorrow, moving away from the aggressive consecutive increases in the last four meetings, Dawit Kebede, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) senior economist, said on Tuesday. "This CPI report shows that price trends are going in the right direction although inflation is still very high above target."
The lower inflation figures should also provide the Fed "reassurance that stepping back their pace of tightening isn't premature," Jim Baird, Plante Moran Financial Advisors chief investment officer, said.
"For consumers, any improvement is welcome news for spending budgets that have tightened considerably over the past year, squeezing on discretionary spending and creating sustained anxiety for lower-income households and those on a fixed income in particular," Baird continued.
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Middle-class households use credit cards to fill income gap: survey
Potential for a recession is the next concern
The latest CPI showed that inflation may have peaked, but Baird warned that the next challenge for the U.S. economy is a potential slowdown.
"There's growing evidence that the worst of the inflation scare may be in the rearview mirror," Baird said. "On the horizon is the potential for a recession – the next hazard in the road that policymakers will need to navigate the economy around or potentially through."
Baird said that a combination of increasing layoffs and a slowdown in new job creation paints a real possibility that the U.S. economy is slowing down.
The economy added 263,000 jobs in November, according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the unemployment rate stood at 3.7%, unchanged from October. Fitch Ratings said it expected job losses to pick up in 2023, according to its unemployment forecast.
"Lower inflation is good news for the Fed, but it's far too soon for policymakers to take a victory lap," Baird said. "If inflation has been the frying pan, the potential for recession is the fire toward which consumers and investors alike are likely to turn their attention in the coming months."
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Homeowners tap HELOCs at record level in first half of 2022: CoreLogic
Have a finance-related question, but don't know who to ask? Email The Credible Money Expert at moneyexpert@credible.com and your question might be answered by Credible in our Money Expert column. | 2022-12-15T05:26:47+00:00 | wogx.com | https://www.wogx.com/money/november-inflation-rises-at-the-slowest-rate-this-year-beating-expectations |
Liam and Olivia continue to reign atop Social Security’s top baby names in US
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dutton and Wrenlee are on the rise but they’re no match for champs Liam and Olivia as the top baby names in the U.S. last year.
The Social Security Administration released the annual list Friday. The agency tracks baby names in each state based on applications for Social Security cards, with names dating to 1880.
It’s Liam’s sixth straight year as No. 1. Olivia has reigned since the name unseated Emma four years ago. Emma is No. 2.
Coming in third for girls’ names is Charlotte, followed by Amelia, Sophia, Isabella, Ava, Mia, Evelyn and Luna. For boys’ names, Liam is followed by Noah, Oliver, James, Elijah, William, Henry, Lucas, Benjamin and Theodore.
Luna is the only newcomer in the Top 10, booting Harper.
The agency has been compiling the list since 1997, often revealing the impact pop culture has on baby naming trends. The smash hit “Yellowstone” has clearly influenced new parents. The neo-Western starring Kevin Costner debuted in 2018, with characters surfacing among baby names ever since.
Dutton moved up the Social Security list to 835, a change of 986 spots from 2021. It’s the last name of the fictional family featured on the series, and it counts Costner’s John Dutton in its ranks. Dutton is the fastest rising name in the Social Security rankings.
Another Dutton name follows actual Dutton as a star with a bullet among baby names. Kayce, as in Kayce John Dutton on the show, moved to the 587th most popular name, up from 1,077 the year before. Luke Grimes plays Kayce.
Rip, also from “Yellowstone,” has grabbed some naming attention, but it didn’t crack Social Security’s top 1,000. Cole Hauser’s Rip Wheeler is Dutton adjacent as the son-in-law of John.
Other names rising fast for boys: Chosen, Khaza, Eithan. For girls, Wrenlee is followed by Neriah, Arlet, Georgina and Amiri.
The Social Security Administration’s latest data shows 3.64 million babies in the U.S. were issued Social Security cards last year, up slightly from 2021.
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Online: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-12T13:42:23+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/2023/05/12/liam-olivia-continue-reign-atop-social-securitys-top-baby-names-us/ |
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lark Health, the leading AI-powered digital health coaching company for the prevention and management of chronic conditions, today announced a collection of new studies centered on digital coaching and remote diabetes prevention. These studies continue to support Lark's mission to provide clinically proven, digital condition management coaching solutions that address total population health and improve participant health outcomes.
"The rising rate of chronic illnesses in the U.S. combined with increased healthcare costs and reduced healthcare staffing is putting pressure on health organizations across the ecosystem. While in-person visits and treatment are imperative at some critical points within an individual's health journey, it is clear through our continued published research that digital solutions, like Lark, can augment in-person care and have a significant and lasting impact on improving health outcomes," says Dr. Peter Antall, President, Medical Network and Chief Medical Officer of Lark Health.
Digital DPP Demonstrates Successful Outcomes in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)
Published in Population Health Management titled, "Weight Loss in a Digital Diabetes Prevention Program for People in Health Professional Shortage and Rural Areas," revealed that Lark's DPP can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by promoting weight loss in areas where residents may not otherwise have access to diabetes prevention services. A highlight from the study found that member weight loss did not differ by HPSA or rural/urban status despite greater potential barriers for members residing in HPSAs (e.g., highest starting body mass index and lowest income and education).
Digital Care Coaching Intervention Observes Decreasing Depressive Symptoms
In an abstract titled, "A Longitudinal Examination of Depressive Symptoms in a Digital Diabetes Prevention Program," Lark researchers examined longitudinal self-reported depressive symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (PHQ-2) at months zero, two, four, and six of engaging with Lark's DPP. The results demonstrated decreases in depressive symptoms, regardless of initial body mass index, and that those who lost weight experienced greater decreases. These findings indicate that reductions in depressive symptoms may be one benefit of participation in digital lifestyle change programs.
Importance of Strategic User Experience Development for Care Coaching Technology
In a new study titled, "Designing Relational AI-Powered Digital Health Coaching for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management," Lark's clinical and design teams developed a conceptual framework of the coaching relationship between human coaches and coachees for long-term chronic disease prevention and management that establishes a basis for the design and development of relational digital health coaching. The study demonstrates how Lark's design team incorporated critical elements of human coaches into the Lark digital coach to ensure that it can develop meaningful and effective coaching relationships with members of the Lark programs. The full results of the study will be presented at the upcoming Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) International conference taking place from July 23 – 28 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Self-Monitoring Technology Combined with Digital Coaching Improves Health Outcomes
A study published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth titled, "The Effects of Providing a Connected Scale in an App-Based Digital Health Program: Cross-sectional Examination," found that self-monitoring technologies such as digital weight scales may improve health outcomes including weight loss when combined with additional interventions such as care coaching.The study analyzed 3,488 members enrolled in the digital wellness program, Lark Prevention, and found that members provided with a cellular weight scale were significantly more engaged and remained active in the program for longer than those without a scale.
About Lark Health
Using conversational AI, connected devices, remote patient monitoring, and elements of behavioral science techniques, Lark helps participants improve their health to manage and reduce their risk of chronic disease. Lark's scalable platform seamlessly integrates with health plans' and employers' existing healthcare infrastructure to support their chronic care prevention and management programs. Lark's Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), the fastest-growing and lowest-cost DPP, has received Full Recognition from the CDC.
The company has received numerous accolades, including having been named as one of CB Insights Digital Health 150 (2019), a finalist for the UCSF Digital Health Awards (2022), one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies (multiple years), and one of Fierce Healthcare's Fierce 15 (2020). To learn more, visit www.lark.com.
Lark currently works with many of the largest health plans across five programs: Prevention, Heart Health, Diabetes Prevention, Diabetes Management, and Hypertension Management.
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SOURCE Lark Health | 2023-07-13T20:31:06+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/07/13/lark-healths-ai-coaching-drives-weight-loss-results-hpsas/ |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (NY) — In big cities and small towns across the country, Opening Day of the baseball season is a tradition unlike any other. Dismayed by weather events and infield tarp malfunctions that caused a three-day delay, the Bisons finally celebrated the unofficial holiday on a brisk and sunny Good Friday at Sahlen Field.
Paid attendance at the evening doubleheader was announced to be 5,225, the lowest figure for a home opener in 35 seasons since Buffalo’s downtown ballpark opened. There were maybe a thousand fans in the stands, many wearing winter jackets, when the first pitch was thrown at 5:05 p.m. With a game-time temperature of 42 degrees, it was among the eight coldest opening days in stadium history. The crowd swelled some for the second game of the Friday Night Bash under the lights, as the temperature dropped to 35 degrees for only the third time at a Bisons opener before the postgame fireworks.
Families took advantage of the Kids Day promotions that will continue through the rest of the five-game weekend series with the Worcester Red Sox, with a 4:05 p.m. game Saturday and a 1:05 p.m. doubleheader on Easter Sunday. But the gathering was largely baseball devotees who circle Opening Day soon after breaking open a new calendar in January to mark the spiritual start of a summer pastime.
“There’s something special about the opening of a baseball season,” said Howard Simon, the veteran Buffalo broadcaster who called Bisons games for WBEN radio in the early days of Pilot Field and recently retired from hosting the morning show for WGR. “More so than hockey or basketball, maybe football is a different animal, but baseball opening day is always special. It’s a really cool experience that will never get old.”
Simon was flattered when assistant general manager Brad Bisbing asked him to throw out the first pitch for the Bisons. He was honored when he learned it would be the home opener.
“Wow. Really? Me?” said Simon. “There are first pitches all season long, but Opening Day is significant. I recognize it is a special honor to be here on Opening Day.”
After operating the pitch clock for the opening game, Simon was introduced to the tune of Timmy Trumpet — a tribute to Simon’s fandom for the New York Mets and their closer Edwin Diaz — before stepping in front of the mound and throwing what was officially called a strike, at least until the robot umpires arrive at Sahlen Field in May.
Brian Frank, a local baseball historian who compiles The Herd Chronicles, attended his first Opening Day at “The Rockpile” War Memorial Stadium in 1983, the first year Bob Rich Jr. owned the Bisons. Frank has been to most every opener since, save for the downtown stadium’s grand opening in 1988.
“I was in school,” said Frank, who graduated from Canisius College a decade later. “I was heartbroken that I couldn’t be here. That was a tough ticket to get. But I remember coming home from school and watching on TV. It was a really big deal.”
Frank, recognized as the Bisons Fan of the Year in 2021, called Opening Day “the most exciting day of the baseball season.”
“Everything starts anew,” Frank said. “Whether it’s the majors, or the minors, every team has a clean slate. It’s a time of optimism for everybody, the players and the fans. The winter is over. It’s spring, the sun’s out, and it’s time to play baseball.”
Charlie Greene has attended all but six Bisons games since retiring from Lutheran ministry in 2001. But Greene hasn’t missed a single Opening Day in Buffalo since the Bisons began play at The Rockpile in 1979. And he was going to Sal Maglie Stadium for the Niagara Falls Rapids home opener for almost a decade before that.
“It’s always great to have baseball back,” said Greene, who also attended Bisons’ spring training in Florida and last week’s opening game at Scranton/Wilkes Barre, the first Bisons contest ever played in March.
“For folks here who haven’t had baseball since September, you wait, and you wait, Greene said. “You watch the major leagues in October, the playoffs, the World Series. But it’s not the same. Being here in person is what makes it so special.”
“Finally after waiting all these months of cold and snowy winters, no matter what the temperature is, they are out there in their white uniforms,” said Greene, a Rochester native, who kept warm Friday inside the Consumer’s Pub at the Park mezzanine, keeping score while listening to the radio broadcast. “And we are here to cheer for them.”
Greene always roots for the home team to win on Opening Day. For that reason, he didn’t mind that the Bisons lost their first game on the road, before winning the next two. He was especially pleased when the Bisons scored the opening run in the first inning.
But the WooSox came back to win the first game 3-1. Then in the nightcap, the Bisons took the lead into the final seventh inning before giving up six runs in a 9-5 loss.
The twinbill defeats extended a disappointing week for the Bisons. The team expected a crowd approaching 10,000 for Opening Day on Tuesday. Pleasant weather was forecast. But recent wind storms had damaged the tarp at Sahlen Field. A replacement tarp didn’t arrive on time. The club secured a backup tarp from Rochester that leaked. More rain on Tuesday left the field unplayable until Friday. Kids Week got cut in half, while cooler temperatures and holiday weekend conflicts dampened the local enthusiasm for Opening Day.
Hope springs eternal in April of a baseball season. The Bisons have 145 games left to play, 72 at home, with plenty more special promotions planned.
Yet there’s only one Opening Day every year.
Here are a few more dates to remember:
May 18: Pride Night
May 19: Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond
May 20: Armed Forces Day
May 21: Princess Day at the Ballpark
June 1: School Kids Day
June 3: Star Wars Night
June 13: Irish Festival Night
June 15: Lacrosse Night with Buffalo Bandits
June 17: Native American Heritage Night
June 18: Father’s Day postgame Play Catch on the Field with Dad
June 29: Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act
July 1-2: Report Card Days
July 3: Independence Eve Fireworks with BPO
July 14: Women in Sports Nights
July 25: Italian Festival Night
July 27: Dog Parade
July 28: Christmas in July
July 29: National Chicken Wing Day
July 30: ZOOperstars
August 15: Polish Festival Night
August 17: Casey Candaele Bobble Head Giveaway
August 18: Obscure Jersey Night
August 19: Hockey Night with Buffalo Sabres
August 20: Back to School Day
August 29: Mystery Ball
Sept. 3: Team Photo & Autograph Day
Sept. 9: Marvel Super Hero Night
Sept. 10: Military & First Responders Night
Sept. 20-24: Fan Appreciation Week
***
Jonah Bronstein joined the News 4 roster in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. Read more of his work here. | 2023-04-08T06:44:36+00:00 | wivb.com | https://www.wivb.com/sports/buffalo-bisons-sports/bisons-faithful-enjoy-late-arriving-home-opener/ |
CINCINNATI, Nov. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As more school districts experience an increasing demand for alternative transportation, First Student is leading the way again with an innovative solution that ensures all students receive unmatched care to and from school. The company is proud to introduce FirstAlt, a safe and reliable alternative transportation option for students with special transportation needs, students experiencing homelessness and out-of-district students.
First Student is introducing a new way to provide a full-service K-12 transportation solution inclusive of all student needs and vehicle types. FirstAlt delivers an efficient way for districts to manage all of their transportation needs with one provider. The technology behind FirstAlt was developed specifically to provide transportation service to students with special transportation needs.
FirstAlt partners with qualified local transportation companies utilizing a fleet of smaller capacity vehicles that are expertly operated and maintained. Drivers are fully vetted with background and motor vehicle checks and must meet all state, First Student and school district standards. FirstAlt's contracted drivers will also receive First Student's special needs training, focusing on student behavior.
"First Student is changing school transportation for students with unique transportation needs," said Chief Executive Officer and President of First Student John Kenning. "FirstAlt offers a complete solution for school districts to ensure that all students have access to safe and reliable transportation."
"FirstAlt is powered by First Student's industry-leading experience in maintenance, safety, and operational discipline to serve students with special transportation needs," said First Student Vice President of FirstAlt Gregg Prettyman. "I'm proud that we are delivering a solution that answers the needs of our students and district partners."
FirstAlt was developed by the most experienced leadership team in alternative student transportation industry, bringing more than 50 years of combined experience in the field. FirstAlt is launching this month across the U.S. For more information about FirstAlt, please visit www.FirstAlt.com.
About First Student
As a leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide the best start and finish to every school day. With a team of highly-trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services, including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, route optimization, and scheduling, maintenance, and charter services with a fleet of about 40,000 buses. For more information, visit firststudentinc.com.
Contact: Jen Biddinger
513.362.4600
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SOURCE First Student | 2022-11-09T15:56:09+00:00 | wlox.com | https://www.wlox.com/prnewswire/2022/11/09/first-student-launches-new-innovative-transportation-service-meet-growing-need-school-districts/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood has shot 63 in the final round of the U.S. Open for the second time in five years.
Fleetwood missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday that would have given him a 62 and a share of this tournament’s new single-round record. Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele both shot 62 on Thursday at Los Angeles Country Club.
Still, the 32-year-old Englishman is part of an exclusive group. He became the fourth player with multiple rounds of 63 in major championships, joining Greg Norman (1986 U.S. Open and 1996 Masters), Vijay Singh (1993 PGA Championship and 2003 U.S. Open) and Brooks Koepka, who did it in both the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championships.
Fleetwood surged up the leaderboard with his sizzling final round, finishing at 5-under 275.
“Sunday, you want to get the best out of it that you can, and I just happened to be playing really well and got momentum on my side,” Fleetwood said. “I hit some amazing golf shots.”
He had a remarkably similar Sunday in the final round in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills, where he became the sixth player in U.S. Open history to shoot 63, matching the tournament record at the time.
Fleetwood missed an 8-foot putt on the final hole at Shinnecock that would have resulted in the first 62 in U.S. Open history and ultimately a two-hole playoff with winner Koepka.
“I just need to be higher up the leaderboard coming into Sunday and then have another day like today,” Fleetwood said. “It’s a nice little piece of history, of course it is. And you can be disappointed with what I didn’t get out of today, but I think having something like that and shooting multiple 63s in a major … where you can put it in the memory bank and know that you can get rounds going and your game can stand up on a major golf course and shoot low scores is really nice to have.”
Fleetwood began the final round in Los Angeles 12 shots back at 2 over, and he teed off nearly four hours before co-leaders Fowler and Wyndham Clark. In pleasant conditions under a heavy marine layer, Fleetwood barely missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the first hole, but then made an early birdie and eagled the par-4 sixth by putting his 286-yard tee shot within 6 feet.
Fleetwood made three birdies in four holes around the turn before making an eagle on the par-5 14th, hitting his second shot 276 yards onto the green and holing a 20-foot putt. He only slowed down when he bogeyed the par-4 16th, sending his tee shot into a fairway bunker and leaving a 24-foot par putt 2 inches short.
His 210-yard approach shot on 18 was superb, but his birdie putt rolled past the hole on the right.
Fleetwood said he “never really felt in contention” Sunday in Los Angeles.
“I think that was one of the differences between today and Shinnecock, really,” he added. “Shinnecock, as soon as I got midway through the back nine, I was in with a chance. So I had a longer period where I was trying to win a major, whereas today it was just about shoot the best score you can, and I was enjoying it and trusting my game.”
In other ways, Fleetwood’s round echoed his effort in 2018. Playing on generous Shinnecock greens that had been watered overnight after they were too dry on Saturday, Fleetwood made a 56-foot putt on the second hole and ultimately posted a round so impressive that he finished just one stroke behind Koepka after beginning the day six shots off the lead.
Nobody else in the LACC field tore up the North course as impressively as Fleetwood on Sunday, although Austin Eckroat shot 65.
Fleetwood has never won on the PGA Tour, but he has posted top-five finishes in three of the four majors, including a distant second place behind Shane Lowry at the 2019 British Open.
Fleetwood’s 63 at LACC was too late to win, but it probably made him a big chunk of change. The top 19 finishers at the U.S. Open get more than $250,000, with the top nine getting more than $500,000. The finish also will help him move up in the European Ryder Cup standings.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-06-19T06:35:29+00:00 | fox59.com | https://fox59.com/sports/ap-sports/tommy-fleetwood-shoots-63-in-final-round-of-us-open/ |
Timothy Keller, a pastor and best-selling author who founded the influential Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, died this morning at home after three-year bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 72.
His family announced that he had been in hospice care, and that he died with his wife of 48 years, Kathy, by his side.
Keller and his family launched Redeemer in 1989, and the congregation went on to welcome more than 5,000 attendees across its multiple locations each week.
A new evangelical church in Manhattan filled with young adults was unique in a city known more for its secularism and the Gothic spires of its older sanctuaries. But Keller was passionate about evangelizing to people in cities, and his ministry would go on to help start 1,000 churches in 150 other cities around the world.
Keller became an evangelical Christian in college, and he was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America in 1975. Active in the so-called New Calvinist movement, Keller brought a gentleness to a brand of Christianity known for its emphasis on sin and the depravity of humanity.
He once wrote, “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Keller’s teachings reached far beyond the spaces that Redeemer rented for its Sunday services. He wrote prolifically for the public in erudite essays and 31 books, several of them New York Times bestsellers. In 2005, he helped found the Gospel Coalition, a prominent network of conservative evangelical churches and New Calvinist leaders.
Keller was quick to point out that Christianity did not fit neatly into a two-party political system. Though he eschewed the bombast of a culture warrior, many of his views on hot-button social issues — same-sex marriage and abortion — remained conservative but nuanced.
Still, in an essay for The New Yorker in 2017, Keller lamented that it was harder to wear the label “evangelical” after President Donald Trump’s election, which many other leading evangelicals had championed.
“‘Evangelical’ used to denote people who claimed the high moral ground; now, in popular usage, the word is nearly synonymous with ‘hypocrite,’” he wrote. “When I used the word to describe myself in the nineteen-seventies, it meant I was not a fundamentalist. If I use the name today, however, it means to hearers that I am.”
Among those expressing admiration for Keller on Friday was former President George W. Bush.
“He was a great church builder, a prolific author, and a profound philosopher,” Bush said in a statement. “I’m one of many who is blessed to have learned from Dr. Keller’s teachings and benefited from his compassion.”
Keller was born in 1950 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Bill and Louise Keller. He was educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. Early in his career, he served churches and ministries in Virginia and Georgia. He stepped down from his senior pastor role at Redeemer in 2017 but continued on as a staff member.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, David, Michael, and Jonathan, his sister Sharon Johnson, along with his three daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren.
Keller was diagnosed with stage-4 pancreatic cancer in 2020. In the years since, he chronicled his treatments and asked for prayers from his more than 900,000 social media followers.
In 2020, he published a short book, “On Death,” which urged Christians not to fear their mortal end.
“When you are at a funeral, especially one for a friend or a loved one,” he wrote, “listen to God speaking to you, telling you that everything in life is temporary except for His love.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | 2023-05-19T22:55:43+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/ap-prominent-nyc-based-pastor-and-best-selling-author-timothy-keller-dies-at-72/ |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Denny Dalliance had long worried about what would happen if he fathered a child because his job as a truck driver keeps him away from home most of the week.
But after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, the 31-year-old Independence, Missouri, man decided it was time to take action — and jumped at the chance to sign up for a free vasectomy.
“These are grim circumstances under which I made this decision,” he said as he drove a load of cardboard boxes through Kansas this week.
The vasectomy he is scheduled to get next month is part of an effort that involves Planned Parenthood and a physician with a mobile vasectomy clinic. Sixty vasectomies will be offered over three days in and outside Planned Parenthood clinics in St. Louis, Springfield and Joplin to uninsured patients during the first week of November amid what the clinics say is a surge in demand for the procedure.
Dr. Esgar Guarin then plans to take his mobile clinic — a vehicle decorated with large images of sperm that his friends have jokingly dubbed the “Nutcracker” — on the road the following week to offer 40 more free vasectomies in several towns across Iowa.
Guarin also plans to offer discounted vasectomies that month at his regular clinic in the Des Moines area.
The efforts are part of World Vasectomy Day, originally a single-day event that now includes a year-round focus and a host of activities in November.
“It’s a very particular moment in reproductive rights in the United States. And we need to talk about it,” he said, adding that vasectomies are performed far less often than the tubal ligation method of female sterilization, even though they are cheaper, have a shorter recovery time and require local, rather than general, anesthesia.
Guarin, who serves on the medical advisory board for World Vasectomy Day, helped offer vasectomies last year at the Planned Parenthood in St. Louis to raise awareness about the procedure. The effort was so popular that the decision was made to expand it to other cities even before the toppling of Roe sent demand soaring.
In July alone, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri performed 42 vasectomies, compared with 10 in the same month last year. Female sterilizations rose to 18 that month from just three in July 2021.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has been hearing similar reports from across the country that more patients are seeking tubal ligations. It is too early for any post-Roe national numbers on permanent sterilization, said Laura Lindberg, a professor at Rutgers University’s School of Public Health in New Jersey.
Planned Parenthood, for instance, doesn’t have national sterilization numbers available for this year yet. However, its national web page has seen a 53% increase in vasectomy information searches over the past 100 days, a spokesperson said.
Data from Google Trends shows that searches about vasectomies briefly spiked after the leak of the draft majority opinion in the Dobbs case but then reached their highest level in the days after the Supreme Court released its decision in late June.
Dr. Doug Stein, a urological surgeon in the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida, area, said patient registrations for his practice tripled immediately after the Dobbs decision, with many patients under the age of 30.
“I think everybody is busier since the Dobbs decision,” said Stein, who co-founded World Vasectomy Day.
Dr. Arnold Bullock, a St. Louis urologist who does about 35 vasectomies a month, said that before the Supreme Court decision, patients waited about a month for the procedure while the wait now is two to three months.
In Texas, Dr. Koushik Shaw said his Austin Urology Institute saw a spike when the state enacted a strict abortion law last year and another, larger one after the U.S. Supreme Court decision, so that it’s now doing 50% more procedures. He said many are for men who don’t want children and saw access to abortion as another option should birth control not work as planned.
“It really pushed family planning to the forefront of people’s thoughts,” he said of the loss of abortion access.
Lawmakers are responding to the growing demand. A California law that will take effect in 2024 will make vasectomies cheaper by allowing patients with private insurance plans to get the procedure at no additional cost other than what they pay for their monthly premiums.
Dr. Margaret Baum, the medical director of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, will be partnering with Guarin to provide the free vasectomies. She has had many conversations with patients about permanent sterilization in recent months and said there is a sense of urgency.
“I think people are afraid, No. 1, about abortion not being accessible, which is a very real and legitimate fear and in the reality for a large part of folks in our country. And then I think people are also really afraid that what else might be next,” she said.
A vasectomy involves cutting and sealing the tube that carries sperm, preventing it from entering ejaculate fluid. Baum said she chats with patients to keep them calm, sometimes turning on a playlist that includes “Great Balls of Fire” and “The Nutcracker Suite.” Most patients are fully recovered in a couple of days.
Dalliance, the truck driver, said he didn’t want to place the responsibility of birth control on partners anymore, especially with abortions harder to get. His home state of Missouri was among the first in the country with a trigger law in effect to ban abortions at any point in pregnancy.
“I don’t want to come off as though I’m like unhappy to be doing this, but this is a situation where my hand kind of got forced with regards to the Roe v. Wade decision,” he said.
“I feel like that, with the extreme cost involved with having a child in the United States, I kind of got priced out,” he said. “And so this is me cashing out my chips as it were. It’s the right ethical decision for me, but it’s not one that’s made lightly.”
___
Associated Press writer Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. News Researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report. | 2022-10-13T18:51:36+00:00 | wearegreenbay.com | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/health-2/ap-health/ap-clinics-offer-free-vasectomies-citing-a-surge-in-demand/ |
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Attorneys defending Fox in a defamation case related to false claims about the 2020 election withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch played at Fox News, a revelation that angered the judge when it came up at a Tuesday hearing.
It was not clear whether the development would affect a trial scheduled to begin Thursday with jury selection. Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, saying it damaged its reputation by repeatedly airing false claims that the company helped orchestrate a fraud that cost former President Donald Trump re-election.
The role of Fox executives is at the heart of the case. The company’s attorneys have sought to insulate members of the Murdoch family and to keep them from testifying live before a jury, arguing that their roles at the parent company, Fox Corp., put them at a distance from the Fox News shows that aired the bogus claims.
Fox Corp. had asserted since Dominion filed its lawsuit in 2021 that Rupert Murdoch had no official role at Fox News. In its filings, it had listed Fox News officers as Suzanne Scott, Jay Wallace and Joe Dorrego. But on Easter Sunday, Fox disclosed to Dominion's attorneys that Murdoch also is "executive chair" at Fox News. The disclosure came after Superior Court Judge Eric Davis wondered aloud during a status conference last week who Fox News' officers were.
Davis was clearly disturbed by the disclosure, coming on the eve of the trial.
“My problem is that it has been represented to me more than once that he is not an officer,” the judge said.
Davis suggested that had he known of Murdoch's dual role at Fox Corp. and Fox News, he might have reached different conclusions in a summary judgment ruling he issued last month. In that ruling, the judge said there was no dispute that the statements aired by Fox were false, but that a jury would have to decide whether Fox News acted with actual malice and whether Fox Corp. directly participated in airing the statements.
To Fox attorney Matthew Carter, Davis said: “You have a credibility problem.”
In response, Carter said he believed Murdoch’s title at Fox News was only “honorific.”
“I’m not mad at you,” the judge later told Carter. “I’m mad at the situation I’m in.”
It’s unclear whether the judge will take any action in response to the late disclosure. But an attorney for Dominion said he wanted Fox to further explain Murdoch's role with the network, indicating the issue could come up when the pretrial hearing continues Wednesday.
Dominion attorney Justin Nelson told the judge the disclosure has “a big impact” on the case. He said Fox’s failure to disclose Murdoch’s status at Fox News has deprived Dominion of “a whole bunch” of information from Murdoch as a custodian of Fox News records that it was entitled to have.
“It is something that really has impacted how we have litigated this case,” he said.
Tuesday's development was the latest to turn an uncomfortable spotlight on the network.
Information obtained by Dominion as part of its lawsuit has shown that some network hosts harbored off-camera doubts about election fraud claims but nevertheless allowed program guests to repeatedly make them in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The case also has drawn scrutiny of various emails and text messages shared among Rupert Murdoch, his son Lachlan Murdoch and Scott, the Fox News CEO, about election coverage and the allegations by Trump and his allies that he was cheated.
They revealed a chorus of voices, from Rupert Murdoch and top network hosts to producers and publicists, who internally cast the election-stealing conspiracy claims as crazy even as the network repeatedly gave them a platform. Internal communications also showed that at the time, major players at Fox were deeply worried about retaining pro-Trump viewers.
In a ruling earlier Tuesday, the judge denied a motion by Fox seeking to bar any reference at trial to matters involving the Murdoch family, which owns Fox Corp. The judge also said he would allow jurors to hear some testimony about threats directed at the voting machine company, but only to a point.
The judge granted a motion by Fox to prohibit any reference to specific threats or harassment directed at Dominion, saying he did not want the jury to be prejudiced against Fox because of threats made by people with no connection to the network. But he said he would allow Dominion to talk generally about threats it had received to show how it has been damaged by the Fox broadcasts.
“It has decimated Dominion’s ability to attract and retain employees, because the company is under siege,” said Megan Meier, an attorney for the voting machine company.
The judge already decided last week there would be no testimony about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP | 2023-04-12T00:47:39+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/nation-world/fox-attorneys-in-libel-case-reveal-dual-roles-for-murdoch/OXJPX6ADMNDOLOASRAJFHZCTA4/ |
DECATUR — Remnants of where the animals once lived in the Scovill Zoo Herp Aquarium are faint.
The four walls of the building remain, but the inside will be all new for the animals and the visitors by the 2023 summer season.
“We are on our second dumpster,” Mark Dyson, assistant superintendent of construction for the Decatur Park District, said about the cleanup. “In the first two days we had all of the actual structures down.”
The project began during the first week in December. In the meantime, the animals are being housed in a temperature-controlled eco center at the zoo.
According to Scovill Zoo Director Ken Frye, the next phase will begin after the new year.
“But it’s all weather dependent,” he said. “I’m optimistic.”
Christy Foltz has been hired as the general contractor. The project is expected to cost approximately $420,000, which will include plumbing, electrical, lighting and the facade as well as the construction work. “The project is funded by a museum grant from the (Illinois Department of Natural Resources) as well as private donations,” said Clay Gerhard, the park district’s executive director.
The Herp Aquarium was added to the Scovill Zoo in the 1980s. Frye’s original goal was to give the animals an updated house. “I was just wanting to upgrade the look,” he said. “But we had a donor come in and gave over $100,000 from her parents’ estate.”
Along with the grant, the extra funds gave the park board the opportunity to give a comfortable location for the guests as well as the animals. The siding and roof have already been replaced.
“It’s going to be a little more impressive,” Frye said.
Herp keeper Ryan Kirkland works closely with the animals and understands their needs. “There’s more reptiles and amphibians than there are fish in there anymore,” he said.
The snakes, insects and reptiles each have their own environment, Kirkland explained. Some animals need dry air, where others need heavy humidity. A python will also need more room than a naked mole rat.
Kirkland and others who work closely with the reptiles contributed to the design of the new house.
“We’ve all been very involved with the planning and trying to come up with good ideas and good designs for all the exhibits that will be in there,” he said.
A few animals may be added to the Herp Aquarium over time.
One of the new features will be larger exhibits. “So the animals have a better life, bigger homes to live in,” Kirkland said. “That means there will be fewer exhibits when it’s done, but it will be bigger and better.”
PHOTOS: Scovill Zoo keepers taking care of animals during winter weather
Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR
Animal care intern Tommy Ni moves a woma python for a cage cleaning at Scovill Zoo in Decatur. The reptiles are staying in another temperature-controlled building while the herpetarium undergoes renovations.
Director Ken Frye talks about the renovations in the herpetarium. The reptile building will be completed in April when the zoo reopens for the 2023 season.
The interior of the herpetarium undergoes renovations for upgrades at the Scovill Zoo in Decatur on Friday. The reptile building will be completed in April when the zoo reopens for the 2023 season.
The interior of the herp aquarium undergoes renovations for upgrades at the Scovill Zoo in Decatur on Friday. The reptile building will be completed in April when the zoo reopens for the 2023 season.
A green tree python sits in temporary housing at Scovill Zoo in Decatur on Friday. The reptiles are all staying in another temperature-controlled building while the herpetarium undergoes renovations.
Director Ken Frye points out a blood python in temporary housing at Scovill Zoo in Decatur on Friday. The reptiles are staying in another temperature-controlled building while the herpetarium undergoes renovations.
The interior of the herpetarium undergoes renovations for upgrades at the Scovill Zoo in Decatur on Friday. The reptile building will be completed in April when the zoo reopens for the 2023 season. | 2022-12-30T01:11:52+00:00 | herald-review.com | https://herald-review.com/lifestyles/family/reptiles-snakes-and-rodents-getting-a-new-home-at-decaturs-scovill-zoo/article_d73e29be-8141-11ed-aa87-ab4caf93b009.html |
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Subscribe Now | 2022-06-29T17:36:22+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/studio701/real-estate-with-jeff/real-estate-with-jeff-6-27-2022/ |
JLO wrote on her website, "We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient." They got engaged in 2002 but called it off days before they were to wed.
Copyright 2022 NPR
JLO wrote on her website, "We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient." They got engaged in 2002 but called it off days before they were to wed.
Copyright 2022 NPR | 2022-07-18T11:34:41+00:00 | wksu.org | https://www.wksu.org/2022-07-18/jennifer-lopez-and-ben-affleck-tied-the-knot-in-las-vegas |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A small airplane made an emergency landing on a street near downtown Anchorage after it ran out of fuel, officials said.
A Cessna 150 on a training flight was attempting to return to the city’s small plane airport when it made the landing in a commercial area neighboring downtown Monday at about 9 p.m., the Anchorage Daily News reported.
A flight instructor and a student pilot were on board, said Clint Johnson, head of the Alaska division of the National Transportation Safety Board. There were no injuries, and the plane was not damaged.
The plane pulled into a nearby parking lot after landing. After it was refueled, the plane taxied to the nearby airport under a police escort, said Anchorage Police spokesperson Renee Oistad.
She said police did not have information about how much traffic was on the road when the plane landed. | 2022-06-14T23:59:24+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/Small-plane-makes-emergency-landing-near-downtown-17241964.php |
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