text stringlengths 80 124k | date_download stringdate 2022-04-02 20:48:07 2023-07-31 23:59:06 | source_domain stringclasses 387
values | url stringlengths 21 528 |
|---|---|---|---|
Northeast Mississippi Community College currently offers open registration for the Fall 2022 semester for those looking to further their education.
Northeast officials are committed to having a traditional schedule of in-person classes for the Fall 2022 semester, however, if face-to-face classes do not suit a potential student's schedule, do not fret. Northeast is the top school in the state of Mississippi - in both the four-year and two-year college ranks - and is the second-best community college in the nation for online education.
Northeast is only one of four community colleges to receive the prestigious Apple Distinguished Schools designation. With its iPad 1:1 initiative, the college prides itself on reducing entry barriers for students seeking to further their education.
Northeast observes a four-day academic week with classes happening Monday through Thursday and offers multiple holidays throughout the semester, such as Labor Day, Thanksgiving Break and Winter/Holiday Break.
For those wanting to get a head start on their enrollment process, the college has made the process simple by following a few steps on the Northeast website at https://www.nemcc.edu/admissions/apply/index.html.
Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. (noon) on Fridays. The college is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
For those whose work schedules may prevent them from reaching the college during regular business hours, Northeast will hold extended registration hours on Thursday, August 4, until 6 p.m. at all its campuses - Booneville, Corinth, New Albany and Ripley.
In-person, full-term classes begin on Monday, August 15.
Virtual classes will begin a week later, on Monday, August 22.
For online courses, the last day to add or drop a full-term in-person course is Thursday, August 25 and Tuesday, August 23.
Final exams for the Fall 2022 semester start on Monday, December 5.
For information about signing up for the Fall 2022 semester at one of the country's premier community colleges, Northeast Mississippi Community College, call 1-800-555-2154 or email admitme@nemcc.edu.
For more information about Northeast Mississippi Community College in general, visit www.nemcc.edu.
Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. High 89F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..
Tonight
Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. | 2022-07-13T16:13:45+00:00 | djournal.com | https://www.djournal.com/new-albany/nemcc-offers-open-registration-for-fall-2022-semester/article_3c86d3bd-8084-50db-bae8-b8feb5497667.html |
(WXIN) — Grammy-winning artist Lizzo has revised the lyrics of her new single after fans pointed out a term considered to be an ableist slur.
The 34-year-old has removed the word “spaz” from the song “Grrrls” from her upcoming “Special” album.
Disability advocates say the term is seen as a slur in the disability community, especially for those with spastic diplegia, according to Variety.
One woman reached out to the “Truth Hurts” singer on Twitter, saying, “Hey @lizzo my disability Cerebral Palsy is literally classified as Spastic Diplegia (where spasticity refers to unending painful tightness in my legs) your new song makes me pretty angry + sad. ‘Spaz’ doesn’t mean freaked out or crazy. It’s an ableist slur. It’s 2022. Do better.”
Lizzo announced the lyric change in a statement on social media.
“It’s been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song ‘GRRRLS.’ Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language,” Lizzo wrote. “As a fat Black woman in America, I’ve had many hurtful words used against me so I overstand the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case, unintentionally). I’m proud to say there’s a new version of GRRRLS with a lyric change. This is the result of me listening and taking action. As an influential artist I’m dedicated to being part of the change I’ve been waiting to see in the world.”
The original lyrics were “Do you see this s–t? I’m a spaz.” The new lyrics are “Do you see this s–t? Hold me back.”
“Special” is Lizzo’s fourth studio album. It is set to be released on July 15. | 2022-06-14T20:20:01+00:00 | kfor.com | https://kfor.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/lizzo-changes-lyrics-to-grrrls-after-criticism-of-ableist-slur/ |
PORTLAND, Maine — Not often do you hear about funnel clouds in Maine. But a rare cold air funnel briefly touched down around noon Tuesday in the town of Denmark, producing a landspout tornado.
Landspout tornadoes are not associated with supercell thunderstorms and therefore are very weak. This one had winds of around 55 miles per hour. There was some tree damage reported, along with damage to some sheds and a barn.
Cold air funnels are associated with strong low pressure, and the one spinning over the Northeast is creating a lot of instability. Small hail is common with these and was also reported yesterday. | 2023-05-03T17:12:19+00:00 | newscentermaine.com | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/weather/weather-blog/tornado-maine-rare-cold-air-funnel-touches-down-in-denmark-maine-storms-weather/97-1d5aba7c-d19e-4a6b-b59d-370425736386 |
CALAIS, France (AP) — Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the hilly fourth stage of the Tour de France and extended his overall lead after attacking strongly on the day’s final climb on Tuesday.
The Belgian rider kept the leader’s yellow jersey for the Jumbo–Visma team after taking it for the first time on Saturday. He also extended his lead in the green jersey contest for best sprinter.
Van Aert shook up the peloton when he surged ahead up the last of the five climbs — a 900-meter ascent up Cote du Cap Blanc-Nez at a gradient of 7.5 % — about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the end.
He said he felt an early attack was the best way to avoid a mass sprint at the line.
“I didn’t want to take the risk of losing anymore. It was quite obvious that we were trying something with the team,” he said. “I went full gas to see what would happen. I went all out.”
The 27-year-old Van Aert is considered one of the best multi-skilled riders in the world and is a former three-time cyclo-cross world champion and a one-day classics specialist.
The Jumbo-Visma rider flapped his hands like a bird’s wings as he sat up on his bike. He crossed the line eight seconds clear of countryman Jasper Philipsen of the Alpecin–Fenix team, with Jumbo-Visma teammate Christophe Laporte taking third place in a sprint finish.
“This jersey gives wings. It was definitely a tough climb but this stage was very likely going to end up in bunch sprint,” Van Aert said. “It was difficult to finish alone, but thanks to the work of my teammates, I did it. It was up to me to finish it off.”
Van Aert picked up a 10-second time bonus and is now 25 seconds ahead of Yves Lampaert in the overall standings and 32 seconds clear of two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar.
Pogacar’s rival Primoz Roglic, the 2020 Tour runner-up and Van Aert’s teammate, stayed seventh overall and remained nine seconds behind Pogacar, with both finishing in the main pack.
After a travel day, riders tackled a sunny 171.5-kilometer (106.3-mile) route from the coastal city of Dunkirk to Calais, where riders could see the English coastline when they arrived into the much-used port location. Van Aert completed it in 4 hours, 1 minute, 36 seconds.
Danish rider Magnus Cort, who thrilled crowds with his breakaway rides during three intense days in Denmark, was again in the early breakaway — this time alongside Anthony Perez.
Perez pulled ahead some 45 kilometers (28 miles) out and Cort was caught by the peloton shortly after. Cort picked up more points in the polka-dot jersey bid but much more difficult climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees are still to come.
Wednesday’s fifth stage is a flat stage for sprinters over 157 kilometers (97 miles) starting at Lille Metropole and going over some of the feared cobblestones that feature on the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic.
The race ends on July 24 in Paris.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-07-05T20:10:16+00:00 | wdtn.com | https://www.wdtn.com/sports/ap-sports/van-aert-wins-tour-stage-4-in-style-and-extends-overall-lead/ |
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to Kate Fitzgerald, a senior editor at American Banker, about what consumers should know about digital payment services like Zelle and Venmo.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to Kate Fitzgerald, a senior editor at American Banker, about what consumers should know about digital payment services like Zelle and Venmo.
Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-01-22T17:07:38+00:00 | kvpr.org | https://www.kvpr.org/2023-01-22/how-to-stay-safe-while-using-digital-payment-services-like-zelle-and-venmo |
Daily Contest Voting Period Runs Through August 31
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PetSafe® brand, a global leader in pet product solutions, has chosen the 30 finalist communities to compete for dog park funds in its popular Bark for Your Park™ grant contest. This year, PetSafe® will award prizes totaling $125,000 to nine deserving communities.
Finalists were chosen by a panel of PetSafe® judges who scored each submission on the level of community enthusiasm and support for a dog park project along with the impact that a dog park project will have on the community. Participants entered to win funds for either a new park or to improve an existing dog park. Following the contest voting period, four communities with the highest votes will receive $25,000 for the construction of a new park and five will be awarded $5,000 to enhance their local dog parks. The 2022 finalists for each category include:
New Parks
- Beeville, TX
- Bellville, OH
- Damascus, VA
- Ephrata, PA
- Hancock, NY
- Hialeah, FL
- Hoodsport, WA
- Hot Springs, SD
- Houston, TX
- Lawrence Township, NJ
- Maryville, MO
- Natchitoches, LA
- Painesville, OH
- Sebewaing, MI
- Seneca, SC
- Sesser, IL
- Shelby, MI
- Spartanburg, SC
- Titusville, PA
- Tucson, AZ
Existing Parks
- Arlington Dog Park – Arlington, NE
- K-9 Cove – Miami Lakes, FL
- Canyon Run Dog Park – St. Johnsbury, VT
- Hammond Creek Dog Park – Lawrenceburg, KY
- Kaufman Dog Park – Marion, OH
- Kiroli Dog Park – West Monroe, LA
- Peekskill Dog Park – Peekskill, NY
- Sandy's Bark Park – Wausau, WI
- Shelby Farms Dog Park – Memphis, TN
Now through August 31, 2022, anyone over the age of 18 living in the U.S. can vote once per day, every day for their favorite community at barkforyourpark.com. Employees and partner employees of the parent company of PetSafe®, Radio Systems Corporation®, are not eligible to vote in the grant contest.
Since introducing the program in 2011, PetSafe® has awarded more than $1.65 million to support more than 80 off-leash dog parks in the United States.
"The PetSafe® brand is always looking for ways to help pet parents. That's why we're so proud to support communities by helping provide a safe place where dogs can run and play," says Celeste Vlok, marketing manager for PetSafe® brand. "It's exciting to see the enthusiasm and commitment each finalist community has put into fulfilling their dog park dreams. We invite all to join the fun by voting for their favorite community."
For more information on the 2022 Bark for Your Park™ grant contest and to vote for a favorite community, visit barkforyourpark.com.
PetSafe® is dedicated to keeping pets healthy, safe and happy through innovative product solutions. As an industry leader, PetSafe® brand offers behavioral, containment and lifestyle solutions. PetSafe® brand is owned by Radio Systems Corporation®, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and services over 50 countries globally. For more information, visit petsafe.net.
Media Contact:
Heather Griffith
PR Specialist
media@petsafe.net
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE PetSafe® | 2022-08-01T12:42:02+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/08/01/30-communities-selected-chance-win-2022-petsafe-bark-your-park-grant/ |
In 2003, Julie Cadwallader's husband died of cancer. Not long after, she decided to go visit a friend in Boston. Her husband had always been the navigator on their trips, but that didn't deter Julie.
Copyright 2023 NPR
In 2003, Julie Cadwallader's husband died of cancer. Not long after, she decided to go visit a friend in Boston. Her husband had always been the navigator on their trips, but that didn't deter Julie.
Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-02-13T23:42:01+00:00 | wlrn.org | https://www.wlrn.org/2023-02-13/my-unsung-hero-an-unknown-navigator |
Partnership Creates Unique Distribution Channel within Defense Aviation Aftermarket
CHANDLER, Ariz., Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AvAir, an industry-leading inventory solutions provider for the aviation aftermarket, has been selected by Honeywell Aerospace to be the exclusive worldwide distributor of its 85- and 95-series auxiliary power units (APUs), including spares for all commercial and defense applications.
"We're excited to announce this new partnership with Honeywell and create a unique distribution channel for these APUs," said Moe El-Khatib, vice president - defense at AvAir. "This opportunity will allow us to continue to provide our existing and new customers improved access and more solutions to critical parts."
These APU models are currently in service on over 1,400 aircraft worldwide, including the C130 and P3 aircraft in the defense sector, and the Boeing 737-CL in the commercial sector.
"Aligning with AvAir made sense as both companies will provide the best service, innovative technologies and aftermarket solutions in a world that continues to evolve," said Tim Van Luven, senior director of sales at Honeywell Aerospace. "We look forward to a long partnership with AvAir to improve both market reach and customer service."
AvAir, now in its 22nd year in business, offers customized solutions for customers and suppliers to buy, sell, exchange, loan, lease, or consign inventories with more than 26 million in-stock components. The company is ISO 9001, AS9120, and ASA 100 certified and adheres to the highest quality standards in all phases: purchasing, receiving, stocking, sales, and shipping.
Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft. The Aerospace business unit builds aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity systems, mechanical components and more.
For more information about AvAir, visit AvAir.aero. For more information on Honeywell, visit Honeywell.com/
Founded in 2000, Arizona-based AvAir is a global leader in the aviation aftermarket, providing customized inventory solutions for airlines, OEMs, and MROs. AvAir, offers customized solutions for customers and suppliers to buy, sell, exchange, loan, lease, or consign more than 26 million in-stock aircraft parts. AvAir has been named Parts Supplier of the Year for 2021 and 2022 by Airline Economics, the leading industry trade publication. It has also been recognized for its work in sustainability by The Aviation 100 two years in a row, AvAir received the Environmental Sustainability award. For more about AvAir, visit AvAir.aero.
###
Contact: Claire Natale
claire@evolveprandmarketing.com
202.294.5999
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE AvAir | 2023-01-04T13:15:00+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/01/04/avair-selected-by-honeywell-be-exclusive-worldwide-distributor-c130-p3-apus/ |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader said Monday that if a series of suspected poisonings at girls’ schools are proven to be deliberate the culprits should be sentenced to death for committing an “unforgivable crime.”
It was the first time Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, has spoken publicly about the suspected poisonings, which began late last year and have sickened hundreds of children.
Iranian officials only acknowledged them in recent weeks and have provided no details on who may be behind the attacks or what chemicals — if any — have been used. Unlike neighboring Afghanistan, Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women’s education.
“If the poisoning of students is proven, those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them,” Khamenei said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Authorities have acknowledged suspected attacks at more than 50 schools across 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces since November.
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said over the weekend that “suspicious samples” had been gathered by investigators, without elaborating. He called on the public to remain calm and accused unnamed enemies of inciting fear to undermine the Islamic Republic.
Vahidi said at least 52 schools had been affected by suspected poisonings, while Iranian media reports have put the number of schools at over 60. At least one boy’s school reportedly has been affected.
Videos of upset parents and schoolgirls in emergency rooms with IVs in their arms have flooded social media.
Iran has imposed stringent restrictions on independent media since the outbreak of nationwide protests in September, making it difficult to determine the nature and scope of the suspected poisonings.
On Monday, Iranian media reported that authorities arrested a Qom-based journalist, Ali Pourtabatabaei, who had been regularly reporting on the suspected poisonings. The hard-line Kayhan newspaper in an editorial had called for the arrests of newspaper publishers who printed articles on the crisis critical of Iran’s theocracy.
The protests were sparked by the death of a young woman who had been detained by morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code. Religious hard-liners in Iran have been known to attack women they perceive as dressing immodestly in public. But even at the height of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and girls continued attending schools and universities.
The children affected in the poisonings have reportedly complained of headaches, heart palpitations, feeling lethargic or otherwise unable to move. Some described smelling tangerines, chlorine or cleaning agents.
Reports suggest at least 400 schoolchildren have fallen ill since November. Vahidi, the interior minister, said in his statement that two girls remain in hospital because of underlying chronic conditions. There have been no reported fatalities.
As more attacks were reported Sunday, videos were posted on social media showing children complaining about pain in the legs, abdomen and dizziness. State media have mainly referred to these as “hysteric reactions.”
The World Health Organization documented a similar phenomenon in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012, when hundreds of girls across the country complained of strange smells and poisoning. No evidence was found to support the suspicions, and the WHO said it appeared to be “mass psychogenic illnesses.” | 2023-03-06T23:44:33+00:00 | wboy.com | https://www.wboy.com/news/world/irans-top-leader-says-suspected-poisonings-unforgivable/ |
Barbara A. Weiss, 75, of North Scranton, died Wednesday at home. She was the widow of Joseph Weiss, who died in 1992.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Most Popular
Reader Poll
Have you ever gone camping?
You voted:
View the Mother's Day editions through the years 2008 - 2020. Find your pictures and share your pages to social media. | 2022-05-27T02:11:07+00:00 | thetimes-tribune.com | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/zz-dnp/barbara-a-weiss/article_e324931c-cab1-5aaa-8caa-91525a31107c.html |
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala sank deeper into political turmoil Thursday as an effort by prosecutors to discredit a progressive presidential candidate prompted his conservative opponent to suspend her campaign, citing a playing field that was no longer even.
The government’s actions against candidate Bernardo Arévalo — first suspending his Seed Movement party, then raiding the country’s election tribunal offices after it certified election results — sparked other objections as well, from within and outside Guatemala. U.S. officials called them a threat to the country’s democracy.
By Thursday afternoon, those actions appeared to have backfired.
The Constitutional Court, which is Guatemala’s highest tribunal, granted a preliminary injunction to the Seed Movement, blocking its suspension. Meanwhile, candidates left and right warned the government to let the voters prevail.
It was an outcome President Alejandro Giammattei likely did not expect when his administration decided to intervene in the June 25 election, which ended with Arévalo and conservative candidate Sandra Torres moving on to an Aug. 20 presidential runoff.
Arévalo dismissed the government’s actions as illegal and said he would file complaints against the lower court judge, attorney general and special prosecutor for trying to keep him out of the race.
“What they are trying to do is simply sow doubt about our honesty,” he said at a news conference Thursday, adding that the raid and party’s suspension had a “clear political purpose.”
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal issued an angry statement declaring it would safeguard Guatemala’s democracy in the face of “any attempt to interfere with the electoral process.”
Torres, whose UNE party has been a key force in allowing Giammattei to advance his legislative agenda, said she was halting her campaign activities to protest the government’s actions. It was likely she realized Giammattei’s missteps could sink her own candidacy.
“We want to demonstrate our solidarity with the voters of the Seed party and also with those who came out to vote,” she said. “As a candidate, I want to compete under equal conditions.”
She called on the president to show his face.
Giammattei’s office issued a statement saying it respects the separation of powers and would not be involved in any judicial processes. Giammattei is prohibited by Guatemalan law from seeking reelection.
Arévalo was a surprise among the 22 candidates in the June 25 first-round election, getting 11.7% of the votes. In the days before the ballot, he had polled below 3% and was not among the top six or seven candidates, all of whom were considered to be on the conservative end of the political spectrum. Torres led the field with 15.8%. No candidate came close to exceeding the 50% threshold necessary to win outright, necessitating the August runoff.
A former diplomat and academic, Arévalo has framed himself as the candidate who would bring change to the country, while portraying Torres as someone who would likely maintain the status quo.
Arévalo also promised to bring back prosecutors and judges who were critical to the nation’s fight against corruption but were forced out of the country under Giammattei’s administration.
As the wait dragged on for certification of the election, anxiety grew that the government was looking for a way to change the results. First, several losing parties waged a legal challenge, leading the Constitutional Court to suspend the certification and order a review of hundreds of challenged polling place tallies. The review concluded with no change in the results.
Then late Wednesday, anti-corruption prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche announced the Seed Movement’s suspension, an action that appeared to violate Guatemala’s election laws, which prohibit suspending parties during an ongoing election. Curruchiche alleged the party violated the law while gathering the signatures it needed to form.
The day began Thursday with prosecutors raiding the offices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal just hours after it certified the election results. The Attorney General’s Office said Thursday that the purpose of the raid was to seize evidence from the office responsible for voter rolls and party registration. A raid had also been expected to take place at the Seed Movement’s party headquarters Thursday but that appeared unlikely after the high court’s injunction.
The U.S. State Department previouslyr accused Curruchiche and his boss, Attorney General Consuelo Porras, of obstructing corruption investigations in Guatemala, and put them both on its list of undemocratic actors.
Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Thursday that the U.S. government was “deeply concerned” by the actions of the Attorney General’s Office, which he said threatened the legitimacy of the electoral process. “The will of the Guatemalan people, as expressed through the June 25 elections results, must be respected,” he said.
A United Nations spokesperson said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was watching developments in Guatemala with concern and urged all those involved to act responsibly and impartially.
Katya Salazar, executive director of the Due Process Foundation, a Washington-based nongovernmental group, said events playing out in Guatemala were the result of real fear among those in power that an Arévalo victory could threaten the impunity they enjoy.
That impunity comes from co-optation of the justice system, by appointing judges and an attorney general they trusted and chasing those in the justice system who had investigated corruption out of the country, she said.
“If you don’t control the justice system, there is always going to be the concern that they open an investigation against you,” she said.
On Thursday afternoon, several hundred people gathered outside the Attorney General’s Office to protest attempts to suspend the Seed Movement.
Rosmarie Móvil, a 76-year-old vendor, said she came because she was tired of the government trampling the people’s will.
“What we want to say more than anything is no to corruption, enough already,” she said. “It makes you embarrassed to be Guatemalan because they steal from us, there’s no justice, there’s no health (care) and on top of it they want to take the democracy. Let there be spring now.”
___
Associated Press writers Christopher Sherman in Mexico City and Edith M. Lederer in New York and AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. | 2023-07-14T14:11:59+00:00 | kron4.com | https://www.kron4.com/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-guatemalas-political-turmoil-deepens-as-1-candidate-is-targeted-and-the-other-suspends-her-campaign/ |
The Sevilla F.C. vs Crystal Palace F.C. soccer match in Detroit is this weekend and tickets for the international game can be found at Stubhub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and Ticketmaster.
The teams will meet at Comerica Park at 7 p.n. Sunday, July 30, and tickets range from $31 to around $200.
This is the first time in six years that the home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team will host an international soccer match.
“We are thrilled to have international soccer return to Comerica Park for a match between two elite football clubs,” said Howard Handler, President of 313 Presents, in a statement. “This match-up will provide metro Detroit’s soccer fans a unique opportunity to watch their favorite European clubs play once again in person.”
Sevilla F.C. is historically one of La Liga’s top six clubs and has won a record number of UEFA Europa League trophies, according to CBS.
Get last-minute tickets at Stubhub, Vivid Seats, Seat Geek and Ticketmaster.
Sevilla F.C. vs Crystal Palace F.C., Sunday, July 30, 7 p.m. at Comerica Park, Detroit MI | 2023-07-28T13:12:41+00:00 | mlive.com | https://www.mlive.com/life/2023/07/how-to-get-tickets-to-see-international-soccer-match-between-sevilla-and-crystal-palace-in-detroit.html |
We’d hoped we wouldn’t be here again. Yet, here we are.
Last week, 17 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, including Hudson, moved back into the COVID-19 “high risk’' category, thanks to a highly transmissible new variant.
Anecdotally, you may have already known things were heating up as people you know – maybe even you – tested positive, hopefully with mild symptoms.
Health officials continue to tell us that the best way to keep yourself, your family and anyone you come into contact with safe is to get the full course of vaccines, including the second booster if you are 50-plus and it’s been at least four months since your first booster.
Naysayers will note that many of the people testing positive today have been vaxxed and boosted.
That is true.
But they can thank those vaccines and boosters for helping them weather the virus in a few days, most likely, rather than needing hospital care or, in the worst cases, dying.
According to a study reported in the medical journal The Lancet last month, vaccinations can be credited with averting some 19.8 million deaths in 185 countries and territories in just the first year that the shots were available. Had the vaccine rollout been more successful worldwide, the authors wrote, even more people would have been saved.
COVID is no joke, and more than one’s personal health and safety are at risk.
If you haven’t yet been vaccinated, now’s the time. If you’ve been vaccinated but not boosted, now’s the time to get that additional protection. And if you’ve gotten the first booster but have been dragging your feet on the second, now’s the time to get it done.
If you have questions or concerns, talk with your doctor.
Just don’t pretend it can’t happen to you or someone you love. The stats tell otherwise.
Send letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com. | 2022-07-21T10:52:20+00:00 | nj.com | https://www.nj.com/opinion/2022/07/shots-save-lives-jersey-journal-editorial.html |
(NEXSTAR) – Don’t make him turn this plane around.
A pilot with Southwest Airlines was heard scolding a traveler who allegedly AirDropped unsolicited “naked pictures” to other passengers ahead of a recent flight from Houston to Cabo San Lucas.
He also threatened to return the plane to the gate if the nudes didn’t stop.
“So here’s the deal, if this continues while we’re on the ground, I’m going to have to pull back to the gate, everybody’s going to have to get off, we’re going to have to get security involved and it’s … vacation is going to be ruined,” the pilot can be heard saying in a video shared to TikTok by passenger Teighlor Marsalis last week.
“So you folks, whatever that AirDrop thing is, quit sending naked pictures and let’s get yourself to Cabo,” the pilot added.
The video has since been 2.6 million times.
Marsalis told Nexstar that the plane was preparing to leave on Aug. 24 when the male passenger “AirDropped a nude photo of himself” to everyone else on the plane.
One of the travelers told a flight attendant, who subsequently informed the pilot, Marsalis said. She added that there were no more unsolicited AirDrops for the remainder of the trip.
“The flight made it happily to Cabo with no more nudes!” Marsalis said.
Southwest Airlines provided a statement to Nexstar in response to Marsalis’ viral clip, but declined to share further details or confirm whether any of the passengers were barred from future flights.
“The safety, security and wellbeing of Customers and Employees is the Southwest Team’s highest priority at all times,” the airline wrote. “When made aware of a potential problem, our Employees address issues to support the comfort of those traveling with us.”
Apple’s AirDrop feature, available on iOS devices, allows users to share photos, videos or files with other Apple devices that are “within Bluetooth and WiFi range.” The sender does not need specific contact information for recipients, though users can choose to restrict unsolicited AirDrops from unknown senders. | 2022-08-31T19:05:30+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/pilot-scolds-southwest-airlines-passenger-for-allegedly-airdropping-naked-pictures-to-entire-plane/ |
TAIPEI, Taiwan , June 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After the 2014 and 2016 winners for the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Sciences were crowned the Nobel Prize in 2018 and 2020 respectively, this category has continued to garner much attention worldwide. After much waiting, names of the latest winners were finally announced at ten (GMT+8) in the morning of June 19. This year's award went to three scientists who played a critical role in the development of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines: Katalin Kariko, Drew Weissman, and Pieter Cullis, "for the discovery of key vaccinology concepts and approaches, leading to the successful development of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine," according to the selection committee's citation.
Since November 2019 when the pandemic began, COVID-19 has been disrupting everyone's life for more than two years, posing a grave threat to human health and life, and causing severe damage to the global economy. The World Health Organization's statistics show that up to the moment, more than 530 million COVID infections and about 6.3 million deaths have been recorded around the world. Fortunately, it took Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna less than 12 months to successfully develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. As a result, millions of lives have been saved, to which the groundbreaking contributions made by these three laureates cannot be ignored. While Dr. Kariko and Dr. Weissman found a way to reduce the immunogenicityi of mRNA, Dr. Cullis is credited with designing lipid nanoparticles for the delivery of mRNA vaccines.
There are two major challenges when it comes to delivering RNA into the human body. First, RNA triggers innate immune responses. Second, it is easily degradable, and hence difficult to reach the target cells or organs. The new platform developed by these three scientists is a nucleoside-modifiedii mRNA-based vaccine that can evade the immune system, thus preventing the severe inflammation which occurs when in vitro-transcribed mRNA is recognized by immune cells. These mRNA molecules are encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles and delivered effectively into the cells. They then instruct the cell's machinery to produce harmless pieces of spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus and initiate a series of adaptive immune responses such as triggering B cells to produce antibodies and training T cells to attack infected cells
The breakthrough discoveries of the three laureates and the ingenious approaches they pioneered are key to the rapid and successful development of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. These techniques not only revolutionized vaccinology but also signaled a paradigm shift in protein therapy. They represent the advent of a new era of RNA-based therapies. Unlike traditional methods that take a long time and a lot of money to develop vaccines, these new mRNA techniques turn cells into factories where proteins that serve as antigens or therapeutic molecules can be produced. Mass-manufacturing vaccines at relatively low cost became possible. Moreover, they can be applied to tackle a variety of diseases, such as to the development of vaccines against other viruses, of tailored-made vaccines against cancer, of vaccines against HIV, or even of vaccines against allergic diseases.
Dr. Kariko was educated in Hungary and moved to the US in 1985. She was especially interested in RNA and its chemical synthesis for efficient protein expression in cells in vitro and in vivo. With systematic rigor, she has solved several problems related to the use of RNA in vaccinology and therapy. During the 1990s, as a research associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, she devoted herself to the development of in vitro-transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein therapies. For that, she needed to understand the mechanism of the immune response mediated by RNAs. Together with her colleague, Dr. Weissman, she showed that mRNA is recognized by Toll-like receptorsiii, thus participating in the innate immune response, and the injection of mRNA into animals caused severe inflammation. However, they found that if the nucleosides of the mRNA were modified like selected nucleosides in naturally occurring RNA, the mRNA did not elicit such responses. Eventually, they were able to identify key modifications. This critical finding enabled them to create stealth RNAs that do not cause inflammation. Since 2013, Dr. Kariko has been associated with BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, first as a vice president and as its senior vice president in 2019. She was also involved in the development of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Weissman is the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research at the University of Pennsylvania, where he started his laboratory in 1997 to develop vaccine against HIV. Prior to that, he worked at America's National Institutes of Health (NIH) on HIV-related research. In collaboration with Dr. Kariko, he started studying RNA as vaccines. In 2005, they published their pivotal discovery that nucleoside-modified RNAs are non-immunogenic. Since then, Dr. Weissman has been actively engaged in the application of this technology to the development of RNA vaccines against infections by viruses such as HIV and Zika virus. The collaboration between Dr. Weissman, an immunologist, and Dr. Kariko, an RNA technology scientist, led to many significant discoveries. Together, they hold the U.S. patent for the application of the non-immunogenic, nucleoside-modified RNA that built a strong foundation for the development of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna covid-19 mRNA vaccines.
Dr. Cullis, who has a PhD in physics, is a pioneer developer of lipid nanoparticles and a professor at the University of British Columbia. He is also a leader in the studies of membrane structure and function at the molecular level for the development of effective therapeutic agents. He created nanoparticles composed of pH-sensitive, cationic lipids that can induce the formation of non-bilayer structures and can carry DNA and RNA-based anionic macromolecules. Therefore, we can get these nanoparticles to encapsulate and store nuclear acid-based drugs as well as release them into cells. This is critical in the development of RNA-based vaccines, as RNA is quite unstable and difficult to be efficiently delivered into cells. Dr. Cullis has focused mostly on the roles of lipids in membranes by using model membrane systems which helped give birth to engineered liposomal nanoparticulate (LN or LNP) systems that can deliver conventional and nucleic acid-based drugs. His classical papers have been cited for more than 2000 times each, and a great percentage of FDA-approved or emergency medical usage of lipid nanoparticles have relied on the technology he invented. With his novel technology, Dr. Cullis became the founder of 11 companies. In 2014, he started a collaboration with Dr. Weissman, who was working with BioNTech on RNA vaccines, and Dr. Cullis' expertise was crucial in creating a delivery system for the vaccines.
About the Tang Prize
Since the advent of globalization, mankind has been able to enjoy the convenience brought forth by the advancement of human civilization and science. Yet a multitude of challenges, such as climate change, the emergence of new infectious diseases, wealth gap, and moral degradation, have surfaced along the way. Against this backdrop, Dr. Samuel Yin established the Tang Prize in December 2012. It consists of four award categories, namely Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. Every other year, four independent and professional selection committees, comprising many internationally renowned experts, scholars, and Nobel winners, choose as Tang Prize laureates people who have influenced and made substantive contributions to the world, regardless of ethnicity, nationality or gender. A cash prize of NT$50 million (approx. US$1.7 million) is allocated to each category, with NT$10 million (approx. US$ 0.35 million) of it being a research grant intended to encourage professionals in every field to examine mankind's most urgent needs in the 21st century, and become leading forces in the development of human society through their outstanding research outcomes and active civic engagement.
i Immunogenicity refers to the characteristic of a molecule that induce immune responses, including production of inflammatory cytokines.
ii Nucleosides are glycosylamines consisting of a nitrogenous base attached to a pentose sugar (ribose or deoxyribose). Based on their chemical structures, nucleosides can be divided into two classes: ribonucleosides and deoxyribonucleosides. When a nucleoside joins with a phosphate group, it forms a nucleotide, which is the basic unit of DNA and RNA.
iii Toll-like receptors are single-pass transmembrane proteins. They can recognize invading microorganisms or damage-associated molecules and activate immune response. They perform key roles in our innate immune system.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE The Tang Prize Foundation | 2022-06-19T03:34:28+00:00 | kcbd.com | https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2022/06/19/2022-tang-prize-biopharmaceutical-science-honors-three-scientists-developing-covid-19-mrna-vaccines/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden assured Americans on Friday that the U.S. economy is chugging along in the holiday season, but the very strength of a new jobs report showed that high inflation remains a recession threat.
At the White House, the president signed an emergency bill to avert a rail strike that he said could have caused 765,000 job losses in two weeks and plunged the country into a painful downturn. But many voters and economists still fear that a recession is nigh and the price of reducing high prices will be layoffs.
Biden pointed to the addition of 263,000 jobs in November — with the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.7% — as proof that his policies have bulked up the economy. He suggested that the major recession risk was the freight rail strike, a problem the country avoided by having Congress impose an agreement that raises pay but fails to provide the additional paid sick leave that workers demanded.
“Things are moving — they’re moving in the right direction,” Biden said. “As we go into the holiday season, here’s what this all means: The Americans are working, the economy is growing.”
White House officials do see reason for optimism. Gasoline prices are averaging $3.45 a gallon, down sharply from a June peak, according to AAA. The economy is expanding after shrinking in size during the first half of the year. And since July, workers’ average hourly earnings have been rising faster than consumer prices.
But inflation can be a game of whack-a-mole, and Friday’s employment report suggested that wage growth actually could be part of the problem.
Inflation has been something of a moving target during Biden’s presidency. Supply chain challenges and shortages pushed up prices as the country started to recover from the pandemic in 2021. Higher oil and food costs drove up inflation after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. And the jobs report showed that wage growth accelerated sharply, which could fuel inflation going forward.
The Federal Reserve is attempting to reduce inflation by raising its benchmark interest rates. That action reduces economic activity in order to bring down prices.
On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested the U.S. central bank might not have to raise rates as aggressively to return inflation to the 2% annual target. That comment caused the stock market to rise, only for the optimism to fizzle out on Friday as the new and revised wage data indicated the Fed might need to do more to cool the economy.
“With these revisions, the pace of wage growth is more consistent with 5% inflation than with 2% inflation,” said Harvard University professor Jason Furman, formerly the top economist in the Obama White House. “In this sense it may take a larger adjustment in labor markets than previously hoped to bring inflation down.”
The president’s key message is that his policies have helped to avoid catastrophes such as a recession caused by a rail strike. The bill he signed Friday binds rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the railroads and union leaders in September but rejected by the workers of some unions.
“The bill I’m about to sign ends a difficult rail dispute and helps our nation avoid what without a doubt would have been an economic catastrophe at a very bad time in the calendar,” said Biden. He said his team helped negotiate a “good product, but we still have more work to do in my view.”
Members of four of the 12 unions involved had rejected the proposed contract as lacking sufficient paid sick leave, setting up the possibility of a strike beginning Dec. 9. Biden acknowledged the shortcoming and said he would continue to push for that benefit for every U.S. worker.
“I’ve supported paid sick leave for a long time,” said the president, a staunch labor union supporter. “I’m going to continue that fight until we succeed.”
He said that Republican lawmakers blocked the inclusion of seven days of paid sick leave in the agreement, and it’s unclear how he would get backing for expanding family leave to all workers with the GOP winning the House majority in November’s elections.
Republican leaders have tapped into deep doubts about the U.S. economy with party officials noting that higher prices have caused Americans’ savings rate to hit the lowest level in 17 years. About three-quarters of voters last month called economic conditions “poor” or “not so good,” according to AP VoteCast.
Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, called the jobs report a “nightmare before Christmas.”
“The White House is absolutely clueless about the very real labor shortage still hurting Main Street businesses and driving prices higher,” Brady said. “And for many workers, they are struggling with real wage losses and real pay cuts, making sticker shock a big part of this year’s holiday gift shopping experience.”
Although Biden has said the economy is heading in the right direction, the employment report indicates that it’s on a “more muddled path” in which it’s unclear whether a downturn and eventual job losses can be averted, said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor, an employment website.
The mixed signals come in part because the employment report comes from two surveys. The survey of employer payrolls shows how many jobs were added, while a separate survey of households determines the unemployment rate.
The two surveys have diverged with the household numbers indicating the economy has actually lost jobs over the past two months, contradicting the gains seen in the establishments survey.
Zhao said the economy doesn’t look as though it is about to tip into recession, but the risk is that when job figures are revised next year policymakers could learn in hindsight that the U.S. was shedding jobs as the Fed continued to raise rates.
“These surveys are out of sync at a critical turning point in the economy,” he said. | 2022-12-02T23:41:20+00:00 | ktalnews.com | https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-rail-strike-to-be-averted-biden-to-sign-bill/ |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:
0-1-2
(zero, one, two)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:
0-1-2
(zero, one, two) | 2022-10-16T19:58:09+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Numbers-Midday-game-17513106.php |
Oklahoma voters soundly defeated a measure to legalize marijuana in the state this week, a result officials said came from the efforts of a faith community highly motivated to reject the growing acceptance of the drug in society.
On Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly knocked down a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana by a margin of 61.7% to 38.3%, with the measure failing in each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.
A newspaper ad campaign had urged readers to block legalization, declaring "Don't California Our Oklahoma."
"The faith community, I believe, and of course, I've got an iron in the fire on this, but I believe the faith community was a major player in what happened here," Paul Abner, president of Oklahoma Faith Leaders, told Fox News Digital.
Abner, whose group represents six Christian denominations including Baptists, Catholics, and Nazarenes, said that the widest margin he had seen from pollsters before the vote was 3% and that "you can’t quantify" the impact the faith community has in the state.
WASHINGTON MARIJUANA DISPENSARY OWNER BERATES COP IN PROFANITY-LACED TIRADE: 'YOU'RE NOT MARRIED, HUH?'
"They came out and let their voice be heard," Abner said.
Republican Sen. James Lankford told Fox News Digital that the "decisive" victory came after Oklahoma families, many of them families of faith, asked themselves whether more marijuana will make their lives better.
"Are we better as a state if we have more families smoking marijuana? And they made the decision no," Lankford said, adding that Oklahoma already has a "tremendous" amount of medical marijuana facilities.
Oklahoma has more medical marijuana stores than Colorado, Washington and Oregon combined and more licensed cannabis farms than California, the New York Times reported.
Despite that, Lankford said the marijuana industry insisted on even more with this ballot measure, but Oklahomans rejected that idea.
"A lot of people in our faith community are like no, this is not helping our families, it's making it worse."
"These days, we sadly see many people turning to drugs, we see families affected by substance abuse," Brian Hobbs, communications director for Oklahoma Baptists which represents more than 1,700 churches in Oklahoma, told Fox News Digital.
"Instead of creating easy access to drugs, we want to show people that there is an abundant, joyful life awaiting them in Jesus Christ, if they will turn to him."
Pat McFerron, an Oklahoma-based lobbyist and political consultant who organized the "Protect Our Kids No on 820" campaign, told Fox News Digital that the "key component" of the "repudiation of recreational marijuana" in Oklahoma is that people are becoming "more aware" as the "science becomes clearer" on the links that marijuana has with psychosis and schizophrenia as THC strains become more and more potent.
LEGALIZING POT IS NOT GOOD FOR NEW YORK OR THE US
"Especially for brains under 25 years of age," McFerron said.
"Marijuana is a mind-altering, addictive drug that has an adverse effect on families and whole communities," Hobbs said. "We are thankful Oklahomans rejected this proposal."
The Oklahomans who spoke to Fox News Digital said that the vote was not only a referendum on recreational marijuana in the state, but also a condemnation on how the 2018 vote to legalize medical marijuana has had led to many negative consequences, including illegal grow operations, crime associated with those illegal operations, water shortages and trafficking.
"After Oklahoma approved a state question in 2018 concerning medical marijuana, or what was presented to voters as medical, our state has been overtaken by marijuana," Hobbs said. "Oklahoma has more marijuana dispensaries than any other state. It is abundantly clear, after this resounding rejection of recreational marijuana, that a vast majority of Oklahoma has said ‘enough’ to the out-of-control growth of marijuana in this state."
CANNABIS USERS ARE AT GREATER RISK FOR EMERGENCY AND INPATIENT CARE: STUDY
Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond told Fox News Digital that out of the 6,299 licensed grow operators in the state, "probably over 3,000 of those" are "illegal grow operators," which he claimed are run "principally Chinese syndicated crime organizations."
"We've identified two Mexican cartel organizations," Drummond said. "We have Central American and other Asian nations that have truly invaded Oklahoma and are populating grows throughout Oklahoma that are a detriment to the community and impacting adversely utility usage, water usage, environmental injury to the land and a general fear factor by the residents of Oklahoma outside urban centers."
"Crime has increased in our state, we have these violent execution-style murders that are happening in marijuana facilities in our state, we have Chinese criminal organizations, we have Mexican cartels that are setting up shop in our state," Lankford said. "And a lot of folks in our faith communities are like we're watching our state and our community just crumble. We can't just watch that we've got to speak out."
Bart Barber, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor at the First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, roughly 40 miles south of the Oklahoma border, told Fox News Digital that faith leaders were galvanized by the failure to stop medical marijuana in 2018.
"As a family of churches, our biggest regrets are the occasions when we went along with societal movements that were popular but wrong, and so we are all the more committed, when facing similar pressures today, to standing firm on the side of truth and human flourishing," Barber said.
OKLAHOMA DEMOCRATIC STATE REP APPEARS TO CONDONE WORSHIP OF WOKE PRIORITIES: ‘DEI' IS 'GOD’
"Something has changed," Barber continued. "Oklahomans have had the opportunity to see first-hand the impact upon the Sooner State of widely available marijuana. The message of faith leaders has found listening ears in Oklahoma because it has rung as true among Oklahomans who now know more than ever that there is nothing recreational about addiction."
Lankford expressed a similar sentiment telling Fox News Digital that "people in the faith community can't just sit back and pretend culture gets better" and that "we actually have a responsibility to engage."
Drummond said that he expects the Oklahoma Legislature to work hard in the upcoming session to make sure the medical marijuana industry is dialed back and more properly licensed.
"I think that the faith leaders have identified that just as we learned with alcohol in the 1920s we’re learning with marijuana now it must be a controlled substance that you treat carefully, or it will absolutely lead toward other crimes and other bad habits in life," Drummond said.
McFerron also said that supporters of recreational marijuana miscalculated by promoting the idea that Oklahomans are being locked up for petty marijuana crimes. Marijuana possession became a misdemeanor in 2016, and the vast majority of state and federal prisoners are not locked up on marijuana charges, according to McFerron.
"Marijuana possession has not been a criminal offense in Oklahoma," McFerron said. "You’ve got to have it on a school property, you’ve got to have it with intent to distribute, it’s got to be a larger quantity. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been picked up for possession 40 times, it's not imprisonable. So this idea that there’s a group of people in prison for petty marijuana crimes is just not true."
The Yes on 820 organization did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
McFerron said that ultimately Oklahoma voters looked around the national landscape and saw recreational marijuana, and other drugs, becoming more and more prevalent and said "that’s not what we want to have here."
"We did a half page newspaper ad in 45, 50 weekly newspapers that basically said ‘Don't California our Oklahoma’ and I think that was very, very effective," he said. | 2023-03-11T14:09:34+00:00 | foxbangor.com | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/oklahoma-christians-win-marijuana-fight-after-foreign-gangs-invaded-dont-california-our-oklahoma/article_b02adfaa-d987-5231-9622-45dde6e27869.html |
- IRD will supply a commercial vehicle electronic screening (E-Screening) system in South Dakota that incorporates tire safety screening to identify unsafe vehicles
- Two Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) systems in Nebraska will be upgraded to include E-Screening and tire safety screening to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Nebraska's commercial vehicle safety program
SASKATOON, SK, Nov. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - International Road Dynamics Inc. (IRD), a Quarterhill Inc. (Quarterhill) company (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), announced today that it has been awarded two separate contracts with a combined value of $3.3 million for advanced E-Screening systems that incorporate IRD's Tire Anomaly and Classification System (TACS™). The two contracts are with the South Dakota Department of Transportation and the Nebraska Department of transportation, respectively, and they represent an expansion of IRD's relationship with both state agencies. All financial information in this press release is reported in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation is implementing a fifth IRD E-Screening system in the State at the Tilford Port of Entry. The E-Screening system incorporates TACS to identify vehicles that are unsafe due to missing, mismatched or underinflated tires. In addition, the E-Screening system will also provide vehicle screening capabilities to detect unsafe brakes.
In Nebraska, the State's Department of Transportation will upgrade the Waverly eastbound and North Platte westbound mainline WIM systems to include E-Screening and TACS. IRD's technology will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Nebraska's commercial vehicle safety program by targeting non-compliant and high-risk vehicles for inspections and enforcement.
"With the addition of TACS and E-Screening to weigh stations, these State agencies are able to more efficiently process commercial vehicles while, at the same time, improving both productivity for motor carriers and road safety for drivers," said Rish Malhotra, IRD President & CEO. "Expansion opportunities such as these for our screening technologies are growing as states work to reduce regulatory costs and meet nationwide goals for technology deployment, making our TACS and E-Screening solutions important growth drivers for IRD in the commercial vehicle enforcement space."
IRD's advanced E-Screening system screens commercial vehicles for safety and enforcement criteria while they are travelling upstream from highway weigh stations. E-Screening offers enforcement agencies a way to interface with both government screening databases and third-party programs for verification of credentials and safety status, ensuring minimal disruption of commercial vehicles for regulatory purposes and enabling users to focus on potentially high risk or non-compliant commercial vehicles. By improving the efficiency of inspection, the use of E-Screening systems is also intended to result in reduced vehicle emissions, congestion and delay.
TACS screens commercial vehicles to identify those which are unsafe due to missing or underinflated tires. TACS is fully integrated with IRD's E-Screening and Virtual Weigh Station software for automated screening, ease of use, and remote access. Since its launch, TACS has flagged over 800,000 tire safety issues for inspectors, making it one of the most effective technologies for improving commercial vehicle safety.
IRD is a dynamic technology company engaged in developing key components and advanced systems for the next generation of transportation networks. Together with subsidiaries PAT Traffic and IRD Europe (ICOMS Detections, Sensor Line and VDS), IRD supplies Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to private corporations, transportation agencies, and highway authorities around the world. IRD's systems make highways safer, greener, and more efficient. Known globally as a trusted partner providing sales, service, and installation support on major ITS projects for over 40 years, IRD contributes to creating smarter cities by empowering engineering and urban planning professionals to access reliable traffic data. For more information: www.irdinc.com
Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry, as well as, through its Wi-LAN Inc. subsidiary, a leader in Intellectual Property licensing. Our goal is global leadership in ITS, by organic growth of the Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC and International Road Dynamics Inc. platforms and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information, please visit www.quarterhill.com
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding IRD, Quarterhill and their businesses. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by IRD and/or Quarterhill in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and the expected effects of new business strategies, as well as other factors that IRD and/or Quarterhill believe are appropriate in the circumstances. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed herein may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting IRD and/or Quarterhill, including: potential risks and uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"); the severity of the disease; the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak; actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or to treat its impact; the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and financial markets and any resulting impact on IRD and/or Quarterhill and/or their businesses. Other factors include, without limitation, the risks described in Quarterhill's March 20, 2022 annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the "AIF"). Copies of the AIF may be obtained at www.sedar.com. IRD and Quarterhill recommend that readers review and consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should not place undue reliance on any of IRD's forward-looking statements. IRD has no intention, and undertakes no obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
View original content:
SOURCE Quarterhill Inc. | 2022-11-03T11:18:31+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/11/03/ird-announces-two-expansion-contracts-valued-33-million/ |
SACRAMENTO (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the California Lottery's "Daily Derby" game were:
1st:5 California Classic-2nd:6 Whirl Win-3rd:10 Solid Gold, Race Time: 1:45.36
(1st: 5 California Classic, 2nd: 6 Whirl Win, 3rd: 10 Solid Gold; Race Time: one: 45.36)
¶ To win the grand prize, ticket-holders must match in exact order the winning race time and the first, second and third place horses. Lesser prizes are given to ticket-holders who correctly match other horses or race times. | 2022-09-13T02:58:16+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-Derby-game-17437269.php |
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. women pulled a shocking upset over Jamaica in the 4×100 relay at world championships Saturday, while the men finished second after a sloppy baton exchange that has become a ritual for that star-crossed team.
Andre De Grasse beat Marvin Bracy to the line by .07 seconds to lift Canada to the victory in the men’s race in 37.48 seconds.
Bracy fell behind in the anchor leg after twice reaching back and whiffing on the exchange from Elijah Hall, who went tumbling to the ground after he finally got the stick into his teammate’s hand.
The U.S. women, a clear underdog to a Jamaican team that had won all but one of the six sprint medals at this meet, pulled the upset when Twanisha Terry held off 200 gold medalist Shericka Jackson for a .04-second victory.
The American team, which also included Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner and Jenna Prandini, finished in 41.14.
Jamaica’s fate might have been sealed on a messy first pass between Kemba Nelson and Elaine Thompson-Herah. With Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce running the third leg, Jamaica came into this with all three members of the team that swept the 100 meters last weekend and both members of the 1-2 finish in the 200. The U.S. had taken all six medals in the men’s 100 and 200.
The relays proved, yet again, that pure speed is not all that matters in these races.
Though the U.S. men will walk away with a medal this time — they’d been shut out in six of the last 13 worlds and three of the last four Olympics — this can’t be framed as anything but an unsatisfactory result.
De Grasse, the Olympic champion at 200 meters, could barely walk up his stairs four weeks ago while recovering from COVID-19. He didn’t make it through 100-meter heats last weekend and pulled out of the 200 altogether.
He won the gold medal with a team that also included Aaron Brown, who finished seventh in the 200 and eighth in the 100; Jerome Blake, who didn’t make the final in either; and Brendon Rodney, who was part of Canada’s relay pool.
Meanwhile, the U.S., apparently buoyed by a solid race in prelims the day earlier, put out the same lineup and left a bunch of its medalists from earlier in the week — Trayvon Bromell, Erriyon Knighton, Kenny Bednarek and the injured Fred Kerley — on the bench.
Hall stayed on. His resume: A fifth-place finish in the 100 at nationals last month, but also an NCAA relay title in 2018 at University of Houston, where the legend, Carl Lewis, who is also a constant critic of the U.S. relay process, has been coaching for years.
One thought for the men: Take a page out of the book being written by the women’s relay coach, Mechelle Lewis Freeman.
Her team consisted of the eighth-place finisher in the 100 (Jefferson), the fifth-place finisher in the 200 (Steiner) and two others (Prandini and Terry) who didn’t make it out of their semis.
The initial pass between Jefferson and Steiner might not have been amazingly smooth, but neither was Jamaica’s.
Terry took the stick for the anchor leg with about a four-step lead over Jackson, who, two nights earlier, had run the second-fastest time ever in the 200 (21.45).
The Jamaican closed, and closed some more, but when Terry leaned into the line she had America’s first win at worlds in this race since 2017, when Fraser-Pryce was out after having her baby.
Other winners Saturday included Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir of Kenya in the men’s 800, Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia in the women’s 5000, Anderson Peters of Grenada in men’s javelin and Pedro Pichardo of Portugal, who backed up his Olympic title with a world title in men’s triple jump.
The evening also featured a (final?) curtain call for Allyson Felix, who was lured back to the worlds stage to run the prelims in the 4×400 women’s race.
It sets up Felix to win her 20th world championship medal, and her 14th gold after Sunday’s final. The U.S. has won the 4×400 at seven of the past nine worlds.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-07-25T02:18:18+00:00 | fox59.com | https://fox59.com/sports/ap-sports/us-women-win-relays-in-upset-while-men-flounder-again/ |
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Max Verstappen used an easy Sunday drive to keep Red Bull undefeated on the season, as the reigning two-time Formula One champion drove from ninth to the victory at the Miami Grand Prix.
Red Bull has won all five races so far this season, and teammate Sergio Perez’s second-place finish in Miami was the fourth 1-2 finish for Red Bull this year. Verstappen has three wins this season, while Perez, the pole sitter in Miami, has two.
The win was the 38th of his career for Verstappen, who tied Sebastian Vettel for most victories for Red Bull. At this pace, he’ll smash Vettel’s record by the end of what many critics are already complaining is a boring Red Bull-dominated season.
“I call that simply (expletive) lovely,” Verstappen said on his radio. “That was a good race, a good race all around, so thank you very much. That was really, really good, also good for the team, again”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner praised Verstappen’s poise over the 57-lap race that gave him his second consecutive victory in Miami.
“Well done, Max. That was a mighty middle stint, really impressive on the hard tire and thanks for racing cleanly with your teammate,” Horner said.
Red Bull has said it will allow Verstappen and Perez to cleanly race for the championship, and Perez seemed poised to take the points lead in Miami by starting from the pole. Verstappen held a six-point lead in the standings over Perez at the start of the race, but was relegated to a ninth-place starting position because qualifying was cut short before his final qualifying attempt by a Charles Leclerc crash.
But the Dutchman had no problem driving through the field. He went from ninth to sixth in the first four laps, using a pass of two cars in one corner to gain ground. He was fifth by the ninth lap, fourth on Lap 12 and finally behind Perez in second on Lap 15.
Verstappen took the lead when Perez pitted on Lap 20 and he held nearly a 18-second lead with 15 laps remaining. When he finally made his pit stop, Verstappen returned to the track in second but only 1.6 seconds behind Perez.
It took him just minutes to pass Perez for the win, taking the lead in a wheel-to-wheel battle with nine laps remaining. Although Verstappen has won from a lower starting position before, he becomes the first driver since Niki Lauda in 1984 at the French Grand Prix to win from ninth.
The victory also came on the anniversary of the 2016 announcement that Verstappen was being promoted from the junior team to Red Bull ahead of the fifth round of that season.
Verstappen now holds a 14-point lead over Perez in the standings.
Perez finished second, a full 5.3 seconds behind Verstappen.
“I tried, I gave it all,” Perez said as the crowd chanted his nickname “Checo! Checo! Checo!”
Perez was called to the stewards after the race for arriving late to the pre-race drivers’ parade.
Fernando Alonso was third for Aston Martin but finished 26 seconds behind. It was the fourth podium in five races for the resurgent Spaniard.
“It was not easy, it was never easy, but it was a lonely race,” Alonso said.
George Russell was fourth for Mercedes, followed by Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who drove from 13th to sixth. Leclerc was seventh, and Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were eighth and ninth.
Kevin Magnussen, driver for American team Haas, finished 10th to score a point for just the second time this season. Haas has used the Miami race to spotlight all its American sponsors, including Chipotle, which promised 10,000 free burritos if a Haas driver scored a point Sunday.
Logan Sargeant, the first American driver on the grid since 2015, finished last in his home race. Sargeant was born and raised less than 20 miles away from the circuit in Fort Lauderdale. He started last.
The sold-out crowd of 90,766 included Jeff Bezos, Tom Cruise, Elon Musk, Serena and Venus Williams, and Roger Federer, while LL Cool J handled driver introductions. The drivers walked out to a new song by will.i.am called “The Formula” made specifically for Sunday’s race. The song, which is a collaboration with Lil Wayne, was performed by a symphony.
Russell after the race said the pre-race show was distracting for the drivers, who discussed the pageantry in their weekly meeting.
“Everybody’s got their different personalities; I guess it’s the ‘American way’ of doing things during sport,” said Russell, president of the driver association. “Personally, it’s not for me. Because I am here to race. I’m not here for the show, I’m here to win.
“I don’t think there is any other sport in the world that 30 minutes before you go out to do your business, you are out there in the sun, all the cameras on you, and making a bit of a show of it,” Russell continued. “I can appreciate that in the entertainment world. We only want the best for the sport. We are open to changes, but I guess we wouldn’t want to see it every weekend.”
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-05-07T21:58:48+00:00 | wjhl.com | https://www.wjhl.com/sports/us-world-sports/verstappen-keeps-red-bull-undefeated-with-win-in-miami/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — When you groggily roll out of bed and make breakfast, the government edges up to your kitchen table, too. Unlike you, it’s perky.
It’s an unseen force in your morning. The government makes sure you can see the nutrients in your cereal. It fusses over your toast, insisting that the flour it comes from has no more than 75 insect fragments and one rodent hair per 50 grams.
The government also tends to your coffee, mandating that no more than 10% of your beans be moldy. Its satellites inform the weather forecast on your phone for the day ahead. The government weighs in on the water consumption in your bathroom and controls the fluoride in your toothpaste.
That’s all before you leave home. The government is going to be hanging with you on and off, mostly on, until you turn off the lamp last thing at night — no new incandescent bulbs, please, under a new rule.
The world of federal regulation seems both boundless and microscopic. It touches what you touch. It lends a helping hand at every turn or sticks its clumsy fingers in everything, depending on your viewpoint.
But a Supreme Court ruling this past week, limiting federal authority to control carbon emissions from power plants, was just the latest blow to what critics call the regulatory state and potentially a major blow to the fight against global warming.
In its farthest reach, regulation has become the go-to way for presidents to make policy when they can’t get Congress to pass a law, as on climate change. Barack Obama and Donald Trump did it for varied policies; Joe Biden does it. The court’s conservative majority said not so fast to Biden.
The decision imperils Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by half by the end of the decade even as the damage from global warming mounts. Beyond that, it may hinder regulation across a range of public policy, in education, transportation, LGBTQ rights and more.
Congress, the court said, must speak with specificity when it wants to give an agency authority to regulate on an issue of national import.
Browse the Code of Federal Regulations and you will see just how specific rule-making can be. The voluminous code’s favorite words are “shall” and “must.”
Take sea otters, for example. If you’ve ever wondered how to measure a sea otter, the code has the answer.
The pool of water for sea otters in captivity, it stipulates, “shall be at least three times the average adult length of the sea otter contained therein (measured in a horizontal line from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail) and the pool shall be not less than .91 meters (3.0 feet) deep.”
Even as they’ve expanded government with landmark laws and the explosion of regulations that arise from them, U.S. presidents have tried since the start to simplify government. As vice president, Al Gore took a run at “reinventing” it. Such efforts generally haven’t gone well.
Thomas Jefferson sought freedom from bureaucracy as well as the achievement of American liberty when he wrote of the British king, “He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”
What followed were several centuries of new offices and swarm upon swarm of bureaucrats come hither.
Associated Press writer Saul Pett took stock of the government in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan was trying to rein it in. Pett won a Pulitzer Prize for getting his hands around the behemoth. He described the government as:
“A big, bumbling, generous, naive, inquisitive, acquisitive, intrusive, meddlesome giant with a heart of gold and holes in his pockets, an incredible hulk, a ‘10-ton marshmallow’ lumbering along an uncertain road of good intentions somewhere between capitalism and socialism, an implausible giant who fights wars, sends men to the moon, explores the ends of the universe, feeds the hungry, heals the sick, helps the helpless, a thumping complex of guilt trying mightily to make up for past sins to the satisfaction of nobody, a split personality who most of his life thought God helps those who help themselves and only recently concluded God needed help, a malleable, vulnerable colossus pulled every which way by everybody who wants a piece of him, which is everybody.”
At the time, the U.S. government owned 413,042 buildings, excluding military facilities abroad, and employed 2.8 million civilians and 2.1 million military personnel. The expansion of federal programs especially swelled ranks in state and local government.
In 2021, a year of pandemic-dampened employment, the civilian federal civil service was about the same size as in 1981 while 600,000 or so fewer were in uniform.
For all of that, citizen encounters with the federal government often play out in the background, unacknowledged. The days are long gone when anyone could stroll at will through the front doors of Washington’s grand government buildings and do business.
It shapes their lives, nonetheless. That smartphone GPS came from the government. So did the internet.
People stroll on sidewalks built to requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Text messages and apps run off nearby cellphone towers that the Federal Communications Commission registers and licenses.
But it’s more visible when the government takes instead of gives. Motorists steer 18.4 cents to Washington for each gallon of gas they buy and 24.4 cents for each gallon of diesel. Most states grab an even bigger take per gallon.
Much of that money goes to make the roads you drive on better. A sliver of it per gallon goes to LUST — the fund to fix leaking underground storage tanks. And there are federal auto rules galore.
The rules dictate how far you should be able to go on a gallon of gas — about 28 miles or 45 kilometers this year. The feds have standards on air bags and child car seats. Rules in the works would let you know if people in the back seat haven’t buckled up and remind you to look in the back seat when you turn off the car to make sure you haven’t left a child there.
At work, federal rules stand ready to step in if you are a victim of unlawful discrimination or hazardous working conditions. After work, food at the dinner table made it there through a regimen of meat, factory and farm inspection and truth-in-labelling rules.
That pizza sauce? Relax and enjoy. It can only have 30 fly eggs in each cup, by federal mandate. Except when a maggot is present; then only 15 fly eggs are permitted.
When you tuck your children in, the feds are there for the nighty-night, too.
If the young ones are old enough to get around and in trouble — nine months — they go off to sleep in the only bedtime garments that can be sold for them — body-hugging nightwear or flame-retardant pajamas.
Says a government order: That must and shall be so.
___
Associated Press writers Amanda Seitz, Kevin Freking and Seth Borenstein in Washington and AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report. | 2022-07-02T19:51:44+00:00 | wearegreenbay.com | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/top-stories/from-am-to-pm-the-fickle-force-of-government-is-with-you/ |
Customers can shop nationwide inventory of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts online
MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TruckPro, LLC ("TruckPro"), one of the nation's largest independent distributors of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, has launched its new e-commerce site. TruckPro's customers now have access to a host of new capabilities on the e-commerce platform, including access to TruckPro's entire catalog of over 400,000 truck and trailer parts (and growing), online interaction whenever and wherever they choose, flexible delivery options (in-store pickup, local delivery, direct shipping), and an immediate view of detailed account-specific information.
"Our e-commerce initiative is focused on enhancing customer service and the overall customer experience. We're giving customers flexibility and options, making it easier for them to do business with us as their needs and preferences evolve," said Chuck Broadus, TruckPro's Chief Executive Officer. "Our customers can interact with us the way they want – whether in-person at a store, by phone, or via our e-commerce platform. As a leader in our industry, we are firmly committed to e-commerce as a key pillar of our company's growth strategy."
TruckPro's platform was designed based on what customers said they wanted – very intuitive site functionality, layout, and navigation. The site is fully mobile optimized, so beyond a PC, customers can use a tablet or smartphone and easily interact on the site. Customers can quickly search TruckPro's broad offering of parts by product category, part number, brand, cross-reference, and other specifications, while also checking real-time availability of inventory at their local TruckPro store and more broadly across the entire network of stores and distribution centers. They can determine the delivery method that fits their needs and make purchases on account or via credit card. Customers can also create customizable parts lists for future reference and easy reordering, access detailed order history, view all past invoices, and chat with the TruckPro Expert Care Team to answer questions.
"Leveraging our nationwide footprint and our local store expertise, our e-commerce platform is additive to what we do today," said David Roper, Vice President of U.S. Retail Stores at TruckPro. "Our intent is to provide a flexible, user-friendly platform that enables access to our comprehensive catalog of products anytime, anywhere, and on any device, while offering flexible delivery options."
"As our e-commerce platform grows, so will our ability to adapt to our customers' needs and buying preferences. It also gives us multiple channels of communication with our customers and creates a personalized partnership," said Steve Lockridge, Vice President of Sales & Marketing Operations at TruckPro. "It's an exciting time and we look forward to continually adding and enhancing features and functions, improving the customer experience, and furthering our leading position as a trusted solutions provider with e-commerce."
Learn more about TruckPro's all-new e-commerce solution by visiting TruckPro.com.
Founded in 1958, TruckPro, LLC is a leading distributor of heavy-duty truck & trailer products, and advanced repair services. Through a distribution network of more than 150 stores and advanced service shops, TruckPro delivers a comprehensive range of products to support commercial and government customer requirements in the areas of brake systems, electrical, engines, gear & drivetrain, and more. TruckPro is recognized for delivering measurable value and outstanding support to its customers and suppliers alike. Vast application expertise makes TruckPro an unbiased knowledge resource for product information, documentation and training. For more information on TruckPro, please visit www.truckpro.com.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE TruckPro, LLC | 2022-07-05T14:22:38+00:00 | kwch.com | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/07/05/truckpro-llc-introduces-its-all-new-e-commerce-platform/ |
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Egypt, host of the next United Nations summit on climate change, will push countries to make good on their pledges to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions, facilitate “non-adversarial” talks on compensation to developing countries for global warming impacts and allow climate activists to protest, said the incoming president of COP27.
In an interview Monday with The Associated Press, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who is also the president-designate of the next annual Conference of the Parties, to be held in November in the Red Sea resort city Sharm El-Sheikh, called the overall goal “implementation.”
Shoukry said the last summit, held last year in Glasgow, Scotland, finalized many commitments made during the Paris Agreement in 2015, which aimed to reduce emissions aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.
“The commitments and the pledges now have to be implemented in all sectors of the climate change agenda, whether it’s in adaptation, mitigation or finance, loss and damage,” said Shoukry, who was attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In recent years, many developing nations and activists have increased long-standing calls to establish a fund to compensate poor countries for devastation brought about by climate change, disproportionately caused by rich countries because of past emissions.
The call was rejected during last year’s summit. Many supporters of the idea, often called “loss and damage,” hope to make progress on it in November. Their arguments could get a boost by the symbolic significance of this conference being held in Egypt, a developing nation in North Africa.
“We hope that the discussion (on loss and damage) is comprehensive, but it is non-adversarial,” said, Shoukry, adding that there should be a recognition among all countries “that we are all in the same boat and for us to succeed, we all have to succeed.”
Shoukry said protests would be allowed during the conference. Egyptian authorities crack down on demonstrations not sanctioned by the government and retain the right to cancel or postpone any protests, leading activists to wonder what, if any, demonstrations would be able to happen, a common occurrence at previous COPs.
“We are developing a facility adjacent to the conference center that will provide them the full opportunity of participation, of activism, of demonstration, of voicing that opinion,” said Shoukry. “And we will also provide them access, as is traditionally done on one day of the negotiations, to the negotiating hold itself.”
Protests at global U.N. climate conferences often fill the streets with floats and banners and go on for days. The protests as well as booths and press conferences outside the official facilities make up a conference of their own, although they are not where critical language on carbon commitments is hammered out.
Shoukry said during meetings in Denmark earlier this month around climate pledges he invited protesters who were outside to speak with him. He called the meeting “productive” and that Egypt’s climate goals lined up with those of many protesters.
“We recognize their impact, their determination, their commitment to keep us all honest as governmental representatives and parties that we should not be delinquent and rising to the occasion and dealing with this very important issue,” he said.
Ahead of hosting the conference, Egypt has been racing to launch many agreements around renewable energies. In March, Egypt and Norway signed an agreement for several projects around green hydrogen and building green infrastructure projects in African countries. Egypt and clean energy company Scatec also signed a $5 billion memorandum of understanding to establish a plant in the Suez Canal area for producing green ammonia from green hydrogen. Such deals come on the heels of years of steady investment in wind and solar technologies.
Shoukry said Egypt was relying as much as possible on renewable energy in the building of several new cities, including a new administrative capital east of Cairo. Critics have called it a “vanity project,” but the government has said it’s necessary to absorb Cairo’s booming population, expected to double to 40 million people by 2050.
Shoukry said a rapid shift to renewable energies presented enormous opportunities for investors, a common argument of proponents. When asked whether fossil fuel companies could or should be part of the transition to renewable energies, an argument made by oil and gas companies, including many at the Davos conference, Shoukry disagreed.
“I can’t say that fossil fuels are part of the solution. Fossil fuels have been the problem,” he said. “We might see in gas a transitional source of energy with certainly less emissions. But I think we have to really move quickly to the net zero goal and we have to apply ourselves more effectively in new technologies, in renewable energy.”
____
Peter Prengaman is the Associated Press’ global climate and environmental news director. Follow him here: http://twitter.com/peterprengaman
____
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP's climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Credit: Markus Schreiber
Credit: Markus Schreiber
Credit: Markus Schreiber
Credit: Markus Schreiber | 2022-05-24T07:05:48+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/nation-world/egypt-promises-to-allow-protest-push-pledges-as-cop27-host/IWIEQ4UGPZCNTA6WZDCPINU6WI/ |
LARAMIE — The Laramie American Legion baseball team improved to 29-18 overall with a doubleheader sweep at home Tuesday evening against the Douglas Cats.
The Rangers, which are third in the AA conference standings at 8-4, took care of business at Cowboy Field with wins of 13-2 and 11-1 against Douglas, and both games called after five innings.
In the first of the twinbill, Laramie starting pitcher Tayton Moore kept the Cats scoreless for the first four innings to notch the win. He allowed seven hits, two earned runs with three walks and four strikeouts. Kolby Buus relieved Moore on the mound in the top of the fifth inning and recorded a walk and a strikeout.
The Rangers offense pounded out eight hits while scoring two runs in each of the first and second innings, then three runs in each of the next three innings.
Seven Laramie batters recorded at least one RBI, led by Moore, who helped himself at the plate with three RBI and a run while going 2 of 3 with the bat. Catcher Ben Malone also was 2 of 3, including a double, with two RBI and two runs. Shortstop Riley Hogsett added a double and center fielder Ben Ruckman knocked a triple.
The Rangers turned an early 3-1 lead after the first two innings into a rout in the nightcap with eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Douglas scored an early run in the first before Laramie starting pitcher Garrett Dodd shut down the Cats’ offense during his remaining three innings. He allowed the only two hits for Douglas to go with a walk and a strikeout. Brandon Chavez closed the door in the fifth inning with zeros across the board to go with two strikeouts.
Meanwhile, the Laramie offense knocked around 10 hits, led by four RBI from Ruckman, who was a leadoff designated hitter. Ruckman, Hogsett, Malone and Alex Mercil connected for doubles. Buus also had a single, two RBI and a walk.
Competing in Montana
Before the games against Douglas, the Rangers traveled to the Bozeman Bucks AA Invitational Tournament last weekend in Montana.
Laramie went 2-3 in the tourney with a 5-4 loss to the Billings Royals, an 18-3 loss to the host Bozeman Bucks, a 10-0 win against the Blackfoot Broncos from Idaho, an 11-6 loss to the Pocatello Runnin’ Rebels from Idaho and a 14-13 win in the rematch finale against Blackfoot.
Some of the Laramie highlights from the games in Bozeman included:
— Jenkin, while pitching and playing first base against Billings, was 2-for-4 with three RBI at the plate with both of his connections going for triples.
— In the first game against Blackfoot, starting pitcher Jace Moniz tossed a no-hitter in the contest that was called with a 10-run mercy rule after the top of the fifth inning. He allowed just three walks to go with six strikeouts.
— During the second game against Blackfoot, the Rangers rallied from an 8-6 deficit to score six runs in the sixth inning and two runs in the seventh. Ruckman, playing center field, ended the game with a walk-off sacrifice fly to add to his six RBI that included two triples and a home run on his 3-for-4 hitting. Chavez, at first base and left field, was 4-for-4 with two RBI and Dodd, at left field and pitcher, was 3-for-5 with two RBI. The Rangers tallied 17 hits.
Up next
The Rangers will next head south for the Gabe Pando Memorial Wood Bat Tournament in Fort Collins, Colorado, this weekend with the first four games at Rocky Mountain High School.
Laramie is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. today against the host Rocky Mountain Lobos. They will then play at 2 p.m. Friday vs. the Loveland Aces; 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Rogue Baseball from Denver; 5 p.m. Saturday vs. the Cheyenne Sixers; and 11:30 a.m. Sunday against the Casper Oilers at City Park. | 2022-07-14T15:01:36+00:00 | wyomingnews.com | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/other_sports/baseball/laramie_rangers/rangers-sweep-douglas-will-next-play-in-colorado/article_6306f425-6a75-57f2-a312-b5ea7cb39d1f.html |
The Must-Have Beauty Product for Radiant, Healthy Skin
NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Decorté, Japan's leading luxury beauty brand, is winning major accolades in the US for its skincare breakthrough, Liposome Advanced Repair Serum, launched earlier this year. The serum has been honored with one of the industry's most coveted awards, Elle Future of Beauty Award 2022. The serum also recently won the People en Español Star Product Award and the Harper's Bazaar Skincare Award for Best Repairing Serum.
"We are honored to be recognized by the team of trusted beauty editors and authorities at Elle who rigorously tested and reviewed hundreds of products," said Sharon del Valle, GM, KOSÉ America. "These recent awards further validate that this bestselling product is not only a breakthrough in the industry but also highly desirable to the US customer base for the incredible results it delivers for every skin type at every age. The serum, powered by our proprietary liposome technology, embodies the best of Japanese beauty and innovation."
Liposome Advanced Repair Serum was developed leveraging 30 years of liposome research inspired by regenerative medicine. This highly concentrated serum is for every skin type and addresses the top skin concerns of consumers in the US, including dehydrated and aging skin. New discoveries in proprietary mulitlamellar technology have enabled higher concentrations of proven hydrating, strengthening and conditioning ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and vitamin E to be delivered to the skin. Every drop of this intensive serum contains one trillion multilayer bio-liposomes (ultra-fine, 0.1 micron in size). Skin is immersed in 24-hour time-released hydration and immediately looks and feels smoother and firmer with a healthy radiance. Formulated for sensitive skin, the plant-based serum is clean, vegan, non-comedogenic and dermatologically tested. The serum also enhances the efficacy of subsequent skincare products that follow, and helps skin reach it healthiest state.
Japanese Beauty is trusted by the world's most discerning beauty consumers as best in class for quality, safety, and efficacy. Post-pandemic, consumers in the US have increasingly been searching for Japanese Beauty (J-Beauty) due to its authentic, holistic, and straight-forward "less is more" philosophy. Beauty, health, and wellness are integrated in Japanese culture, and the holistic approach that J-Beauty embodies is very relevant to what the consumer is looking for now and in future years to come.
Decorté has been a trusted brand in Japan for over fifty years and known for its innovative formulas backed by science as well as for the unique textures that set the brand apart. Each step of the Decorté skincare ritual is created with intent yet simple enough to fit into a busy, hectic life. The skincare products, like the award-winning Liposome Advanced Repair Serum, are effective yet gentle and help to hydrate and protect the skin microbiome. Designed for all ages, all genders, and all ethnicities.
*"COSME DECORTE calculation is based in part on data reported by Beauté Research SAS in April 2022 through its "Japan– Quarterly Retail Sales Report – Q1 2022" in the Department Stores and Boutiques Prestige market. (Copyright ©2022 Beauté Research SAS)"
Decorté, the global prestige cosmetics brand from KOSÉ Corporation, is Japan's best-kept beauty secret. Beloved by millions, the brand embodies the best of Japanese beauty, emphasizing superior technology, sensorial textures, and radiant beauty. In 1970, Kozaburo Kobayashi founded Decorté with a vision to create extraordinary products achieved by balancing art and science with tradition and innovation. Decorté Laboratories is a pioneer in cutting-edge dermatological research and skincare technologies incorporating regenerative medicine to achieve remarkable results.
For More Information:
https://decortecosmetics.com/
Media Contact:
CeCe Coffin
cece@koseamerica.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Decorté | 2022-12-09T17:39:18+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/12/09/decort-liposome-advanced-repair-serum-no-1-selling-serum-japan-has-won-prestigious-elle-future-beauty-award-2022/ |
'Wakanda Forever' is No. 1 for 4th straight weekend
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" kept the box-office crown for the fourth straight weekend, and the comic holiday thriller "Violent Night" debuted with $13.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. But the biggest talking point on the weekend was a movie conspicuously absent from theaters.
For four weeks, the Walt Disney Co.'s "Wakanda Forever" has ruled the box office. Ryan Coogler's Marvel movie has totaled $733 million globally, including $339 million in overseas sales.
"Violent Night" was the only new wide release in cinemas. Starring David Harbour as a not-so-saintly Saint Nick, the Universal release got off to a good start. "Violent Night," which earned a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, cost about $20 million to make.
Though "Avatar: The Way of Water" and other holiday releases like "Puss in Boots 2," "Babylon" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" loom in the coming weeks, theaters continue to see fewer films in wide release than they did pre-pandemic. David A. Gross, who publishes the box-office subscription newsletter FranchiseRe, says that while there were 58 franchise films released in 2019, there have been only 32 in 2022.
There's also been a dearth of family releases in theaters. After a muted debut last weekend, Disney's big-budget animated fantasy adventure "Strange World" dipped to third place with a mere $4.9 million in its second week. Some of the season's notable kid-friendly movies are streaming, instead.
The Roald Dahl adaptation "Matilda the Musical," starring Emma Thompson, was made jointly by Netflix, Sony Pictures and Working Title Films. Netflix has worldwide distribution rights to the film except for the United Kingdom and Ireland, where Sony put the film into theaters last weekend. For two weeks, "Matilda" has been the top film at the U.K. box office, grossing $9.7 million over that stretch. In the U.S., "Matilda" begins steaming on Christmas.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Wakanda Forever," $17.6 million.
2. "Violent Night," $13.3 million.
3. "Strange World," $4.9 million.
4. "The Menu," $3.6 million.
5. "Devotion," $2.8 million.
6. "I Heard the Bells," $1.8 million.
7. "Black Adam," $1.7 million.
8. "The Fabelmans," $1.3 million.
9. "Bones and All," $1.2 million.
10. "Ticket to Paradise," $850,000.
___ | 2022-12-04T21:11:26+00:00 | wtae.com | https://www.wtae.com/article/wakanda-forever-no-1-for-4th-straight-weekend/42143588 |
FWC changes rule to provide grant money to remove ‘at-risk’ vessels
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WWSB) - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has approved allowing local governments to use grant funds to remove at-risk or public nuisance vessels from waterways.
Currently, the FWC grant program only applies to removing, destroying and disposing of derelict vessels.
A vessel is considered at risk of becoming derelict if any of the following conditions exist:
- The vessel is taking on or has taken on water without an effective means bail the water out.
- Spaces on the vessel that are designed to be enclosed are incapable of being sealed off or remain open to the elements for extended periods of time.
- The vessel has broken loose or is in danger of breaking loose from its anchor.
- The vessel is left or stored aground unattended in such a state that would prevent the vessel from getting underway, is listing due to water intrusion, or is sunk or partially sunk.
Recent changes to Florida law provide that if a vessel owner is issued three citations within 18 months for the same at-risk condition, the vessel could be declared a public nuisance and may be removed using processes similar to the removal processes for derelict vessels.
“The FWC takes the quality and safety of our waterways very seriously. This change provides a means for vessels to be removed from the water before they become a danger to our public and our environment,” said FWC Maj. Rob Beaton.
For more information regarding derelict and at-risk vessels, visit MyFWC.com/Boating and click on “Waterway Management” and “Derelict Vessel Removal Program.”
Copyright 2022 WWSB. All rights reserved. | 2022-12-01T17:33:23+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/12/01/fwc-changes-rule-provide-grant-money-remove-at-risk-vessels/ |
Compost is an ideal choice for those seeking a healthy lawn or garden. It can be wet and form clumps, though, making it more challenging to spread than traditional fertilizer — but a compost spreader can make the task easier.
In this article: Landzie Compost and Peat Moss Spreader, Vivlly Peat Moss Spreader and Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard Mini Broadcast Spreader.
What is a compost spreader?
Spreaders are designed to distribute your compost evenly across your yard or garden. They help sift out unwanted materials and clumps, ensuring your yard gets the nutrients and organic matter it needs to thrive. Most are push-behind models that let you cover a large area relatively quickly.
Spreaders also prevent the waste associated with spreading your compost by hand or with a shovel. Many give you more control over how much material you distribute at a time.
Can you use a broadcast spreader for compost?
Broadcast spreaders are designed for fine, dry fertilizers and seeds. They usually become clogged if used with compost. If you want to use a broadcast spreader, it’s best to run the compost through a sifter first to remove clumps. You can buy compost pellets from the store, too, but these can be expensive and hard to find.
Compost spreader size and price
When buying a spreader, it’s essential to consider the size of your lawn or garden. Large compost spreaders, up to 60 inches wide, may cost around $1,000. You can buy a 24-inch spreader for about $200 to $300, but it’ll take longer to cover your lawn.
Tow-behind broadcast spreaders are ideal for large lawns, but you’ll want to sift your compost before using them. Sifting can take a while, but you’ll likely save time in the long run if you have an exceptionally large lawn.
Compost spreader FAQ
Q. Are compost spreaders easy to use?
A. They are much more manageable than spreading compost by hand, but pushing a spreader around your lawn can be challenging. Larger models are harder to move around but reduce the time it takes to spread the material.
Q. Can you use homemade compost with a compost spreader?
A. Yes, spreaders designed for compost do an excellent job of filtering out clumps and handling wet materials. These are ideal for homemade compost since you won’t have to worry about them jamming.
Q. Are compost spreaders safe?
A. They’re generally safe, as they don’t have blades and won’t spin automatically. Still, it’s a good idea to wear protective gloves and eyewear when spreading compost so you don’t cut your hands or get debris in your eyes. If it’s exceptionally windy, spread your compost another day. And read the spreader’s instruction manual in case there are any safety considerations specific to the model you purchased.
Best compost spreaders
Landzie Compost and Peat Moss Spreader
This comes in various sizes, including 24-inch, 44-inch and 60-inch. Diamond-shaped openings ensure an even compost distribution. Many reviewers said it was easy to put together and use.
Sold by Amazon
This is made from a durable steel material with a powder-coat finish. It lays down an even layer of fertilizer while filtering out unwanted materials and makes it easy to load and refill your compost.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
This affordable model is easy to use and load. It holds around five buckets of compost. The included instructions aren’t great, but many consumers were able to use online videos to learn how to use it.
Sold by Amazon
Scotts Turf Builder EdgeGuard Mini Broadcast Spreader
This is an ideal choice for spreading compost pellets or fine, pre-sifted compost. It’s affordable and holds enough compost to cover around 5,000 square feet. The edge-guard feature keeps your compost from getting on walkways.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
This is made from durable materials and is built to last. The holes make it easy to distribute compost evenly. The assembly process is straightforward.
Sold by Amazon
Agri-Fab Push Broadcast Spreader
You can push this spreader with ease, and it rarely jams. It holds enough compost to cover around 25,000 square feet. The flow-control mechanism is easy to use.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Chapin Tow-Behind Broadcast Spreader
The tow-behind design is great for those looking to avoid challenging labor. It holds around 150 pounds of pre-sifted compost or fertilizer. It stops spreading when it’s not in motion.
Sold by Home Depot
Other composting accessories worth checking out
This affordable sifter is a great choice for those planning to use a broadcast spreader. It has two handles to make it easier to sift out lumps and unwanted materials. Many said it works well and is easy to use.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
This has a stylish wooden design and a stainless-steel grate. It’s large enough to sift around two shovel loads of compost simultaneously.
Sold by Amazon
Biomaster Compost-It Compost Accelerator
This contains top-notch active ingredients and helps control your compost’s smell. It’s made with natural ingredients and packed with over 60 microbe strains.
Sold by Amazon
VivoSun Outdoor Tumbling Composter
The legs are made with sturdy alloy steel. It has two chambers, letting you add fresh compost materials on one side while finishing on the other. The air vents allow enough ventilation for a healthy compost mix.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Cody Stewart writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-26T19:48:54+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/fertilizers-br/which-spreaders-are-best-for-compost/ |
Braves vs. Reds Probable Starting Pitchers Today - June 25
The Atlanta Braves (49-27) will look for another strong showing from a batter on a roll versus the Cincinnati Reds (41-36) on Sunday at 1:40 PM ET, at Great American Ball Park. Travis d'Arnaud is riding a two-game homer streak.
The probable starters are Charlie Morton (6-6) for the Braves and Levi Stoudt for the Reds.
Bet Now: Get the latest odds for this matchup and pitcher props on BetMGM. New depositors can use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Braves vs. Reds Pitcher Matchup Info
- Date: Sunday, June 25, 2023
- Time: 1:40 PM ET
- TV: BSOH
- Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Venue: Great American Ball Park
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Probable Pitchers: Morton - ATL (6-6, 3.71 ERA) vs Stoudt - CIN (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Watch live MLB games on all your devices! Sign up now for a free trial to Fubo!
Discover More About This Game
Braves Probable Starting Pitcher Tonight: Charlie Morton
- The Braves will hand the ball to Morton (6-6) for his 15th start of the season.
- The right-hander's last appearance was on Sunday, when he threw five innings against the Colorado Rockies, giving up three earned runs while allowing five hits.
- The 39-year-old has pitched in 14 games this season with an ERA of 3.71, a 2.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a WHIP of 1.450.
- In 14 starts this season, he's earned a quality start in six of them.
- Morton has two starts in a row of five innings or more.
- He has two appearances with no earned runs allowed in 14 chances this season.
Try FanDuel Fantasy today with our link and make your perfect team!
Reds Probable Starting Pitcher Tonight: Levi Stoudt
- Stoudt starts for the first time this season for the Reds.
- The right-hander will make his MLB debut at 25 years old.
Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-06-25T10:30:52+00:00 | atlantanewsfirst.com | https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/sports/betting/2023/06/25/braves-vs-reds-mlb-probable-starting-pitchers/ |
CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was another memorable year for area volleyball teams, as four area teams reached state championship matches, with two winning titles.
The champions were Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin in Division II and Lake Catholic in Division III, while Magnificat was runner-up in Division I and Gilmour Academy finished second in Division II. | 2022-12-16T11:30:49+00:00 | cleveland.com | https://www.cleveland.com/highschoolsports/2022/12/volleyball-all-stars-2022-notre-dame-cathedral-latins-caroline-jurevicius-is-player-of-the-year.html |
HARTVILLE, Ohio — Like a meandering path through a forest, grief is not a straight line. But along one trail in Stark County, Ohio, those suffering the heartache of losing a loved one may find some solace.
A small wooden structure at Quail Hollow Park holds one stool and a disconnected wall phone. The open-air telephone booth is known as a "wind phone" and is intended to carry one’s message in the wind.
“There’s something magical with the wind and the trees and the peaceful area, having that access point, people are just able to say what they need to say,” said Daria Sherman.
Sherman became acquainted with the pain of loss after her son, Paul, died in a work-related accident in 2012 at age 19.
“I died with him and it took me a lot of years to pull myself back to life,” she said.
The mother changed course in life after Paul’s death, channeling her grief into several books and going back to school to get a Ph.D. in philosophy.
In 2021, the family experienced another tragedy when Sherman’s son-in-law Chris Rohr died unexpectedly from cardiac arrest.
“I talked to him at 11. Two hours later, I was getting a phone call that he wasn’t there,” said Sherman’s other son-in-law, Matt Frey. “Nothing’s going to fill that void.”
Frey never got to meet Paul, but instantly connected with Rohr when he began dating Sherman’s daughter.
“If I had any troubles, I’d go to him and if he had any troubles he’d come to me. We became best friends rather than brothers-in-law,” he said.
In January, Sherman said she was struggling with a sleepless night spurred by grief when she stumbled across the wind phone concept on social media. The project was started by a man in Otsuchi, Japan, and opened for public use after a tsunami killed nearly 15,000 people in the region in 2011.
“This is a way to let what’s inside already come out so you can have closure,” Sherman said.
She enlisted help from Frey, who owns a construction and home improvement business to design and build the wind phone. A friend who volunteers with Stark Parks helped bring the project to the park district’s board.
Frey used design input from Rohr’s father, his business partner, and Stark Parks to create the wind phone.
“With this open concept, it allows the wind to actually pick up your conversation from the wind phone and carry on your words,” he said.
The structure was recently installed. Sherman and Frey hope it not only honors their lost loved ones but also helps others find peace in their grieving journeys.
“This gives you that outlet. I think that this will be a good reason to go reconnect with them and at least have a conversation,” Frey said.
Sherman added, “Its closure and acceptance that allows you to move on in your journey and life.”
This story was first reported by Catherine Ross at WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio. | 2022-06-01T17:13:22+00:00 | ktvh.com | https://www.ktvh.com/news/national/wind-phone-in-ohio-park-helps-families-cope-with-grief |
ValueAct has been a major shareholder since 2020
After failing to meet the expectations of stakeholders in the Company's March 9th strategy announcement, ValueAct asks the Board to be transparent and publicly answer 9 questions in their upcoming earnings release
Believes 7-11 alone could be worth around 8,500 yen per share, ~40% potential upside
Full letter and presentation available at https://valueact.com/presentations/
SAN FRANCISCO, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ValueAct Capital ("ValueAct"), a global investment firm who has been a major shareholder of Seven & i Holdings ("Seven & i", "the Company"), since 2020, today sent an open letter and presentation (see attached) to the Board of Seven & i.
ValueAct has a unique 22-year history of helping companies pursue successful transformations and long-term value creation through respectful dialogue and constructive relationship building. According to the letter, ValueAct believes that Seven & i is at a pivotal point in its evolution, with a clear opportunity to create a global champion 7-Eleven company.
Shareholders have been asking for an objective review of the Company's conglomerate structure due to its poor corporate value creation and operating underperformance for many years. After extensive dialogue over the years ValueAct has been unable to establish confidence in the management, their strategy, or the governance of the Company.
The Board's "Group Strategy Re-Evaluation" which began in September 2022 held the promise of restructuring the conglomerate, including the creation and listing of a global champion 7-Eleven company which itself could be worth around 8,500 yen per share.
However, the Company's March 9th follow up announcement failed to meet expectations, continued the status quo conglomerate structure, and led to confusion and disappointment amongst stakeholders.
The letter states that ValueAct holds considerable doubt as to the independence and efficacy of the recent Board review exercise and has little confidence in the outcome. ValueAct believes that messages sent from shareholders to the Board have been clear yet the process to respond has been opaque and inconsistent with governance best practices.
The letter was written to the Board – and shared publicly alongside a presentation – because ValueAct believes there is an urgent need to answer shareholder questions fully and transparently to repair trust in management and in the governance of the Company.
Importantly, the letter goes on to ask management and the Board to answer 9 specific questions during the Company's April 6 earnings presentation and requests that the Company make a full recording of the prepared remarks and Q&A of the April 6 presentation available in English and Japanese.
About ValueAct Capital
ValueAct Capital, established in 2000, is a global investment firm managing capital on behalf of some of the world's largest institutional investors. The Firm's goal is to transform companies and help them become 21st Century Global Champions. VAC seeks to identify and invest in high-quality businesses that are temporarily under-valued, taking a patient, collaborative and constructive approach to value building for all stakeholders with long-term investments. The firm generally holds 10-18 investments at any given time, and ValueAct Capital's internal team has built a track record serving on over 55 public company board seats. For more information, please see https://valueact.com/. To view the full letter please visit https://valueact.com/presentations/.
CONTACT: media@valueact.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE ValueAct Capital | 2023-04-02T20:06:47+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/04/02/valueact-capital-sends-letter-board-seven-amp-i-holdings/ |
BERLIN — German state officials said Friday that they want advertisers and social media influencers to label any photos that have used so-called beauty filters.
The dpa news agency quoted Hamburg’s state minister for equality, Katharina Fegebank, saying that digital tools should not determine what is considered beautiful or not.
A majority of officials from Germany’s 16 states want the federal government to come up with legislation that would require the labeling of images and videos where beauty filters were used to enhance a person’s face, skin or hair.
This would apply to commercial advertising and influencers with a significant number of followers, Fegebank was quoted as saying. | 2022-07-01T16:36:18+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/germany-wants-ads-influencers-to-note-use-of-beauty-filters/2022/07/01/5f553a0c-f959-11ec-81db-ac07a394a86b_story.html |
ABUJA, Nigeria, Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Justice and Accountability, along with its partners the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, have filed suit against the government of Liberia on behalf of survivors of a brutal 1990 massacre at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Monrovia and a Liberian NGO. The case, filed in the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), seeks justice after Liberia's failure to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the attack, and to provide redress to the victims and their families. This will be the first time that a court will examine Liberia's failure to investigate human rights and humanitarian law violations committed during two civil wars that ravaged the country between 1989 and 2003.
The Global Justice & Research Project (GJRP) and three siblings who lost approximately 16 family members in the Lutheran Church Massacre are the plaintiffs in this suit. GJRP is a Liberia-based nongovernmental organization that has worked for decades to advance the interests of justice and accountability for the nearly 2,000 survivors and victims of the Lutheran Church Massacre, the single deadliest attack on civilians during Liberia's First Civil War.
At the time of the attack, St. Peter's Lutheran Church operated as a Red Cross shelter, housing close to 2,000 civilians seeking refuge from rising violence in the country. In the submission to the ECOWAS Court, one plaintiff describes the chaos in the church and the horror he experienced as government soldiers killed his mother and brother in front of him. Since the Massacre, he has dedicated his life to advocating for justice for the victims and survivors of Liberia's civil wars because, as he testifies to the Court, no one has been held accountable for the atrocities he witnessed during the massacre. As he explained in his statement to the Court, "[B]ecause there's been no justice, I sometimes feel that a dog on the streets of Monrovia has greater value than my mother and other victims of the Lutheran Church Massacre."
In September 2021, a U.S. court found that soldiers from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) under the command of Colonel Moses Thomas stormed the church on July 29, 1990, and shot and hacked to death approximately 600 unarmed civilians. The U.S. court found that the attack amounted to war crimes, torture, and crimes against humanity, and awarded the four survivors $84 million in damages. "Despite the U.S. court's findings, Moses Thomas lives freely in Liberia because the government has taken no steps to ensure justice for him or many other known and alleged perpetrators of civil wars era atrocities, and none of the victims have received a cent of reparations," said Ela Matthews, senior staff attorney at CJA. "With alleged perpetrators on its soil, Liberia has an obligation under international law to investigate their alleged civil wars era crimes and bring them to justice."
Even though Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), concluded that investigating the Lutheran Church massacre was of interest to the entire country given the scale of the atrocities that occurred, Liberia has not done any investigation of the massacre. "Twelve years ago, the TRC directed Liberia to establish an extraordinary criminal tribunal to investigate and prosecute these violations, but Liberia has taken no action to bring perpetrators to account or provide justice for survivors and victims," said Oludayo Fagbemi, Senior Legal Officer at IHRDA. "It's high time that Liberia finally conduct effective investigations and prosecute civil wars era human rights violations and atrocities."
Catherine Amirfar, co-chair of Debevoise's Public International Law and International Dispute Resolution Groups, said: "Today's court filing is a historic step forward in pursuing justice for survivors of the Lutheran Church Massacre. The ECOWAS Court of Justice has the power and the opportunity to hold Liberia accountable for its more than three decades of inaction regarding one of the worst atrocities of Liberia's civil wars."
This case builds on longstanding efforts by Liberians to end impunity for civil war atrocities, as Hassan Bility, a human rights activist and the director of GJRP, stated, "For decades, victims of the Liberian civil wars have tirelessly advocated for criminal accountability for civil war era atrocity crimes. Still, today, known and alleged warlords live freely and among the people they terrorized. This culture of impunity cannot continue. We hope that this case will amplify the voices of victims who are shouting for the justice they deserve."
To learn more about the case, visit our website and read our FAQ on the case.
About the Center for Justice and Accountability
The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) is a San Francisco-based human rights legal organization dedicated to deterring torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious human rights abuses around the world through innovative litigation and transitional justice strategies. CJA partners with impacted communities seeking truth, justice, and redress, and has successfully brought cases against defendants such as the Minister of Defense of Somalia's Siad Barre regime, the military officer responsible for the assassination of Chilean activist and singer Victor Jara, and Syria's Assad regime for its targeted killing of war correspondent Marie Colvin.
About the Global Justice and Research Project
Established in 2012, the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP) is a Liberia-based non-profit, non-governmental organization that documents war related crimes in Liberia and, where possible, seeks justice for victims of said crimes, with the full consent of the victims. The GJRP works in partnership with Civitas Maxima, a Geneva-based non-profit, non-governmental organization, which ensures the coordination of a network of international lawyers and investigators who work for the interests of those who have been victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
About Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a global law firm headquartered in New York with expertise in public international law, including in representing parties before regional and international courts.
About the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA)
The IHRDA is a pan–African non-governmental organization (NGO) working to promote awareness of human rights in Africa and improve the effectiveness of the African Human Rights system. The three pillars of IHRDA's work are litigation, capacity-building and information sharing about the African human rights system. IHRDA envisions an African continent where all have access to justice via national, African and international human rights mechanisms.
View original content:
SOURCE Debevoise & Plimpton LLP | 2022-10-05T17:09:38+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/10/05/cja-ihrda-debevoise-file-landmark-human-rights-complaint-against-liberia-west-african-court-failure-provide-justice-massacre-six-hundred-civilians/ |
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 2022-12-05T14:35:18+00:00 | wtmj.com | https://wtmj.com/sports/2022/12/04/ap-top-sports-news-at-1154-p-m-est-3/ |
West Bottoms' First Friday Weekend March 3-5
KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a Blast from the Past in the Bottoms, where Kansas City's Historic West Bottoms District will feature its history and many antique and vintage items this March 3-5, First Festival Weekend. Pioneers first settled the Bottoms in the 1860s, and soon after the railroad, Union Depot, stockyards, and industrial warehouses were built. Many 150-year-old multistory brick buildings within the West Bottoms' thirteen blocks still stand today and have been repurposed for shopping vintage, antiques, and one-of-a-kind items.
Visitors on First Friday Weekend often have luck finding something special, but this First Weekend, they'll be able to thank their 'lucky charms' for photo ops with the visiting Leprechaun and his pot of gold.
Stores in the West Bottoms are known for their range of goods, from apparel and foods to gifts and décor items. Shoppers are especially drawn to the antiques and vintage furniture available in their original form, repurposed form, or restored condition. The district's retailers also carry new quality furniture, many with designs and features from past eras. The inventory frequently changes, but this March, shoppers will find furniture in various styles and eras depending on the store – featuring:
- Serendipity - Mid-Century Modern, French Provincial, Primitive, and some fun shabby painted pieces
- Bella Patina - Mid-Century Modern, Primitives, and early 1900s
- Ugly Glass – Vintage of various eras, painted and upcycled pieces
- Robins Nest - various vintage pieces and Mid-Century Modern
- Good JuJu – BOHO Style, Primitive Farmhouse, Mid-Century Modern
"No matter your age, you'll appreciate the West Bottoms 1870s charm," said Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, West Bottoms district spokesperson. "The buildings are all very close to one another with a layout that worked well for horse-drawn carriages and walking when it was built. Today visitors love the walkability within this 'vintage-wonderland' where the hunt for décor, collectibles, and gifts brings lots of luck."
The district is announcing its Festival of the Full Moon event themes for the year that occurs streetside on First Friday Weekends, and many of the stores also follow the themes. Events offer themed photo ops, special drinks, and free outside entertainment. Upcoming 2023 events include Bunnies in the Bottoms April 7-9; Blooms in the Bottoms May 5-7; Wedding Bells in the Bottoms June 2-4; Boom in the Bottoms July 7-9; Barks in the Bottoms August 4-6; Brews & BBQ in the Bottoms September 1-3; Boo in the Bottoms October 6-8; Blessings in the Bottoms Nov. 3-5; and December weekends will feature Bows in the Bottoms starting December 1.
MARCH BLAST from the PAST in the BOTTOMS WEEKEND PLANNER
- West Bottoms' Shopping – Festival of the Full Moon Weekends' featured eras in the Bottoms March 3-5. Open Friday through Sunday – Most shops open on Fr/Sat at 9 am, close around 6 pm, and Sunday from 11 am to 4. Admission is free. Refer to individual store Facebook pages for specific store openings.
- Leprechaun Photo Ops – Irish music can be heard around the streets, and photo ops with a Leprechaun, balloon artists and face painting.
- Bella Patina – Festivities celebrating 12 years this month
- Java Garage – Featuring a Spicy Leprechaun (Spiced Honey Gold) and a Sunday Drive in the Past (White chocolate lavender beverage)
- Full Moon Escape – the Escape Games have slots available for groups between 2-10 people to test their wits and solve puzzles to find their way out of locked rooms within 60 minutes. While these games aren't frightening – they do thrill. Open noon-11:15 pm Fr/Sat. and open until 8:45 pm Sunday. fullmoonescape.com
About the West Bottoms Historic Entertainment District
The West Bottoms Historic Entertainment District, located just off the 12th Street Bridge, has 22 warehouses in a thirteen-block area with approximately 600 vendors and more than thirty stores and restaurants. Many of its large, multistory buildings have origins over 120 years ago. These repurposed, vast spaces form the largest indoor vintage entertainment district year-round. The West Bottoms is the destination for interior decorators, designers, collectors, and consumers seeking stylish décor and gift options with a one-of-a-kind history and patina. westbottoms.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Historic West Bottoms District | 2023-03-01T12:47:51+00:00 | kcbd.com | https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2023/03/01/blast-past-bottoms-kansas-city/ |
This story will be updated.
WASHINGTON — Police are responding to a report of a shooting at the residence of the Peruvian ambassador to the United States in Washington.
The Metropolitan Police Department said a shooting was reported Wednesday morning at the residence in the Forest Hills neighborhood of northwest Washington.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting were unclear and it wasn’t known if anyone was injured.
Police referred questions to the U.S. Secret Service. The agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. | 2022-04-20T13:26:00+00:00 | bangordailynews.com | https://bangordailynews.com/2022/04/20/news/nation/police-responding-to-shooting-at-peruvian-ambassadors-home/ |
On Thursday, artisticswimmer Anita Alvarez will compete for the first time in nine months. Last June, at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the two-time Olympian finished her free solo routine, passed out, and sunk to the bottom of the pool.
Team USA head coach Andrea Fuentes dove in, fully clothed, and saved her.
Horrifying photos ricocheted around the world.
Since that viral moment, Alvarez, 26, has grasped for answers, chiefly: Why did it happen – not once but twice? (In 2021, at an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona, Alvarez lost consciousness after her duet and Fuentes pulled her to safety.) Was she okay? Did she want to compete? Would the U.S. team let her compete? Would World Aquatics, allow it? (The sport's international governing body already faced scrutiny in 2010, when American swimmer Fran Crippen died in a 10-kilometer race near Dubai.) Friends and family asked questions Alvarez couldn't answer. On top of that, there were critics.
As a result, Alvarez hasn't spoken extensively since the event on June 22, 2022.
Until now.
Alvarez tells NPR in an exclusive interview she's confident about returning to competition
In an exclusive in-depth interview, her first since Budapest, Alvarez says, "I feel very confident" heading into the World Cup season opener in Markham, Canada (near Toronto). She had just finished six hours of pool training with a half-hour break. Her diagnosis remained private, but she gave detailed accounts of both incidents and what she's learned during her comeback.
She recounts from June 12, 2021 when Barcelona hosted the last-chance qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. had just missed a team berth by two-tenths of a point, and it had been a late night. On the morning of the free duet prelims, the New York native says she felt "a bit more tired than normal.
"I remember getting to the end of the routine and not feeling like I had much control," Alvarez says. "I hit the last pose and I remember feeling like I was in a hamster wheel. Everything was spinning, then went dark. I woke up at the side of the pool and realized I'm at a competition. 'Wait, I am the competition.' Everyone's staring at me."
That night, Alvarez returned for the technical portion of the duet and put herself in a good position to qualify for an Olympic spot. It was her fifth of six events. For the free program final, "We thought it would be best for me to rest," she says, so the alternate stepped in the next day and secured Alvarez's duet spot for Tokyo.
"I started to get some testing after Barcelona to figure it out," she says, "but Tokyo came up so fast, and I don't think I did the best job of being on top of it."
After the Olympics, she took her first break in nine years and assumed the cause was burnout: "Mentally, physically, and emotionally. There was nothing major in the tests, so I kept going. Everything was fine until Budapest. I never even thought about the possibility of it happening again."
June 22, 2022 — the day she blacked out at the World Championships
In Budapest, Alvarez arrived for the free solo event – her seventh of eight events, and her second World Championship event of the day. After breaking her foot earlier in the year, she says she was, "for the first time in a while, really enjoying a competition. I had energy. I was giving everything, and had more to give. I was performing – really performing. All the way to the end, I felt strong."
Once again, the last pose was a snappy flip from upside-down to right-side-up with her head back. "That hard stop – that's when everything went a little dark," she says. "That's the last thing I remember until I woke up."
Her mother, Karen Alvarez, was watching at work, at a high school in upstate New York. Karen had coached a local artistic swimming team just outside of Buffalo for 36 years. "I knew something was going on," she says, "because they showed expressions of the fans and coaches." A Team USA representative called to tell her Anita was okay.
Meanwhile, Anita rested on a bed by the pool, and got in the water to shake out her legs. "I was exhausted, like I could sleep for five days," she says, but images revealed no water in her lungs. "Everything looked great."
The next morning, however, the photos went viral.
"I flip on the TV," her mother says, "and my phone starts going crazy because it was everywhere. The photos were hard to digest. I didn't think that would be the situation – of her at the bottom of the pool."
Her mother knew she had passed out before, but hadn't personally seen it during Anita's career which began at age 5. Anita had no history of asthma, diabetes, heart condition – not even allergies, her mother says.
Anita still had one more event: the team final two days later. "I was feeling better," she says, and the team routine is often easier than duets and solos. Also, she was the flyer, on top of all the lifts, and the team hadn't really practiced with another swimmer in that position. So Alvarez went to the pool that morning, gelled her hair and prepared to compete, but there had been a meeting in her absence, and she was told no-go. During the final, she stood on the pool deck, hair still gelled, watching the U.S. finish ninth of 12 teams.
Back in the U.S., the news triggered a bombardment of emails and Twitter messages. "My athlete had this ... My daughter had that ... I'm an expert ... Make sure to get this checked." The theory-and malady-catalog was overwhelming.
"I would Google each one, of course, a disease comes up, and you freak out a little bit. I had to go back to trusting my medical team looking into everything we can," Anita says.
Months of extensive testing
That meant months of extensive testing: cardiology, neurology, bloodwork. None as harrowing as on Oct. 14, 2022 in the UCLA pool. The mission: not only re-create – but exceed – the physical stress of the Budapest incident while wearing monitors and being observed.
That meant head coach Andrea Fuentes, a four-time Olympic medalist from Spain, had to design the hardest practice of her life.
"The days before were very hard," Fuentes says. "We talked a lot to prepare mentally. Personally, I was scared. As a coach, you don't like to see your swimmers going through that. But the goal was: We cannot swim [or compete] unless we find out what happened. We had to do it."
The team had the option to watch. "We told them, if you want to leave, leave, because it's not gonna be easy," Fuentes says. But they all stayed. "Imagine, the whole team screaming, cheering her on, making her push harder because doctors told us: the harder she pushed the better. The goal is that she pass out so we can find out why. So hopefully she passes out. I was like, 'Are you sure?' It was a very, very intense day. I never had such a hard practice – never did such a hard practice" – both as a coach and athlete.
It was a full hour to 90 minutes, nonstop.
At the beginning, she did her World Championship routine – again and again and again. The doctor asked for a harder set. Fuentes asked Alvarez to swim at top speed for 25 meters followed by 25 meters underwater. "Keep going till you pass out! But she didn't pass out," Fuentes says. "I was like, 'Let's stop already. It cannot be any worse.' She was crying."
But Alvarez ratcheted up the intensity. The team roared, and she pushed harder. The cardiologist worked with Navy SEALs and told Fuentes that Alvarez's load was surpassing Navy SEALs'. Finally, the doctor said: "That's enough. We have what we need."
"It was an epic day," Fuentes says.
Cardiovascular issues were ruled out. Neurological issues had been ruled out earlier.
"That was a huge relief," Alvarez says. But mentally, she says, it was tough to regain the comfort and confidence to train at high-intensity. And she still had to answer to World Aquatics. Before Christmas, her medical team shared its findings via Zoom, then waited. And waited. "I wasn't really aware of what was needed for me to get back. I'm in the team routine so if I can't compete, the earlier we know, the better.
On March 6 she received final waiver from World Aquatics
On March 6, she received the final waiver from World Aquatics to sign, a three-page legal document required to compete.
To prevent another blackout, Alvarez checks her iron and hemoglobin levels every few months. If they're out of range, they can be managed and stabilized with diet or supplements.
Fortunately, it's simple – because artistic swimming just got harder. A new scoring system makes its international debut in Canada this week. It rewards difficulty by considering the time spent underwater and the number of movements performed during that time.
"It's gonna be more risky for everyone," Fuentes says. "More time underwater means less oxygen. But the problem isn't spending 16 seconds underwater. A lot of people can hold [their breath] 16 seconds underwater, but not with your heartbeat at 200 beats per minute – many, many times in a row while moving at your max [power], fighting against gravity, with three seconds to breathe before you get in again."
As a result, Alvarez says, "There are a few choreography things that I'm avoiding, like coming from underwater and whipping my head back on the final pose. Other movements include a certain range of motion with my neck. I also have more awareness of my breathing throughout the routine."
But Alvarez has no illusions. The photos are still online. "I've seen a lot of pictures since – and pictures of my teammates in the stands, which are the most upsetting to me – to see how scared they were and how much they cared.
"She's a very important person in the team, the sport, and the country"
"To have it blasted out there was a big deal," she says. Worse were the detractors who created their own narratives. "People were saying it wasn't right to glorify an athlete pushing her body that far and making the coach the hero because it never should have happened," she says. Yet marathon runners collapse and snowboarders have fractured their skulls in the name of innovation.
Others said it made the sport (formerly known as synchro/synchronized swimming) look bad. Parents won't want to let their kids do it because it's dangerous. "I've been working my whole career to make the sport more popular," Alvarez says, "and now people are telling me that I'm a bad example.
"You take every comment and start to overthink it. 'How can I make it right?' " The answer is: You can't. Not everyone will understand. Not everyone will be happy.
On the flip side, others claimed: The attention helped the sport because people finally recognized its difficulty. "Which is also true," she says.
What is the takeaway?
"To be honest, I'm still figuring that out," she says.
Lately, Alvarez has been paying close attention to other athletes whose injuries make global headlines, like Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who went into cardiac arrest during a game in January. "That resonated with me," she says. "I followed his story and how he dealt with that afterwards. It was interesting to watch a situation from the outside, seeing the media response, and how he handled it. Seeing it in the real world, in different situations, kind of helps me understand my situation a little bit better."
For now, all eyes are on the pool. The most important thing is to qualify the team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. This week is a start. Alvarez plays a key role.
"This is not going to stop her," the coach says. "She's following her passion. It's inspiring. I admire her a lot. She's a very important person in the team, the sport, and the country. She deserves the moment. We will qualify and get the gold. She deserves it more than anyone. She's been fighting a long time."
This story was edited by Maquita Peters. contributed to this story
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-03-15T10:21:54+00:00 | mtpr.org | https://www.mtpr.org/2023-03-15/she-blacked-out-at-world-championships-now-swimmer-anita-alvarez-makes-a-comeback |
WHITEFISH, Mont., July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Save Farmland, a new Montana nonprofit organization that protects agricultural land while strengthening local food systems, announced today a long-term partnership with the Under the Big Sky Festival to raise awareness and funds.
The five-year partnership makes Save Farmland the official nonprofit of the event, working closely with festival leadership to create awareness and money-raising opportunities for its programs through music and arts. The partnership kicks off at this year's event on July 15th through the 17th in Whitefish, Montana, where Save Farmland merchandise will be sold throughout the event, with 100% of proceeds going to its cause.
"Our team is extremely excited to partner with Save Farmland to help protect agricultural and ranch land across the Flathead Valley," said Johnny Shockey, CEO of Outrider's Present, and owner of Under the Big Sky Festival. "We're starting with merchandise this year, and hope to expand to benefit shows and other creative fundraising opportunities in the years to come for this important cause."
Save Farmland also announced the first three members of its Board of Directors, which includes Shockey:
- Scot Chisholm, Chairman and co-founder of Haskill Creek Farms, and founder of online fundraising software company, Classy (now an affiliate of GoFundMe);
- Robin Kelson, Executive Director of AERO (Alternative Energy Resources Organization) and CEO and owner of The Good Seed Company;
- Johnny Shockey, CEO of Outrider's Present, which owns Under the Big Sky Music Festival and a portfolio of other investments in the music and arts industry
Other organizations that have been integral to Save Farmland's early strategic planning include North Valley Food Bank, Land to Hand Montana, Wicked Good Produce, Two Bear Farm, and the FVCC (Flathead Valley Community College) Agriculture Program.
"Over the past twelve months, we've been talking with local nonprofit leaders, the farming community, and city officials to shape the vision for Save Farmland," said Robin Kelson, Save Farmland Board Director. "The question we've been asking is: How do we increase production of healthy local food in our community? Through these conversations, a dual mission emerged: one part land conservation and the other part a focus on programs that strengthen sustainable local food production, distribution, and access."
To kick off its first capital campaign, Save Farmland also announced a $2.35 million land donation by Whitefish residents Scot and Carrie Chisholm, with Scot also serving on the Board of Directors.
The 40-acre plot is located on the north side of Voerman Road, less than five minutes from downtown Whitefish, MT. It will serve as Save Farmland's first "Farm Hub", which includes an incubator program for new farmers, and resources for seasoned farmers to support existing food production and distribution.
"The goal of the Farm Hub is to provide farmers with a comprehensive path to success, including access to land and infrastructure, continuing education and sales distribution," said Scot Chisholm, Chairman at Save Farmland. "Flathead Valley has seen unprecedented growth in the last couple of years, so it's critically important that we continue to invest in the local food system to ensure that our community has healthy organic food for years to come."
The land donation on Voerman Road will also serve the broader Whitefish community, with plans for a large community garden and demonstration farm, a farmer's market, cooking and gardening classes, and public access to walking and bike paths throughout.
Concept drawings for the Farm Hub are underway, and Save Farmland's first capital campaign will continue to roll out this summer to raise money and awareness.
For more information please contact: hello@savefarmland.org
About Save Farmland:
Save Farmland is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that protects agricultural land and strengthens local food systems in Montana. Its unique Farm Hub strategy builds a pipeline of new farmers for a community, while supporting seasoned farmers and offering gardening and culinary amenities to the general public.
View original content:
SOURCE Save Farmland | 2022-07-14T17:02:38+00:00 | kwtx.com | https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2022/07/14/save-farmland-announces-partnership-with-under-big-sky-music-festival-new-board-members-235m-land-donation/ |
For Pakistan flood victims, waters hit swiftly and brutally
By RIAZ KHAN
Associated Press
CHARSADDA, Pakistan (AP) — Rubina Bibi was cooking food for her family in her mudbrick home in her village in northwest Pakistan when the nearby mosque blared a warning from its loudspeaker. Flood waters were coming, it announced, everyone should move to safer ground.
She and her family didn’t take it seriously. There had been flooding in their village of Majooki more than a decade ago, and they hadn’t needed to flee.
This time, however, it was on a different scale entirely. Days of torrential rains had sent a massive surge of water down the nearby Swat River — so powerful that on that day, last Friday, it broke through a reservoir that usually controls the river’s flow.
When the water hit Majooki hours after the warning, it poured into the house where the 53-year-old Bibi lived with her two sons, a daughter-in-law and her grandchildren.
One of her grandchildren, 5-month-old Dua Humayun, was sleeping on a cot in the house’s courtyard. In an instant, the baby was swept away by the rushing waters. It was too fast for anyone to even think of saving her. She was gone.
Pakistani officials say the flooding that has hit across the country over the past weeks is like nothing they have seen before. It has been caused by unprecedented heavy and unrelenting monsoon rains, fueled they say by the world’s changing climate.
Millions in villages, towns and cities around Pakistan were caught off guard by the swiftness and power of the waters.
Bibi spoke to The Associated Press at a tent camp set up in a sports complex in the city of Charsadda for hundreds of people left homeless by the deluge. She spoke of her granddaughter’s death with composure, but inside the tent, her daughter-in-law could be heard sobbing.
“The floodwaters entered our house suddenly. We didn’t have time to take anything as we were leaving,” Bibi said. She, her sons and daughter-in-law carried her surviving grandchildren tightly as they waded through waist-deep water out of their home. They then walked in the stifling summer heat for four kilometers (2.5 miles) to Charsadda.
More than 1,160 people have been killed in flooding across Pakistan since mid-June, hundreds of them in the major surge that began last week. More than 33 million people in the country of 220 million have been affected, including those left homeless by the destruction of more than 1 million homes. Pakistani officials have put the economic damage at some $10 billion, including everything from collapsed bridges and roads to destroyed crops.
The district around Charsadda has been one of the hardest hit areas. The Swat River meets the Kabul River nearby, and the nearby farmlands are laced with tributaries — all of them still surging with swollen waters despite a pause in rain in recent days. Authorities have warned that more rains are expected in coming weeks.
The city of Charsadda, home to more than 120,000, has been trashed. On Tuesday, some neighborhoods remained flooded with water shin-deep or higher.
Residents whose homes still stood took out their soggy blankets and furniture and other possessions to dry. Others surveyed wrecked mud-brick or shoddy cinder-block homes with collapsed walls and roofs. Deep, thick mud coated everything.
Bibi’s home village of Majooki, once home to 2,500 people, remains under waist-deep water. The rice and wheat that residents stored in their homes to meet the year’s need have been ruined. Hundreds of thousands of villages across Pakistan lost crops.
Many of Majooki’s residents are now at the tent camp in Charsadda’s Abdul Wali Khan Sports Complex. Hundreds of tents stood in rows, and children lay inside on plastic mats with what few belongings they took with them piled nearby. Some eat rice or other staples being distributed by the government.
“It is very hot here. We have a tent and a plastic mattress, but there is no fan. We are not getting enough food,” Bibi said.
A widow, Bibi had worked washing clothes and cleaning in homes, and one of her sons was a construction worker. Now they are without work for the foreseeable future. She and others from the village have not been able to return and have no idea what remains of their homes.
“We are facing a lot of difficulties. We want more help so that we can start our life again,” Bibi said.
The floods’ devastation has hit Pakistan as it is already struggling to keep its crisis-stricken economy from collapse. The government is severely strapped for cash, and inflation has been spiraling. The International Monetary Fund gave a boost this week by releasing a long-awaited, $1.17 billion tranche of a bailout negotiated in 2019, but only after the government promised painful austerity measures.
The United Nations on Tuesday launched an emergency appeal for $160 million in aid to help flood victims. Planeloads of food, medical supplies and other aid have arrived in recent days. But Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif warned on Tuesday that any delay in the provision of help would be disastrous.
At the sport complex tent camp, another Majooki resident, Saifoor Khan, recalled how he too ignored the call to flee that came from the mosque loudspeaker that day.
Majooki was hit by the last major floods in 2010, but in that case no houses were destroyed and no one fled, he said. When the waters hit on Friday, the 50-year-old taxi driver, his wife and his seven children also had to wade their way to safety.
“I have no idea for how many days and weeks we will have to live in these tents,” he said.
“I pray that no one faces such an ordeal.” | 2022-08-31T09:05:52+00:00 | keyt.com | https://keyt.com/news/2022/08/30/for-pakistan-flood-victims-waters-hit-swiftly-and-brutally/ |
OAN Prepares for 2024 Presidential Race Coverage with Placement of Veteran Political Reporter Neil W. McCabe in Florida
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- One America News Network ("OAN"), a 24/7 source of credible national and international news announced today that journalist Neil W. McCabe has joined the network and will be leading Florida coverage from OAN's Tallahassee bureau.
"Neil is recognized as one of the top national political reporters. We're thrilled he's leading our coverage in Florida as Florida news is becoming national news, especially as we head into the 2024 Presidential race," said Charles Herring, president of OAN.
"We are very familiar with Neil's work, both broadcast and print, and his real-world experience as an Army combat veteran and on Wall Street," Herring said.
"In addition to his Florida coverage, Neil will also be taking on other assignments around the country, including contributing to OAN's 2022 midterm coverage," stated Herring.
"Florida is ground-zero for battles over parents' rights, COVID-19, education reform and gun rights," stated McCabe. "These battles are fought at the state house, the city halls and school boards—wherever they are, we will be there."
In addition to his previous tenure at the network, where he covered Capitol Hill and the White House, McCabe has worked as a national political reporter in Washington for Human Events, Breitbart and The Star News Network. Before coming to Washington, McCabe was a staff reporter for The Pilot, Boston's Catholic paper, and he was a reporter and editor for two Boston-area community papers: The (North Cambridge) Alewife and The Somerville News.
McCabe is a Bronze Star veteran of the Iraq War, where he deployed for 15 months as a combat historian from 2009-2010. He continues to serve in the Army Reserve as a senior public affairs noncommissioned officer.
Follow Neil W. McCabe on Twitter/GETTR/Truth Social: @ReporterMcCabe
About One America News Network, ("OAN"):
One America News Network, ("OAN"), which launched on July 4, 2013, provides an independent source of credible national and international news around the clock. The network operates news bureaus in Washington, D.C., California, New York, and Florida. In addition, the network utilizes numerous external newsgathering sources, including US Pool feeds. OAN produces eighteen hours of live news every weekday. In addition, the network features three weekday primetime political talk shows, namely REAL AMERICA with Dan Ball, IN FOCUS with Addison Smith, and TIPPING POINT with Kara McKinney. OAN is featured on over a hundred cable and video providers worldwide. In addition, the OAN LIVE app is available on your favorite connected devices. For more information, please visit www.oann.com.
For more information, contact:
Ryan Critchley, Press Contact
Herring Networks, Inc.
Phone: 858-270-6900 x 105
press@oann.com
View original content:
SOURCE One America News Network | 2022-08-19T16:35:55+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/top-national-political-reporter-neil-w-mccabe-hired-lead-oans-florida-coverage/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed sharply from January through March, decelerating to just a 1.1% annual pace as higher interest rates hammered the housing market and businesses reduced their inventories.
Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of economic output — weakened after growing 3.2% from July through September and 2.6% from October through December.
But consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, remained resilient, growing at a 3.7% annual pace, the fastest such rate in nearly two years. Spending on goods, in particular, was solid: It rose at its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2021.
Economists had been expecting overall GDP to grow at a 1.9% pace in the January-March quarter. Behind much of the quarter’s weakness was a sharp reduction in business inventories, which subtracted roughly 2.3 percentage points from overall growth. Companies typically slash their inventories when they anticipate a coming downturn.
The economy’s slowdown reflects the impact of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to tame inflation, with nine interest rate hikes over the past year. The surge in borrowing costs is expected to send the economy into a recession sometime this year. Though inflation has steadily eased from the four-decade high it reached last year, it remains far above the Fed’s 2% target.
The housing market, which is especially vulnerable to higher loan rates, has been battered. And many banks have tightened their lending standards since the failure last month of two major U.S. banks, making it even harder to borrow to buy a house or a car or to expand a business.
“The economy had less forward momentum at the start of this year than previously thought,” Andrew Hunter of Capital Economics wrote in a research note. “We continue to expect the drag from higher interest rates and tightening credit conditions to push the economy into a mild recession soon.″
Many economists say the cumulative impact of the Fed’s rate hikes has yet to be fully felt. Still, the central bank’s policymakers are aiming for a so-called soft landing: Cooling growth enough to curb inflation yet not so much as to send the world’s largest economy tumbling into a recession.
There is widespread skepticism that the Fed will succeed. An economic model used by the Conference Board, a business research group, puts the probability of a U.S. recession over the next year at 99%.
The Conference Board’s recession-probability gauge had hung around zero from September 2020, as the economy rebounded explosively from the COVID-19 recession, until March 2022, when the Fed started raising rates to fight inflation.
Thursday’s GDP report was the first of three estimates the Commerce Department will make of growth in the January-March quarter. Economists expect growth to further weaken in the current April-June quarter — to just a 0.3% annual pace, according to the latest survey by the data firm FactSet.
A key question is whether — and by how much — consumer spending will weaken. Retail sales had enjoyed a strong start in January, aided by warmer-than-expected weather and bigger Social Security checks. But in February and again in March, retail sales tumbled, suggesting that consumers were tiring as the first quarter of the year came to an end.
Even so, some economists were impressed that spending has held up as well as it has even after nine Fed rate hikes have led to higher costs for loans ranging from mortgages and auto purchases to credit cards and corporate borrowing.
“The focus is on the weak top-line (GDP) number, but the economy remains resilient,’’ said Robert Frick, an economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “Businesses have underestimated both consumer buying and business buying.”
The worst fears of a 2008-style financial crisis have eased over the past month. But lingering credit cutbacks, which were mentioned in the Fed’s survey this month of regional economies, is likely to hobble growth.
Political risks are growing, too. Congressional Republicans are threatening to let the federal government default on its debts, by refusing to raise the statutory limit on what it can borrow, if Democrats and President Joe Biden fail to agree to spending restrictions and cuts. A first-ever default on the federal debt would shatter the market for U.S. Treasurys — the world’s biggest — and possibly cause a global financial crisis.
The global backdrop is also looking bleaker. The International Monetary Fund this month downgraded its forecast for worldwide economic growth, citing rising interest rates around the world, financial uncertainty and chronic inflation. American exporters could suffer as a consequence.
Still, the U.S. economy has surprised before. Recession fears rose early last year after GDP had shrunk for two straight quarters. But the economy roared back in the second half of 2022, powered by surprisingly sturdy consumer spending.
A strong job market has given Americans the confidence and financial wherewithal to keep shopping: 2021 and 2022 were the two best years for job creation on record. And hiring has remained strong so far this year, though it has decelerated from January to February and then to March.
The jobs report for April, which the government will issue on May 5, is expected to show that employers added a decent but still-lower total of 185,000 jobs this month, according to a survey of forecasters by FactSet. | 2023-04-28T07:52:52+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/national/us-economic-growth-likely-slowed-in-january-march-quarter/ |
KEENE, N.H., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- North European Oil Royalty Trust (NYSE-NRT) reported the net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2022 which appears below compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Total royalty income for the third quarter of fiscal 2022 increased from the third quarter of fiscal 2021 as detailed in the July 29, 2022 distribution press release. This increase resulted from the effect of higher gas prices under both the Mobil and OEG Royalty Agreements. Total royalty income includes any adjustments made by the operating companies based upon their corrected royalty calculations for prior periods as well as any Mobil sulfur royalties. There were no prior period adjustments in the third quarters of fiscal 2022 and 2021. Total royalty income was increased by Mobil sulfur royalties of $101,221 and $50,184 in the third quarters of fiscal 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Trust expenses for the third quarter of fiscal 2022 increased 28.24%, or $33,189, to $150,693 in comparison to $117,504 for the third quarter of fiscal 2021. The increase in expenses reflects higher Trustee fees as specified by the provisions of the Trust Agreement.
Total royalty income received during the first nine months of fiscal 2022 increased in comparison to fiscal 2021 due to higher gas prices under both the Mobil and OEG Agreements during the first nine months of fiscal 2022. The comparison of the relevant periods is shown below.
The previously declared distribution of 46 cents per unit will be paid on August 31, 2022 to owners of record as of August 19, 2022. For further information, contact John R. Van Kirk, Managing Director, at (732) 741-4008 or via e-mail at jvankirk@neort.com. The Trust's press releases and other pertinent information are available on the Trust's website: www.neort.com. The Trust's 10-Q filing will be available through the SEC or on the Trust's website, www.neort.com, on or about August 31, 2022.
View original content:
SOURCE North European Oil Royalty Trust | 2022-08-19T21:31:04+00:00 | wlox.com | https://www.wlox.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/north-european-oil-royalty-trust-announces-net-income-third-quarter-fiscal-2022/ |
XI'AN, China, Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from chinadaily.com.cn:
For the first time China is home to 21 world-leading science and technology clusters – on a par with the United States – according to the 2022 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII), which was recently pre-released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The city of Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, ranked 22nd among the top 100 global list of such clusters, up 11 places over last year.
The GII report has been issued in 15 editions since 2007. It is considered to be the barometer of innovation and creation of the global economy, as well as being an important reference for economic decision-making in various countries, which has attracted worldwide attention.
Each year, the GII ranks the top-level innovative capacity of around 130 countries and economies around the world.
Science and technology clusters are established through analysis of patent-filing activities and scientific article publications – documenting the geographical areas around the world with the highest density of inventors and scientific authors, according to WIPO.
Xi'an has sufficient confidence and a solid foundation for the optimal development of its scientific and technological innovation.
It has rich scientific and educational innovation resources. Its trained workforce, academic and key laboratories above the provincial level – and engineering technology research centers above the provincial level – rank it among the top large and medium cities in China.
In 2021, Xi'an ranked 7th among national innovative cities.
In the first half of 2022, the city's turnover of technology contracts increased by 45.3 percent year-on-year. Three incubators in Xi'an were selected as national-level technology business incubators, while 11 maker spaces rated at the national level.
Currently, Xi'an is home to 300 maker space carriers above the municipal level and nearly 3,000 new start-up companies.
The concept of key and core technology was proposed in Xi'an – and the Global Key & Core Technology Innovation Conference has been held in the city for six sessions. Xi'an ranked 6th in terms of key & core technology development among major cities in the county.
In recent years, Xi'an has also been approved to build a national new-generation artificial intelligence innovation and development pilot zone and a national key and core technology innovation demonstration zone.
Since last year – guided by the construction of the Qinchuangyuan innovation-driven platform – the city has made every effort to strengthen and optimize the innovation support platform and entrepreneurial space carrier, so as to fully release the vitality of innovation.
In addition, talent is widely said to be key to innovation-driven development, and Xi'an is continuing to implement its Xi'an Talent Program. In the first half of 2022, a total of 115 high-level talent and 84 overseas high-level talent projects were selected and funded.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn | 2022-09-22T06:20:55+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/09/22/xian-rises-up-global-sci-tech-cluster-list/ |
Dodge reveals Challenger Black Ghost special edition as it ghosts gas-powered muscle cars
Ghost, and you might miss it: The sixth heritage-inspired special edition from Dodge's "Last Call" lineup is the 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost, and 300 of the 807-horsepower vehicles will be made.
Production of Dodge's gas-powered muscle cars ends in December of next year. To make the most bang from the last model year before the launch of its all-electric Charger in 2024, Dodge is dropping seven special-edition models at specific dealerships as a part of its effort at transparency. It will announce online in October the allocation to dealers of the final vehicles being produced. The special editions include six paying homage to Dodge's history, and the seventh, which Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis has said will make history, will be revealed at the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in November in Las Vegas. Pricing and other details on the 2023 model-year vehicles will come later this fall.
The Black Ghost is a modern version of Godfrey Qualls' black 1970 Dodge Challenger RT SE that roamed Woodward Avenue in the 1970s with 426 Hemi-powered muscle, according to the Stellantis NV performance brand. The vehicle, however, would disappear for months at a time, leading to its "Black Ghost" nickname.
The 2023 model bumps the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody's horsepower by 10 from 797. Like the classic, it has a black "gator skin" roof vinyl graphic, Challenger script badges and white tail graphics. The vehicles in Pitch Black exterior paint have a black six-piston Brembo brake system, 3.09:1 rear axle ratio, 20-by-11-inch Satin Carbon Warp Speed wheels and carbon-fiber bezels.
In 2020, Qualls' vehicle earned a spot on the National Historic Vehicle Register. It remains in the Qualls family.
“There are so many legendary muscle cars in Dodge brand history, it was hard to choose the seven vehicles we wanted to pay homage to with our Last Call lineup, but the Black Ghost was an easy pick,” Kuniskis said in a statement. “The 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost is the prelude to what we’re going to unveil with our seventh and final special-edition model.”
The Dodge Challenger Black Ghost follows the previously announced Dodge Challenger Shakedown, Dodge Charger Super Bee, Dodge Challenger and Charger Scat Pack Swinger models and Dodge Charger King Daytona.
bnoble@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @BreanaCNoble | 2022-09-21T20:42:35+00:00 | detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/chrysler/2022/09/21/dodge-challenger-black-ghost-special-edition/69509277007/ |
Tonight's weather conditions in Waterloo: A few clouds from time to time. Low 13F. Winds light and variable. It will be a cold day in Waterloo Sunday, with temperatures in the 30s. It looks to reach a bitter 33 degrees. Tomorrow's forecasted low temperature is 19 degrees. Expect periods of sun and clouds. The Waterloo area should see a light breeze, with forecast showing winds from southwest, clocking in at 9 mph. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. Visit wcfcourier.com for more weather updates.
Jan. 7, 2023 evening weather update for Waterloo and Cedar Falls
Related to this story
Most Popular
Snow is expected for many in Iowa today and tomorrow, but some will be seeing more than others. Find out how the snow totals are going to play out and when the activity will come to an end here.
Rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow are coming down across the state today. See when and where each type of precipitation will occur and how much will fall through Wednesday in our updated forecast.
Gov. Newsom has declared a state of emergency to aid in cleanup. Meanwhile, parts of the Midwest are dealing with snow, ice or tornadoes, and the South is recovering from strong overnight storms.
For the drive home in Waterloo: Cloudy. Low 27F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Monday, Waterloo people should be prepared for temperatures just ab…
It might be a good day to stay inside, with temperatures barely hitting 32. A 16-degree low is forecasted. There is only a 24% chance of rain,…
It will be a cold day in Waterloo, with temperatures in the 30s. The forecast calls for it to be a bitter 38 degrees. Today's forecasted low t…
The forecast is calling for cold temperatures in Waterloo Tuesday. It looks like it will be a cold 43 degrees. Today's forecasted low temperat…
Tonight's weather conditions in Waterloo: Variably cloudy with snow showers. Low 26F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Snow accumu…
This evening in Waterloo: Cloudy skies with late-night snow showers. Low around 30F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Wednesday, …
For the drive home in Waterloo: A mostly clear sky. Low 11F. Winds light and variable. It might be a good day to stay inside, with temperature… | 2023-01-07T23:32:30+00:00 | wcfcourier.com | https://wcfcourier.com/weather/jan-7-2023-evening-weather-update-for-waterloo-and-cedar-falls/article_c09d2c41-e7f5-5e2e-9fe1-de8278da1212.html |
NEW YORK – Sales for the holiday 2022 season slowed more than expected from its blistering pace a year ago as higher borrowing costs and higher inflation made shoppers pull back, according to the nation's largest retail trade group.
The National Retail Federation said Wednesday that holiday sales for the combined November and December period rose 5.3% to $936.3 billion. That was a slower pace than the 13.5% increase a year earlier when shoppers began spending the money they had saved during the early part of the pandemic.
The growth was also below the trade group's forecast for sales to be up anywhere from 6% to 8%.
Holiday retail sales have averaged an increase of 4.9% over the past 10 years, with pandemic spending in recent years accounting for considerable gains. The holiday sales figure for the 2022 season was the slowest pace since 2019 when sales rose 3.6%.
The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants and are calculated based on government figures.
The forecast came as a snapshot on total retail sales for December fell 1.1%, following a dip in November, according to the Commerce Department. It marked the biggest monthly retail sales decline for the year.
NRF's chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said Wednesday that early holiday shopping in October pulled holiday buying forward and a winter storm in the season's finale hurt sales. Higher prices also made shoppers more cautious.
“The pace of spending was choppy, and consumers may have pulled back more than we had hoped, but these numbers show that they navigated a challenging, inflation-driven environment," said Kleinhenz in a statement.
The forecast considers a variety of indicators including employment, wages, consumer confidence, disposable income, consumer credit, previous retail sales and weather.
Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity, and Americans have remained resilient ever since inflation first spiked almost 19 months ago though it has ebbed. Cracks have begun to show, however, as higher prices for basic necessities take up an increasingly large share of everyone’s take-home pay.
_____
Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio | 2023-01-19T03:07:14+00:00 | wsls.com | https://www.wsls.com/business/2023/01/18/retail-group-holiday-sales-up-slower-than-expected-53/ |
NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ad Hoc Group (the "Ad Hoc Group") of bondholders of Agua y Sanamientos Argentinos S.A. ("AySA") confirms its support for the exchange offer and consent solicitation (together, the "Offer") launched by AySA today. The offer proposes to modify certain provisions of AySA's U.S.500,000,000 6.625% Senior Notes due 2023 (the "Old Notes") and exchange the Old Notes for new 7.90% Senior Notes due 2026 (the "New Notes") and cash.
The terms of the Offer are the product of good faith negotiations between AySA and members of the Ad Hoc Group. The terms are consistent with restructuring terms reached by other corporate borrowers in Argentina and provide due regard for concerns expressed by AySA during the course of negotiations regarding potential constraints that may be considered as applicable to it as a result of the "Argentine Financial Administration Law" and current regulations of the Argentine central bank in respect of external debt service.
Members of the Ad Hoc Group have entered into a support agreement with AySA pursuant to which they have confirmed their commitment to tender their bonds and support the consent solicitation. Also pursuant to the support agreement, AySA has undertaken that it may not waive the minimum participation threshold of 95% in the Offer without approval of Ad Hoc Group members holding collectively two-thirds of the outstanding Old Notes. Should the consent solicitation pass but the Offer not achieve the threshold participation level, AySA would have the option to apply for an acuerdo preventivo extrajudicial ("APE") as a means to bind any non-consenting bondholders.
The Ad Hoc Group is composed of Callaway Capital Management, LLC, GoldenTree Asset Management LP, Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Sandglass Capital Advisors LLC, Shiprock Capital Management LLC and VR Advisory Services Ltd. The Ad Hoc Group members collectively control approximately 80% of the outstanding Old Notes.
Media Contact:
Brian Pfeiffer
305-371-2700
View original content:
SOURCE White & Case LLP | 2022-11-21T05:04:14+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/11/19/ad-hoc-group-aysa-bondholders-announces-support-exchange-offer/ |
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — This week is Collegiate Recovery Week, a time dedicated to bringing awareness to university programs that help people recover from substances.
East Carolina University’s Campus and Wellness Center started off the week with “Coffee and a Walk.” People gathered at ECU’s Health Sciences Campus and shared coffee outside, around the duck pond. Organizers for the event said this educates students about recovery options and programs offered at ECU.
“I just hope they are aware that there is a collegiate recovery community on ECU and we are here if they need us,” said Jordan Jean, coordinator for Recovery and Prevention. “It’s open to anybody that’s in recovery, thinking about being in recovery, or just want to be an ally and support students that are in recovery.”
There will be other events this week, including one where students can answer trivia questions and win prizes called the cash cab. More coffee and walk events will be offered around campus. | 2023-04-11T22:21:18+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/local-news/greenville/ecu-raises-awareness-on-addiction-recovery/ |
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man accused of impregnating a 9-year-old Ohio girl, who traveled to Indiana to get an abortion, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts of rape.
Gerson Fuentes, 28, was sentenced as part of a plea deal and will be eligible for parole after serving 25 to 30 years, WCMH-TV reported. If he is released, Fuentes would have to register as a sex offender.
Fuentes, who is from Guatemala but lives in Columbus, appeared in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, where he entered his plea agreement, The New York Times reported.
A man accused of raping and impregnating a then-10-year-old girl last year is scheduled to appear in a Franklin County courtroom Wednesday. https://t.co/pQIq25wstp
— NBC4 Columbus (@nbc4i) July 5, 2023
Judge Julie Lynch, who was not required to approve the plea agreement, said the girl’s family “begged” her to back the agreement. She called the deal a “very hard pill for this court to swallow,” according to The Associated Press.
“The court considers this the worst of the offense,” Lyons said. “Anyone who’s been in this courtroom for the last 20 years knows how this court feels about babies, young people, being violated,” Lynch said.
The girl was 9 when she was raped and was 10 when she traveled to Indiana for the abortion, CNN reported.
Medical records indicated that the child had the abortion on June 30, 2022, WCMH reported. By July 2, Columbus police went to an Indianapolis hospital to investigate the girl’s pregnancy, prosecutor Daniel Lenert said at the hearing.
According to the television station, police claimed that Fuentes confessed to raping the girl twice when she was 9 years old. DNA evidence later confirmed that Fuentes was responsible for the sexual assault, Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Meyer said.
The indictment said that the assaults took place between Jan. 1 and on or about May 12 of last year, the Times reported.
Zachary Olah, an attorney who represented Fuentes, said that his client had been cooperative throughout the proceedings.
“He was anxious to get this resolved,” Olah said.
The case gained national attention in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion in the Roe v. Wade case that was decided in January 1973.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard of Indianapolis said a 10-year-old child had to travel to Indiana to terminate a pregnancy because Ohio banned the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy, the Times reported. The law provided no exceptions for rape or incest, according to the newspaper.
In Ohio, sex with a person under the age of 13 is a first-degree felony.
Bernard said the girl was six weeks and three days into her pregnancy, CNN reported. Her comments were first reported by the Indianapolis Star.
In 2021, 465, or about 5.5%, of the more than 8,400 abortions performed in Indiana were performed on out-of-state residents, the Star reported, citing the Indiana Department of Health’s terminated pregnancy report. More than half, 264, lived in Kentucky and in Ohio, the report stated.
In May 2023, Indiana’s medical licensing board reprimanded and fined Bernard $3,000 after it determined the disclosure violated federal and state patient privacy laws. The board issued no restrictions on Bernard’s ability to practice medicine, according to the AP. | 2023-07-06T21:25:46+00:00 | whio.com | https://www.whio.com/news/trending/man-gets-life-sentence-raping-girl-who-traveled-ohio-indiana-abortion/D6BZQEHW5JEIHERJEH74A6YOO4/ |
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — Cameron Tringale finally saw The Renaissance Club in windy weather and held his own Friday to stay three shots ahead in the Scottish Open as he tries to win for the first time in his 13th year on the PGA Tour.
Tringale stayed on track after making four straight bogeys around the turn and finished with three pars for a 2-over 72. He had a three-shot lead over Gary Woodland (72) and Doug Ghim, whose 69 raised hopes he could earn one of three spots available for the British Open.
The Scottish Open is the first time the PGA Tour is co-sanctioning a European tour event, and it led to the strongest field in tournament history, featuring 14 of the top 15 players in the world ranking. Tringale won’t have to contend with half of them.
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, was among seven of those players who can get an early start on the Old Course at St. Andrews. They all missed the cut.
Most of them got caught on the bad end of the draw. There was only a wee breeze Thursday morning when Tringale opened with a 61 and Woodland shot 64. By the afternoon, the wind was gusting to 30 mph, and the difference was just over three shots.
Friday gave a steady dose of strong wind, typical for these parts and still playable considering the design of the links-like course that allows for the ball to be played along the ground.
Scheffler (72) was on the good side of the draw and got a taste of quirky bounces, finding pot bunkers and other trouble that kept him from making up ground. PGA champion Justin Thomas had a 77 and missed the cut by seven shots. He got the bad end of the draw.
Xander Schauffele and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick also got the bad end but made it through just fine. Schauffele started his day with a big wind at his back, 225 yards to the pin and an 8-iron in his hand. He was trying to figure out how short to land it, and he judged it well. It rolled out to 15 feet for an eagle, and while the round wasn’t flawless, his 65 was the best of the day.
Coming off a win at the Travelers Championship, the Olympic golf medalist was in a tie for fourth, three shots behind.
Fitzpatrick was even stronger. He was 6 under for the day without a bogey on his card until dropping shots on each of the last two holes. His 66 also left him three back.
The difference in rounds?
“Massive,” Fitzpatrick said, knowing full well the scoring average for the Thursday afternoon wave was 3.2 strokes higher. “That’s obviously a large amount and to be honest, I feel like the wind sort of got calm as we started this morning. I think it’s safe to say we got the worst half of the draw.”
Also three shots behind were Kurt Kitayama (71) and Jordan Smith, whose 69 featured an ace that made him and his caddie happy. Smith hit 6-iron from 186 yards that rolled into the cup on the par-3 17th. Title sponsor Genesis awarded him an electrified GV70 SUV, while caddie Sam Matton received an all-electric GV60.
The only problem is figuring how to get them home because both have cars this week. That was the least of their worries. Still to come is a weekend of more wind and a dozen players separated by five shots.
Tringale took advantage of downwind holes for birdies, and then started giving them back starting on the par-5 16th through the first hole. He had to make a 5-foot par putt on No. 2 to end the nasty streak and held on from there. The wind’s effect was just as difficult on the greens as from the tees or fairways.
“It’s so tough to judge how much the wind is going to hurt, and then you get a putt that’s where the wind is going sideways,” Tringale said. “It might be a ball, two, a cup, even as close as 7, 8 feet. It’s really tricky.”
Woodland referred to it as a mental grind, especially as the temperatures dropped late in the day. Even so, he is excited to be within range of the lead and playing well, which he attributes to putting swing coach Butch Harmon back on the payroll.
Harmon is retired from full-time work, which involves traveling, and Woodland was bouncing around to various instructors. He finally had enough and went out to Las Vegas after the Memorial. He saw differences in his swing now from when he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach three years ago, and the words from Harmon were both valuable and unprintable.
“I needed it,” Woodland said. “He gets me in the right frame of mind.”
___
More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-07-09T10:47:52+00:00 | wric.com | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/tringale-holds-steady-against-wind-leads-scottish-open-by-3/ |
Aerostar speaks on concerns over balloon launches
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Many people in the Sioux Falls area have expressed concerns about balloons spotted in the area, asking whether they’re possibly connected to the spy balloons or other recent unidentified objects.
The simple answer is no, the balloons spotted in the area are not related. The company responsible for these launches is called Aerostar, and they’re capitalizing on the recent interest in balloons to reassure the public, but also to show the potential balloons have in the future.
Aerostar used to be a part of Raven Industries. The company became Viaflex in September and they transferred the aerospace technology and history to Aerostar, which had been a subsidiary to Raven since 1986. Aerostar has worked with Google, the U.S. Air Force, NASA and more throughout their history. Russ Van Der Werff, Vice President of Stratospheric Solutions, says they do everything from providing extended cellular service to real-time infrared imagery.
“The thing that really cracked open this market for a lot of other applications for us was that we figured out how to steer these things by raising and lowering their altitude in the stratosphere and so now we do a lot of cool stuff with balloons,” explained Van Der Werff.
He went on to explain that balloon sightings in the area are flights to test new technologies. Sometimes they’re for commercial or government entities, but other times they’re just to test technologies developed by Aerostar.
“The balloon technology is pretty complicated, right?” said Van Der Werff. “We have satellite communications. We have this wind-steered navigation which is machine-learning powered. We have power electronics to collect solar energy to power all this stuff. And we need to do a lot of testing to make sure the system is going to work.”
The future of balloon use seems to have endless possibilities. Van Der Werff has actually been in Washington D.C. this week to explain what they can do.
“We talked about all the humanitarian, commercial, and defense related things you can do,” explained Van Der Werff. “We’re excited about all of those things. Sometimes when you have a new technology that’s really unique, you know, there aren’t many people in the world doing what we’re doing, it’s kind of hard to get attention and to get people to understand that there’s something here they might not anticipate.”
Van Der Werff says that the new technologies they’re working on can make a real difference. As for balloon launches, you can expect 20 to 30 launches a year devoted to Aerostar-specific tests.
Copyright 2023 KSFY. All rights reserved. | 2023-02-18T16:25:01+00:00 | ktiv.com | https://www.ktiv.com/2023/02/18/aerostar-speaks-concerns-over-balloon-launches/ |
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s first leftist president will be sworn into office Sunday, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups.
Sen. Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombia's M-19 guerrilla group, won the presidential election in June by beating conservative parties that offered moderate changes to the market-friendly economy, but failed to connect with voters frustrated by rising poverty and violence against human rights leaders and environmental groups in rural areas.
Petro is part of a growing group of leftist politicians and political outsiders who have been winning elections in Latin America since the pandemic broke out and hurt incumbents who struggled with its economic aftershocks.
The ex-rebel’s victory was also exceptional for Colombia, where voters had been historically reluctant to back leftist politicians who were often accused of being soft on crime or allied with guerrillas.
A 2016 peace deal between Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia turned much of the focus of voters away from the violent conflicts playing out in rural areas and gave prominence to problems like poverty and corruption, fueling the popularity of leftist parties in national elections.
Petro, 62, has promised to tackle Colombia's social and economic inequalities by boosting spending on anti-poverty programs and increasing investment in rural areas. He has described U.S.-led antinarcotics policies, such as the forced eradication of illegal coca crops, as a “big failure.” But he has said he would like to work with Washington “as equals,” building schemes to combat climate change or bring infrastructure to rural areas where many farmers say coca leaves are the only viable crop.
Petro also formed alliances with environmentalists during his presidential campaign and has promised to turn Colombia into a “global powerhouse for life” by slowing deforestation and taking steps to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
The incoming president has said Colombia will stop granting new licenses for oil exploration and will ban fracking projects, even though the oil industry makes up almost 50% of the nation's legal exports. He plans to finance social spending with a $10 billion a year tax reform that would boost taxes on the rich and do away with corporate tax breaks.
Petro has also said he wants to start peace talks with remaining rebel groups that are currently fighting over drug routes, gold mines and other resources abandoned by the FARC after their peace deal with the government.
“He’s got a very ambitious agenda,” said Yan Basset, a political scientist at Bogota’s Rosario University. “But he will have to prioritize. The risk Petro faces is that he goes after too many reforms at once and gets nothing” through Colombia’s congress.
At least 10 heads of state are expected to attend Petro’s inauguration, which will take place at a large colonial-era square in front of Colombia’s Congress. Stages with live music and big screens will also be placed in parks across Bogota’s city center so that tens of thousands of citizens without invitations to the main event can also join in the festivities. That’s a big change for Colombia where previous presidential inaugurations were more somber events limited to a few hundred VIP guests.
“We want the Colombian people to be the protagonists,” Petro’s press chief, Marisol Rojas, said in a statement. “This inauguration will be the first taste of a new form of governing, where all forms of life are respected, and where everyone fits in.” | 2022-08-07T04:44:43+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ex-rebel-sworn-in-as-Colombia-s-president-in-17357082.php |
Hearings on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection are coming up. Will America tune in?
Related video above: Panel subpoenas five GOP lawmakers
Americans are processing the nightmare of the slaughter of children in Texas, the racist murders in Buffalo, New York, and the other numbingly repeated scenes of carnage in the United States.
They're contending with what feels like highway robbery at the gas pump, they're nagged by a virus that the world can't shake, and they're split into two hostile camps over politics and culture — the twin pillars of the nation's foundation.
They've already been through two set-piece dramas of presidential impeachment — indeed, through the wringer on all things Donald Trump.
Now, beginning in prime time on Thursday, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is setting out to establish the historical record of an event damaging not only to a community or individual families but to the collective idea of democracy itself.
After more than 100 subpoenas, 1,000 interviews and 100,000 documents, the committee has a story to tell in hearings that open this week. A story for the ages, it’s been said.
The open question: How much will the country care?
The committee's examination of the actions of Trump and all the president's men and women, more aggressive than any inquiry before it, has produced a multitude of plot lines that together will tell the tale of a violent uprising fueled by the venom and lies of a defeated president.
Many Republicans, even those who condemned Trump and the violence in the moment, have adopted a “nothing more to see here” posture since, even rejecting calls for an independent Sept. 11-style commission to investigate.
An entire disinformation ecosystem sprung up with utterly false claims about the nature and character of the attack. Rather than condemn the attack, Trump continues to insist his defeat by 7 million votes should be overturned, in effect validating the rioters' cause.
Dozens of the insurrectionists have been brought to justice, many of them being convicted or pleading guilty to serious crimes. But the committee's goal is larger: Who in a position of power should also be held to account?
There are endless ribbons of inquiry.
Did Vice President Mike Pence refuse to leave the besieged Capitol because he suspected the Secret Service, at the behest of Trump, was trying to take him away to stop him from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory? Did Trump flush incriminating papers down the White House toilet?
How to explain the gap of more than seven hours in White House telephone logs of Trump's calls during the insurrection? Will it stand in history alongside the infamous 18 1/2-minute hole in President Richard Nixon's secret White House recording system in 1972?
The Watergate affair, which exposed Nixon's cover-up of politically motivated criminal acts and destroyed his presidency, centered on a question posed by a Republican senator, Howard Baker, in a Tennessee drawl: "What did the president know, and when did he know it?"
For the Jan. 6 committee, the key question about Trump's involvement in the insurrection is: What did the president do, and when did he do it?
One aim is to establish whether Trump's acts are criminal, as one judge has mused they may be, and whether that would prompt a politically fraught Justice Department prosecution of an ex-president.
More broadly, the effort addresses who might be punished in the large circle of Trump enablers. Some of them are members of Congress who helped him plot how to try to overturn an honest election only to huddle in fear with everyone else in a Capitol hideout when the rioters — in service of that plot — swarmed the marbled corridors of power Jan. 6, 2021.
The prime-time setting for the committee hearing is a rarity and something of a throwback to an era when people gathered en masse at their televisions in the evening before video streaming atomized viewership.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat on the committee, set expectations that may be hard to live up to as the committee tries to renew the interest of this short-attention-span country in machinations that are nearly 18 months in the rearview mirror.
The hazards in that mirror are closer than they appear, as committee members see it.
“The hearings will tell a story that will really blow the roof off the House," Raskin said in April. “Because it is a story of the most heinous and dastardly political offense ever organized by a president and his followers and his entourage in the history of the United States.”
That offense? In short, he told a Washington forum, "an inside coup" coupled with a violent attack by "neo-fascists."
Trump is not expected at any of the hearings, but his words and actions will hang heavy over the proceedings as lawmakers look to place him at the center of the chaos. It seems highly plausible that he will find a way to rail against them that does not involve being under oath.
The committee almost certainly will look to draw a tight connection between Trump's vociferous rejections of the election results and his Jan. 6 rally outside the White House sending the angry crowd off to Capitol Hill.
Free from the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, committee members are likely to try to show that the riot that ravaged the Capitol was not a spontaneous gathering but part of a broader conspiracy and a natural outgrowth of weeks of denunciations of democratic processes.
Biden framed Jan. 6 and its aftermath in existential terms about the threat posed to democracy. It's a “battle for the soul of America," he said. But a president can only have one No. 1 priority at a time, and this isn't his. Time and again, he's said it's inflation.
Whatever revelations the hearings may produce, much is already known because the attack played out on screens large and small in real time, and Trump exhorted supporters to "fight like hell" in shouts for the world to hear.
"In quieter times, the hearings would have a stronger hold on public attention," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and an authority on political communications. "But, as is, they will be competing for attention with topics with greater immediate relevance in our lives."
Hungry babies lacking formula. Soaring prices for gas and groceries. Rising COVID-19 hospitalization among the vaccinated. The scenes of destruction in Ukraine and the threat that the Russian invasion will escalate to include use of nuclear weapons. And there's monkeypox.
"To say nothing of summer vacation," Jamieson added.
"If the hearings are to do anything other than reinforce our existing political biases," she said, "they will have to reveal previously covered-up goings-on that threatened something that Democrats, independents and most Republicans can agree should be sacrosanct."
Some of the inquiry's juicy bits are out already. Text messages and emails, thought to be private when sent, have become public, including from chief of staff Mark Meadows.
But the committee has been sitting on much more information and will have tens of thousands of exhibits and hundreds of witnesses, said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee chairman.
Seven Democrats and two Republicans — both shunned by their party — make up the committee. Among them the stakes are surely highest for Rep. Liz Cheney, the deeply conservative but fiercely independent Wyoming lawmaker who is practically alone in the GOP in assailing Trump while also seeking reelection to Congress.
Daughter of a vice president and once an embodiment of the Republican establishment, she is now a renegade in a new order dominated by Trump, who wants her unseated in her primary in August.
That new order became ever clearer in February, when the Republican Party censured Cheney and the committee's other Republican, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who's not seeking reelection, for taking part in the inquiry. The party adopted a resolution saying the witnesses summoned by the committee for their actions on and around Jan. 6 had only been engaging in “legitimate political discourse."
Matthew Delmont, a Dartmouth College history professor specializing in Black history, said Jan. 6 cast such an ominous shadow that he expects people in the United States, for all of their other pressing preoccupations, to be drawn to the inquiry.
"I think people will watch the Jan. 6 hearings because they want to understand how our democracy reached this precipice," he said. "I don't know how many people will be willing to hear the evidence that will be presented, but I think it is important for the findings to be shared openly so people today and in the future can appreciate what happened."
Jan. 6 shares certain distinctions with other past agonies. As with 9/11, you can shorthand the date, Jan. 6, and people know. Like Watergate, it speaks to corrupt acts in the highest office. As with the Challenger space shuttle explosion and 9/11 and more, the scene brought so much visceral shock that many people remember where they were and what they were doing when they saw it.
As far as the far right is concerned, the historical analogy is the Boston Tea Party, with liberals, Democrats and the Washington establishment as the redcoats.
Trump-friendly Republicans sanitized what happened that day, once the shock that nearly all felt on Jan. 6 subsided. In measurements of public opinion, Republican voters in the main said they believe the 2020 election was rigged, when by absolutely all measures — the courts, nonpartisan and even Republican state officials, and the Trump administration's own election monitors, including his attorney general — the election was purely fair.
A year later, the patently violent uprising was remembered as very or extremely violent by fewer than 4 in 10 Republicans polled, compared with almost 9 in 10 Democrats.
Even so, there were signs in the latest Republican primaries for the 2022 midterms that Trump's obsession about getting fired by the voters all those months ago is wearing thin even with them.
Trump won the 2016 election with a minority of voters, lost the House to the Democrats in 2018 and lost in 2020 by a decisive margin — not a glowing electoral record.
Still, he holds sway over his party, thanks to supporters whose loyalty seems immovable. Unswayed by facts throughout the fight to discredit and upend Biden's election, they won't be easily dislodged by a congressional committee's revelations.
Through Trump's presidency, audacious falsehoods and elaborate exaggerations were the order of the day. But Trump, at times, had a knack for speaking a larger truth that penetrated his fog of hyperbole and misinformation.
So it was with his comment in Iowa in January 2016, en route to the Republican nomination. The comment foretells that even if the Jan. 6 committee manages to "blow the roof off the House," Trump may remain golden with millions who love him.
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?" Trump said then. "It’s, like, incredible."
___
Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report. | 2022-06-06T21:45:14+00:00 | wtae.com | https://www.wtae.com/article/hearings-on-jan-6-us-capitol-insurrection-coming/40209694 |
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Nearly 400 people signed up for the first of six public hearings on congestion pricing Thursday night, according to the MTA.
The virtual hearing will be held between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Zoom and live-streamed at mta.info/CBDTP. Those wishing to sign up can visit this MTA website.
It is not required to register for the hearings and some Thursday speakers have already switched to less crowded dates, said an MTA spokesman. Less than 200 people are currently set to speak at the other five hearings from Aug. 27 through Aug. 31.
Earlier this month, the MTA unveiled an expansive environmental study on congestion pricing. The plan outlined would charge drivers a specific amount depending on the time of day to reduce traffic in the area below 60th Street in Manhattan, officials said.
Depending on the scenario, drivers could be charged from $9 to $23 for travel during peak hours and from $7 to $17 for off-peak hours, according to the report. If New York City implements congestion pricing, commuters can expect more reliable bus service and a slight increase in passengers on the city’s transit systems,
The plan, however, will have no real effect on fares, according to an MTA source. The money generated by the tolling program will be used for the upkeep of MTA infrastructure, including tracks, stations, and platforms, the source said.
The capital from collected fares is used to offset the agency’s daily operations, including employee salaries, the source added. | 2022-08-25T16:19:37+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/news/local-news/hundreds-sign-up-for-public-hearings-on-congestion-pricing/ |
MENDOTA, Ill., July 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. (The Company) (OTCQX: TYFG) today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2022.
Net income for the second quarter of 2022 was $2.5 million ($0.99 per share), compared to $3.6 million ($1.44 per share) during the second quarter of 2021.
Net interest income was $11.2 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to $10.6 million in the same period of 2021, an increase of 6%. The net interest margin was 3.31% for the second quarter of 2022.
Noninterest income was $2.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, a decrease of $3.0 million, or 50%, compared to $5.9 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2021. The decrease can be primarily attributed to lower mortgage volume from the prior year. First State Mortgage net income decreased by $1.6 million compared to the second quarter of 2021.
Noninterest expense was $10.3 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to $11.2 million for the second quarter of 2021, a decrease of $0.9 million, or 8%. The decrease is related primarily to variable expenses resulting from lower mortgage activity.
Total loans increased $88 million, or 9%, to $1.11 billion from $1.02 billion at June 30, 2021. Commercial real estate and agricultural lending activity increased compared to the prior year. Nonperforming loans as a percent of total loans were 0.19% as of June 30, 2022, down from 0.43% at June 30, 2021.
The provision for loan loss remained at $0.9 million as asset quality continues to remain strong. The Company provided $450,000 during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same amount in the prior year period. The allowance for loan loss ended at $16.97 million at June 30, 2022 and represented 1.54% of gross loans compared to 1.56% at June 30, 2021.
Deposits increased $7.6 million, or 1%, year-over-year. The investment portfolio rose $134.3 million or 106% year over year and totaled $261.4 million at June 30, 2022 due to the significant increase in liquidity from net loan runoff and direct deposit of government relief funds.
The Company's capital levels remain solid as of June 30, 2022, with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 9.17%, up from 8.96% last year.
On June 14, 2022, the Board of Directors declared a regular dividend of $0.20 per share payable July 7, 2022, to shareholders of record on June 30, 2022.
In announcing the results, President and CEO, Tim McConville, stated "Our second quarter numbers, although down from one of our record quarters a year ago, represented strong earnings performance from a peak refinance period last year. Asset quality as measured by nonperforming loans to total loans is stable as we continue to see strong agricultural performance and good liquidity with our borrowers. We continue to monitor the impact of supply chain issues and staffing shortages on our businesses and consumers. Overall, we anticipate loan demand to remain strong, and we look forward to supporting the credit needs of our businesses and communities."
Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. is the parent holding company for First State Bank, with offices in Mendota, Batavia, Bloomington, Champaign, Geneva, LaMoille, McNabb, North Aurora, Ottawa, Peru, Princeton, Rochelle, Shabbona, St. Charles, Streator, Sycamore, Waterman and West Brooklyn. First State Bank is the parent company of First State Mortgage, LLC and First State Insurance. Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. shares are quoted under the symbol TYFG and traded on OTCQX.
View original content:
SOURCE Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. | 2022-07-29T22:10:30+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2022/07/29/tri-county-financial-group-inc-reports-second-quarter-2022-financial-results/ |
Data shows the issue disproportionately impacting Latino and lower-income communities
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealers urge drivers to check for dangerous safety recalls & are even giving away $50 prepaid Mastercards if airbag repairs are made
DALLAS, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1.24 million vehicles in Texas – across all makes and models – have unrepaired, recalled airbags. When exposed over time to heat and humidity, these recalled airbags can transform from life-saving devices to life-threatening ones – in a crash, they could rupture and cause injury or death.
To help keep drivers safe heading into the summer heat, Check To Protect – in partnership with local Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealers – has designated June as Airbag Recall Repair Month in Texas. This statewide campaign aims to encourage Texas drivers of all vehicles to make safety a priority by taking immediate action to prevent serious injury and death in the Lone Star State. It's critical that every Texas driver check their vehicle as hot summer weather can increase the risk associated with defective recalled airbags.
In Texas, this issue disproportionately impacts communities with a higher concentration of Latino, English as a second language or low-income vehicle owners. Research shows these communities are less likely to take action to get severe recalls, like the Takata airbag, fixed. This inaction could be due to the communities' low level of recall awareness, lack of an existing relationship with dealers or limited availability for recall repairs due to work or family obligations. Moreover, drivers of older or used vehicles are harder to reach by conventional recall outreach measures and are less likely to know the recall status of their vehicles.
That's why Check to Protect is reminding Texas drivers that it is fast, free and easy to check for airbag recalls and get them repaired. Here's what drivers need to know:
- Check for Recalls:
- Schedule a FREE repair appointment at a local dealership.
Throughout the state, Check To Protect, dealers and automakers are getting the word out to vehicle owners through mailers, advertising, vehicle and door-to-door canvassing and other outreach. These messages are notifying drivers of open airbag recalls (or encouraging them to check at www.CheckToProtect.org) and urging them to protect themselves and their loved ones by getting these dangerous airbags replaced immediately.
Airbag Recall Repair Month is an effort by Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram as part of the Check To Protect program. Check To Protect was founded by the National Safety Council and Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram in 2017. Today, program partners include vehicle safety advocates as well as Ford, General Motors, Toyota, and Volvo. Check To Protect welcomes any automaker or consumer and vehicle safety organization to join the effort to raise awareness for vehicle safety recalls.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Check To Protect | 2022-05-31T20:02:43+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/05/31/texas-leads-nation-dangerous-unrepaired-recalled-airbags-june-is-airbag-recall-repair-month-texas/ |
JACKSON, Ky. (AP) — Torrential rains unleashed devastating floods in Appalachia on Thursday, as fast-rising water killed at least eight people in Kentucky and sent people scurrying to rooftops to be rescued.
Water gushed from hillsides and flooded out of streambeds, inundating homes, businesses and roads throughout eastern Kentucky. Parts of western Virginia and southern West Virginia also saw extensive flooding. Rescue crews used helicopters and boats to pick up people trapped by floodwaters.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted Thursday evening that the state’s death toll from flooding had risen to eight. He asked for continued prayers for the region, which was bracing for more rain.
“In a word, this event is devastating,” Beshear said earlier in the day. “And I do believe it will end up being one of the most significant, deadly floods that we have had in Kentucky in at least a very long time.”
In Breathitt County in Kentucky, Krystal Holbrook’s family raced against surging floodwaters in the early morning hours to move possessions to higher ground. Their ordeal began around 4 a.m. Thursday, as they scurried in the dark to move vehicles, campers, trailers and farm equipment. But as the water kept rising throughout the day, the concern was that “higher ground is getting a little bit difficult,” she said.
“It looks like a huge lake back here,” she said.
Beshear warned that property damage in Kentucky would be widespread. The governor said officials were setting up a site for donations that would go to residents affected by the flooding.
Dangerous conditions and continued rainfall hampered rescue efforts Thursday, the governor said.
“We’ve got a lot of people that need help that we can’t get to at the moment,” Beshear said. “We will.”
Flash flooding and mudslides were reported across the mountainous region of eastern Kentucky, western Virginia and southern West Virginia, where thunderstorms dumped several inches of rain over the past few days.
With more rain expected in the area, the National Weather Service said additional flooding was possible into Friday in much of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia. Forecasters said the highest threat of flash flooding was expected to shift farther east into West Virginia.
Poweroutage.us reported more than 31,000 customers without electricity in eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, with the bulk of the outages in Kentucky.
“There are a lot of people in eastern Kentucky on top of roofs waiting to be rescued,” Beshear said earlier Thursday. “There are a number of people that are unaccounted for and I’m nearly certain this is a situation where we are going to lose some of them.”
Rescue crews worked throughout the night helping people stranded by the rising waters in eastern Kentucky’s Perry County, where Emergency Management Director Jerry Stacy called it a “catastrophic event.”
“We’re just in the rescue mode right now,” Stacy said, speaking with The Associated Press by phone as he struggled to reach his office in Hazard. “Extreme flash flooding and mudslides are just everywhere.”
The storms hit an Appalachian mountain region where communities and homes are perched on steep hillsides or set deep in the hollows between them, where creeks and streams can rise in a hurry. But this one is far worse than a typical flood, said Stacy, 54.
“I’ve lived here in Perry County all my life and this is by the far the worst event I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Roads in many areas weren’t passable after as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain had fallen in some areas by Thursday, and 1-3 more inches (7.5 centimeters) could fall, the National Weather Service said.
Beshear said he has deployed National Guard soldiers to the hardest-hit areas, and three parks in the region were opened as shelters for displaced people.
Breathitt County’s courthouse was opened overnight in Kentucky, and Emergency Management Director Chris Friley said the Old Montessori School would provide more permanent shelter once crews can staff it.
Perry County dispatchers told WKYT-TV that floodwaters washed out roads and bridges and knocked homes off foundations. The city of Hazard said rescue crews were out all night, urging people on Facebook to stay off roads and “pray for a break in the rain.”
In West Virginia’s Greenbrier County, firefighters pulled people from flooded homes, and five campers who got stranded by high water in Nicholas County were rescued by the Keslers Cross Lanes Volunteer Fire Department, WCHS-TV reported.
Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for six counties in West Virginia after severe thunderstorms this week caused significant local flooding, downed trees, power outages and blocked roads.
Communities in southwest Virginia also were flooding, and the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg, Virginia, warned of more showers and storms on Thursday.
___
Associated Press Writers Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Ky., and Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Md., contributed to this report. | 2022-07-29T08:06:44+00:00 | kron4.com | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/ap-us-news/heavy-rains-cause-flooding-power-outages-in-appalachia/ |
Jacklyn Zeman, ‘General Hospital’ actress for 45 years, dies
(AP) - Jacklyn Zeman, who played Bobbie Spencer for 45 years on ABC’s “General Hospital” has died at 70.
Zeman died after a short battle with cancer, her family confirmed Wednesday. News of her death was first announced by the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini.
“I am heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Jackie Zeman,” he wrote on Twitter. “Just like her character, the legendary Bobbie Spencer, she was a bright light and a true professional that brought so much positive energy with her work.”
ABC Entertainment and “General Hospital” also released a statement stating, “Jacklyn Zeman has been a beloved member of the General Hospital and ABC family since she originated the iconic role of Bobbie Spencer over 45 years ago. She leaves behind a lasting legacy for her Emmy-nominated portrayal of the bad girl turned heroine and will always be remembered for her kind heart and radiant spirit. We are devastated by the news of her passing, and send our deepest condolences to Jackie’s family, friends and loved ones.”
Zeman first joined “General Hospital” in 1977 as Barbara Jean, who went by Bobbie, and was the feisty, younger sister of Anthony Geary’s Luke Spencer. Zeman grew to regard Geary as family off camera. “I’m probably closer to him than I would be a real-life brother,” she told co-star Maurice Benard last year on his YouTube series “State of Mind.”
Bobbie had worked as a teen prostitute and given up a baby for adoption but had managed to turn her life around and become a nurse at General Hospital. Zeman’s portrayal of Spencer was a spirited, upbeat woman who was as sweet as pie but who also had a sense of self. She didn’t suffer fools and had no problem revoking the niceties if she believed it were warranted.
“Bobbie has been a fascinating person for me to play,” she said in an interview in 1982. “I get to do... all the things that most women think about but wouldn’t dare.”
One of Zeman’s most memorable scenes was in 1994 and Bobbie’s daughter BJ is in a school bus accident that leaves her brain dead. Bobbie and then-husband Tony (played by Brad Maule) made the decision to donate their daughter’s heart to her cousin, Maxie, who was battling Kawasaki disease.
Laura Wright, who plays Bobbie’s daughter Carly Spencer, posted a series of broken heart emojis. Jon Lindstrom, who plays Kevin Collins wrote, “This is going to take me a minute to process. I can’t believe such a life force as hers has left.”
Born March 6, 1953 in Englewood, New Jersey, Zeman discovered a love for dance as a child and as a teen, began acting in school productions. She worked in Venezuela as a dancer after high school and was pre-med at New York University but dropped out when she was offered a contract at the ABC soap “One Life to Live” after originally being hired for just three days of work.
On ‘One Life,” she played Lana McClain for a little more than one year and then left for “General Hospital.” “I didn’t even audition,” she told a blogger in 2010. Zeman was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on the show.
Outside of soap operas, Zeman worked as a Playboy Bunny to help pay for college and also acted in commercials. She had a role in 1982′s “National Lampoon’s Class Reunion” appeared in a string of TV movies including the ABC Afterschool special “Montana Crossroads” in 1993. She also had a series regular role as Sofia Madison in the crime-drama series “The Bay,” earning her a fifth Emmy Award nomination.
Zeman last’s appearance on “General Hospital” before her death was in April for the wedding of her character’s grandson. The same month she also celebrated the show’s 60th anniversary by posting a video on Instagram to the fans.
“A great, big heartfelt thank you to the very special people who have been watching us and supporting us and keeping us on the air all these years. We love you.”
Zeman is survived by two daughters, Cassidy and Lacey from her first marriage to Glenn Gordon. She was married and divorced two more time to Steve Gribbin and disc jockey Murray Kaufman who went by “Murray the K.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-11T08:03:49+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/05/11/jacklyn-zeman-general-hospital-actress-45-years-dies/ |
Three poster presentations continue to highlight the safety and efficacy of IBSRELA based on data from two Phase 3 trials in adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C)
WALTHAM, Mass., May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ardelyx, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARDX), a biopharmaceutical company founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs, today announced that new analyses from IBSRELA Phase 3 trials, T3MPO-1 and T3MPO-2, were presented in three poster presentations at the 2022 Digestive Disease Week Conference (DDW 2022) that is now underway in San Diego, California and virtually.
IBSRELA, discovered, developed and recently launched by Ardelyx, is a first-in-class treatment with a novel mechanism and triple action that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in adults.
"IBSRELA represents a much-needed novel mechanism approach to treating the many patients who suffer with IBS-C," said Brian E. Lacy, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. "I am enthusiastic about having a new therapeutic option, and believe that IBSRELA will make a real difference for many patients."
Ardelyx Poster Presentations:
- Poster #Mo1396, entitled "Long Term Treatment with Tenapanor Improves Abdominal Pain and Other Abdominal Symptoms Associated with IBS-C," summarizes data from a Phase 3 study named T3MPO-2. In this 26-week study, treatment with IBSRELA ameliorated a variety of abdominal symptoms associated with IBS-C, with improvements in abdominal pain, bloating, discomfort, cramping, and fullness observed as early as week 1 and sustained for the entire 26 weeks.
- Poster #Mo1394, entitled "Effect of Tenapanor on Treatment Satisfaction, Degree of Relief, and Quality of Life for Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation," reviews data from a treatment satisfaction questionnaire completed monthly by patients in the Phase 3 trials, T3MPO-1 and T3MPO-2, where a significantly higher proportion of IBSRELA-treated patients reported adequate relief of IBS-C symptoms versus placebo each week. Treatment with IBSRELA led to greater relief of symptoms, greater treatment satisfaction, and improved quality of life compared with placebo in patients with IBS-C.
- Poster #Tu1375, entitled "Tenapanor has Early Onset of Action in Treating Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (T3MPO-1 and T3MPO-2 Trials)," presents analyses that evaluated the onset of action for IBSRELA within the first week of treatment in the T3MPO-1 and T3MPO-2 studies. These data demonstrated that IBSRELA provided statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in gastrointestinal and pain symptoms compared with placebo in as early as the first week of treatment.
All poster presentations are now publicly available and can be accessed on demand HERE.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
CONTRAINDICATIONS
- IBSRELA is contraindicated in patients less than 6 years of age due to the risk of serious dehydration.
- IBSRELA is contraindicated in patients with known or suspected mechanical gastrointestinal obstruction.
WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS
Risk of Serious Dehydration in Pediatric Patients
- IBSRELA is contraindicated in patients below 6 years of age. The safety and effectiveness of IBSRELA in patients less than 18 years of age have not been established. In young juvenile rats (less than 1 week old; approximate human age equivalent of less than 2 years of age), decreased body weight and deaths occurred, presumed to be due to dehydration, following oral administration of tenapanor. There are no data available in older juvenile rats (human age equivalent 2 years to less than 12 years).
- Avoid the use of IBSRELA in patients 6 years to less than 12 years of age. Although there are no data in older juvenile rats, given the deaths in younger rats and the lack of clinical safety and efficacy data in pediatric patients, avoid the use of IBSRELA in patients 6 years to less than 12 years of age.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea was the most common adverse reaction in two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of IBS-C. Severe diarrhea was reported in 2.5% of IBSRELA-treated patients. If severe diarrhea occurs, suspend dosing and rehydrate patient.
MOST COMMON ADVERSE REACTIONS
The most common adverse reactions in IBSRELA-treated patients (incidence ≥2% and greater than placebo) were: diarrhea (16% vs 4% placebo), abdominal distension (3% vs <1%), flatulence (3% vs 1%) and dizziness (2% vs <1%).
INDICATION
IBSRELA (tenapanor) is indicated for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C) in adults.
Please see full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning, for additional risk information.
About Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C)
Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by both abdominal pain and altered bowel movements, estimated to affect 11 million people in the US. IBS-C is associated with significantly impaired quality of life, reduced productivity, and substantial economic burden.
About IBSRELA for IBS-C
IBSRELA (tenapanor) is a locally acting inhibitor of the sodium/hydrogen exchanger 3 (NHE3), an antiporter expressed on the apical surface of the small intestine and colon primarily responsible for the absorption of dietary sodium. By inhibiting NHE3 on the apical surface of the enterocytes, tenapanor reduces absorption of sodium from the small intestine and colon, thus retaining luminal water content, which accelerates intestinal transit time and results in a softer stool consistency. IBSRELA has also been shown to reduce abdominal pain by decreasing visceral hypersensitivity and by decreasing intestinal permeability in animal models. In a rat model of colonic hypersensitivity, tenapanor reduced visceral hyperalgesia and normalized colonic sensory neuronal excitability.
About Ardelyx, Inc.
Ardelyx was founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs. Ardelyx's first approved product, IBSRELA® (tenapanor) is available in the United States. Ardelyx is developing XPHOZAH® (tenapanor), a novel product candidate to control serum phosphorus in adult patients with CKD on dialysis, which has completed three successful Phase 3 trials. Ardelyx has a Phase 2 potassium secretagogue program, RDX013, for the potential treatment of elevated serum potassium, or hyperkalemia, a problem among certain patients with kidney and/or heart disease and an early-stage program in metabolic acidosis, a serious electrolyte disorder in patients with CKD. Ardelyx has established agreements with Kyowa Kirin in Japan, Fosun Pharma in China and Knight Therapeutics in Canada for the development and commercialization of tenapanor in their respective territories.
Ardelyx Forward Looking Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Ardelyx, they are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995, including the potential for IBSRELA to make a real difference in the lives of patients with IBS-C. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause Ardelyx's future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainties in the drug commercialization process. Ardelyx undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Ardelyx's business in general, please refer to Ardelyx's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 5, 2022, and its future current and periodic reports to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Ardelyx | 2022-05-24T21:09:19+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/05/24/ardelyx-presents-data-ddw-2022-ibsrela-tenapanor-first-in-class-treatment-ibs-c-adults/ |
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two Southern California teenagers have been arrested in connection with the killings of two young men last month during a meeting involving the illegal sale of vape products, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday at his home in Oceanside a day after a 17-year-old was arrested in Riverside, sheriff's Lt. Chris Steffen said in a statement. Both suspects were booked into a juvenile detention facility for investigation of two counts of murder. Their names were not released.
The victims, who the sheriff's department said were friends, were found with apparent gunshot wounds in the city of San Marcos on Jan. 4. Jesus Garcia, 19, of San Marcos, was found on the ground near a park entrance and died that night at a hospital. Nicholas Tiefer, 20, of Vista, was found in the passenger seat of a nearby car and died at a hospital the next day.
“At this stage of the investigation, it appears the suspects did not know the victims; however, we believe the reason for them meeting was for the illegal sale of vape products,” Steffen wrote. “The motivation and circumstances are still under investigation.”
Steffen did not say which side of the meeting was selling or buying.
It is illegal in California for retailers to sell tobacco to anyone under 21. In November, voters approved a ban that prohibits flavored cigarettes and vaping cartridges, which supporters said were too easy for teens to obtain.
The ban doesn’t make it a crime to possess the products, but retailers who sell them could be fined up to $250. In addition to menthol and other flavored cigarettes, the ban prohibits sale of flavored tobacco for vape pens, tank-based systems and chewing tobacco, with exceptions made for hookahs, some cigars and loose-leaf tobacco. | 2023-02-02T17:47:04+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/2-california-teens-held-in-killings-over-illegal-17759663.php |
(The Hill) – More than 5 billion would die from starvation in the event of a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia, a new study has found.
That’s the worst-case scenario in a Nature Food study published on Monday that examined the indirect death toll caused by soot from burning cities and forests entering the atmosphere.
The Rutgers University team arrived at that death toll by estimating how much global crop yields would suffer as the drifting clouds blocked out the sunlight that feeds plants that feed people, according to a statement accompanying the study.
First, researchers estimated the quantities of ash that would be thrown up by nuclear wars of varying size, as major cities in India, Pakistan, the United States or Russia burned. Then they loaded that into a U.S. government-sponsored climate forecasting tool to track how that ash would move around the globe — and where and how much it would impact food production.
In the event of a U.S.-Russia nuclear war, the model found that the planet’s wind patterns would bring circling clouds of smoke and particulates to the skies above major food exporters like the U.S., China, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Crashing crop yields in those countries would trigger a cascade of escalating consequences that would draw the rest of the world into the crisis. With harvests collapsing, so would food exports — spreading famine across Africa and the Middle East that depend on imported food for survival.
Under that scenario, three-quarters of people on Earth would be starving within two years after the missiles stopped falling — and that would only be the beginning.
By three or four years after the nuclear exchange, global crop, animal and fishing yields would have dropped by 90 percent — spreading famine, disruption and collapse further, and triggering other feedback loops.
Much of the details of the extent to which crops would fail under such an exchange remains unclear, co-author Lili Xia of Rutgers said.
“For instance, the ozone layer would be destroyed by the heating of the stratosphere, producing more ultraviolet radiation at the surface, and we need to understand that impact on food supplies,” Xia added.
Such a war would need to reach the scale of a full-scale exchange between superpowers to spread famine far beyond the blast zone.
Even in the most limited nuclear war the team examined — a localized nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan — global food production dived by 7 percent from soot and ash from the explosions entering the atmosphere.
That number is far smaller than the crop failures the model found for the U.S.-Russia case study. But it’s also bigger than any disturbance to world food supplies since the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization started tracking them.
Such a disruption would detonate against a world already facing the prospect of falling crop yields from climate change.
A NASA study last year — also in Nature Food — found that corn yields would begin to fall by 2030, suggesting that “major breadbasket regions” would begin to face the risks from human-caused climate change “sooner than previously anticipated.”
The conclusion of the new research was clear: that nuclear war would “obliterate global food systems,” co-author Alan Robock said in a statement.
“If nuclear weapons exist, they can be used, and the world has come close to nuclear war several times,” Robock said. “Banning nuclear weapons is the only long-term solution.”
He pointed to the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has been ratified by 66 nations but none of the nine nuclear states.
“Our work makes clear that it is time for those nine states to listen to science and the rest of the world and sign this treaty,” he said. | 2022-08-16T00:50:50+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/national-news/billions-would-die-from-starvation-in-nuclear-war-research-finds/ |
Joining other crypto ATM industry executives, Paul Bialobrzewski, CFO, and William Suriano, General Counsel, will speak about their experience at Bitcoin of America and how the company has positioned itself as a leader in the Bitcoin ATM field.
CHICAGO, Jan. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 7th, ATM and cryptocurrency professionals will gather in New Orleans for the ATM Industry Association's annual conference.
At this conference, industry leaders are coming together on a panel to discuss cash management and liquidity, how to effectively scale a cryptocurrency ATM business, and what it takes to succeed in this field.
Paul Bialobrzewski, Bitcoin of America's Chief Financial Officer, and William Suriano, General Counsel and Manager, will be sitting on this panel and sharing their experience as a part of one of the fastest-growing and most successful digital currency exchange companies. This panel, Crypto 202- Building a Successful ATM Business, will be an important learning opportunity for those ready to join the innovative and promising direction the ATM industry is headed.
Bialobrzewski recognizes the significance of joining this panel, citing that "this is the industry tipping its hat to Bitcoin of America." It's no surprise that two of Bitcoin of America's executives have been invited to join this panel, as the company is an industry leader known for its best-in-class practices and for leading the movement toward integrating cryptocurrency and ATMs.
With over 2500 BTMs across the country, Bitcoin of America has continually proven itself to be a company worth watching. Not only is the company known for its dedication to advancement and accessibility, but it's also committed to providing education and providing the best rate on the market.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Bitcoin of America | 2023-01-27T20:22:46+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2023/01/27/bitcoin-america-executives-speak-atmia-2023-panel/ |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Voters approved recreational marijuana in Maryland and Missouri but rejected it in three other states, signaling support gradually growing for legalization even in conservative parts of the country.
The results mean that 21 states have now approved marijuana’s recreational use. Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota voters rejected legalization proposals in Tuesday’s elections.
Advocates said the results send a message to lawmakers in Washington about support around the country for legalization.
“A growing number of voters recognize that cannabis policy reform is in the best interest of public health and safety, criminal justice reform, social equity, and personal freedom,” Toi Hutchinson, president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. “State-level legalization victories are what’s necessary to move the needle forward at the federal level.”
The state voting follows moves by President Joe Biden toward decriminalizing marijuana. Biden last month announced he was pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law.
Advocates of the marijuana initiatives have said Biden’s announcement could give a boost to their efforts.
Missouri’s measure will legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and expunge records of past arrests and convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses, except for selling to minors or driving under the influence.
“It just shows that this is not a partisan issue,” said John Payne, who led the Missouri campaign to legalize marijuana use. “This is something that transcends partisan divides.”
Payne said he expected recreational sales to start in Missouri early next year.
Opponents said they would be working to limit the implementation of Missouri’s legalization, such as working with cities and towns to opt out of allowing dispensaries.
“The devil is in the details, and we will remain actively involved in Missouri implementation because we don’t need another Big Tobacco industry harming kids in Missouri,” said Kevin Sabet, president of SAM Action, an anti-legalization group.
Maryland will also make changes in criminal law and create automatic expungements of past marijuana possession convictions.
Heading into the election, recreational marijuana was legal in 19 states, and polls have shown opposition to legalization softening. All of the states with recreational marijuana on the ballot, except for Maryland, voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
About 6 in 10 voters support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana nationwide, according to VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 90,000 voters nationwide conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
“Support for ending marijuana prohibition in the states is spreading much like it did at the end of alcohol prohibition,” said Mason Tvert, a partner at VS Strategies, a cannabis policy and public affairs firm. “
The five states that held votes on Tuesday have legal medical marijuana programs. That includes Arkansas, which in 2016 became the first Bible Belt state to approve medical marijuana. The state’s dispensaries opened in 2019, and more than 91,000 patients have cards to legally buy marijuana for medical conditions.
The legalization campaigns raised about $23 million in the five states, with the vast majority in Arkansas and Missouri. More than 85% of contributions in those two states came from donors associated with companies holding medical marijuana licenses, according to an Associated Press analysis of the most recent campaign finance reports.
In Arkansas, supporters ran upbeat ads touting the thousands of jobs they said would be created by the measure. Opponents ran more ominous spots, warning voters to “protect Arkansas from big marijuana.”
“The marijuana industry spent millions of dollars trying to write itself into the Arkansas Constitution,” said Jerry Cox, executive director of the Family Council Action Committee, one of the groups opposing the measure. “Now they know that Arkansans do not support that kind of crony politics.”
The initiative drew the criticism of traditional legalization opponents as well as some medical marijuana advocates, who said the Arkansas proposal placed too many limits and would only benefit a handful of dispensaries. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, also opposed the measure.
Supporters indicated they planned to try again in Arkansas.
“Tonight, we made history by putting adult-use cannabis on the ballot for the first time, Although we fell short, we look forward to continuing this effort to build this momentum to 2024,” said Robert McLarty, campaign director for Responsible Growth Arkansas.
David Owen, who led North Dakota’s legalization effort, said he wasn’t sure another effort would be made after the proposal was rejected.
“Tonight was not what we wanted, but the people have spoken and we have to prepare for the next steps,” Owen said.
North Dakota’s proposal would have allowed people 21 and older to legally use marijuana at home as well as possess and cultivate restricted amounts of cannabis. It also would have established policies to regulate retail stores, cultivators and other types of marijuana businesses.
“It’s pretty clear North Dakota families don’t want marijuana across the state,” said Luke Niforatos, executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a Virginia-based political organization against marijuana legalization, which helped fight the measure in North Dakota.
South Dakotans, including a sizable number of Republicans, voted to legalize marijuana possession in 2020, but that law was struck down by the state Supreme Court in part because the proposal was coupled with medical marijuana and hemp. This year, recreational pot stood by itself as it went before voters.
Pot legalization advocates in South Dakota were vowing to try again in two years as their measure failed. Matt Schweich, who led legalization campaigns in the state in 2020 and this year, pointed out that the midterm electorate was less amenable and argued that pot legalization would eventually happen.
But opponents hoped that the proposal’s defeat sent a message.
“I like to think that this country is going to turn around and South Dakota set a good example,” said Rhonda Milstead, a Republican legislator who helped organize the opposition campaign.
In Colorado, where recreational marijuana has been legal for nearly a decade, voters on Tuesday took up a proposal that would allow the use of certain psychedelic substances. If approved, it would make Colorado the second state to take such a step. The vote was too early to call early Wednesday.
Melody Finley, a Republican in Little Rock, Arkansas, said she voted for the state’s legalization measure because she thinks it can help some people for certain conditions.
“If you can buy alcohol, you can buy that, too,” Finley, 47, a dance instructor, said.
But Rick Huffman, a voter in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, voted against that state’s legalization proposal, two years after supporting recreational marijuana on South Dakota’s ballot in 2020.
“I’ve got a kid that’s a teenager now,” he said. “So I think it’ll eventually happen, but maybe I’ll wait until my kids grow up.”
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri; James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota; and Dave Kolpack in Fargo, North Dakota, contributed to this report.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections. And learn more about the issues and factors at play in the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections. | 2022-11-09T16:46:50+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/voters-approve-recreational-marijuana-in-maryland-missouri/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AmeriVet Securities, Inc., (AVI), announced today that the firm has raised $4 million in additional capital.
"Additional capital and consistent growth in deal participation will allow us to continue to increase our performance across all lines of business," said Mercedes Elias, Co-CEO of AVI and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. "We look forward to adding value to clients, while further expanding our business and investing in AVI's growth in 2023."
Since AVI underwent a relaunch in 2018, the firm's deal flow total value has continued to increase year-over-year. AVI adds value to clients by bringing Tier II and Tier III investors into the underwriting syndicate, increasing the breadth of the offering.
"AVI's dedication to their clients and to their mission, to produce meaningful opportunities and results for military veterans, is admirable," said Bob Jones, President of AVI, U.S. Air Force veteran and former Vietnam Prisoner of War. "We continue to build an exceptional reputation in the diversity and inclusion space, and I look forward to seeing our business and veteran hiring efforts grow in 2023."
AVI specializes in Debt and Equity Capital Markets and Public Finance. Products include Investment Grade Corporates, Municipal Bonds, U.S. Treasuries, Equities, Commercial Paper, Cash Management, ABS, RMBS, Liability Management and Issuer Reverse Inquiry Opportunities.
For additional information or inquiries on products and services please contact AVI's New York office at: (646) 809-6909.
AmeriVet Securities, Inc., is a dual-registered Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) broker-dealer. AVI's mission is to provide first class capital markets and financial services across multiple lines of business, while producing meaningful opportunities and results within the veteran community. Products include Investment Grade Corporates, Municipal Bonds, U.S. Treasuries, Equities, Commercial Paper, Cash Management, ABS, RMBS, Liability Management and Issuer Reverse Inquiry Opportunities.
Jessica Borriello
jborriello@amerivetsecurities.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE AmeriVet Securities Inc. | 2023-01-04T15:47:42+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/01/04/amerivet-securities-continues-raise-capital-expand-business/ |
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until February 6, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against NeoGenomics, Inc. (NasdaqCM: NEO), if they purchased the Company's securities between February 27, 2020 and April 26, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Get Help
NeoGenomics investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nasdaq-neo/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.
About the Lawsuit
NeoGenomics and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.
On March 28, 2022, the Company disclosed that its CEO was stepping down effective immediately, that it expected 1Q2022 revenue and EBITDA below the low end of its prior guidance, and that it had withdrawn its 2022 annual financial guidance. On this news, shares of NeoGenomics fell $5.30 per share, or 29.8%. Then, on April 27, 2022, the Company disclosed its 1Q2022 financial results confirming revenue and EBITDA below its prior guidance, among other things, that the market "was moving towards larger, more comprehensive panels" and that the Company was "seeing bigger and bigger panels coming from…emerging companies . . . where we have not kept up." On this news, shares of NeoGenomics fell $0.41 per share, or 3.8%.
The case is Goldenberg v. NeoGenomics, Inc., No. 22-cv-10314.
ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.
To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.
View original content:
SOURCE ClaimsFiler | 2023-01-14T17:34:18+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2023/01/14/neogenomics-shareholder-alert-claimsfiler-reminds-investors-with-losses-excess-100000-lead-plaintiff-deadline-class-action-lawsuit-against-neogenomics-inc-neo/ |
NEW YORK, May 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP, a class action law firm dedicated to representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating a potential breach of fiduciary duty claim involving the board of directors of Mastech Digital, Inc. (NYSE American: MHH).
If you are a shareholder of Mastech Digital, Inc. and are interested in obtaining additional information regarding this investigation, free of charge, please visit us at:
You may also contact Robert H. Lefkowitz, Esq. either via email at rl@pjlfirm.com or by telephone at 212-725-1000. One of our attorneys will personally speak with you about the case at no cost or obligation.
Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP is a law firm exclusively committed to representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty and other types of corporate misconduct. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://pjlfirm.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
View original content:
SOURCE Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP | 2022-05-26T15:03:51+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/26/shareholder-alert-purcell-amp-lefkowitz-llp-is-investigating-mastech-digital-inc-potential-breaches-fiduciary-duty-by-its-board-directors/ |
NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gross Law Firm issues the following notice to shareholders of FIGS, Inc..
Shareholders who purchased shares of FIGS during the class period listed are encouraged to contact the firm regarding possible lead plaintiff appointment. Appointment as lead plaintiff is not required to partake in any recovery.
CONTACT US HERE:
CLASS PERIOD: This lawsuit is on behalf of all persons or entities that purchased or otherwise acquired: (i) FIGS securities between May 27, 2021 and May 12, 2022, inclusive; and/or (ii) FIGS stock pursuant and/or traceable to documents issued in connection with FIGS' initial public offering.
ALLEGATIONS: The complaint alleges that during the class period, Defendants issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) defendants had inflated the Company's true ability to successfully secure repeat customers; (ii) defendants had failed to disclose the Company's increasing dependence on air freight; (iii) defendants had inflated the expected net revenues, gross margin, and adjusted EBITDA margin for 2022; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
DEADLINE: January 3, 2023 Shareholders should not delay in registering for this class action. Register your information here: https://securitiesclasslaw.com/securities/figs-inc-loss-submission-form/?id=33465&from=4
NEXT STEPS FOR SHAREHOLDERS: Once you register as a shareholder who purchased shares of FIGS during the timeframe listed above, you will be enrolled in a portfolio monitoring software to provide you with status updates throughout the lifecycle of the case. The deadline to seek to be a lead plaintiff is January 3, 2023. There is no cost or obligation to you to participate in this case.
WHY GROSS LAW FIRM? The Gross Law Firm is nationally recognized class action law firm, and our mission is to protect the rights of all investors who have suffered as a result of deceit, fraud, and illegal business practices. The Gross Law Firm is committed to ensuring that companies adhere to responsible business practices and engage in good corporate citizenship. The firm seeks recovery on behalf of investors who incurred losses when false and/or misleading statements or the omission of material information by a company lead to artificial inflation of the company's stock. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
The Gross Law Firm
15 West 38th Street, 12th floor
New York, NY, 10018
Email: dg@securitiesclasslaw.com
Phone: (646) 453-8903
View original content:
SOURCE The Gross Law Firm | 2022-11-09T11:40:39+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2022/11/09/shareholder-alert-gross-law-firm-notifies-shareholders-figs-inc-class-action-lawsuit-lead-plaintiff-deadline-january-3-2023-nyse-figs/ |
GUANGZHOU, China, May 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 131st Canton Fair, which came to a successful conclusion on 24 April, attracted 536,000 overseas buyers from 228 countries and regions to register for the exhibition, boosting trade cooperation between Chinese and foreign companies.
Since its establishment in 1957, the Canton Fair has never been interrupted despite various challenges. Year after year, the Canton Fair has opened its arms to friends old and new from around the world. To preserve the cherished memories in all previous sessions, China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC), the organizer of the Canton Fair, is calling for photos and videos themed "Canton Fair in My Eye" and welcomes everyone around the world to take part in the contest from 20 April to 15 July, 2022.
1. Entry Requirements
Anyone worldwide can enter the activity in the name of an individual or an organization. Contributions can be in either photo or video format, with a description of no more than 150 words. What you submit can be but not limited to historical, documentary or creative images and videos, and all artworks related to or showcasing the Canton Fair, especially with the following four topics: architectures, event scenes, booths and exhibits, and participants.
2. Submission
Method 1: Log into https://500px.com.cn/contest/cantonfair to register and submit;
Method 2: Email your contributions to press@cantonfair.org.cn, making sure the email is subjected "Call for Entries: Canton Fair in My Eye" and with a description of no more than 150 words. Please also include your name, organization, title and contact number in the email.
3. Awards
(1) For photo entries
(2) For video entries
Apart from the winners, the remaining contributions would possibly be used in the publicity materials of the Canton Fair and be paid for the authorization of the works.
The final interpretation right of this contest belongs to China Foreign Trade Centre within the limits prescribed by law.
View original content:
SOURCE Canton Fair | 2022-05-08T03:03:59+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/07/calls-entries-canton-fair-my-eye/ |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Evidence collected in Iraq strengthens preliminary findings that Islamic State extremists committed crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Christian community after it seized about a third of the country in 2014, a U.N. investigative team said in a report circulated Thursday.
The report to the U.N. Security Council said crimes included forcibly transferring and persecuting Christians, seizing their property, engaging in sexual violence, enslavement and other “inhumane acts,” such as forced conversions and destruction of cultural and religious sites.
In addition, the team said it has identified leaders and prominent members of the Islamic State extremist group who participated in the attack and takeover of three predominantly Christian towns in the Nineveh plains north of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, in July and August 2014 — Hamdaniyah, Karamlays and Bartella. It also started collecting evidence on crimes committed against the Christian community in Mosul.
Islamic State fighters seized Iraqi cities and declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swath of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group was formally declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a three-year bloody battle that left tens of thousands dead and cities in ruins, but its sleeper cells continue to stage attacks in different parts of Iraq.
The 26-page report was submitted by the U.N. Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes committed by the Islamic State group, also known as IS, ISIL and Daesh.
The team updated its investigations into the extremists’ development and use of chemical and biological weapons, attacks on the Yazidi and Sunni communities, the mass execution of prisoners and detainees at Badush prison near Mosul in June 2014, and crimes in and around Tikrit.
In December 2021, the head of the U.N. team, Christian Ritscher, told the Security Council that Islamic State extremists committed crimes against humanity and war crimes at the prison in Badush.
In May 2021, Ritscher’s predecessor, Karim Khan, told the council that investigators had found “clear and compelling evidence” Islamic State extremists committed genocide against the Yazidi minority in 2014. He also said the militant group successfully developed chemical weapons and used mustard gas.
The new report said Ritscher’s team found evidence of payments to the families of Islamic State members killed deploying chemical weapons and records of payments for training senior operatives on the use of chemical weapons and devices to disperse such weapons.
The team said it is still assessing evidence of the use of agents.
“Evidence suggests that ISIL manufactured and produced chemical rockets and mortars, chemical ammunition for rocket-propelled grenades, chemical warheads and improvised explosive devices,” the report said. “Furthermore, the ISIL program involved the development, testing, weaponizations and deployment of a range of agents, including aluminum phosphide, chlorine, clostridium botulinum, cyanide, nicotine, ricin, and thallium sulphate.”
As for the destruction of cultural and religious sites by Islamic State fighters, the team said it expanded its investigations into different Iraqi communities and focused on several areas in Nineveh and Mosul.
This has led to a preliminary inventory of over 150 Kaka’i, Shabak and Shia Turkmen sites “suspected of having been destroyed by ISIL, along with enforced displacements, disappearances and sometimes killings of members of those communities,” the team said. It also identified places of worship and heritage sites in Tikrit that were severely damaged or destroyed by ISIL.
“The evidence obtained thus far shows that religious and cultural sites were either intentionally destroyed or taken over and occupied by ISIL, sometimes for military purposes, which resulted in their severe damage or destruction,” it said. “While the motives and methods adopted by ISIL are still being reviewed, it appears that explosives and heavy equipment were used to destroy many of the sites.”
With regard to attacks on the Yazidi community in Sinjar, the team said it has expanded the list of identified perpetrators to currently include the names of 2,181 individuals, including 156 foreign fighters.
“In-depth case files have been developed in relation to 30 primary persons of interest,” it said.
The team said it has expanded its investigation into crimes by Islamic State against the Sunni community in Anbar, citing progress in its probe of the execution of hundreds of members of the Albu Nimr tribe between 2014 and 2016.
The U.N. investigation of the mass execution of detainees at Badush prison on June 10-11, 2014, continues, the team said, including interviews with additional witnesses and survivors.
This yielded “new and corroborative evidence on the circumstances under which approximately 1,000 predominantly Shia prisoners were targeted and executed by ISIL inside the prison and in various other locations,” it said.
The team said it has also continued investigating crimes against civilians in Tikrit and Alam in 2014 and 2015, and is gathering further evidence on the mass killing of unarmed military cadets and personnel from the Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014.
In the coming months, the investigators said they plan to focus on transitioning from investigations to building cases and sharing information with Iraq to spur prosecutions and accountability. | 2022-12-02T16:12:52+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/news/international/ap-un-iraq-christians-were-victims-of-islamic-state-war-crimes/ |
DALLAS (AP) — A week after the second conviction of a man charged in the deaths of 22 elderly women, family members of those he is accused of killing gathered at a Dallas courthouse Friday to face him.
In Ellen French House’s victim impact statement, she told Billy Chemirmir, who was wearing a striped jail uniform, that she wanted him to see two photos of her mother: one of Norma French alive, the other after the 85-year-old was killed.
“This is my beautiful mother,” House said as she displayed the first photo. “This is my mother after you pried her wedding ring off of her finger that she couldn’t even get off.”
For most of the families, Friday may be their only chance to face Chemirmir in a courthouse. After trying Chemirmir in two of the deaths and obtaining two sentences of life in prison without parole, Dallas County prosecutors have said they will dismiss their remaining 11 capital murder cases against him. Prosecutors in neighboring Collin County haven’t yet said if they will try any of their nine capital murder cases against him.
Chemirmir, 49, received his second sentence of life in prison without parole last Friday after being convicted of capital murder in the smothering death of 87-year-old Mary Brooks. He was already sentenced to life in prison without parole for an April conviction in the death of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris.
Authorities say he preyed on older women, killing them and stealing their valuables. Time after time, their deaths were initially determined to be from natural causes, even as family members raised alarm bells about missing jewelry. He has been charged in deaths over a two-year span.
Loren Adair Smith told Chemirmir that at 91, her mother, Phyllis Payne, was still a “vibrant, active, loving, amazing woman” who was “still living a fabulous life” when she was killed.
“You stole my mom, my best friend,” Smith said. “And for what? A bit of jewelry? A bit of silver?”
She said she and her brother were convinced their mother would live to be 100. “We just wanted time, and you stole that time from us,” Smith said.
As the family members spoke, emotions ranged from forgiveness to anger to an expressed desire for Chemirmir, who has maintained his innocence, to confess. Several family members said they still have nightmares about the way their loved one died.
It was a woman’s survival of a March 2018 attack that set Chemirmir’s arrest in motion. Mary Annis Bartel, then 91, told police a man forced his way into her apartment at an independent living community for seniors, tried to smother her with a pillow and took her jewelry.
Police testified they found Chemirmir the next day in the parking lot of his apartment complex holding jewelry and cash, having just thrown away a large red jewelry box. Documents in the jewelry box led them to the home of Harris, who was found dead in her bedroom, lipstick smeared on her pillow.
Prosecutors presented evidence at Chemirmir’s trials that he and Harris had been at the same Walmart just hours before she was found dead.
After Chemirmir’s arrest, police across the Dallas area reexamined deaths, and the charges against him grew. Many of the victims’ children have said they were left perplexed by the deaths at the time, as their mothers, though older, were still healthy and active. Four indictments were added this summer.
Most of the victims lived in apartments at independent living communities for older people. One woman who lived in a private home was the widow of a man Chemirmir cared for while working as an at-home caregiver.
As the victims’ children began finding each other, they formed Secure Our Seniors’ Safety, which has worked to pass legislation surrounding the safety of older people.
Lindsey Watkins told Chemirmir that she was just 18 when she went to check on her grandmother, 82-year-old Helen Lee, after she didn’t show up for church and found her dead.
“What you’ll never understand is that her jewelry was the least valuable thing that you stole,” Watkins said. “Her life was worth just a few thousand dollars to you. But it was worth everything to me.” | 2022-10-15T11:23:38+00:00 | keloland.com | https://www.keloland.com/news/national-world-news/ap-families-face-man-charged-in-killings-of-22-elderly-texans/ |
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Many leaders saying many things about many topics that matter to them, to their regions, to the world: That’s what the U.N. General Assembly invariably produces each year.
And each year, certain voices dominate. Here, The Associated Press takes the opposite approach and spotlights some thoughts — delivered universally from the rostrum at the United Nations following successive years of a virtual, then hybrid summit — from leaders who might have not captured the headlines and airtime on Wednesday, the second of the 2022 debate.
___
“It is time for multilateralism to reflect the voice of the farmers, represent the hopes of villagers, champion the aspirations of pastoralists, defend the rights of fisherfolk, express the dreams of traders, respect the wishes of workers and indeed, protect the welfare of all peoples of the Global South."
— William Ruto, president of Kenya
___
“The seriousness of the present moment obliges me to share difficult, but true words with you. Everything we are doing here today seems impotent and vague. Our words make hollow and empty echo comparing to the reality we are facing."
— Aleksandar Vučić, president of Serbia
___
“The United Nations system was unable to prevent or stop the war in my country in the period between 1992 and 1995. Unfortunately, that happened again with Ukraine."
— Šefik Džaferović, chair of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
___
“We have no wish to dominate or intimidate anyone. We reject the idea of spheres of influence. As smaller states, we have an existential interest in effective multilateralism."
— Egils Levits, president of Latvia
___
“We believe that all wars end around the table. That dialogue is the only way to establish peace. This is how Madagascar reiterates its call for dialogue to resolve the conflict, because the consequences are global. They are getting heavier by the day and developing countries like ours are the main victims."
— Andry Rajoelina, president of Madagascar
___
For more AP coverage of the U.N. General Assembly, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly | 2022-09-22T00:20:52+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/They-said-it-Leaders-at-the-UN-in-their-own-17458063.php |
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
PARIS (AP) — Sparks are flying over French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age — not just in the streets, but in parliament too. The proposed pension reforms have unleashed the most turbulent debate in years in the National Assembly, with uncertainty looming over the final outcome.
Tensions at parliament are fed by the unpopularity of the reform aimed at raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and requiring people to have worked for at least 43 years to be entitled to a full pension, amid other measures.
The bill started being examined in the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, last week. Over 20,000 amendments have been proposed, mostly by the leftist opposition coalition Nupes. This makes the debate almost impossible to finish before a Friday night deadline. The government denounced the tactic.
“What do our fellow citizens see? asked Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne at the National Assembly on Tuesday. "A held-up debate — held up by the multiplication of amendments... held up by the multiplication of insults… held up by abhorrent personal attacks.”
In recent days, multiple incidents have marked the debate, from legislators shouting and interrupting each other to insulting remarks toward a minister. In addition, a leftist lawmaker was excluded for 15 days after he tweeted a manipulated photo of himself and Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt.
On Monday, another lawmaker of the hard-left France Unbowed party called Dussopt “a murderer” while speaking about growing numbers of fatal workplace accidents in France, prompting outrage across the Assembly’s ranks. The lawmaker apologized.
If the debate is not over in the lower house by Friday, the bill will be sent without a vote to the Senate. The end of the legislative process is not expected before next month.
The parliamentary situation is challenging for Macron, who has made the reform the centerpiece of his second term in office. In last year’s elections, his centrist alliance won the most seats but lost its majority in the National Assembly. That allowed opposition lawmakers from the left and the right to reject article 2 of the bill — requiring companies to publish reports about the proportion of older employees — in a vote late on Tuesday evening. The debate was to resume Wednesday.
The speaker of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, said on RTL radio that the situation is “serious” because “we have been demonstrating for a week … that we are not able to conduct a democratic debate up to the French people’s expectations.”
Last week, Braun-Pivet also reported that the bill had triggered anonymous voicemails, graffiti and a threatening letter to the head of the chamber’s Social Affairs Committee.
Alexis Corbière, vice-president of the France Unbowed group at the National Assembly, defended lawmakers' actions in the debate.
“If you blame lawmakers for proposing amendments, it’s as if you’re blaming butchers for cutting meat or bakers for making bread … A lawmaker is about speaking. If you want silent MPs, try totalitarian societies, but here, fortunately, we are in a democracy,” he said.
Sebastien Chenu, vice-president of the far-right National Rally party, which opposes the pension plan, denounced the toxic atmosphere in parliament.
“I believe that this government is irresponsible for having given too little time to debate and that the Nupes coalition is completely irresponsible in creating a blockade when we must ... vote against (the bill)," he said.
Opinion polls consistently show the pension plan is widely unpopular — yet they also show a majority of the French believe it will still be implemented.
“I first want the work to be able to continue at parliament,” Macron said last week. “That’s how democracy must function.”
He also urged unions to show a “spirit of responsibility” and “not block the life of the rest of the country” while staging protest actions.
A fifth round of demonstrations and strikes is scheduled on Thursday. Nearly 1 million people took to the streets in the latest protest day Saturday according to authorities — up to 2.5 million according to the CGT union, one of the organizers.
Macron’s alliance hopes it will get support from conservative legislators to ultimately be able to pass the bill.
The Republicans party said in a statement Tuesday the French pension system “will collapse in five to 10 years” without changes. That’s why, despite being in the opposition, the party decided to support the reform, it said.
Yet some Republican lawmakers have publicly expressed their disagreement with the bill and said they won't approve it, making the outcome of the vote hard to predict.
In addition, if legislators don’t manage to vote on the text by the end of next month, the government could choose to use a special constitutional power to force the bill through. Such a decision would be highly unpopular.
____
AP journalists Jeffrey Schaeffer, Oleg Cetinic and Catherine Gaschka contributed to the story. | 2023-02-15T10:17:31+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/news/politics/article/french-pension-tension-triggers-turbulent-17785274.php |
NEW YORK, Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Levi & Korsinsky, LLP notifies investors in Carvana Co. ("Carvana" or the "Company") (NYSE: CVNA) of a class action securities lawsuit.
CLASS DEFINITION: The lawsuit seeks to recover losses on behalf of Carvana investors who were adversely affected by alleged securities fraud between May 6, 2020 and June 24, 2022. Follow the link below to get more information and be contacted by a member of our team:
CVNA investors may also contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. via email at jlevi@levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500.
CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that defendants made false statements and/or concealed that: (1) Carvana faced serious, ongoing issues with documentation, registration, and title with many of its vehicles; (2) as a result, Carvana was issuing unusually frequent temporary plates; (3) as a result of the foregoing, Carvana was violating laws and regulations in many existing markets; (4) as a result of the foregoing, Carvana risked its ability to continue business and/or expand its business in existing markets; (5) as a result of the foregoing, Carvana was at an increased risk of governmental investigation and action; (6) Carvana was in discussion with state and local authorities regarding the above-stated business tactics and issues; (7) Carvana was facing imminent and ongoing regulatory actions including license suspensions, business cessation, and probation in several states and counties including in Arizona, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina; and (8) as a result, Defendants' statements about Carvana's business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
WHAT'S NEXT? If you suffered a loss in Carvana during the relevant time frame, you have until October 3, 2022 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you are a class member, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket costs or fees. There is no cost or obligation to participate.
WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY: Over the past 20 years, the team at Levi & Korsinsky has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. Our firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex securities litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States.
CONTACT:
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Joseph E. Levi, Esq.
Ed Korsinsky, Esq.
55 Broadway, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10006
jlevi@levikorsinsky.com
Tel: (212) 363-7500
Fax: (212) 363-7171
www.zlk.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Levi & Korsinsky, LLP | 2022-08-18T11:33:53+00:00 | wbrc.com | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2022/08/18/cvna-lawsuit-alert-levi-amp-korsinsky-notifies-carvana-co-investors-class-action-lawsuit-upcoming-deadline/ |
Top Player Prop Bets for Brewers vs. Reds on July 26, 2023
The Milwaukee Brewers host the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field on Wednesday at 2:10 PM ET. Those looking to place a player prop bet can find odds for Christian Yelich and others in this matchup.
Bet on this matchup or its props with BetMGM!
Brewers vs. Reds Game Info
- When: Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at 2:10 PM ET
- Where: American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- How to Watch on TV: BSWI
- Live Stream: Watch the MLB on Fubo!
Read More About This Game
MLB Props Today: Milwaukee Brewers
Freddy Peralta Props
- Strikeouts Prop: Over/Under 6.5 (Over Odds: -149)
Peralta Stats
- The Brewers will send Freddy Peralta (6-8) to the mound for his 20th start this season.
- He has earned a quality start nine times in 19 starts this season.
- Peralta has nine starts in a row of five innings or more.
- He has made 19 appearances and finished three of them without allowing an earned run.
- Among qualified pitchers this year, the 27-year-old's 4.63 ERA ranks 49th, 1.272 WHIP ranks 37th, and 10.3 K/9 ranks 12th.
Peralta Recent Games
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on any of Freddy Peralta's player props with BetMGM.
Christian Yelich Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 1.5 (Over Odds: +180)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -164)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +360)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +165)
Yelich Stats
- Yelich has 108 hits with 23 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 49 walks and 58 RBI. He's also stolen 22 bases.
- He's slashing .290/.377/.484 so far this season.
- Yelich will look for his eighth straight game with a hit in this contest. During his last 10 outings he is hitting .390 with four doubles, four home runs, three walks and 12 RBI.
Yelich Recent Games
William Contreras Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -256)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +110)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +450)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +165)
Contreras Stats
- William Contreras has 18 doubles, a triple, 10 home runs, 33 walks and 38 RBI (83 total hits). He's also stolen one base.
- He's slashing .273/.351/.438 on the season.
- Contreras enters this game looking to extend his two-game hit streak. In his last five games he is batting .263 with a double, two walks and two RBI.
Contreras Recent Games
Bet on player props for Christian Yelich, William Contreras or other Brewers players with BetMGM.
Buy officially licensed gear for your favorite teams and players at Fanatics!
MLB Props Today: Cincinnati Reds
Jonathan India Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -169)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +135)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +650)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +205)
India Stats
- Jonathan India has 97 hits with 19 doubles, 14 home runs, 39 walks and 52 RBI. He's also stolen 11 bases.
- He has a .251/.337/.409 slash line on the year.
India Recent Games
Bet on player props for Jonathan India or other Reds players with BetMGM.
Not all offers available in all states. Please gamble responsibly. If you or someone you know has developed a gambling problem or addiction, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-07-26T11:36:41+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/sports/betting/2023/07/26/brewers-vs-reds-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
Derek Van Brunt is not usually the first name you think of when looking at the Hopewell Valley football offensive attack.
At times, he is tough to see behind his line: but his size can sometimes work to his advantage, especially when trying to run out the clock.
Entering the first of two huge Friday night games under the lights on its home turf, the Hopewell football team knew it could be a very decent shape for a high seed in the NJSIAA playoffs if it could find a way to stay hot. The first game of the pairing, which saw the Bulldogs host Northern Burlington on homecoming, was set to be a tough test. While the Greyhounds came it with a .500 record, it had played what looked to be challenging schedule over their first four weeks.
By the end of the night, though, it was Hopewell Valley that did just enough to come away with a 14-3 victory to earn Mercer WJFL teams’ first win outside of the county in 2022, and now the Bulldogs can focus on a massive West Jersey Football League Capitol Division contest next weekend.
Van Brunt scored the first touchdown of the game to give the hosts a lead they would not relinquish, and then spent the rest of the night as the workhorse back for the Bulldogs.
“When we run the ball, and we get a good tempo going, it opens up a lot more for the pass,” Van Brunt said. “First off, I have to thank my offensive line. They played well tonight.”
The Greyhounds (2-3) got on the board first with a 32-yard field goal from Tim Williever with 4:15 to go in the first quarter, but it was a bit of a win for the Hopewell defense to hold the visitors to just three points. It turned out those points were the last Northern Burlington would score
The Bulldogs (4-0) took the lead for good with at the 1:39 mark of the first quarter, when Van Brunt juked a few defenders and took it in from 16 yards followed by a Mackenzie Bangerter extra point to make it 7-3.
Hopewell Valley scored just before the break to make it 14-3 when QB Tim McKeown took it in from two yards. It was a key drive in the game, especially with the way the Bulldogs were playing defensively.
After a punt to start the third quarter, Hopewell’s defense came up big once again to start the second half. They stopped the Greyhounds twice, then turned to Van Brunt to milk time off the clock. But Hopewell Valley did more than that after halftime: the Bulldogs had a huge time of possession advantage, and once Kyle Machusak picked off Ryan Caloairo for the second time with 5:37 left in the game, the contest was all but done.
“When I get the ball, I just try to find any holes, and any yardage I can get,” Van Brunt said.
Van Brunt went over 100 yards inside the final four minutes, and will get back to work next week with the Capitol title on the line against Nottingham.
“It all starts at practice and watching film,” Van Brunt said. “This week, we really have to dial in for Nottingham, because they are going to be a good team. All week, coach was saying this was going to be a nice, physical game, and we really just prepared for it at practice. We just have to do the same.
The N.J. High School Sports newsletter now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now and be among the first to get all the boys and girls sports you care about, straight to your inbox each weekday. To add your name, click here. | 2022-09-24T03:11:49+00:00 | nj.com | https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2022/09/van-brunt-defense-lead-hopewell-valley-past-northern-burlington.html |
Man drowns visiting North Carolina beach on July 4th holiday weekend
OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) – A man visiting the coast of North Carolina during the Fourth of July holiday weekend drowned Sunday in Oak Island.
According to town officials, 52-year-old Kevin Whitley of Hickory, NC was pulled to the shore. Bystanders on the beach started CPR until emergency responders arrived.
WECT reports emergency medical personnel performed all available resuscitation efforts for over 30 minutes before pronouncing Whitley dead.
This is the fourth drowning death in the area this year.
Oak Island Water Rescue received more than half a dozen water rescue calls Sunday afternoon.
Authorities in the area stressed the dangers of the water from the aftermath of Tropical Storm Colin.
Copyright 2022 WECT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-04T14:11:48+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/2022/07/04/man-drowns-visiting-north-carolina-beach-july-4th-holiday-weekend/ |
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Former LSU star Mikie Mahtook breaks down what he learned after another dominant weekend from LSU Baseball, especially on the mound.
For more from Mikie, check out his show Mik’d Up with Mikie.
Click on the video provided for his full response. | 2023-03-17T17:54:39+00:00 | cenlanow.com | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/geaux-nation/my-take-with-mikie-what-we-learned-about-lsus-pitching-staff/ |
Have you cut back on your fishing? With gas and food prices skyrocketing and summer heat ahead of schedule, even the most diehard anglers among us are wondering if the cost is worth the rewards.
When it's this hot, air conditioning and a drink with an umbrella in it sounds real good to many. This time of the year is not for weak at heart, but my three summer heat rules can still make it fun — even when things don't exactly go well.
This past week, temperatures neared 100 degrees. Believe it or not, this is among my favorite times to be on the water. Figuring out the fishing puzzle, including fish movements, is what I like this time of year, and it seems big fish scatter from the shallows and bunch on the first available cover.
This is transition time. Although many fish will remain shallow all year, the weather will have them seeking their comfort zone, too. Finding baitfish means post-spawn gamefish will be close by — this is summertime fishing post-spawn Rule No. 1.
More catching and less fishing
This is also a great time to find white and hybrid stripers, walleye and saugeye, and a musky or northern or two as well. It is a mixed bag and feeding is on their minds. One of my old coaches, Wayne Patkunas, used to say “this is wait-em out time,” meaning you may not get bunches of bites, but patience and finding how they move and migrate means they will come to you. I've found that works more times than not, and looking for those deeper resting points from the spawn are great first locations to look. A blowdown on a breakline, a solitary bush, clump of vegetation or even a rock pile is a great place to start.
To some, being outdoors in the heat is a no-no, and if you are not supposed to be outdoors, don’t risk it. Heat affects every person differently, and heat exhaustion can come on quickly. Go early and late, and don’t be reckless.
Getting dizzy or sick in a boat is bad business. I always wear my lifejacket. The new lifejackets that are automatic and suspender types are not hot and can be gotten use to quickly. Staying hydrated is crucial. Take plenty of water.
Expect the Unexpected
Rule No. 2 is about being prepared — at least as prepared as you can be. Light colors and vented performance clothing, including buffs and hand coverings, help keep the sun off your skin. I am seeing many wearing wide-brim hats, too.
Growing up, we never talked about skin cancer, but it’s a real issue. Ice packs are great for keeping drinks cold but also work great placed on the back of your neck. I like the gel style packs — they stay cooler longer. Hitting the water in this heat is not for the faint of heart and takes a little luck.
In my latest fishing trip, it seems I forgot to pack my four-leaf clover, buckeye, horseshoe and rabbits foot. Luck didn’t follow me.
I spend way too much time in the office, plus I needed a shakedown cruise for the new boat and associated trolling motor. Although I always check and double-check my installs, there is always something that needs to be tweaked. Fewer people at the ramp gives me more time to test. This time was no different.
I took my time — prepared as always, with a cooler full of water, a handful of tools — and hit the lake.
My uneventful test day turned into an eventful challenge. It began this way.
After backing in and unhooking the boat, it seemed easy enough. But then I tripped over the trolling motor pedal on the way back in and crashed into the floor of the boat. Believe it or not, I fall much better than I get up. Falling adjacent to my assortment of six or so rods-and-reels with treble hooks made the rollover even more tenuous.
After laughing at my stumble and checking on all my body parts, I made sure I didn’t crunch my cell phone, and slowly got underway. I knew my cast would feel like being hit by a 90 mph fastball and it did. Sore doesn’t leave as fast as it used to.
I slowly recovered and got my fishing mojo back for about five minutes when my trolling motor decided it wanted its eight seconds of bull riding fame, jumping in and out of the water every time I gave it power even at slow speed.
On my second cast, my line broke at the reel. I had to hand-over-hand my bait back. It gets worse. If I was smarter, I would have right there and then put it right back on the trailer. But being bullheaded is my mantra.
I pushed, pulled, greased and cussed, but couldn’t get it to lock down. Putting my engineer hat on and my uncanny diagnostic abilities, I found I had a mounting bolt that had loosened up and the trolling motor would not lock down.
I always have tools, but due to being dexterity challenged, I couldn’t get to it, so I pulled it up and decided to check out the livewells, electronics and other items I just added.
They all worked as designed — that was one for the good guys — but it wasn’t over. I putted around looking to fish my next location a short distance away, but then the trolling motor locked in the up position and would not deploy. I was beginning to believe this was God’s way of telling me to put it on the trailer.
There was no way was I going to give up that easily, so I decided to make the best of a bad situation. I squashed my anger — sometimes you just have to be mentally tough — and drove around a bit looking at the shoreline, water temps, color and vegetation before deciding the lake would win this trip.
The hill at the ramp has never been an issue, but I think it has grown since the last time I climbed it. And because it was so hot, I parked a bit further away in the shade — another dumb move. By the time I got to the truck I needed CPR, a change of shirts, a bottle of water and an attitude adjustment.
All completed, I loaded up and headed back to the office for repair and regroup time. Which leads to Rule No. 3 ...
Never Give Up
The moral of this story is simple: Getting older and less agile is part of the game and it won’t get any better. Perseverance is the only way it will work out, and as I have told my friends: The day I can’t get in and out of the boat is the day I hang it up.
Although this particularly hot, nasty day tested my mettle, I am not ready to give up as yet! Maybe next trip!
Terry Brown is President of Wired2Fish.com, an industry leading, daily website and social media fishing centered community that provides information on products, industry newsmakers and fishing techniques. You can read more by going to www.Wired2Fish.com. | 2022-06-15T18:42:42+00:00 | pantagraph.com | https://pantagraph.com/sports/outdoors/brown-rules-to-live-by-when-fishing-in-the-summer-heat/article_251b61a8-ecc6-11ec-b4e4-5f5af5a53474.html |
Tropical Depression 9: Latest track and spaghetti models By FOX 35 News Staff Published September 23, 2022 11:22AM FOX 35 Orlando Hurricane Center FOX 35 Orlando Facebook Twitter Print Email | 2022-09-23T17:12:32+00:00 | fox35orlando.com | https://www.fox35orlando.com/weather/tropical-depression-nine-latest-track-and-spaghetti-models |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only about half of Democrats think President Joe Biden should run again in 2024, a poll shows, but a large majority say they’d be likely to support him if he became the nominee.
The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 26% of Americans overall want to see Biden run again — a slight recovery from the 22% who said that in January. Forty-seven percent of Democrats say they want him to run, also up slightly from only 37% who said that in January.
The ambivalence among Democratic voters comes as Biden is preparing to formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week, according to people briefed on the discussions. The president has been eyeing Tuesday, April 25 — four years to the day since he entered the 2020 race — although no final decisions have been made.
Despite the reluctance of many Democrats to see Biden run for another term, 78% of them say they approve of the job he’s doing as president. And a total of 81% of Democrats say they would at least probably support Biden in a general election if he is the nominee — 41% say they definitely would and 40% say they probably would.
Interviews with poll respondents suggest that the gap reflects concerns about Biden’s age, as well as a clamoring from a younger generation of Democrats who say they want leadership that reflects their demographic and their values. Biden, now 80, would be 82 on Election Day 2024 and 86 years old at the end of a second presidential term. He is the oldest president in history.
Jenipher Lagana, 59, said she likes Biden, calling him an “interesting man” who has had an “incredible political career.” She praised Biden for providing a “breath of fresh air” and said she approves of how he’s been doing his job as president.
But “my problem with him running in 2024 is that he’s just so old,” said Lagana, who is retired and lives in California. “I would love to see somebody younger, like (Transportation Secretary Pete) Buttigieg or (California Gov. Gavin) Newsom be able to get in there and handle things maybe a little differently just because they’re a younger person.”
Donna Stewart, 48, a program director for a nonprofit in New York, also pointed to Biden’s age as a concern.
“I voted for him. I like him as a person. I like him as a leader for the country,” she said. “However, I just feel that he’s still lacking the up-to-date knowledge of what needs to be done.”
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden appeared to hint that he would limit himself to just one term in the White House, framing his candidacy as a bridge to a new generation of Democratic leaders. But while in office, Biden has made his intentions clearer that he would run again for a second term, saying as recently as last week in Ireland that he’s “already made that calculus” and that the announcement will happen “relatively soon.”
With only nominal primary challengers and a chaotic Republican field, the president and his senior aides have felt little pressure to formalize a reelection campaign. Instead, Biden has focused on governing, holding events at the White House and traveling across the country to sell his top legislative achievements such as a bipartisan infrastructure law and a sweeping climate, health care and tax package.
The president and his senior political advisers are meeting with Democratic donors in Washington next week in an event meant to energize the party’s top contributors ahead of Biden’s expected reelection campaign.
Biden has also batted away questions about his age, saying that voters simply need to “watch me” to determine whether he’s up to the job as president.
And while many Democrats remain tepid on Biden because of his age, others said it was actually an asset.
Stephen Foery, 47, said Biden’s decades in Washington — first in the Senate and then as vice president — proved to be valuable in the first two years of his presidency “because he’s done a lot to fix the country in a very short amount of time.”
“I think that one of the benefits of living a long life is that you have a lot of wisdom to impart,” said Foery, a creative services manager in Pennsylvania. “If you gain as much experience as Biden has throughout his life, it would be a shame to simply disregard him because of his age.”
Biden’s job approval rating stands at 42%, a slight improvement from 38% in March. The March poll came after a pair of bank failures rattled an already shaky confidence in the nation’s financial systems, and Biden’s approval rating then was near the lowest point of his presidency. Thirty percent of Americans call the national economy good, a slight improvement from 25% a month ago.
Younger Democrats remain a reluctant part of Biden’s coalition — just 25% of those under age 45 say they would definitely support Biden in a general election, compared with 56% of older Democrats. Still, an additional 51% of younger Democrats say they would probably vote for Biden in a 2024 general election.
“It’s really hard to support somebody who is such a career politician, who has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo when the status quo doesn’t work for me,” said Otis Phillips, 20, who lives in Washington state.
Phillips, a student, said he has been pleased with some of Biden’s initiatives, including his student loan forgiveness program and his focus on climate policy. But he emphasized: “I don’t like maintaining the status quo. And so I want things to change, and I don’t think Biden’s how we’re going to get that in the next four years.”
Both the current and former president could face resistance from the public as a whole in a general election. A total of 65% of U.S. adults say they would definitely or probably not support former President Donald Trump if he is nominated in a general election, including 53% who say they definitely would not. Biden’s obstacles are smaller by comparison but still substantial: 56% of Americans say they would be unlikely to support Biden in a general election, including 41% who say they would definitely not.
Biden has long bet that once voters are presented with a binary choice — either him or a Republican candidate, particularly if it is Trump — that a majority of the electorate will side with Democrats. He often quotes his father, Joseph R. Biden Sr., in his public remarks: “Joey, don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.”
“The only reason why I would not want him to run is because of his age. Like, that’s the only thing,” said Shakeen Magee, 45, a self-employed Georgia resident.
But she said that if Biden does officially become the Democratic nominee in 2024, she would definitely support him “because we can’t take another Trump.” Magee added that “if we were to get another Republican in that office, it would just undo the little progress that Biden has been able to make.”
___
AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller and AP writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report.
___
The poll of 1,230 adults was conducted April 13-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. | 2023-04-21T20:28:31+00:00 | wjhl.com | https://www.wjhl.com/news/politics/poll-biden-2024-splits-dems-but-most-would-back-him-in-nov/ |
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va., Aug. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (NASDAQ: GP) (TSXV: GPV) ("GreenPower"), a leading manufacturer and distributor of zero-emission, electric-powered, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, today announced the sale and delivery of three BEAST Type D all-electric school buses to the West Virginia Department of Education and the appointment of an independent dealer with locations across the state of West Virginia for GreenPower's BEAST Type D and Nano BEAST Type A all-electric school buses.
"We are excited to be working with Monica Matheny and her experienced bus team who are a full-service dealer covering the state of West Virginia," said Michael Perez, Vice President School Bus, Contracts and Grants for GreenPower. "The Matheny family has been selling and servicing commercial vehicles in West Virginia for more than 100 years. This relationship will help ensure that GreenPower school buses, manufactured in West Virginia, will be the school bus of choice across the state. It's a partnership that further provides for economic development in West Virginia and puts an emphasis on kids' health and well-being."
The dealer, headquartered in Parkersburg, West Virginia, will be the exclusive dealer for sales, parts and service for GreenPower school buses in the state of West Virginia and has initially agreed to purchase one BEAST and one Nano BEAST school bus from GreenPower for customers and demonstrations.
"I am pleased to learn of the new relationship between GreenPower and Monica Matheny and her team," said West Virginia Secretary of Economic Development Mitch Carmichael. "Having these electric vehicles manufactured in West Virginia and on the road transporting our most precious commodity, school kids, means a healthier school day, a stronger West Virginia economy and future job markets for these same children."
In addition to the buses to be purchased by the dealer, the West Virginia Department of Education has purchased and taken delivery of the three BEAST Type D school buses which will be used for the pilot project announced by Gov. Jim Justice in June. The pilot will commence in September as the school year begins. One Nano BEAST will also be purchased by the state later in the school year to expand the pilot to include a Type A all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emissions school bus.
GreenPower's BEAST is a 40-foot Type D school bus seating up to 90 passengers and the Nano BEAST is a 25-foot Type A school bus which is available with standard seating or with ADA. Both the BEAST and Nano BEAST have a class-leading range of up to 150 miles with a monocoque chassis design and built from the ground up to be battery-electric. The vehicles can charge up to 20 KW on a standard J1772 protocol or DC fast charge.
GreenPower and Media Contacts:
Brendan Riley
President
(510) 910-3377
Michael Perez
Vice President School Bus, Contracts and Grants
(909) 308-0960
Allie Potter
Skyya PR for GreenPower
(218) 766-8856
allie@skyya.com
GreenPower designs, builds and distributes a full suite of high-floor and low-floor all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles, including transit buses, school buses, shuttles, cargo van, and a cab and chassis. GreenPower employs a clean-sheet design to manufacture all-electric vehicles that are purpose built to be battery powered with zero emissions while integrating global suppliers for key components. This OEM platform allows GreenPower to meet the specifications of various operators while providing standard parts for ease of maintenance and accessibility for warranty requirements. GreenPower was founded in Vancouver, Canada with primary operational facilities in southern California. Listed on the Toronto exchange since November 2015, GreenPower completed its U.S. IPO and NASDAQ listing in August 2020. For further information go to www.greenpowermotor.com
This document contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, GreenPower's business and operations and the environment in which it operates, which are based on GreenPower's operations, estimates, forecasts, and projections. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "upon", "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict or are beyond GreenPower's control. A number of important factors, including those set forth in other public filings (filed under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com), could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Consequently, readers should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. In addition, these forward-looking statements relate to the date on which they are made. GreenPower disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. © 2022 GreenPower Motor Company Inc. All rights reserved.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE GreenPower Motor Company | 2022-08-25T12:25:26+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/25/greenpower-delivers-three-beast-electric-school-buses-west-virginia-appoints-dealer-state/ |
LONDON — Opposition parties and children's advocates accused the U.K. government on Tuesday of putting vulnerable young people in danger, after authorities said scores of children who arrived in Britain as asylum-seekers have disappeared.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told lawmakers that more than 200 children and teenagers under 18 were missing from government-approved accommodation. He said most were teenage boys from Albania.
Labour Party lawmaker Peter Kyle said 76 children had vanished from a hotel in the south coast seaside town of Brighton, one of several around the country where unaccompanied children are housed temporarily.
The Observer newspaper this week cited child protection sources and an unidentified whistleblower working for a government contractor as saying dozens of youngsters had been abducted off the street outside a Brighton hotel and bundled into cars.
"The uncomfortable truth for us is if one child who was related to one of us in this room went missing, the world would stop," Kyle said in the House of Commons. "But in the community I represent a child has gone missing, then five went missing, then a dozen went missing, then 50 went missing and currently today 76 are missing and nothing is happening."
Labour's immigration spokeswoman, Yvette Cooper, accused the government of "a total dereliction of duty that is putting children at risk."
Rachel de Souza, the children's commissioner for England, said the reports of children disappearing from hotels "have highlighted, once again, the vulnerability of these children, who are in limbo, with a concerted group of people determined to exploit them."
"I am concerned for the safety of this group of children whose vulnerability is exacerbated by not speaking English, many of whom have no support network and are not aware of their rights," she said in a letter to the Home Office.
Jenrick said security guards, nurses and social workers were all based at hotels to ensure children were safe.
But he acknowledged that "we've no power to detain unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in these settings and we know some do go missing."
"Many of those who have gone missing are subsequently traced and located," he said.
Jenrick said he had not seen evidence of children being abducted off the street but promised to investigate further.
"I'm not going to let the matter drop," he said.
While Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than European countries including Italy, Germany and France, there has been a large increase in the number of people trying to reach the U.K. in small boats across the English Channel. More than 45,000 people arrived in Britain across the Channel in 2022, and several died in the attempt.
The government has pledged to stop the risky journeys, so far without success.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-01-24T23:27:13+00:00 | delawarepublic.org | https://www.delawarepublic.org/npr-headlines/2023-01-24/the-u-k-government-says-more-than-200-child-asylum-seekers-are-missing |
LONDON (AP) — BP’s earnings more than doubled in the third quarter as the London-based energy giant benefited from high oil and natural gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Underlying replacement cost profit, which excludes one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories, jumped to $8.15 billion from $3.32 billion in the same period last year, BP said Tuesday. The company also announced plans to reward shareholders, buying back another $2.5 billion of stock.
Soaring earnings at British energy companies are fueling calls for the government to expand a tax on their windfall profits as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struggles to close an estimated 40 billion-pound ($46 billion) hole in the budget. BP rival Shell last week said third-quarter earnings more than doubled to $9.45 billion.
U.S. President Joe Biden also has floated the possibility of a windfall tax if energy companies don’t boost domestic production, accusing them Monday of “war profiteering.”
It comes as oil companies around the world are seeing earnings surge, with Saudi's Aramco on Tuesday reporting a $42.4 billion profit, it's second-highest quarterly earnings ever. Last week, Texas-based Exxon Mobil broke records with $19.66 billion in profits in the three months to September and California-based Chevron got close to its peak from last quarter with $11.23 billion.
For BP, it is plowing some of the profits from high oil and natural gas prices into renewable energy as it tries to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050. During the third quarter, the company bought Archaea Energy, which produces natural gas from landfills and other waste sites across the U.S. and agreed to buy 40.5% of the Asian Renewable Energy Hub, which plans to develop wind and solar power projects in Western Australia.
“This quarter’s results reflect us continuing to perform while transforming,” Chief Executive Bernard Looney said in a statement.
Britain in May imposed an additional 25% tax on profits earned from oil and gas extraction in the U.K. The temporary tax is designed to raise about 5 billion pounds through the end of 2025. The new tax cost BP $778 million in the third quarter, the company said.
The pressure on the U.K. government is likely to increase for a higher windfall tax.
“We need to raise more money from a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and actively encourage them to invest in renewables,” said Alok Sharma, who chaired COP26, the last U.N. climate summit.
BP’s earnings jumped as Brent crude, a benchmark for European oil prices, averaged $100.84 a barrel in the third quarter, 37% higher than during the same period last year.
Natural gas prices have been even more volatile as Russia curtails supplies to Europe. In the U.K., wholesale gas prices averaged 137% higher than a year earlier.
Although prices have fallen in recent weeks, BP said it expects them to remain high during the fourth quarter after the OPEC+ group of oil-exporting nations cut production and as Russia limits gas supplies. | 2022-11-01T10:24:24+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/BP-profits-soar-in-3Q-as-pressure-increases-for-17548733.php |
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Multidisciplinary design firm Cushing Terrell is pleased to announce the promotion of Associate Sandi Rudy to director of the Interior Design service sector. Rudy will be responsible for strategic direction, business development, and high-level client relationship management; staffing and workload management; mentorship and career development for team members; and the overall success, health, and growth of the service sector.
"Since the inception of the service sector three years ago, our Interior Design group has grown tremendously, and the team's expertise and creativity have cemented our firm's reputation as a national leader for commercial interiors," Commercial Design Director Brad Sperry said. "Sandi has played a pivotal role in the success we've experienced due to her ability to envision and execute on big picture goals, mentor and advance team members, and earn the respect of everyone with whom she works."
Rudy and her team have partnered with some of the world's largest companies, including Google, Facebook, Dell, and Apple, supporting their future-forward workplace designs. Her passion for enhancing the human experience in the built environment has influenced her thoughtful, user-focused approach to interior design and resulted in strong relationships with owners and occupants.
To support the growing team, two other Austin-based interior designers at Cushing Terrell, Angelica Henderson and Eleanor Smith, will be promoted to regional leadership positions.
"I'm incredibly pleased to take on the role of service sector leader for Cushing Terrell's Interior Design group," Sandi Rudy said. "This team is full of energy and ideas, always pushing the envelope for our clients as well as pushing forward partnerships that enable more responsible design. I couldn't be prouder of this team and am excited to lead us to the next level."
Cushing Terrell's Interior Design team was recently ranked #3 for Commercial Interior Design Firms by the Austin Business Journal and newly listed on Interior Design magazine's 2022 Rising Giants list.
Cushing Terrell was founded in 1938 on the belief that integrating architecture, engineering, and design opens the doors for deepened relationships and enhanced creativity. This foundation continues to define the firm and its multidisciplinary team today. With offices across the United States and services spanning 30 disciplines, the team works collaboratively to design systems and spaces that help people live their best lives and enjoy healthy, sustainable built environments. cushingterrell.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Cushing Terrell | 2022-09-29T21:28:49+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/09/29/cushing-terrell-promotes-sandi-rudy-rid-leed-idc-lead-firms-interior-design-group/ |
Center Point CPU walked the high-wire before edging Waverly-Sr 41-32 in Iowa girls basketball on January 3.
You're reading a news brief powered by ScoreStream, a world leader in fan-driven sports results and conversation. Help us collect and deliver more game results from your favorite teams and players by downloading the ScoreStream app. Nearly a million users nationwide share team scores and player performance stats with this convenient free app. | 2023-01-04T20:09:54+00:00 | wcfcourier.com | https://wcfcourier.com/sports/high-school/basketball/girls/center-point-cpu-handles-stress-test-to-best-waverly-sr-41-32/article_64735c67-370c-503d-b86d-fcfdfb914c2c.html |
- Total revenue of $345.2 million, up 9% y/y, and $349.0 million on a constant currency basis, up 11% y/y
- Total bookings of $354.6 million, up 3% y/y, and $365.2 million on a constant currency basis, up 7% y/y
- Partners continue to turn to the Wix platform, resulting in partners revenue of $84.9 million or 25% of total revenue, up 31% y/y and representing a two year CAGR of 56%
- Cost reduction plan expected to generate approximately $150 million of annualized cost savings and accelerate margin expansion
- Launched a new Wix Editor experience, combining AI capabilities with new advanced features to create an even more powerful and intuitive web creation experience
NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wix.com Ltd. (Nasdaq: WIX) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. In addition, the Company provided its initial outlook for the third quarter. Please visit the Wix Investor Relations website at https://investors.wix.com/ to view the Q2'22 Shareholder Update and other materials.
"We are pleased with our fundamental business improvement this quarter as Wix continues to be the go-to platform for any type of user and any type of business globally," said Avishai Abrahami, Wix Co-founder and CEO. "The strong results of our growth initiatives continue. Despite the current macroeconomic environment, we are focused on what is under our control — driving operational efficiencies to accelerate our path to profitability while continuing to execute on growth initiatives, such as launching the new Wix Editor this quarter. We remain committed to executing on our three-year financial plan, enhancing our differentiated business model and delivering innovative capabilities for our users to drive shareholder value."
Lior Shemesh, CFO at Wix, added, "Our results this quarter reflect continued market-wide volatility. We are executing on the three-year plan we shared in May and are undertaking a cost reduction plan that we expect will save approximately $150 million in annualized expenses. These cost reduction measures are expected to accelerate expansion of our gross margin and operating margin as well as help us achieve our free cash flow target as presented in our three-year plan even if market conditions continue to be challenged in 2023."
Cost reduction plan
As part of our commitment to execute on the three-year plan and achieve the free cash flow targets introduced at our Analyst Day in May, today we are announcing a set of comprehensive cost reduction measures that will result in approximately $150 million of annualized cost savings. These savings are not one-time in nature and will continue to be realized on a run-rate basis. Approximately 20% of the annualized savings are expected to be realized already in 2022. Further, these cost savings do not include any reduction to our user acquisition marketing investments that we adjust to match our TROI thresholds, which we have not changed.
We expect that these reductions in our cost structure will result in free cash flow as a percentage of revenue (excluding headquarters capital expenditures) to be in line with our three-year plan and accelerate margin expansion ahead of the three-year plan in 2023 and beyond.
Key aspects of the plan include right-sizing our workforce and future hiring targets across multiple functions to realign with the operating environment today and optimizing additional operating costs that are not revenue generating.
We continue to take a deeper look to identify additional areas of productivity improvements across our care, sales and marketing, and engineering functions as well as opportunities to rationalize our real estate footprint, among other potential levers.
These measures will allow us to increase our focus on and investment in our highest conviction growth opportunities.
Many of these actions are already underway. Of these $150 million of annualized savings, roughly 25% will come from cost of revenue, mainly our care organization, which will lead to approximately 200 basis points of gross margin improvement in 2023 compared to our three-year plan presented in May. The other 75% of savings will come primarily from operating expenses with a small amount being capital expenditures.
Q2 2022 Financial Results
- Total revenue in the second quarter of 2022 was $345.2 million, up 9% y/y and representing a two year CAGR of 21%
- Transaction revenue was $36.8 million, up 13% y/y
- Total bookings in the second quarter of 2022 were $354.6 million, up 3% y/y and representing a two year CAGR of 15%
- Total gross margin on a GAAP basis in the second quarter of 2022 was 61%
- Total non-GAAP gross margin in the second quarter of 2022 was 62%
- GAAP net loss in the second quarter of 2022 was $111.2 million, or $1.92 per share
- Non-GAAP net loss in the second quarter of 2022 was $7.8 million, or $0.14 per share
- Net cash used by operating activities for the second quarter of 2022 was $(2.7) million, while capital expenditures totaled $13.2 million, leading to free cash flow of $(15.9) million
Financial Outlook
Our guidance for the second half reflects demand that has reset to pre-COVID-19 levels and FX rate headwinds experienced since May.
For Q3, we expect total revenue to be $341 to $345 million, representing 7 - 8% y/y growth. For the full year, we now expect revenue to grow 8 - 10% y/y. These ranges include the impact of y/y FX rates through July, discontinued commercial activities in Russia and the assumption that market conditions remain challenged for the remainder of the year.
We expect free cash flow to be roughly 2 - 3% of revenue in 2022, inclusive of the cost reduction plan and y/y FX rate headwinds through July. On a y/y constant currency basis, this would translate into free cash flow margin of 4 - 5% of revenue for full year 2022.
Despite these lower revenue growth expectations, we expect that the cost reduction plan we have implemented will allow free cash flow as a percentage of revenue (excluding headquarters capital expenditures) in 2023 to be in line with the three-year plan outlined in May and drive accelerated gross and operating margins compared to the plan even if market conditions continue to be challenged in 2023. We are committed to this plan and are taking the necessary actions to achieve it.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Wix will host a conference call to discuss the results at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. To participate on the live call, analysts and investors should register and join at https://register.vevent.com/register/I75e57676e62f46a4bdce023f055300a6. A replay of the call will be available through August 9, 2023 via the registration link.
Wix will also offer a live and archived webcast of the conference call, accessible from the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at https://investors.wix.com/.
About Wix.com Ltd.
Wix is a leading platform to create, manage and grow a digital presence. What began as a website builder in 2006 is now a complete platform providing users with enterprise-grade performance, security and a reliable infrastructure. Offering a wide range of commerce and business solutions, advanced SEO and marketing tools, Wix enables users to take full ownership of their brand, their data and their relationships with their customers. With a focus on continuous innovation and delivery of new features and products, anyone can build a powerful digital presence to fulfill their dreams on Wix.
For more about Wix, please visit our Press Room
Investor Relations:
ir@wix.com
Media Relations:
pr@wix.com
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Operating Metrics
To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Wix uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: bookings, cumulative cohort bookings, bookings on a constant currency basis, revenue on a constant currency basis, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, free cash flow, free cash flow, as adjusted, free cash flow margins, non-GAAP R&D expenses, non-GAAP S&M expenses, non-GAAP G&A expenses, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP cost of revenue expense, non-GAAP financial expense, non-GAAP tax expense (collectively the "Non-GAAP financial measures"). Measures presented on a constant currency or FX neutral basis have been adjusted to exclude the effect of y/y changes in foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Bookings is a non-GAAP financial measure calculated by adding the change in deferred revenues and the change in unbilled contractual obligations for a particular period to revenues for the same period. Bookings include cash receipts for premium subscriptions purchased by users as well as cash we collect from business solutions, as well as payments due to us under the terms of contractual agreements for which we may have not yet received payment. Cash receipts for premium subscriptions are deferred and recognized as revenues over the terms of the subscriptions. Cash receipts for payments and the majority of the additional products and services (other than Google Workspace) are recognized as revenues upon receipt. Committed payments are recognised as revenue as we fulfill our obligation under the terms of the contractual agreement. Non-GAAP gross margin represents gross profit calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses and amortization, divided by revenue. Non-GAAP operating income (loss) represents operating income (loss) calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization, acquisition-related expenses and sales tax expense accrual and other G&A expenses (income). Non-GAAP net income (loss) represents net loss calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization, sales tax expense accrual and other G&A expenses (income), amortization of debt discount and debt issuance costs and acquisition-related expenses and non-operating foreign exchange expenses (income). Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share represents non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by the weighted average number of shares used in computing GAAP loss per share. Free cash flow represents net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less capital expenditures. Free cash flow, as adjusted, represents free cash flow further adjusted to exclude capital expenditures associated with our new headquarters. Free cash flow margins represent free cash flow divided by revenue. Non-GAAP cost of revenue represents cost of revenue calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses and amortization. Non-GAAP R&D expenses represent R&D expenses calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses and amortization. Non-GAAP S&M expenses represent S&M expenses calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses and amortization. Non-GAAP G&A expenses represent G&A expenses calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses and amortization. Non-GAAP operating expenses represent operating expenses calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses and amortization. Non-GAAP financial expense represents financial expense calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for unrealized gains of equity investments, amortization of debt discount and debt issuance costs and non-operating foreign exchange expenses. Non-GAAP tax expense represents tax expense calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for provisions for income tax effects related to non-GAAP adjustments.
The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The Company believes that these measures provide useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making.
For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the reconciliation tables provided below. The accompanying tables have more details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures. The Company is unable to provide reconciliations of free cash flow, free cash flow, as adjusted, cumulative cohort bookings, non-GAAP gross margin, and non-GAAP tax expense to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort because items that impact those GAAP financial measures are out of the Company's control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. Such information may have a significant, and potentially unpredictable, impact on our future financial results.
Wix also uses Creative Subscriptions Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) as a key operating metric. Creative Subscriptions ARR is calculated as Creative Subscriptions Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) multiplied by 12. Creative Subscriptions MRR is calculated as the total of (i) all active Creative Subscriptions in effect on the last day of the period, multiplied by the monthly revenue of such Creative Subscriptions, other than domain registrations in effect on the last day of the period; (ii) the average revenue per month from domain registrations; (iii) monthly revenue from other partnership agreements.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements may include projections regarding our future performance, including, but not limited to revenue, bookings and free cash flow, and may be identified by words like "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "aim," "forecast," "indication," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "outlook," "future," "will," "seek" and similar terms or phrases. The forward-looking statements contained in this document, including the quarterly and annual guidance, are based on management's current expectations, which are subject to uncertainty, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, our expectation that we will be able to attract and retain registered users and generate new premium subscriptions; our expectation that we will be able to increase the revenue we derive from the sale of premium subscriptions and business solutions, through our partners; our expectation that new products and developments, as well as third-party products we will offer in the future within our platform, will receive customer acceptance and satisfaction, including the growth in market adoption of our online commerce solutions; our assumption that historical user behavior can be extrapolated to predict future user behavior; our expectations regarding execution of our multi-year strategic plan and cost reduction plan; our prediction of the future revenues generated by our user cohorts and our ability to maintain and increase such revenue growth; our expectation to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation; our expectation that we will effectively execute our initiatives to scale and improve our user support function through our Customer Care team, and thereby increase user retention, user engagement and sales; our expectation that our products created for markets outside of North America will continue to generate growth in those markets; our plans to successfully localize our products, including by making our product, support and communication channels available in additional languages and to expand our payment infrastructure to transact in additional local currencies and accept additional payment methods; our expectations regarding the extent of the impact on our business and operations of the COVID-19 pandemic, including uncertainty relating to expected consumer dynamics after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the effectiveness of government policies, vaccine administration rates and other factors; our expectation regarding the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates on our business; our expectations relating to the repurchase of our ordinary shares and/or Convertible Notes pursuant to our repurchase program; our expectation that we will effectively manage the growth of our infrastructure; changes we expect may occur to technologies used in our solutions; our expectations regarding the outcome of any regulatory investigation or litigation, including class actions; our expectations regarding future changes in our cost of revenues and our operating expenses on an absolute basis and as a percentage of our revenues, as well as our ability to achieve profitability; our expectations regarding changes in the global, national, regional or local economic, business, competitive, market, and regulatory landscape, including as a result of increasing interest rates and inflationary pressures, lasting effects of COVID-19, and as a result of the military invasion of Ukraine by Russia; our planned level of capital expenditures and our belief that our existing cash and cash from operations will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months and for the foreseeable future; our expectations with respect to the integration and performance of acquisitions; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; our expectations about entering into new markets and attracting new customer demographics, including our ability to successfully attract new partners and grow our partner activities as anticipated and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1, 2022. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date hereof. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Wix.com Ltd. | 2022-08-10T06:18:48+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/08/10/wix-reports-second-quarter-2022-results/ |
Eric Bieniemy is finalizing terms of a deal to become the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because the deal was not yet completed. It’s expected to be done Saturday.
Bieniemy, a two-time Super Bowl-winning assistant with Kansas City, now gets the chance to show what he can do without Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
Bieniemy, who turns 54 in August, emerged from a pool of more than a half-dozen candidates as Washington’s choice for the job following the Chiefs’ second championship in his five seasons as their offensive coordinator. The longtime NFL assistant has interviewed for numerous head coaching jobs, but Reid calling plays for an offense featuring a two-time MVP in Mahomes clouded Bieniemy’s stock.
The decisions by teams not to hire Bieniemy, who is Black, as a head coach have been an ongoing talking point for critics of the NFL’s minority hiring practices.
Bieniemy will get the chance to call plays and run every aspect of Washington’s offense under Ron Rivera, a defensive-minded coach and former linebacker who’s going into his fourth season in charge of the team’s football operations.
Bieniemy inherits second-year quarterback Sam Howell, who goes into spring as the starter, and an offense that includes running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson and top receiver Terry McLaurin.
A running back for nine seasons in the 1990s, Bieniemy has coached at the college and pro levels. He coached running backs with Kansas City for five years before being promoted to offensive coordinator and before that worked at the University of Colorado and for the Minnesota Vikings as a position coach.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | 2023-02-18T13:47:26+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/sports-news/ap-ap-source-commanders-finalizing-hire-of-bieniemy-as-oc/ |
Wisconsin-Superior baseball won its sixth and seventh consecutive games with ease on Sunday, though the wins did come at the cost of a consecutive scoreless innings streak that reached 39.
UWS routed North Central 13-3 and 25-1 at Reynolds Field in St. Paul in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play.
The Yellowjackets were already up 12-0 in the fourth inning when NCU scored on them in the fourth inning for the first time since April 14 at Minnesota Morris.
Isaac Fugere was 5-for-5 with three RBIs, while Christian Garcia went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and drove in two runs.
Ryan Rodriguez allowed three runs and six hits in five innings for the win.
ADVERTISEMENT
In game two, UWS scored six in the first and led 15-1 after three innings. Thirteen Yellowjackets had at least one hit. Fugere homered and had three hits and three RBIs.
Matt Tappe allowed one run on five hits on the mound, striking out seven.
UWS (18-11, 14-3 UMAC) is slated to face North Central again on Monday. | 2023-05-01T04:24:53+00:00 | duluthnewstribune.com | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/college/uws-baseball-gives-up-runs-but-scores-many-more |
Lancaster-based VisionCorps is partnering with the Pennsylvania Vision Foundation to offer free eye examination and eyeglasses to qualified adults and children.
“We offer individuals in our community who may not be able to afford to get their eyes checked and purchase glasses access to a program that can provide the exam and glasses for free,” said Dennis Steiner, VisionCorps president and CEO.
The income-based program provides a free vision examination and basic frames and lenses. Anyone in need is encouraged to call VisionCorps at 717-205-4141 or email mkubicki@visioncorps.net to check on their eligibility for the services.
“Keeping your eyes healthy is an important part of preserving eyesight and help with an eye exam and glasses is one of the many services we offer,” Steiner said.
VisionCorps provides education and blindness prevention services, rehabilitation and employment. It serves clients ranging in age from newborns to seniors.
The non-profit screens more than 7,000 children annually for vision loss and serves approximately 2,000 individuals with rehabilitation services in Lancaster, Lebanon, Chester, York and Adams counties. It also offers programs, both in-person and virtual, about common eye conditions, living with low vision, employing people with low vision and tips for living independently.
All the programs are provided free of charge, and services offered to clients of VisionCorps are free. For more information, visit www.visioncorps.net. | 2022-06-30T20:43:20+00:00 | lancasteronline.com | https://lancasteronline.com/news/lancaster-nonprofit-offers-free-eye-exams-and-eyeglasses/article_c10dcf98-f8aa-11ec-aa4a-2751b98e35fc.html |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh were at Syracuse City Hall Wednesday, March 1, for a press conference regarding an incident that happened at Brighton Towers.
Syracuse Mayor Walsh explained on Wednesday morning, March 1, at 10:30 a.m. a 911 call came in, that was made by a neighbor, regarding two people possibly dead at an apartment on 821 East Brighton Ave, Brighton Towers at tower number two on the 6th floor.
When the Syracuse Fire Department and AMR arrived on the scene, they confirmed two people were dead on arrival and one additional victim, who was alive, was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital for an “altered mental status.”
The Mayor continued and said the Syracuse Police Department was called to investigate two people dead on arrival and they requested AMR to come back to the scene for NARCAN exposure at 11:23 a.m. after some police officers became ill from exposure.
Watch the Wednesday afternoon press conference
Three Syracuse Police Officers were then transported to Upstate for potential exposure as well as one Syracuse Firefighter and one AMR staffer. Once arrived, an Upstate nurse also reported being impacted by potential exposure.
The Syracuse Fire Department Hazmat team was then deployed with multiple support units at that time, and all occupants on the affected floor were evacuated. 18 apartments in total are on the 6th floor. SFD is currently determining what the substances in the apartment are.
Symptoms of the potential exposure included accelerated heart rate and nausea.
All of the exposed persons are stable and some have been discharged from the hospital. SPD, SFD, ambulances and other first responders are currently at Brighton Towers.
In total, nine people were exposed to this substance and treated for “contact,” Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon confirmed.
The Hazmat team has identified a substance but has not stated what it is according to County Executive McMahon. The Mayor also confirmed there was a spike in overdoses over the weekend, specifically in the downtown area.
All of the emergency professionals became ill after having contact with the two individuals, said County Executive McMahon.
Syracuse Police Chief Cecile said the 6th floor may need to be ventilated and when they do that, they will then let people back in. He said it could take an hour or a few hours.
McMahon says in the event this investigation needs to be ongoing and folks can’t go back to their apartments, the Red Cross will assist. McMahon continued and mentioned those using these substances are at extreme risk and he hopes this is an isolated situation and we don’t see repeats of this.
Cheif Cecile also mentioned the potential substance seemed like it was not prepared for distribution, just for use, but that will be part of the investigation.
NewsChannel 9 has heard from Upstate University Hospital that they closed the Adult Emergency Department Wednesday, March 1 from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. while treating patients from a possible hazardous materials situation at Brighton Towers apartment building in Syracuse.
Nine patients in total were treated at Upstate. At this time, hospital operations have returned to normal and all Upstate EDs are open. | 2023-03-01T22:44:08+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/onondaga-county-executive-ryan-mcmahon-and-syracuse-mayor-ben-walsh-provide-update-regarding-incident-at-brighton-towers/ |
NEW YORK — A decades-old, mint condition Mickey Mantle baseball card could break records when it goes up for auction next month.
The collector's item from 1952 features one of baseball's most celebrated and charismatic legends, and is widely regarded as one of just a handful in near-perfect condition.
It's estimated the card could exceed $10 million when the two-day auction starts Aug. 27. The record is $6.6 million for a 1909 Honus Wagner card that was sold at auction a year ago, months after another 70-year-old Mantle card fetched $5.2 million.
No matter the final price for the rare Mantle rookie card, it will be a hefty profit for the current owner, a New Jersey waste management entrepreneur who bought it for $50,000 at a New York City show in 1991.
“Every time he got up to the plate, the crowd would go crazy, the roars would be there. And he never disappointed you. ... He had that aura about him,” card owner Anthony Giordano said of Mantle, who spent his entire career with the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968. “Whether you’re from the New York area or not, or a Yankees fan, it was always Mickey Mantle that was highlighted."
The switch-hitting Mantle — “the Mick” — was a Triple Crown winner in 1956, a three-time American League MVP and a seven-time World Series champion. The Hall of Famer, who died in 1995, was considered a humble player on the field. When he hit a home run, he would often run the bases with his head bowed.
“I figured the pitcher already felt bad enough without me showing him up rounding the bases,” Mantle once said.
As for the baseball card, its rarity is on par with its subject's mythical reputation.
“The quality of the card is the key,” said Derek Grady, the executive vice president of sports auctions for Heritage Auctions, which is running the bidding. “Four sharp corners, the gloss and the color jumps off the card.”
Grady said that the collectibles market is having a renaissance, noting that cards that are “the creme de la creme, the best of the best, are still selling despite the economy right now” and that Mantle, “the king” of baseball cards, “has always done well.”
Giordano, 75, said it was time to give the Mantle card a new home.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “My boys and I have had the cards for over 30 years, and we’ve enjoyed it. We’ve enjoyed showing anybody that’s close to me — friends and relatives — and I think it’s time for someone else.”
Before the auction begins, the card will be on display in Atlantic City from Wednesday through Sunday at the National Sports Collectors Convention, and at the New York office of Heritage Auctions the following week. | 2022-07-25T15:44:15+00:00 | wthr.com | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/nation-world/rare-1952-mickey-mantle-baseball-card-auction/507-29a922f4-b25a-485b-ac2b-bd0cd6f70873 |
SAN FRANCISCO — Gordon Moore, the Intel Corp. co-founder who set the breakneck pace of progress in the digital age with a simple 1965 prediction of how quickly engineers would boost the capacity of computer chips, has died. He was 94.
Moore died Friday at his home in Hawaii, according to Intel and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Moore, who held a Ph.D. in chemistry and physics, made his famous observation — now known as “Moore's Law” — three years before he helped start Intel in 1968. It appeared among a number of articles about the future written for the now-defunct Electronics magazine by experts in various fields.
The prediction, which Moore said he plotted out on graph paper based on what had been happening with chips at the time, said the capacity and complexity of integrated circuits would double every year.
Strictly speaking, Moore’s observation referred to the doubling of transistors on a semiconductor. But over the years, it has been applied to hard drives, computer monitors and other electronic devices, holding that roughly every 18 months a new generation of products makes their predecessors obsolete.
It became a standard for the tech industry’s progress and innovation.
“It's the human spirit. It's what made Silicon Valley,” Carver Mead, a retired California Institute of Technology computer scientist who coined the term "Moore's Law" in the early 1970s, said in 2005. "It's the real thing."
Moore later became known for his philanthropy when he and his wife established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which focuses on environmental conservation, science, patient care and projects in the San Francisco Bay area. It has donated more than $5.1 billion to charitable causes since its founding in 2000.
“Those of us who have met and worked with Gordon will forever be inspired by his wisdom, humility and generosity,” foundation president Harvey Fineberg said in a statement.
Moore was born in California in 1929. As a boy, he took a liking to chemistry sets.
After getting his Ph.D. from the California University of Technology in 1954, he worked briefly as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University.
His entry into microchips began when he went to work for William Shockley, who in 1956 shared the Nobel Prize for physics for his work inventing the transistor. Less than two years later, Moore and seven colleagues left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory after growing tired of its namesake's management practices.
The defection by the "traitorous eight," as the group came to be called, planted the seeds for Silicon Valley's renegade culture, in which engineers who disagreed with their colleagues didn't hesitate to become competitors.
The Shockley defectors in 1957 created Fairchild Semiconductor, which became one of the first companies to manufacture the integrated circuit, a refinement of the transistor.
Fairchild supplied the chips that went into the first computers that astronauts used aboard spacecraft.
In 1968, Moore and Robert Noyce, one of the eight engineers who left Shockley, again struck out on their own. With $500,000 of their own money and the backing of venture capitalist Arthur Rock, they founded Intel, a name based on joining the words "integrated" and “electronics.”
Moore became Intel's chief executive in 1975. His tenure as CEO ended in 1987, thought he remained chairman for another 10 years. He was chairman emeritus from 1997 to 2006.
He received the National Medal of Technology from President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2002.
Despite his wealth and acclaim, Moore remained known for his modesty. In 2005, he referred to Moore's Law as “a lucky guess that got a lot more publicity than it deserved.”
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Betty, sons Kenneth and Steven, and four grandchildren. | 2023-03-25T14:40:01+00:00 | wthr.com | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/nation-world/intel-co-founder-gordon-moore-dies/507-94178272-94a4-4151-8e00-a5b609f4a110 |
Five Orange Line stations will close during the next two weekends to prepare for a major overhaul of the stations’ platforms and other structures starting at the end of the month.
The overhaul, which will close the same stations — New Carrollton, Landover, Cheverly, Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue — and stop service between Stadium-Armory in D.C. and New Carrollton in Maryland, stretches from May 28 to Sept. 5.
The weekend closures are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday and May 15 and May 16. The Greenbelt station in Maryland will also close May 15 and May 16 for unrelated track work, Metro said.
Over the next two weekends, construction workers plan to finish demolishing and replacing mezzanine tile at the Orange Line stations, complete crack repairs, install platform shoring and install safety handrails around the platform canopies, Metro said. Crews will also pour concrete at several bridges on the Orange Line segment to prepare for repairs during the summer project.
Transit officials said they will operate free shuttle buses at the closed stations to serve as bridges to and from open Metro stations.
“The free shuttle buses offered on the Orange Line will replicate the service customers can expect to see this summer during weekdays,” Metro said in a statement.
During this period, Metro said, the Blue and Silver lines will not run between Stadium-Armory and Benning Road. Shuttle buses will serve as a replacement. | 2022-05-05T21:56:01+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/05/05/metro-transit-train-stations-closure/ |
CEO Martin Mao and people-first culture earn company four awards
NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chronosphere, the only cloud native observability platform that tames rampant data growth and complexity for engineers, today announced that it has been recognized for its outstanding culture and leadership with four Best Places to Work awards from workplace platform Comparably. Chronosphere secured wins across all of its fourth quarter award categories including Best Best CEO, Company Culture, Best Company for Women, and Best Company for Diversity. Comparably Awards are based on sentiment ratings anonymously provided by employees about their workplaces in multiple categories on Comparably.com during a 12-month period.
"Since our founding, we've worked hard to build a people-first culture at Chronosphere that prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion, while creating room for personal and professional growth. We're beyond proud to be recognized by Comparably for honoring the one-of-a-kind workplace that our leadership has cultivated," said Gabriela Serret-Campos, VP of People Operations at Chronosphere. "This recognition also underscores what we at Chronosphere already know: a great culture starts with a great CEO. With Martin Mao at the helm, our team works everyday to prove that great culture and sustained growth can go hand in hand."
Earlier this year, Chronosphere also earned a spot on Comparably's "Best Perks & Benefits" list and was recognized on recruitment platform Otta's "Rocket List 2022" as one of the fastest-growing companies to accelerate your career.
Chronosphere has built a unique, remote-first culture that puts its employees first and allows everyone to bring their whole self to work. The company offers industry-leading benefits including expanded medical benefits like gender affirmation, family planning spending accounts, life coaching, and fitness and well-being spending accounts. To encourage live connections and collaborations, the company also organizes monthly hub events, in person team meetings, company-wide gatherings and celebrations.
Throughout 2022, Chronosphere invested heavily in personnel, growing its employee count to more than 250 people distributed globally with hubs in Seattle, New York and Europe. Chronosphere's people-first culture has attracted top talent that has fueled continued business growth. As recently reported, the company tripled its Annual Recurring Revenue, solidifying its place as one of the industry's fastest growing companies.
Chronosphere plans for continued growth in 2023 and is actively recruiting for a number of roles across the globe. To learn more about open opportunities, please visit chronosphere.io/careers.
About Chronosphere
Chronosphere is the only cloud native observability platform that puts engineering organizations back in control by taming rampant data growth and cloud native complexity while accelerating innovation. Faster alerts and issue resolution ensures responsive and reliable cloud native workloads underlying the most valuable services at leading organizations like DoorDash, Robinhood, and Abnormal Security. Teams at organizations of all sizes trust Chronosphere to help them drive competitive advantage and world-class customer experiences while reducing engineering burnout and eliminating lock-in. Chronosphere is a remote-first company, backed by Greylock, Lux Capital, General Atlantic, Addition and Founders Fund. For more information, visit https://chronosphere.io or follow @chronosphereio.
About Comparably Awards
Comparably Awards is an annual series launched in late 2017 highlighting the best CEOs and places to work by those who know best – employees. Based solely on sentiment feedback provided by current employees who anonymously rated their employers on Comparably.com, workers answer structured questions (in yes/no, true/false, 1-10 scale, and multiple-choice formats) spanning 16 different workplace topics, from compensation, perks, and benefits to work-life balance, career growth, and leadership. Each answer is then given a numerical score and compared to companies of similar size. The final data set of winners are compiled from over 15 million ratings across 70,000 companies within a 12-month period.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Chronosphere | 2023-01-03T14:23:25+00:00 | kalb.com | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/01/03/comparably-recognizes-chronosphere-outstanding-culture-leadership/ |
Inflation has caused food prices to jump significantly, and cookout staples are among the products most impacted.
According to the American Farm Bureau Foundation, the cost of a standard cookout for 10 people this July 4 is $69.68, a 17% increase from a year ago.
While some items — strawberries, sliced cheese and potato chips — have actually seen a price decrease, meat prices are up significantly. The American Farm Bureau Foundation reports that ground prices are up 36%, chicken breast is up 33%, and pork and beans are also up 33%.
Other items like lemonade and ice cream have seen more modest price hikes.
The organization cited ongoing supply chain disruptions, inflation, and the war in Ukraine for the price hikes. The American Farm Bureau Foundation said farmers are not benefiting from the higher prices.
“Despite higher food prices, the supply chain disruptions and inflation have made farm supplies more expensive; like consumers, farmers are price-takers, not price-makers,” said American Farm Bureau Foundation chief economist Roger Cryan. “Bottom line, in many cases, the higher prices farmers are being paid aren’t covering the increase in their farm expenses. The cost of fuel is up, and fertilizer prices have tripled.”
The American Farm Bureau Foundation utilized 176 volunteer shoppers across the country for its data.
Federal data shows that overall, there has been a 10.1% increase in the cost of food at the grocery store in the 12-month period ending last month. Meat prices have been impacted at a higher rate, with a jump of 12.3% over the last year. | 2022-06-28T14:12:21+00:00 | fox17online.com | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/this-years-july-4-cookout-will-cost-you-17-more-than-last-year |
QUEENS (PIX11) — Two men are wanted in connection with at least four violent robberies this month across Queens, police said.
In each incident, the assailants approach an unsuspecting victim and threaten or punch them several times in the face before stealing their property, according to the NYPD.
The crooks hit three different people in one hour on Sunday, police said. Two of the individuals, a 66-year-old man, and a 78-year-old man were treated by first responders after being punched in the face, according to authorities.
Monday marks the most recent incident from the duo, police said. A 45-year-old man was walking on 75th Avenue around noon when the suspects approached him, police said. The robbers made a gesture of holding a firearm and then stole the victim’s property, police said.
The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). | 2023-02-14T22:37:07+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/news/local-news/queens/two-men-mug-at-least-4-people-in-queens-pattern-nypd/ |
ROME (AP) — Italian authorities on Tuesday announced the extraordinary discovery of 2,000-year-old bronze statues in an ancient Tuscan thermal spring and said the find will “rewrite history” about the transition from the Etruscan civilization to the Roman Empire.
The discovery, in the sacred baths of the San Casciano dei Bagni archaeological dig near Siena, is one of the most significant ever in the Mediterranean and certainly the most important since the 1972 underwater discovery of the famed Riace bronze warriors, said Massimo Osanna, the Culture Ministry’s director of museums.
Thanks to the mud that protected them, the two-dozen figurines and other bronze objects were found in a perfect state of conservation, bearing delicate facial features, inscriptions and rippled tunics. Alongside the figures were 5,000 coins in gold, silver and bronze, the ministry said.
As evidence of the importance of the find, the ministry announced the construction of a new museum in the area to house the antiquities.
Jacopo Tabolli, who coordinated the dig for the University for Foreigners in Siena, said the discovery was significant because it sheds new light on the end of the Etruscan civilization and the expansion of the Roman Empire in today’s central Italy between the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C.
The period was marked by wars and conflicts across what is today’s Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio regions, and yet, the bronze statues show evidence that Etruscan and Roman families prayed together to deities in the sacred sanctuary of the thermal springs. The statues, including depictions of Apollo and Igea, the ancient Greek god and goddess of health, bear both Etruscan and Latin inscriptions.
“While there were social and civil wars being fought outside the sanctuary … inside the sanctuary the great elite Etruscan and Roman families prayed together in a context of peace surrounded by conflict,” Tabolli said. “This possibility to rewrite the relationship and dialectic between the Etruscan and Romans is an exceptional opportunity.”
Some of the two dozen bronzes are entire human-like figures of deities, while others are of individual body parts and organs which would have been offered up as votive offerings to the gods for intervention for medical cures via the thermal waters, the ministry said in a statement.
“This is almost an X-ray of the human insides from the lungs to the intestines,” said Osanna, gesturing to a lung at the restoration laboratory where the bronzes are being treated. “There are ears and other anatomical parts like hands. So, all these things that curative waters and the intervention of the divinities would have been able to save.”
The find represents the largest deposit of bronzes from this era in Italy, notable also because most surviving antiquities from the period are primarily in terracotta, the ministry said.
“It’s a discovery that will rewrite history,” Tabolli said in a statement.
The discovery comes 50 years after the Riace bronze warriors were found by a recreational diver in the waters off southern Calabria and went onto become one of Italy’s most spectacular archaeological finds. The 5th century bronzes, currently on display at the national archaeological museum in Reggio Calabria, feature two naked life-sized and life-like Greek warriors, with rippled muscles and intricate, curly beards. | 2022-11-09T07:28:13+00:00 | ourquadcities.com | https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/international/ap-discovery-of-bronzes-rewrites-italys-etruscan-roman-history/ |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.