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WASHINGTON (AP) — It launched as the new president’s ambitious plan for rebuilding America — a $2.3 trillion domestic infrastructure investment coupled with a $1.8 trillion plan to bolster U.S. families with support for health care, child care, college costs, unseen in generations.
Totaling more than $4 trillion when President Joe Biden unveiled the American Jobs and American Rescue plans in spring, what the administration called the “Build Back Better” agenda was instantly compared to those of his Democratic predecessors, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society.
And it was almost instantly shunned by Sen. Joe Manchin.
The conservative West Virginia Democrat said the proposals were too big, too costly, too much. As he engaged in negotiations, always the center of attention, the outcome was almost always reductive, cutting the size and scope of the package. His vote, in the even-split Senate, like those of every Democrat, would be needed for anything to pass.
This week, after more than 15 months of breathtaking political pivots, Manchin has reduced Biden’s big ideas for a sweeping investment to just two: Reducing the costs of prescription drugs and shoring up the subsidies some families receive to buy health insurance.
While Manchin and Biden had agreed on a smaller infrastructure bill that eventually became law, the investments the president sought for families and to tackle climate change remain deeply in flux. On Friday, citing the nation’s spiking inflation — as he did last year — Manchin wants another pause.
Here’s a look of what Biden envisioned when he declared America is “arising anew” with his proposals, and what remains within reach with Manchin.
LOWERING HEALTH CARE, DRUG COSTS
Manchin stunned Washington again this week when it was disclosed that he wanted to drastically reduce the scope of revived package he was negotiating with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Democrats are racing to prop up Biden’s signature domestic proposal ahead of the midterm elections, and narrowed on a $1 trillion package — far smaller than first envisioned and about half the size of the $2 trillion package that passed the House late last year before Manchin walked away from talks.
What Manchin would be willing to do now was two proposals: Reduce the price of prescription drugs by allowing the federal government to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies, while capping seniors’ out-of-pocket expenses to $2,000, and put the savings into subsidies that families are relying on to buy their own health care but that are about to expire.
Both are big Democratic priorities and would be consequential for Americans struggling to pay always high health care bills.
But compared to what could have been, they amount to about $300 billion.
WHAT BIDEN ENVISIONED FOR FAMILIES…
Biden’s American Families Plan envisioned a vast investment for the nation’s families.
The cornerstone an enhanced $300 monthly child tax credit, first approved during the pandemic, that for a time was sending extra cast straight into parents’ bank accounts. It substantially reduced poverty and boosted households during the crisis. Biden wanted to extend it.
There was free pre-kindergarten for all, a $200 billion preschool program for 3- and 4-year olds to provide early childhood education and to help working parents juggle child care. Also, a $225 billion national paid family leave program so people could take time off, paid up to $4,000 monthly, at pivotal junctures — births, deaths and to care for loved ones.
Biden wanted to also provide free community college and funds for housing and other basic needs.
Eventually versions of the plan included free dental and vision for seniors, a nod to a top priority from Biden’s one-time rival Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
…. AND WHAT BIDEN WANTED FOR CLIMATE
The centerpiece of Biden’s climate change agenda was a $150 billion clean energy plan that would have rewarded power providers that use clean sources and penalized those that don’t.
But that approach had to be scrapped when Manchin objected.
More recently Manchin and Schumer were in talks over a slimmed back package, about $375 billion, of tax incentives and credits that the administration had hoped could achieve similar goals in reducing carbon emissions.
But that, too, is now scrapped. Manchin, among the post powerful coal state senators, prefers a “fuel neutral” approach that doesn’t hurt his home state industry.
While Biden, Manchin and others had successfully negotiated the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law last year, it, too, fell short of the administration’s climate goals.
Rather than a massive $174 billion investment in electric vehicles and a network of charging stations, the bipartisan compromise provided $7.5 billion for electric vehicles with fewer charging stations, along with money for electric school buses.
INFRASTRUCTURE COMRPROMISES
To be sure, the bipartisan infrastructure bill Manchin signed on to with Biden and the others made substantial investments in roads, bridges, broadband — all areas where Congress typically can find some agreement.
Yet even that bill, a hard-fought compromise, is much smaller than the White House envisioned in many areas — it provided half as much, $55 billion, as the administration wanted for removing lead pipes.
IDEAS LONG GONE
Other Democratic priorities that rose and fell during more than a year of negotiations over Biden’s once sweeping vision are long gone.
Also no longer on the table are the tax hikes on wealthy Americans and corporations that Biden and his party envisioned, in different variations, to pay for his big plan.
Biden had proposed raising the tax rate on those earning more than $400,000 a year, $450,000 for couples, back to 39.6% where it was before the 2017 GOP tax cuts. He wanted to lift the corporate rate to 28%.
In talks Democrats considered other options — a corporate minimum tax or a tax on billionaires.
It wasn’t Manchin who necessarily stopped those options. In fact, he supported some. But another Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, had been a key hold out to many proposals for higher taxes.
—-
Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report. | 2022-07-16T15:34:48+00:00 | texomashomepage.com | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/all-about-manchin-what-biden-wanted-for-us-senator-did-not/ |
SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Corcoran Reverie, a high-end real estate brokerage and an affiliate of Corcoran Group LLC, announces its end of year numbers for 2022. As the area's leading luxury team for 30A, Destin, Panama City, and Nashville, Hilary Farnum-Fasth & Jacob Watkins have collectively closed over $1B in real estate since joining forces in 2020, with an average sales price of $2.74M in under three years. Corcoran Reverie was ranked the #1 office in Northwest Florida based on closed office sales volume with over $750 million in its first year as a Corcoran affiliate and has continued to exceed $1B in closed sales volume each year since affiliating.
Corcoran Reverie's 2022 closed sales volume broke $1.104B with over one thousand transaction sides. In the real estate business, staying ahead of the curve matters, and Corcoran supports its agents with the tools and the technologies to serve its clients. This has helped the company sell some of the most luxurious homes in 2022, including 145 Paradise By The Sea Boulevard. No detail was spared in the construction of this beautiful home, which Corcoran Reverie sold for $18.9 million this past year.
"We are extremely proud of each of our agents for their success and accomplishments in 2022," says Owner & Broker Hilary Farnum-Fasth. "This past year garnered fantastic advancements for Corcoran Reverie as we grew our team in Northwest Florida and expanded into the Nashville market."
Corcoran Reverie remains proudly committed to serving its founding markets, but the company is growing, too, bringing its name and values to new markets across Florida and Nashville. Hilary and Jacob started this year by partnering with leading luxury agent Cindy Cole as they continue to focus on the growth of the Destin division. They recently closed on a new office building in Destin and are excited to officially launch Corcoran's newest full-service location in the late Spring of 2023.
"We are looking forward to another successful year of growth anchored by our expansions in Nashville and Destin as well as the continued service to our clients on 30A and in Bay County," says Owner & Real Estate Advisor, Jacob Watkins. "We are focused on premium service in 2023 to position our clients to achieve their real estate goals in this stabilizing market."
2022 Financial Highlights
- Florida:
2022 Closed Sales Volume: $910,926,720
Transaction Sides: 874 - Tennessee:
2022 Closed Sales Volume: $193,441,378
Transaction Sides: 165 - Corcoran Reverie Overall:
2022 Closed Sales Volume: $1,104,368,098
2022 Transaction Sides: 1,039
About Corcoran Reverie
Corcoran Reverie, an affiliate of Corcoran Group LLC – a leading residential real estate brokerage firm headquartered in New York City – Throughout the entire network, the Corcoran Group has been a leading residential real estate brand for nearly 50 years. Home to more than 160 offices and more than 5,700 agents in key urban, suburban, and resort markets nationwide, as well as the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and Puerto Rico. For more information on Corcoran Reverie, visit corcoranreverie.com.
Media Contact:
Jessica Vaughn/Lindsey Torres
The Zimmerman Agency
CorcoranReverie@zimmerman.com
850.668.2222
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SOURCE Corcoran Reverie | 2023-03-07T16:16:45+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/03/07/corcoran-reverie-closes-over-11-billion-sales-volume-2022/ |
By MICHAEL FAULHABER and DANIEL NIEMANN
Associated Press
MUNICH (AP) — Oktoberfest is back in Germany after two years of pandemic cancellations — the same bicep-challenging beer mugs, fat-dripping pork knuckles, pretzels the size of dinner plates, men in leather shorts and women in cleavage-baring traditional dresses.
But while brewers are more than glad to see the return of the Bavarian capital’s sudsy tourist centerpiece, both they and visitors are under pressure from inflation in a way that could scarcely be imagined the last time it was held in 2019.
For one thing, the 1-liter (2-pint) mug of beer will cost between 12.60 and 13.80 euros ($12.84 and $14.07) this year, which is an increase of about 15% compared with 2019, according to the official Oktoberfest homepage.
The event opens at noon Saturday when Munich’s mayor taps the first keg and announces “O’zapft is,” or “It’s tapped” in Bavarian dialect.
For Germany’s brewers, rising costs go much deeper than simply the price of a round at the festival’s long wooden benches. They are facing higher prices all along their chain of production, from raw ingredients like barley and hops to finishing touches such as beer caps and packing material.
It’s a mirror of the inflation running across the economy: Sky-high natural gas prices caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine are boosting what businesses and consumers have to pay for energy, while recovering demand from the pandemic is making parts and raw materials hard to come by.
Brewing equipment is often fueled by natural gas, and prices for barley malt — or grain that has been allowed to germinate by moistening it — have more than doubled, to over 600 euros a ton. Glass bottles have risen by 80%, as glassmakers pay more for energy. Bottle caps are up 60%, and even glue for labels is in short supply.
“Prices for everything have changed significantly this year,” said Sebastian Utz, head technician at Munich’s historic Hofbraeu Brewery, which traces its roots in the city to 1589. “To brew beer you need a lot of energy … and for refrigeration. And at the same time, we need raw materials — barley malt, hops — where procurement has increased in price.”
The costs of everything — cardboard, stainless steel for barrels, wood pallets, cleaning supplies to keep the brewing tanks spotless — have gone up.
“These are prices that the German brewing industry has never seen before,” said Ulrich Biene, spokesman for the historic family-owned Veltins Brewery in Grevenstein, which is not one of the brands sold at Oktoberfest.
Inflation hit an annual 7.9% in Germany in August, and a record 9.1% in the 19 countries that use the euro currency. Rising consumer prices in Europe have been fueled above all by Russia restricting supplies of natural gas, driving prices through the roof. That feeds through to electricity, because gas is used to generate power, and to the cost of a host of industrial processes that run on gas, such as making fertilizer, glass and steel. Farmers also are seeing higher costs for heating buildings and fertilizing crops.
All that gets built into the prices of things people buy, and those higher prices cut into their purchasing power.
Inflation is “running red hot in Germany” and could approach 10% by year’s end, said Carsten Brzeski, chief eurozone economist at ING bank. The rate should fall next year as consumer demand weakens — but that is small consolation today.
In any case, Oktoberfest is a much-needed boost for Munich’s hotels and food service industry.
“It’s beautiful,” Mayor Dieter Reiter said. “You can see the enthusiasm has returned.” He downplayed concerns about such a big event during the pandemic, saying the spread of COVID-19 is “no longer the decisive factor” and adding, “Let’s see how it goes.”
Some 487 beer breweries, restaurants, fish and meat grills, wine vendors and others will serve revelers at Oktoberfest, and opening hours will be even longer than in the past, with the first beer tents opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 10:30 p.m. The last orders will be taken at 9:30 p.m.
In the years before COVID-19, about 6 million people visited the celebrations annually, many of them dressed in traditional Bavarian garb — the women in Dirndl dresses, the men in Lederhosen, or knee-length leather trousers.
Oktoberfest, first held in 1810 in honor of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese, has been canceled dozens of times during its more than 200-year history due to wars and pandemics.
___
AP Business Writer David McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2022-09-16T18:15:18+00:00 | wtmj.com | https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/09/16/oktoberfest-is-back-but-inflation-hits-brewers-cost-of-beer-3/ |
An idea that has propelled Alzheimer's research for more than 30 years is approaching its day of reckoning.
Scientists are launching a study designed to make or break the hypothesis that Alzheimer's is caused by a sticky substance called beta-amyloid. The study will give an experimental anti-amyloid drug to people as young as 18 who have gene mutations that often cause Alzheimer's to appear in their 30s or 40s.
The study comes after several experimental drugs have failed to prevent declines in memory and thinking even though they succeeded in removing amyloid from the brains of patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Those failures have eroded support for the idea that amyloid is responsible for a cascade of events that eventually lead to the death of brain cells.
"Many of us think of that as the ultimate test of the amyloid hypothesis," says Dr. Randall Bateman, a professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis."If that doesn't work, nothing will work."
The new experiment, called the DIAN-TU primary Prevention Trial, is scheduled to begin enrolling patients by the end of the year.
An explanation with a history
The amyloid hypothesis can be traced to Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a pathologist who first described the disease that would bear his name in 1906.
Alzheimer was working at a psychiatric clinic in Munich, where he had the chance to conduct an autopsy on a woman who died at 50 after experiencing memory loss, disorientation, and hallucinations. He observed that the woman's brain had an "unusual disease of the cerebral cortex," including "senile plaque" usually seen in much older people.
In the 1980s, scientists showed that these plaques were made of beta-amyloid, a substance that exists in many forms in the brain, from single free-floating molecules to large assemblies that form the sticky plaques reported by Alzheimer.
Since that discovery, most efforts to treat Alzheimer's have involved drugs that target various forms of amyloid. And that approach still makes sense, Bateman says.
"We have 30 years of solid data, thousands of studies that all say this is sufficient to cause Alzheimer's," he says.
But doubts about the amyloid hypothesis have been rising as the list of drug failures has grown in the past decade.
For example, Bateman and a team of researchers were unable to halt Alzheimer's in a study of patients who got the anti-amyloid drug gantenerumab.
"What we found was that it had reversed the amyloid plaques in their brains," Bateman says. "We did not have evidence of a thinking-memory benefit."
Even so, Bateman and many other scientists think it's too soon to abandon the amyloid hypothesis.
"Penicillin, a great breakthrough, failed its first two clinical trials," Bateman says. "Fortunately, people didn't say, oh, the antibiotic theory is a bad idea and we should give up on it."
Hints of a benefit
Bateman is encouraged by results from recent studies of anti-amyloid drugs, even the ones that have not prevented cognitive decline.
Gantenerumab, for example, seemed to delay several brain changes associated with the death of brain cells, he says.
And the experimental drug lecanemab did appear to slow down the loss of memory and thinking in a study of nearly 1,800 people with early Alzheimer's disease, according to a statement from the drug's maker.
Many studies of anti-amyloid drugs may have failed because they were given to people who already had amyloid plaques in their brains. At that point, Bateman says, it may not be possible to stop the process that ultimately kills off brain cells.
So Bateman is optimistic about the upcoming prevention trial, which will start treatment much earlier.
"My prediction is it will work, and it will work fantastically," he says. "If we can really prevent the plaques from starting and taking off and those downstream changes from going, my prediction is those people will never get Alzheimer's."
The prevention study is based on the idea that when amyloid begins to build up, it causes a series of changes in the brain, says Dr. Eric McDade, a professor of neurology at Washington University who will oversee the experiment.
These changes include the appearance of toxic tau tangles inside neurons, the loss of connections between neurons, inflammation, and, ultimately, the death of brain cells involved in thinking and memory.
"What we're trying to do is to prevent that amyloid pathology from developing in the first place," McDade says.
That sort of prevention, though, will mean starting treatment long before symptoms appear.
"At the point of somebody having symptoms, we know now that they probably have had amyloid in their brain for one to two decades," McDade says.
So the four-year study will enroll about 160 people from families with dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease. This form of dementia is caused by rare, inherited gene mutations that cause Alzheimer's to develop in middle age, often in a person's 30s and 40s.
"The earliest they can come in is 25 years before we anticipate they would start to develop symptoms," McDade says. "For most of these families, that actually puts them in their mid 20s when we're going to start this trial."
Like the earlier study that failed, this one will use the anti-amyloid drug gantenerumab.
The short-term goal is to make sure that amyloid plaques do not appear. Then, researchers will look to see whether this prevents the appearance of other markers of Alzheimer's effects on the brain.
One of these markers is the presence of neurofibrillary tangles, a toxic version of a protein called tau that forms disorganized threads inside a neuron. These internal tangles disrupt a cell's ability to transport chemicals and nutrients from place to place and to maintain connections with other cells.
Another marker is brain atrophy, a shrinkage in one or more brain areas caused by the loss of neurons and the connections between them.
"If we prevent amyloid pathology from developing and these other markers continue to develop and unfold," McDade says, "this would be one of the best ways to say, listen, amyloid is really not what we should be targeting."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-11-01T22:03:20+00:00 | wbfo.org | https://www.wbfo.org/2022-11-01/what-causes-alzheimers-study-puts-leading-theory-to-ultimate-test |
(The Conversation) – The Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion on abortion rights dramatically declares that “the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
A number of states have already made their choice in case that happens, either protecting the right to abortion or significantly restricting abortion under most circumstances. Some states never removed bans they had in place before 1973. That’s the year of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade declaring that the Constitution protects the right to obtain an abortion.
In addition, there are 13 states with so-called “trigger” laws, abortion-restricting laws designed to take effect once abortion is no longer protected by the U.S. Constitution. I’m a legal scholar who studies gender and reproductive rights and wanted to see just what those triggers are that will put the laws into force. It turns out that the 13 states are almost evenly split between two distinct approaches with one thing in common: They both end up significantly limiting people’s right to get an abortion.
An official certification
Trigger laws aren’t a new concept. For example, in 2013, Illinois passed a law that would end the state’s participation in Medicaid expansion if the federal government’s funding contribution dropped below 90% of the program’s cost. Mississippi also has a constitutional provision banning same-sex marriage that would take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 2015 ruling that recognized same-sex marriage nationwide.
In the 13 states with abortion-related trigger laws, one method requires a certification by a state’s attorney general or other official before the law can go into effect. Precisely what needs to be certified varies among this group of states.
For example, in Arkansas, the state attorney general must certify that the Supreme Court has either fully or partially overruled Roe, or that an amendment to the U.S. Constitution permits Arkansas to ban abortion.
By contrast, in Mississippi, the state attorney general must determine that the Supreme Court has overruled Roe and that it is “reasonably probable” that the Mississippi law would be upheld. In Utah, a 2020 state law says the Legislature’s top lawyer must provide the certification that a court’s opinion would permit the state law to go into effect.
Missouri’s law is a slight modification of this approach, requiring a declaration by the state attorney general, a gubernatorial proclamation, or a resolution from both houses of the state Legislature that Roe has been overruled or a constitutional amendment has taken effect. Wyoming’s law is triggered upon the governor’s certification that Roe has been overruled – or a comparable decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.
In North Dakota, which in 2007 adopted one of the earliest trigger laws, the statute originally specified a somewhat cumbersome procedure. The law was changed in 2019 to streamline the certification procedure, and to remove it entirely if the triggering event is a constitutional amendment.
A change in constitutional law
The second approach simply requires that Roe be overruled, or a comparable federal action be taken, for the trigger law to go into effect. As in the other approach, there must be a court judgment or a constitutional amendment. But this approach does not require specific certification by a state official.
South Dakota’s 2005 law is straightforward, saying that the ban becomes “effective on the date states are recognized by the United States Supreme Court to have the authority to prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy.” Kentucky and Louisiana take a similar approach, although the triggering event is either a court decision or a constitutional amendment.
While some states’ laws are effective immediately, others require a 30-day waiting period. In Texas, for example, the law goes into effect on the 30th day after the Supreme Court either partially or fully overrules Roe v. Wade, or otherwise recognizes states’ authority to ban abortion, or a constitutional amendment allows states that authority. The trigger law in Idaho is similar.
That 30-day period may be designed to allow states to develop procedures to enforce the new laws; when reporters at Business Insider contacted officials in the 13 states with trigger laws to find out their implementation plans, only one agency in one state provided the reporters with written plans. The rest provided no clear guidelines about what any of the laws would actually mean in practice – such as how police, medical professionals or child protection officials should handle situations in which the pregnant person’s life was at risk, or if the person alleged the pregnancy resulted from a rape.
Clarity or ambiguity?
The leaked draft in the upcoming abortion case is explicit in overturning Roe, saying, “We hold that Roe … must be overruled.” If the draft opinion changes, and there is any ambiguity about the viability of Roe, then there may be ambiguity about whether the triggers have, in fact, been triggered. Americans will find out soon. | 2022-06-20T16:08:22+00:00 | keloland.com | https://www.keloland.com/news/national-world-news/what-triggers-trigger-laws-that-ban-abortions/ |
(NewsNation) — The man who allegedly stabbed Salman Rushdie in the neck and abdomen has been charged with second-degree attempted murder and assault.
Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, was processed and transported to Chautauqua County Jail on Friday. Deadline reports he was remanded without bail, and that charges could be upgraded if Rushdie’s condition gets worse.
Authorities said Matar was born in the United States to Lebanese parents who emigrated from Yaroun, a border village in southern Lebanon, the mayor of the village, Ali Tehfe, told The Associated Press.
The stabbing happened at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York, where Rushdie was set to give a lecture.
An Associated Press reporter witnessed a man storming the stage and begin attacking Rushdie as he was being introduced. The author was then taken or fell to the floor.
According to New York State Police, Rushdie was transported by helicopter to the hospital. His agent, Andrew Wylie, said the writer was on a ventilator Friday evening, with a damaged liver, severed nerves in his arm and an eye he was likely to lose.
Event moderator Henry Reese, 73, a co-founder of an organization that offers residencies to writers facing persecution, was also attacked. Reese suffered a facial injury and was treated and released from a hospital, police said. He and Rushdie had planned to discuss the United States as a refuge for writers and other artists in exile.
Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses” has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it blasphemous. A year later, Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death.
Khomeini died the same year he issued the fatwa, which remains in effect. Iran’s current supreme leader, Khamenei, never issued a fatwa of his own withdrawing the edict.
Iran’s government has long since distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, but anti-Rushdie sentiment has lingered. In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for Rushdie from $2.8 million to $3.3 million.
Rushdie dismissed that threat at the time, saying there was “no evidence” of people being interested in the reward. That year, Rushdie published a memoir, “Joseph Anton,” about the fatwa. The title came from the pseudonym Rushdie had used while in hiding.
The Chautauqua Institution, about 55 miles southwest of Buffalo in a rural corner of New York, is known for its summertime lecture series. Rushdie has spoken there before.
“Banfield” spoke Friday with Mona Kolko, an eyewitness to the incident.
“People were horrified. It went from the noise of applause, 2,000 people clapping to people shouting, people hollering, people crying. Stunned. Shocked. What is going on here? What happened here? He is hurt. Something terrible is going on, and we are witnessing this horrible moment,” Kolko said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | 2022-08-13T20:00:30+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/news/national/suspect-in-salman-rushdie-attack-charged-with-attempted-murder-assault/ |
In 2022, voters expanded Medicaid in South Dakota, legalized recreational marijuana in Missouri, and enshrined the right to an abortion in Michigan.
This was possible because in about half of all U.S. states, citizens have the power to pass laws or amend the state's constitution themselves, sidestepping lawmakers. Such ballot initiatives have become a popular tactic to change policy in states dominated by one party, often the GOP.
That's led to pushback from state lawmakers.
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That backlash "really accelerated in 2021 and 2022," says Kelly Hall, executive director with The Fairness Project. That group claims success in 31 of the 33 left-leaning ballot initiatives it has supported since 2016.
At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of bills to tweak the initiative process, from 33 in 2017 to more than a 100 in 2021 and 2022, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a group which provides research and support to groups promoting ballot measures.
While not all would restrict the process, many propose new requirements for the number of signatures needed, where the signatures must come from, or increase the threshold to pass a measure.
Some are simply cumbersome, like "requiring the language to be printed all on one sheet of paper, meaning you have to carry around a bath towel-size petition," Hall says. While not impossible to follow, these new rules add up to "death by a thousand cuts" for future initiatives, she says.
This year, lawmakers in three states succeeded in getting some of these restrictions on the ballot, asking voters to decide.
Arkansas and South Dakota voters rejected the limits, but Arizonans approved two out of three. They rejected a measure that would have allowed legislators amend or repeal ballot measures found to contain illegal language. But, they approved a measure to increase the vote threshold to pass a constitutional amendment to 60%, and another limiting initiatives to one subject.
Republican state lawmakers say such ballot initiatives are too easy
Just weeks after the November election, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, and Republican representative Brian Stewart rolled out a resolution that would require all future constitutional amendments to receive a 60% supermajority at the polls, rather than the current 50%.
"This is about trying to make the Ohio constitution less susceptible to special interests," LaRose said.
This comes as advocates for abortion rights, legal marijuana use, and redistricting reform are all gearing up to put their issue on the ballot in Ohio in 2023 or 2024.
Since 2018 voters in Missouri approved ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage from $7.85 to $12 over five years, expand Medicaid, and legalize marijuana. In 2022, Missouri lawmakers responded by introducing more bills to restrict constitutional amendments than any other state.
"I think the recent passage of recreational marijuana, which you know I oppose, maybe indicates it's a little too easy to get things through initiative petition," says Missouri's new Republican state Senate majority leader Cindy O'Laughlin.
On average, fewer than half of all citizen-initiated measures pass, according to Ballotpedia. But targeted campaigns in support of economic or social issues that are popular with a majority of voters have had success even in conservative states.
Advocates for direct democracy say lawmakers are simply out of sync with their own constituents.
"What's clear here is that this is an effort to block the people of Ohio's ability to amend our Constitution and to ensure that we can enshrine rights and protections for the people that obviously Ohio Republicans don't want us to have," says Katy Shanahan with the Equal Districts Coalition, a group that opposes partisan gerrymandering in Ohio.
Expect more fights over ballot measures in 2023 and 2024
In the coming election cycles, reproductive rights groups say they are looking into initiatives in at least 10 states where abortion is currently banned or heavily restricted.
In 2022, voters affirmed the right to an abortion or rejected restrictions to it in every state where it was on the ballot. That included states such as Kentucky and Kansas where Republicans control the legislature.
"While an issue may be couched as partisan, when we actually put them before voters, they transcend those party lines," says Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center.
Changes to the process could make future wins less likely. The tallies in some of those votes fell short of the 60% threshold many Republican lawmakers are now seeking for constitutional amendments.
In December, GOP lawmakers in Ohio failed to pass the resolution to raise the vote threshold for constitutional amendments before the end of the lame duck session. But, they say they'll try again in 2023.
Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio contributed to this report. contributed to this story
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-12-15T11:51:29+00:00 | kvpr.org | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-12-15/ballot-measures-on-weed-and-abortion-won-in-2022-now-theyre-fueling-a-backlash |
Hunter Biden’s plea agreement with the Justice Department appeared to unexpectedly crumble during an initial hearing on the case Wednesday.
Biden, 53, made his first federal court appearance in Wilmington, Del., where he was set to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay income taxes.
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But U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who is overseeing the case, expressed concern about the terms of the agreement, according to CNN and The Associated Press.
NBC reported lawyers for both sides were continuing to huddle nearly two hours after the plea hearing began.
DEVELOPING | 2023-07-26T18:33:17+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/hill-politics/hunter-biden-plea-deal-on-tax-charges-appears-to-fall-apart/ |
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Thirteen Ohio breweries – five from Northeast Ohio – have won 15 medals at the World Beer Cup in Minneapolis.
Locally, Fat Head’s Brewery and Hoppin’ Frog Brewery earned awards, along with first-time winners HiHO Brewing Co., Immigrant Son Brewery and Sibling Revelry Brewing.
MadTree Brewing and Columbus Brewing Co. each won two awards in the biennial competition. It was last held in 2018, when Ohio breweries won 10 awards, and canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our independent breweries continue to show that we’re making some of the world’s best beer right here in Ohio,” Mary MacDonald, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, said in a news release. “Exceptional beer is the foundation upon which our breweries are building up their communities, supporting jobs and contributing to local causes all over the state.”
Breweries in 17 countries won awards, with the United States earning most of the medals.
2022 World Beer Cup award-winning Ohio craft beers
Columbus Brewing Co., Columbus:
Gold: Crocodile Tongue, Mixed-Culture Brett Beer Bronze: Lager, Contemporary American-Style Lager
MadTree Brewing, Cincinnati:
Gold: Ziegler, American-style Amber Lager Silver: Legendary Lager, Contemporary American-Style Lager
Fat Head’s Brewery, Middleburg Heights:
Gold: Goggle Fogger, South German-style Hefeweizen
Big Ash Brewing, Cincinnati:
Silver: Porter’s Porter, International Dark Lager
Fretboard Brewing, Blue Ash:
Silver: Crazy Train, Belgian-Style Ale or French-Style Ale
HiHO Brewing Co., Cuyahoga Falls:
Silver: Touchdown Brown Ale, American-Style Brown Ale
Hoppin’ Frog Brewery, Akron:
Silver: Frogichlaus Swiss-style Celebration Lager, German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock
Immigrant Son Brewery, Lakewood:
Silver: Common Ale, English Mild or Bitter
Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, Columbus:
Silver: Daybreak, Coffee Beer
Gemut Biergarten, Columbus:
Bronze: Woden’s Hunt Dunkel, European Dark Lager
Inside the Five Brewing, Sylvania:
Bronze: Megaphone, Irish-Style Red Ale
Narrow Path Brewing, Loveland:
Bronze: Restless Seas, German-Style Sour Ale
Sibling Revelry Brewing, Westlake:
Bronze: Red, Extra Special Bitter
The Brewers Association holds the competition, which dates to 1996 and evaluates beers in more than 100 categories.
I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.
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Like cool local food + drinks photos and videos? Follow @DineDrinkCLE on Instagram. | 2022-05-06T14:53:48+00:00 | cleveland.com | https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/05/ohio-breweries-win-big-at-2022-world-beer-cup.html |
Have store policies changed on purchasing emergency contraceptives?
SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - The fall out continues following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Now, major pharmacy retailers say there’s been an increase in demand for emergency contraceptives since the ruling.
Stores like CVS and Rite Aid have started limiting purchases of emergency contraception, with customers only allowed to buy three Plan B pills.
KSLA reached out to Shreveport CVS locations on Youree Drive, Hollywood Avenue, and Market Street to check on their availability. Each store says they have the pills in stock. However, one staff member said customers will have to ask for the emergency contraception at the front counter instead of getting them off the shelf. The employee said this is a new policy.
One pill is included in each Plan B box, with prices varying between $49 and $99. The generic version ranges from $39 to $99.
There are currently no Rite Aid locations open in the Shreveport-Bossier area.
Copyright 2022 KSLA. All rights reserved. | 2022-06-28T20:57:41+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/2022/06/28/have-store-policies-changed-purchasing-emergency-contraceptives/ |
STOCKHOLM, Aug. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Medivir AB (NASDAQ Stockholm: MVIR) today announces that the company will present at the Erik Penser Bank Company Day on August 24, 2022. CEO Jens Lindberg will present the company and its plan for the ongoing clinical study with fostroxacitabine bralpamide (fostrox).
The presentation will be available after the meeting on Medivirs website; www.medivir.com.
For additional information, please contact
Magnus Christensen, CFO, Medivir AB
Telephone: +46 8 5468 3100
E-mail: magnus.christensen@medivir.com
Medivir in brief
Medivir develops innovative drugs with a focus on cancer where the unmet medical needs are high. The drug candidates are directed toward indication areas where available therapies are limited or missing and there are great opportunities to offer significant improvements to patients. Medivir is focusing on the development of fostroxacitabine bralpamide (MIV-818), a pro-drug designed to selectively treat liver cancer cells and to minimize side effects. Collaborations and partnerships are important parts of Medivir's business model, and the drug development is conducted either by Medivir or in partnership. Birinapant, a SMAC mimetic, is exclusively outlicensed to IGM Biosciences (Nasdaq: IGMS) to be developed in combination with IGM-antibodies for the treatment of solid tumors. Medivir's share (ticker: MVIR) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm's Small Cap list. www.medivir.com.
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
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SOURCE Medivir | 2022-08-23T07:23:53+00:00 | wbrc.com | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2022/08/23/medivir-present-erik-penser-bank-company-day/ |
Bright Pattern is named runner-up for "Cloud-Based CX Solution of the Year" award at Customer Contact Week for its innovative cloud-based call center software.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bright Pattern is excited to announce that its cloud-based contact center platform has been named runner-up for the 2022 Cloud-Based CX Solution of the Year award. Announced as part of last week's Customer Contact Week Excellence Awards at Customer Contact Week in Las Vegas, this designation confirms Bright Pattern position as the premier AI-powered omnichannel contact center software platform.
"Bright Pattern came out ahead of every bigger legacy player in this space," beams Ted Hunting, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Bright Pattern and CCW Europe Advisory Board Member. "The Cloud-Based CX Solution of the Year is a major award for contact center vendors—we're thrilled to be considered. Thank you to our team, the judges, and our customers!"
This is the third time CCW, the largest customer contact center event in the world, has recognized Bright Pattern as an innovative and noteworthy cloud-based call center software vendor. Previous nominations include "Disruptive Technology of the Year" and "Omnichannel Solution of the Year."
Bright Pattern is driven to develop solutions that rise above the rest, focusing on both innovation and ease of use. At CCW, Bright Pattern hosted a workshop called "The Future of CX—What's Next?" The nearly 200 attendees enjoyed an expert customer panel, shared ideas, watched visionary videos, and participated in open-mic conversations. Bright Pattern will deliver the keynote presentation at the upcoming CCW Europe in October.
Providing high-quality customer service continues to be a top priority for corporations, and Bright Pattern continues to excel. "As customers expect more and technology advances, solutions evolve," said Ted Hunting. "We're proud to help lead these conversations. And to be the runner-up in the most important category for contact center vendors shows we're on the right path."
Bright Pattern's CX solution is a cloud-based call center software solution with natively-built omnichannel capabilities. Bright Pattern is the only cloud contact center vendor that provides omnichannel conversations, omnichannel quality management, and omnichannel mobile capabilities.
Based on customer reviews and industry analysts, Bright Pattern has the highest ROI and fastest time to deploy. The Bright Platform deploys in half the industry's average time.
Bright Pattern provides the simplest and most powerful AI-powered omnichannel contact center software for innovative midsize and enterprise companies. With the purpose of making customer service brighter, easier, and faster than ever before, Bright Pattern offers the only true omnichannel cloud platform with embedded AI that can be deployed quickly and nimbly by business users—without costly professional services. Bright Pattern allows companies to offer an effortless and personal customer experience across channels like voice, text, chat, email, video, messengers, and bots. Bright Pattern also allows companies to measure and act on every interaction on every channel with embedded AI omnichannel quality management. The company was founded by a team of industry veterans who pioneered the leading contact center solutions and are now delivering an architecture for the future with an advanced cloud-first approach. Bright Pattern's cloud contact center solution is used globally in over 26 countries and 12 languages.
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SOURCE Bright Pattern | 2022-07-19T16:33:02+00:00 | wlox.com | https://www.wlox.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/bright-pattern-named-runner-up-cloud-based-cx-solution-year-customer-contact-week-ccw-excellence-awards/ |
MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of BBB National Programs has found Tilting Point Media, LLC, owner and operator of the SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off app, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and CARU's Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Advertising and for Children's Online Privacy Protection. Upon receipt of CARU's inquiry, Tilting Point proactively implemented changes to address each of CARU's concerns regarding its advertising and privacy practices and continues to take other corrective actions to address the remaining violations.
The SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off app, featuring SpongeBob characters licensed by Viacom Media Networks, came to CARU's attention through its routine monitoring of child-directed content. Given the app's child-directed subject matter of SpongeBob Squarepants, intended for ages four and up, its use of animated characters, fun background music, and simplistic nature of the gameplay, as well as information provided by Tilting Point that the app has adult users with a nostalgic connection to SpongeBob Squarepants, CARU determined that the Tilting Point app was a "mixed audience" child-directed app and as such is subject to COPPA and CARU's Guidelines.
As the operator of a mixed audience child-directed app, Tilting Point is required under COPPA and CARU's Privacy Guidelines to ensure that either no personal information is collected, used, or disclosed from users under age 13, or that notice is provided and verifiable parental consent is obtained prior to such collection, use, or disclosure. Tilting Point does have an age screen on its app, however the age screen did not prevent CARU from using the app as a 10-year-old child, agreeing to Tilting Point's terms of service and privacy policy, and consenting to the processing of his/her data for the purpose of receiving "personalized" advertising. The app's non-declinable privacy policy and terms of service provide that the user must be at least 13 years old to use the company's product, but the age gate does not prevent a child under age 13 from checking those boxes and playing the game.
Once inside the app, Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework asks the user for permission to track the user's activity "across other companies' apps and websites" for the purpose of delivering personalized ads. Even after identifying as a child under age 13, there was nothing preventing a child from enabling this setting. In addition to these design and functional errors, CARU found that the age screen itself could be improved to be more neutral and therefore more likely to invite truthful age identification by children under age 13.
CARU determined that Tilting Point violated COPPA and CARU's Privacy Guidelines by its failure to provide a neutral and effective age screen to limit users under the age of 13 to content that does not involve the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, or to obtain verifiable parental consent before the collection, use or disclosure of any personal information from children.
CARU's Advertising Guidelines make clear that advertisers must not manipulate or deceive children. Conduct that would violate this provision includes the use of deceptive door openers and other tactics that either pressure or manipulate a child into engaging with ads, downloading and installing unnecessary apps, or making unintended purchases.
CARU found that the SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off app served multiple automated ads, often appearing on completion of a game level and advertising other apps, and the ads could not be stopped or dismissed until users had downloaded the advertised app or watched the entire ad. These video ads often included interactive features that mimicked the app's gameplay, encouraging players to engage with the ad. CARU also found that players were induced to watch the ads with the promise of virtual currency rewards such as more "coins" and "free gems."
CARU found these ads unduly interfered with gameplay, encouraged excessive ad viewing by children through deceptive door openers and other manipulative design techniques, required children to download and install unnecessary apps, and often provided unclear and inconspicuous methods for children to exit the ad and return to the game. While the CARU Advertising Guidelines do not require in-app ads to provide an exit method, they specify that where one is offered it must be clear and conspicuous.
Additionally, to prevent blurring the lines between advertising and non-advertising content, CARU's Advertising Guidelines make clear that advertisers should take extra care to be transparent when advertising to children and that advertisements must be easily identifiable as advertising. The app failed to use simple, clear, and conspicuous language to let children know when they were selecting a button that would force them to watch or engage with an ad, and instead used small disclosures in tiny, inconspicuous text.
Last, CARU found that the app displayed some advertisements that were unsafe and inappropriate for children. CARU's Advertising Guidelines make clear that advertisements should not include material or link to content that could unduly frighten or provoke anxiety in children, that portrays or encourages behavior inappropriate for children (e.g., violence or sexuality), or that is otherwise inappropriate for children.
CARU recommended that Tilting Point Media take the following corrective actions, some of which it proactively implemented early in our investigation:
- Update its age screening mechanism to allow users to freely enter the month and year of their birth and, use technical measures to prevent a child from entering a different age once they initially submit their age. Tilting Point voluntarily updated its age screen to direct users to two different versions of the app, a child version for users under age 13 and an adult version for those age 13 or older.
- Update its privacy policy to align with COPPA and better reflect its data practices as a mixed-audience site.
- Correct its data collection practices regarding third parties.
- If needed in the future, put in place a verifiable parental consent mechanism before any feature requiring it launches in the app.
- Take concrete steps to make the identifiers and disclosures for ads clear and conspicuous so that engagement with ads will not occur unknowingly.
- Direct its ad networks to make the exit functionality more prominent and obvious to users.
- Work with its ad networks to provide exit functionality to enable users to stop an ad via the first screen that appears when the ad launches.
- Identify and terminate the ad network serving unsafe ads for children and establish safeguards to ensure they do not return.
Tilting Point participated in and cooperated fully with CARU's self-regulatory program. Tilting Point proactively implemented changes to address each of CARU's concerns regarding its advertising and privacy practices.
All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs is where businesses turn to enhance consumer trust and consumers are heard. The non-profit organization creates a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers through the development and delivery of effective third-party accountability and dispute resolution programs. Embracing its role as an independent organization since the restructuring of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in June 2019, BBB National Programs today oversees more than a dozen leading national industry self-regulation programs, and continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-directed marketing, and privacy. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the Children's Advertising Review Unit: The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), a division of BBB National Programs and the nation's first Safe Harbor Program under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), helps companies comply with laws and guidelines that protect children from deceptive or inappropriate advertising and ensure that, in an online environment, children's data is collected and handled responsibly. When advertising or data collection practices are misleading, inappropriate, or inconsistent with laws and guidelines, CARU seeks change through the voluntary cooperation of companies and where relevant, enforcement action.
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SOURCE BBB National Programs | 2022-09-07T13:34:36+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2022/09/07/caru-finds-tilting-point-media-violation-coppa-carus-advertising-privacy-guidelines-company-agrees-corrective-actions/ |
(Green Car Reports) — Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed via Twitter on Tuesday that the automaker would include AM radio on all 2024 models, reversing a policy Ford previously indicated was a byproduct of EVs.
Ford removed AM radio from the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning after data collected from the vehicles showed that fewer than 5% of customers listened to it, a spokesperson told the Associated Press, adding that “electrical interference and reducing cost and manufacturing complexity also played a role.”
However, after a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill in Congress calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require AM radio in all new vehicles as standard equipment, Farley confirmed the return of AM radio to all Ford models.
After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we’ve decided to include it on all 2024 @Ford & @LincolnMotorCo vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software…— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) May 23, 2023
“After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we’ve decided to include it on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles,” the Ford CEO tweeted. Owners of Ford EVs without AM radio compatibility can have it added via software update, he said, noting that AM radio content is also available in Ford vehicles via other methods like streaming.
In addition to the emergency-alert factor, which was cited by members of Congress supporting the bill, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) sees the potential loss of AM radio in new cars as a cultural equality issue.
“AM radio is a conduit for diversity and a gateway for equal representation,” NHMC president Brenda Victoria Castillo said in a statement published last week. “We are, therefore, in full agreement with our lawmakers in urging automakers to reconsider the removal of AM radio receivers from their vehicles.”
Volkswagen, Volvo, Polestar, and Tesla have already barreled ahead and removed terrestrial (non-data-dependent) AM radio from their vehicles. Earlier versions of the Tesla Model S had it, as did the VW e-Golf, but VW decided to remove it starting with the following generation of ID electric cars—including the ID.4 billed by the automaker as its first high-volume EV for the U.S.
Among other EV makers, Nissan has remained consistent with AM radio. Nissan Leafs have never had an issue with it, and the Nissan Ariya still has it.
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It’s also possible to test for the kind of electrical interference that allegedly played a role in Ford’s decision to drop AM radio from EVs. Rimac showed us how in 2020, as it prepared its Nevera electric supercar (previously known as the C_Two) for production. Testing for electromagnetic emissions was required by European regulations, the company said at the time. | 2023-05-25T15:58:36+00:00 | wivb.com | https://www.wivb.com/automotive/what-is-all-the-fuss-over-am-radio-in-evs/ |
A divorced New York businessman billionaire with a mixed political history and knack for controversy and grabbing the spotlight might run for president. Another one.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is again weighing a possible independent bid for the White House after seeing an opening in a chaotic and unpredictable 2016 race.
The Democrat turned Republican turned independent is actively exploring a run, hiring consultants and commissioning a poll last month aimed at seeing whether there is an appetite for a third-party candidate, a source familiar with Bloomberg's plans told NPR.
Bloomberg plans to survey the race after next month's New Hampshire primary and is willing to spend up to $1 billion of his own money on such an effort. He has proved he is willing to spend money to win elections. He has spent more than $300 million between his three mayoral runs and his post-mayoral political projects. The $250 million he spent on his mayoral races is the most anyone has ever spent on his or her own elections in U.S. history.
He can afford it — Bloomberg is the 14th-richest man in America and estimated to be worth some $36 billion, according to Forbes' 2015 list of billionaires. To put that in context, Donald Trump claims to be worth almost $10 billion. (His wealth has been estimated at lower than that, somewhere between $2 billion and $5 billion, according to various counts.)
Because of deadlines to get on a general-election ballot, he will make a decision one way or another by March, sources close to the former New York mayor told NPR and WNYC.
This isn't the first time the former mayor and media mogul has flirted with a presidential bid, but the unique dynamics of the 2016 race make it more likely than ever he could actually pull the trigger this time.
According to the New York Times, which first reported Bloomberg's interest, he is more likely to run if Trump or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wins the GOP nomination and if Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders topples former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race.
"If Hillary wins the nomination, Hillary is mainstream enough that Mike would have no chance, and Mike's not going to go on a suicide mission," former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Clinton ally and friend to Bloomberg, told the Times.
The problem that timeline presents for Bloomberg is that neither primary contest is likely to be decided in March.
The 73-year-old Bloomberg has remained active in politics since leaving office in 2013, most notably advocating for stricter gun control measures across the country through his "Everytown for Gun Safety" group, which spent nearly $400,000 on elections in 2014 with mixed results.
Even though Bloomberg first won office in 2001 as a Republican, he holds some very liberal positions. He is outspoken on climate change, is pro-abortion rights and supports same-sex marriage, and his crackdown on trans fats along with his other healthful eating requirements in New York City drew backlash from many conservatives.
But his cozy relationship with Wall Street and anti-public-sector union efforts in New York City could similarly alienate liberals who might agree with him on social policy.
There's no telling how exactly Bloomberg could affect a general election featuring Trump and Sanders, but the race would feature two New York billionaires against an avowed socialist whose core message has been anti-Wall Street and the wealthy class.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-04-04T08:16:29+00:00 | wqcs.org | https://www.wqcs.org/2016-01-23/billionaire-former-n-y-mayor-bloomberg-eyeing-possible-white-house-bid |
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Jake Bittle, a staff writer at Grist, about the ‘Ike Dike’ project in Houston, which will be the largest project ever undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers.
But there’s one problem: The storm surge barrier won’t actually stop Houston from flooding.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-04-25T15:18:27+00:00 | wyomingpublicmedia.org | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2023-04-25/why-ike-dike-wont-do-much-to-stop-houston-from-flooding |
Acquisition of PreCon strengthens brain health portfolio and provides access to world-class scientific advisory board
NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Thorne HealthTech, Inc. ("Thorne" or "Thorne HealthTech") (NASDAQ: THRN), a leader in developing innovative solutions for a personalized approach to health and wellness, today announced it has acquired all of the outstanding stock of PreCon Health, Inc. ("PreCon"), a company focused on scientific discovery, innovation, and advancing safe and effective products that support healthy brain function. The acquisition was completed on January 31, 2023, for an aggregate purchase price of $5.0 million.
Thorne and PreCon first partnered together in 2021 to bring the first multi-ingredient dietary supplement formulated to support pre- and post-impact brain health, SynaQuell ™ and SynaQuell+ ™, to market.
"There is a significant need to continue developing solutions that address impact-related brain health," said Paul Jacobson, CEO of Thorne HealthTech. "Our initial partnership with PreCon laid the foundation for the acquisition which now strengthens our brain health portfolio providing us with unparalleled access to brain health products, related IP for continued development, as well as PreCon's top tier Medical and Scientific Advisory Board composed of expert physicians, researchers, retired military personnel, and former professional athletes – all committed to the brain health of athletes, military operators, and the general public. We look forward to continuing to work with PreCon's board and advisors on future research and product opportunities."
"The goals were two-fold; first, develop a safe multi-ingredient formula backed by scientific rationale, a world-class medical, scientific and development advisory board, a best-in-class manufacturing company with a track record and commitment to scientific integrity and ingredient quality, and validation through rigorous research," said Dr. David Dodick, Emeritus Professor at Mayo Clinic. "Second, and most important, be able to offer athletes who are at risk of head impacts, a safe and effective product. I couldn't be prouder of the milestones achieved thus far and am confident in Thorne's ability to maximize the potential of these products."
For details on the recently completed and the ongoing clinical trials related to the effect of SynaQuell on brain function, being conducted at the Mayo Clinic, visit clinicaltrials.gov #s NCT05041192 and NCT05498818.
About Thorne HealthTech:
Thorne HealthTech is a leader in developing innovative solutions for delivering personalized approaches to health and wellness. As a science-driven wellness company that empowers individuals with the support, education, and solutions they need to achieve healthy aging – living healthier longer – Thorne utilizes testing and data to create improved product efficacy and to deliver personalized solutions to consumers, health professionals, and corporations. Predicated on the power of the individual, Thorne leverages artificial intelligence models to provide insights and personalized data, products, and services that help individuals take a proactive and actionable approach to improve and maintain their health over a lifetime. Thorne is the only supplement manufacturer that collaborates with Mayo Clinic on health and wellness research and content, and is trusted by more than five million customers, 46,000+ health-care professionals, thousands of professional athletes, more than 100 professional sports teams and multiple U.S. National Teams. For more information, visit Thorne.com.
About PreCon Health, Inc.:
PreCon Health, Inc. is principally focused on developing innovative solutions to address the unmet needs relative to brain health. PreCon is committed to advancing brain health research and establishing an ecosystem of safe, research-based brain health products in support of consumers, patients, healthcare providers, athletes, military personnel, and survivors of domestic violence. Additionally, PreCon has established a 501c3 non-profit foundation to support traumatic brain injury research and victims of domestic abuse who sustain traumatic brain injuries.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements related to Thorne HealthTech's acquisition of PreCon Health, Inc. Such statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the parties' control, include risks described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Thorne HealthTech's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available free of charge on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, such statements should not be relied upon as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially. Except as required by applicable law, Thorne HealthTech disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Thorne HealthTech, Inc. | 2023-02-03T14:29:17+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2023/02/03/thorne-healthtech-acquires-precon-health/ |
A condo in Randolph that sold for $245,000 tops the list of the most affordable residential real estate sales in Norfolk County between June 25 and July 8.
In total, 198 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past two weeks, with an average price of $933,233. The average price per square foot was $496.
The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded from the week of June 25 to the week of July 8 even if the property may have been sold earlier. | 2023-07-09T13:48:39+00:00 | masslive.com | https://www.masslive.com/realestate-news/2023/07/10-least-expensive-homes-sold-in-norfolk-county-july-2-8.html |
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the Washington Lottery's "Daily Game" game were:
4-5-0
(four, five, zero)
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the Washington Lottery's "Daily Game" game were:
4-5-0
(four, five, zero) | 2022-09-13T05:47:41+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-Game-game-17437478.php |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Six Air Force officers who were in charge of caring for the infrastructure, fuel and logistics support for a North Dakota nuclear missile base were relieved of command due to a loss of confidence in their ability to carry out their responsibilities, the Air Force said.
The officers include two commanders and four subordinate officers at Minot Air Force Base, including 5th Mission Support Group commander Col. Gregory Mayer and 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron Maj. Jonathan Welch, a defense official said. The four subordinate officers were not identified.
The official said the dismissals were based on non-compliance with safety regulations for vehicles and equipment, and while the decision to relieve the officers of command was based on the results of one safety inspection, the units had not been compliant for some time. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the firings publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said the dismissals reflect the tougher line the Air Force has taken on discipline within its nuclear ranks, which have weathered a series of safety concerns and controversies.
In 2007, a B-52 Stratofortress took off from Minot mistakenly loaded with six nuclear-armed AGM-129 cruise missiles and flew across the country to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. In 2014, a nuclear safety inspections cheating scandal at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana embroiled scores of missileers and officers, and in 2016, investigators busted an LSD drug ring at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. Minot, Malmstrom and F.E. Warren are home to a total of 450 silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In a statement about the firings, Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Gebara, commander of 8th Air Force, said the responsibilities for the nation’s warheads were a “no fail” mission.
“We have very deliberate and disciplined inspection protocols and we expect 100% compliance. It’s that important to us and anything below that threshold is unacceptable,” said Air Force Col. Brus Vidal, a spokesman for Global Strike Command, which is responsible for silo-based and bomber-launched nuclear weapons. | 2023-03-01T21:09:01+00:00 | everythinglubbock.com | https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/politics/ap-air-force-relieves-six-leaders-at-nuclear-base-after-lapses/ |
Dear Smiley: Like most families, ours pauses on Thanksgiving to share reasons for gratitude.
The leadoff "thanker" this year was grandson Harrison. The 5-year-old could scarcely wait to claim the floor.
Without hesitation, he explained he was thankful for, in this order: "Ice cream sandwiches, milkshakes and family."
All agreed it was not a teachable moment, so his recitation received restrained praise.
PERRY SNYDER
Baton Rouge
Two's a crowd
Dear Smiley: After Friday's "T-Ball moment," here's another:
Many years ago, I was coaching T-Ball in Central. It was our first game ever for the kids and coaches.
Somehow my son, Bert Neal Jr., made it to first base. The next batter up was Melvin Sibley. When he hit the ball off the tee and ran, you couldn't have drawn a straighter line from home plate to second base.
My son had run from first to second, and when Melvin got to second base they went to hugging and jumping up — excited about their success.
I was coaching first base, and trying to get Melvin's attention so he could come to first base, where he should have been!
When I got his attention, he ran to first base as fast as he could.
When he got to me, he was grinning from ear to ear and asked, "Coach, did I do good?"
What else could I do other than give him a high-five and tell him he did great?
BERT NEAL
Pride
Miss Precocious
Dear Smiley: Loving the education we’re receiving reading your column.
During a visit this summer, my 4-year-old granddaughter was finishing her lunch.
I asked if she would like some more. She stated, “No thank you, I’m satiated.”
Kids are smart these days!
VICKI FRAME
Kenner
Stopping point
Dear Smiley: Holiday dinners always remind me of my dear mother-in-law, Annie, whom I loved very much.
After a hearty dinner, when asked if she would like another serving, she would reply, ''I've had an elegant sufficiency; any more would be an abundance to my capacity."
We would laugh and applaud her. I think she enjoyed it as much as we did!
NAYDINE "DEENIE" FIEGEL
Kenner
Small World Dept.
Dear Smiley: Searching through Facebook a couple of days ago, I saw a good friend of mine wishing someone named "Vonda Kay" happy birthday.
I asked her, “Is Vonda Kay named after Miss America 1965, Vonda Kay Van Dyke?"
My friend replied, “Yes! I love that you know this fun fact!”
I replied, “I know Vonda Kay Van Dyke very well. My cousin Taris happens to be best friends with her.”
I then text Miss America, Vonda, to tell her about her namesake. Vonda loved it so much! She asked me for her phone number so she could call and surprise her! How cool is that?
When Vonda Kay Van Dyke called her namesake, she was shocked; blown away! I was so happy to make this a reality.
WENDY LIPSEY
Baton Rouge
Snowbound cowboy
Dear Smiley: In 1952 my paternal grandmother accompanied our family on a vacation trip from Monroe to the Arkansas Ozarks.
We stayed in a tourist court, and by nightfall most visitors were found in the lobby for our first look at TV.
Ninety percent of the picture was snow, but if you watched carefully, you could occasionally make out a cowboy on horseback.
I'll never forgot my grandmother sitting mesmerized, not able her eyes off the screen.
BOB MARTIN
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Black Friday blues
Dear Smiley: On Black Friday, you should be mad they overcharge you the other 364 days of the year!
MARVIN BORGMEYER
Baton Rouge
Escape artist?
Dear Smiley: I now know how old I appear to others. I had a nice visit at the nursing home with my mom on her 95th birthday, until I went to leave the building, and was mistaken for a resident trying to make a getaway.
RICK MARSHALL
Baton Rouge | 2022-11-25T22:05:12+00:00 | theadvocate.com | https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/smiley_anders/smiley-thanks-in-order-of-importance/article_6b09caa4-6cd9-11ed-8007-af8c2fd4593c.html |
SEOUL, South Korea, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- J INTS BIO announced the successful dosing of the first patient in its global multi-center Phase 1/2 clinical study of 'JIN-A02' on 31st July at Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
More clinical sites will follow suit, including seven more hospitals in Korea (National Cancer Center, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, St. Vincent Hospital, Asan Medical Center), two in the United States, and one in Thailand.
This global phase 1/2 clinical trial seeks to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and anti-tumor activity of "JIN-A02" in advanced NSCLC patients carrying EGFR mutations.
'JIN-A02' is a novel orally administered 4th Generation EGFR TKI, which is highly selective for and strongly inhibits NSCLC with C797S double or triple mutations, showing efficacy even against intracranial tumors by exhibiting high blood-brain barrier penetrance.
Anna Jo, CEO of J INTS BIO, said, "We expect the positive results of 'JIN-A02' in the pre-clinical studies to translate to positive outcomes for patients in the clinical trial" adding that, "We hope also to proceed with the application for designation of orphan drug, and thereby quickly occupy the global NSCLC therapy market through conditional use."
About J INTS BIO
J INTS BIO is a bio company specialized in developing innovative anti-cancer and orphan drugs to realize the goal of changing lives and improving health for patients around the world. J INTS BIO's teams have prior multi-year experience in multinational pharmaceutical companies and CROs and track records in medical, regulatory affairs, drug discovery and development.
About 'JIN-A02'
'JIN-A02' is a novel orally administered 4th Generation EGFR TKI targeting C797S mutations in NSCLC. Although 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation EGFR TKIs have been used with some success, recurrence occurs in most patients including those on 3rd Generation TKIs such as Osimertinib. Currently, there are no approved therapies for patients who developed EGFR C797S mutations due to the use of 3rd Generation EGFR TKIs and with the high propensity of these cancers to metastasize to the brain, there is an urgent need to develop an effective drug with high blood-brain barrier permeability as well. 'JIN-A02', a novel oral EGFR TKI, which is effective against C797S double and triple mutations and have a high brain penetrance, is therefore expected to become the most promising Best-in-Class 4th-generation EGFR TKI in NSCLC patients with limited or no viable treatment options.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE J INTS BIO | 2023-07-31T06:31:45+00:00 | kcbd.com | https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/j-ints-bio-novel-oral-4th-generation-egfr-tki-jin-a02-dosing-first-patient-global-multi-center-phase-12-clinical-study-began/ |
Kate Walsh finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for Westwood as it held off Mahwah 41-40 in Washington Township.
Westwood (7-1) was propelled by a strong first half as it took a 21-9 into halftime. Despite Mahwah (3-5) coming alive in the second half and outscoring Westwood 31-20, it was not enough to come away with the win.
Victoria Eichler also tallied 14 points and five rebounds for Westwood.
Marissa LaVerghetta led Mahwah with 14 points while Taylor Tremblay had 11.
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. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Craig Epstein may be reached at cepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @CraigEpstein18. | 2023-01-04T04:35:20+00:00 | nj.com | https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2023/01/westwood-defeats-mahwah-girls-basketball-recap.html |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan could lift crushing debt burdens from millions of borrowers, but the tax man may demand a cut of the relief in some states.
That’s because some states tax forgiven debt as income, which means borrowers who are still paying down student loans could owe taxes on as much as $10,000 or even $20,000 that was taken off their bill. In Mississippi, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arkansas and North Carolina, forgiven student loans will be subject to state income taxes unless they change their laws to conform with a federal tax exemption for student loans, according to a tally by the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
That dismays Cathy Newman, a Louisiana State University graduate who just took a job teaching freshman biology at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. She figures she could end up owing a few hundred dollars of money that she could have kept had she stayed in Louisiana.
Newman said she can come up with the cash because she has a good job, but she knows of a lot of other borrowers who will still be stuck in difficult financial positions even with their loans forgiven.
“If they stay in the state, they could end up with a pretty hefty tax burden if things don’t change,” Newman said. “I won’t be happy if I have to do it. I can do it. But a lot of people can’t.”
More than 40 million Americans could see their student loan debt cut or eliminated under the forgiveness plan Biden announced late last month. The president is erasing $10,000 in federal student loan debt for individuals with incomes below $125,000 a year, or households that earn less than $250,000. He’s canceling an additional $10,000 for those who also used federal Pell Grants to pay for college. But it only applies to those whose loans were paid out before July 1, which leaves out current high school seniors and students who will follow them.
Although having $10,000 or $20,000 in loan payments eliminated will be a boon over the long term to borrowers who qualify, those in the affected states might be required to declare that as income. Depending on a state’s tax rates, the taxpayer’s other income and the deductions and exemptions they’re able to claim, that could add up to several hundred extra tax dollars that they’ll owe.
Spokespeople for tax agencies in several states — including Virginia, Idaho, New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky — told The Associated Press that their states definitely won’t tax student loans forgiven under Biden’s program. Revenue officials in a few other states said they needed to do more research to know.
Newman, 38, went into debt to pay for graduate school. She had already set herself up for relief under the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, though that requires five more years of teaching on top of the five she already taught at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Biden’s program would cut $10,000 off her debt load when it takes effect, but under existing Mississippi tax law, the relief won’t come free.
“It’s not a huge burden for me, but it could be for a lot of other people, which is what I’m worried about, especially if it’s unexpected, and I think a lot of people don’t realize that,” Newman said.
Any relief in states that would tax the forgiven debt would have to come from their Legislatures. Leaders of the Minnesota Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz have indicated in recent media interviews that there’s broad support for a fix, which could come during the 2023 session, or even earlier on the remote chance of a special session.
In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration plans to propose a fix in the state budget next year, but that would have to be approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature. And Evers needs to get reelected in November before he can formally make that request. Republican legislative leaders and Evers’ GOP challenger, Tim Michels, did not reply to messages seeking comment on the student loan tax issue.
However, in Mississippi, the chairman of the state Senate committee in charge of taxes said he’s willing to take a look when the Legislature convenes next year. Republican state Sen. Josh Harkins, of Brandon, said he needs to learn more about what his state’s tax laws say on debt forgiveness.
“I’m sure people will want to look at adjusting that or making some changes in the law, but a lot of factors have to be considered,” Harkins said, noting that Mississippi enacted its biggest-ever tax cut earlier this year and adding that he wants to gauge the impact of inflation before making big tax policy decisions. “This all just hit in the last week.”
___
Binkley reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this story. | 2022-09-05T14:02:46+00:00 | wcia.com | https://www.wcia.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-some-states-could-tax-bidens-student-loan-debt-relief/ |
DENVER, Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Denver-area advisors who have been named to the Forbes 2022 "Best-In-State Financial Security Professionals" list. With over 270 Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in total, 10 of them are in the greater Denver area, with three ranking in the Top 100.
The Forbes list recognizes the nation's top-performing financial advisors who provide holistic financial planning, focusing on risk mitigation, wealth management and a personal planning experience. Honorees are selected using a broad set of criteria that includes production and premiums, assets under management, client retention rates and exhibition of best practices.
The Best-In-State Financial Security Professionals ranking follows the recognition of more than 120 Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Forbes' "Best-In-State Wealth Advisors" list and 10 advisors on Barron's "Top 1,200 Financial Advisors" ranking. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.
The Denver-area Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized as 2022 Best-In-State Financial Security Professional Ranking 2022 are:
- Ross Alisiani
- Bryan Austin
- Glen Babcock
- Craig Garrison
- Benjamin Harvey
- Mike Jones*
- Armen Khadiwala
- Nicholas Langefels
- Scott Sparks*
- Royce Zimmerman*
*indicates advisors honored in the Top 100
About Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With more than $560 billion in combined company and client assets, $34 billion in revenues, and $2.1 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to nearly five million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. Northwestern Mutual ranked 97 on the 2022 FORTUNE 500 and was recognized by FORTUNE® as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2022.
Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company® (NMWMC) (investment advisory and services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance). Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with "Advisor" in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Northwestern Mutual | 2022-08-02T18:17:59+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/08/02/forbes-2022-best-in-state-financial-security-professionals-list-recognizes-10-denver-area-northwestern-mutual-advisors/ |
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WWLP)– If you have a home security system you may want to take steps to secure the cameras from hackers looking to spy on you.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently settled with the home security company, Ring after complaints that the company’s poor privacy and lax security let employees spy on customers through their cameras, including those in their bedrooms or bathrooms, and made customers’ videos, including videos of kids, vulnerable to online attackers. They allege that hackers harassed, insulted, and propositioned children and teens through their Ring cameras, with some hackers live streaming customers’ videos.
As part of the settlement, Ring will create a privacy and security program and delete the videos it shouldn’t have, as well as pay $5.8 million to impacted customers.
In a similar security case, the FTC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is require Amazon to overhaul its deletion practices and implement stringent privacy safeguards to settle charges the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule) and deceived parents and users of the Alexa voice assistant service about its data deletion practices.
According to a complaint filed in a U.S. District Court by the DOJ on behalf of the FTC, Amazon prevented parents from exercising their deletion rights under the COPPA Rule, kept sensitive voice and geolocation data for years, and used it for its own purposes, while putting data at risk of harm from unnecessary access.
Under the proposed federal court order also filed by DOJ, Amazon will be required to delete inactive child accounts and certain voice recordings and geolocation information and will be prohibited from using such data to train its algorithms. The proposed order must be approved by the federal court to go into effect.
If you have video cameras at home, the FTC offers these security enhancements:
- Check if you’ve taken these steps to secure your home security cameras. If you use an app to manage your access, review the privacy settings and permissions.
- Some states give you the right to tell companies to delete your data. Use the U.S. State Privacy Legislation Tracker to find out if your state is one of them.
- If you’re a parent, you have control over the personal information companies collect online from your kids under 13. Learn how to protect your child’s privacy online.
To learn more, check out the FTC’s advice on your guide to protecting your privacy online. | 2023-06-01T00:44:32+00:00 | wwlp.com | https://www.wwlp.com/news/national/how-to-be-sure-your-home-security-isnt-spying-on-you/ |
Alex Jones won’t re-take stand in Sandy Hook defamation trial
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Alex Jones returned to a Connecticut courthouse Tuesday but is not expected to retake the stand in his defamation trial, as a jury decides how much he should pay for spreading the lie that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.
Jones was initially expected to be a defense witness Wednesday as his lawyer begins presenting a case that damages to the families of eight shooting victims and an FBI agent should be minimal.
But his attorney indicated Jones would head home instead and the defense would call no witnesses.
Francine Wheeler, the mother of 6-year-old victim Ben Wheeler, was the first of three Sandy Hook family members to take the stand Tuesday as the plaintiffs wrapped up their presentation.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-10-05T00:30:27+00:00 | atlantanewsfirst.com | https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2022/10/04/jones-wont-re-take-stand-sandy-hook-defamation-trial/ |
Teoscar Hernández Player Prop Bets: Mariners vs. Cardinals - April 23
Published: Apr. 23, 2023 at 10:30 AM MDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
The Seattle Mariners, including Teoscar Hernandez (.325 batting average in his past 10 games), take on starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and the St. Louis Cardinals at T-Mobile Park, Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
In his previous game, he hit a home run while going 1-for-4 against the Cardinals.
Teoscar Hernández Game Info & Props vs. the Cardinals
- Game Day: Sunday, April 23, 2023
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Stadium: T-Mobile Park
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Cardinals Starter: Jack Flaherty
- TV Channel: ROOT Sports NW
- Hits Prop: Over/under 0.5 hits (Over odds: -200)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +350)
- RBI Prop: Over/under 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +165)
- Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 runs (Over odds: +115)
Looking to place a prop bet on Teoscar Hernández? Check out what's available at BetMGM and sign up with this link!
Teoscar Hernández At The Plate
- Hernandez is hitting .256 with three doubles, five home runs and two walks.
- Hernandez has had a hit in 14 of 21 games this year (66.7%), including multiple hits seven times (33.3%).
- In 19.0% of his games this year, he has hit a home run, and 5.7% of his trips to the dish.
- Hernandez has had an RBI in eight games this year (38.1%), including three multi-RBI outings (14.3%). He has also driven home three or more of his team's runs in one contest.
- In six games this year (28.6%), he has scored, including multiple runs twice.
Ready to play FanDuel Daily Fantasy? Get in the game using our link.
Teoscar Hernández Home/Away Batting Splits
Cardinals Pitching Rankings
- The pitching staff for the Cardinals has a collective nine K/9, which ranks 12th in the league.
- The Cardinals' 4.74 team ERA ranks 20th across all MLB pitching staffs.
- Cardinals pitchers combine to rank 19th in baseball in home runs given up (25 total, 1.2 per game).
- Flaherty (1-2 with a 2.95 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Cardinals, his fifth of the season.
- The right-hander's last appearance was on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he went six innings, surrendering four earned runs while giving up four hits.
- Among pitchers who qualify in MLB action this season, the 27-year-old ranks 21st in ERA (2.95), 62nd in WHIP (1.406), and 54th in K/9 (7.2).
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-23T18:18:02+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/sports/betting/2023/04/23/teoscar-hernandez-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
Casper City Council Approves Nearly $500,000 of Vehicle Purchases
The Casper City Council on Tuesday approved the purchases of seven vehicles totaling nearly a half-million dollars in the minute consent agenda.
Three of those vehicles will be put in use for the City's Solid Waste Division.
The expenditures were already authorized in the City's 2022-2023 budget, according to the Council agenda.
The Council authorized these purchases:
- $176,200 for one new haul truck to be used by the Solid Waste Division of the Public Services Department.
- $42,350 -- after trade -- for one new skid steer loader to be used by the Waste Water Treatment Plant of the Public Services Department.
- $144,773 for on new water truck to be used by the Solid Waste Division of the Public Services Department.
- $119,192 -- after trades -- for three new half-ton extended cab 4x4 pickups with 8-foot beds to be used by the Casper Metro Division.
- $17,330 for one new sub-compact tractor with loader bucket and snow pusher blade to be used by the Casper Transit Division.
The other actions in the minute consent agenda included:
- A partial refund of $225 for a parkway parking permit issued for a property in the 1100 block of South Center Street.
- Authorizing the inclusion of the fiscal year 2023-2024 summary proposed budget into the minutes of the June 6 regular Council meeting.
- Rejecting all bids received for the Center Street underpass painting project.
Pinewood Derby. Cub Scout Pack 2. Casper, Wyo. May 28, 2023
Pinewood Derby. Cub Scout Pack 2. Casper, Wyo. May 28, 2023 | 2023-06-08T09:09:57+00:00 | k2radio.com | https://k2radio.com/casper-city-council-approves-nearly-500000-of-vehicle-purchases/ |
Sept. 29, 1924 - Dec. 7, 2022
BLOOMINGTON — LaVerne Kusch DiCiaula, 98, of Bloomington, passed away on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at McLean County Nursing Home in Normal.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at Saint Patrick Catholic Church of Merna in Bloomington with Father Dustin Schultz officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Kibler Brady Ruestman Memorial Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Committal will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 16, 2022, at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in River Grove.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to Saint Patrick Catholic Church of Merna in Bloomington.
LaVerne was born on September 29, 1924, in Bucktown, Chicago, a daughter to Theodore and Florence Lobodzinski Kusch.She married Gaetano DiCiaula on September 24, 1949, in Chicago. He preceded her in death on April 18, 1973.
She is survived by her son, Guy (Kathy) DiCiaula; grandsons, Jacob DiCiaula and Daniel (Chelsea) DiCiaula; great-grandson, Anthony DiCiaula, all of Bloomington; and brother, Frederick (Elaine) Kusch of Henderson, NV.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Gaetano; daughter, Elizabeth; and sisters, Theodora and Vivian.
LaVerne attended St. Hedwick's Catholic School and St. Stanislaus Kostka. She worked at Ederer, which manufactured netting for WWII needs. This is where she met her future husband. In 1960, they moved to Elmwood Park to raise their family. LaVerne later worked for Marshall Field's Distribution Center from which she retired.
As a child, she enjoyed roller-skating and attending movies. Later in life, she traveled with her daughter, Elizabeth and enjoyed line-dancing with her sister, Vivian and brother, Fred and their spouses. Each year she and Liz planned to attend Chicago Cubs opening day at Wrigley Field. She took great joy in spending holidays and birthdays with her family. Her family and friends enjoyed her stories of life as a child and young adult.
In 1998, she moved to Bloomington. She proudly lived independently until recently. Each day she prayed the Rosary using the rosary beads she received as a child.
She will be laid to rest with her husband and daughter. LaVerne was a member at Saint Patrick Catholic Church of Merna in Bloomington. She was previously a member at St Celestine Catholic Church in Elmwood Park and St Hedwig Catholic Church in Chicago.
Condolences and memories may be shared with her family at kiblerbradyruestman.com. | 2022-12-10T18:53:45+00:00 | pantagraph.com | https://pantagraph.com/obituaries/laverne-kusch-diciaula/article_1b92b723-72b9-5027-a0e8-ae672fe6b94a.html |
2 ex-LA sheriff’s deputies face federal civil rights charges
Apr 13, 2023, 2:33 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies are accused of violating the civil rights of a skateboarder in 2020 and perpetrating a coverup, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
A grand jury handed down the indictment last month, and both ex-deputies surrendered to authorities Thursday when it was unsealed.
Miguel Vega and Christopher Hernandez allegedly threw the skateboarder — identified as “J.A.” in court papers — in the back of their cruiser and detained him without cause April 13, 2020, in Compton. He was still in the patrol vehicle when they then engaged in a pursuit and crashed the car, injuring the skateboarder. Prosecutors say the duo then conspired to coverup the then-23-year-old man’s unlawful detention.
Vega, 32, and Hernandez, 37, are charged with conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, witness tampering and falsification of records. Vega is charged with another falsification of records count. Their attorneys did not respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday.
The same ex-deputies were involved in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man later that year during a foot chase. Authorities say Vega shot lawsuit with the county for $8 million.
The federal indictment was first reported Thursday by the Los Angeles Times. Vega and Hernandez are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
The deputies remained on active duty until December 2020, the LA Times reported.
“The indictment alleges that these two deputies violated a young person’s constitutional rights by willfully and illegally detaining him without just cause,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a news release. “Officers who abuse their power must be held accountable, and my Office is committed to prosecuting violations of civil rights by those who violate their oaths and victimize those who they were sworn to protect.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately have a comment after the indictment was unsealed. | 2023-04-14T02:10:37+00:00 | mynorthwest.com | https://mynorthwest.com/3874937/2-ex-la-sheriffs-deputies-face-federal-civil-rights-charges/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An artist has devoted a sweeping new street mural to the memory of one of Los Angeles’ most famous residents.
The subject? P-22, the celebrated mountain lion who took up residence in the city and was euthanized last weekend amid worsening health and injuries likely caused by a car.
With a sweep of her brush, Corie Mattie has erected a memorial on the side of a building showing the beloved big cat wearing a crown with the words “Long Live the King.” Earlier this year, she painted a separate mural devoted to P-22, where residents left flowers after the cougar died.
“He’s still the king of the hill,” Mattie told KABC-TV. “There’s never going to be another P-22.”
P-22 became the face of a campaign to build a wildlife crossing over a Los Angeles-area freeway to give big cats, coyotes, deer and other wildlife a safe path to the nearby Santa Monica Mountains, where they have room to roam.
The cougar was regularly recorded on security cameras strolling through residential areas near his home in Griffith Park, an oasis of hiking trails and picnic areas in the middle of the city.
Long outfitted with a tracking collar, P-22 was captured for examination in a residential backyard Dec. 12, a month after killing a Chihuahua on a dogwalker’s leash.
Wildlife officials said the decision was made to euthanize after veterinarians determined P-22 had a skull fracture and chronic illnesses including a skin infection and diseases of the kidneys and liver.
Daniel Richards, a 55-year-old tour guide, said it was sad to learn of P-22’s passing and he hopes the mural will stay.
“He’s kind of a legend,” Richards said of the mountain lion. “It’s a really great mural and really memorializes something that was unique here in the city of Los Angeles.” | 2022-12-24T16:35:31+00:00 | ktalnews.com | https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-new-mural-painted-in-memory-of-las-famed-mountain-lion/ |
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The international envoy tasked with overseeing a 1995 peace agreement for Bosnia has raised eyebrows with an angry outburst against the country’s political leaders in response to a journalist’s question about their failure to agree changes to voting laws.
Christian Schmidt, who took over a year ago as the international high representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, previously indicated he would consider imposing election law changes if Bosnia’s ethnic leaders continued failing in that task.
The threat prompted the political leaders of the country’s three main ethnic groups – Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats – to accuse Schmidt of planning changes that would undermine their constituencies.
A video showed Schmidt, a former agriculture minister of Germany, reacting furiously Wednesday to a reporter’s question about those accusations.
“Rubbish, full rubbish,” he shouted, adding that in his view the nationalist leaders of Bosnia’s three ethnic groups were playing “political games” at the expense of the population.
“People here, they deserve that the politicians whom they are electing are working and not just complaining. This is the key issue,” Schmidt said.
“I will not accept that in this country everybody makes only the blame game. No, sit, be constructive,” he added.
The U.S.-brokered Dayton Agreement that ended Bosnia’s brutal 1992-95 interethnic war gave broad powers to the high representative, including to impose laws and to dismiss officials and civil servants who undermine Bosnia’s the fragile post-war ethnic balance.
Amending the country’s constitution and voting laws has been under discussion in Bosnia since 2009, when the European Court of Human Rights condemned the country for barring ethnic minorities from running for the highest offices in government. So far, no changes have been made.
The peace agreement established two separate governing entities in the country — one run by Bosnia’s Serbs and another one dominated by Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslims, and Croats.
The two entities are linked by joint institutions and all actions taken at a national level must be reached by consensus of the three ethnic groups.
Bosnia’s constitution, which was part of the Dayton Agreement, and its electoral law currently state that only members of the three main ethnic groups are eligible to stand for election to either the shared presidency or the upper house of the central parliament. Members of ethnic minorities that have existed in the country for centuries can’t run for those offices unless they identify with one of the main groups.
Instead of changing the law and the constitution, the nationalist leaders of the country’s main ethnic communities have been using the process to further stoke ethnic divisions, demand special protections for their peoples and blame each other of trying to disenfranchise members of other groups.
___
Follow all of AP’s coverage of Bosnia at https://apnews.com/hub/bosnia-and-herzegovina | 2022-08-18T13:56:39+00:00 | keloland.com | https://www.keloland.com/news/national-world-news/intl-envoy-reacts-angrily-to-bosnia-voting-law-accusations/ |
Orange County municipal elections results: Maitland and Ocoee choose mayors, commissioners, more
In Orange County, voters cast their ballots in municipal elections in both Maitland and Ocoee. In Maitland, voters decided on council seat 4 and several city charter amendments. Meanwhile, in Ocoee, voters chose a mayor and a city commissioner for districts one and three.
In Maitland, one of the city charter amendments was to provide for a vice mayor to complete the unexpired term of the mayor in the event of a vacancy. Another amendment eliminated the requirement for printed copies of the Maitland City Code to be provided to city officers and made available for purchase. The third amendment established that the candidate receiving the highest number of votes for an office is elected and established a tie-breaking procedure for elections, eliminating runoffs. The fourth amendment clarified the petition certifying process and adopted the statutory candidate oath office form. Lastly, the fifth amendment proposed making all gender-specific references in the city charter neutral or removing them entirely.
In the council seat 4 race, incumbent Lindsay Hall Harrison won re-election with 62.18% of the vote. She is also the vice mayor. For the charter amendments, the majority of voters said yes to questions 1, 2, and 4, while the majority said no to questions 3 and 5.
In Ocoee, Rusty Johnson won re-election as mayor with 60.81% of the vote. In District 1, Scott Kennedy won with 63.34% of the vote, while in District 3, incumbent Richard Firstner won re-election with 76.80% of the vote.
Overall, the election results show that the majority of voters in Maitland and Ocoee preferred to keep the status quo, with most incumbents winning re-election and the majority of proposed charter amendments being approved. | 2023-03-15T00:59:46+00:00 | wesh.com | https://www.wesh.com/article/orange-county-election-results-2023/43319129 |
No injuries as jetliner’s evacuation slide falls in Chicago neighborhood near O’Hare, officials say
CHICAGO (AP) — An emergency evacuation slide fell from an airliner Monday and landed in the backyard of a home near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, causing no injuries but damaging a roof, officials and witnesses said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said a United Airlines Boeing 767 had landed safely at O’Hare on Monday on arrival from Switzerland when maintenance workers realized an emergency slide was missing from the plane’s side.
The aircraft was carrying 155 passengers and 10 crew.
WLS-TV reported that Patrick Devitt was not home at the time but his son and father-in-law were present and heard a “boom” shortly after noon. Devitt dragged the slide from his backyard to the front.
He said the slide hit part of the house, damaging the roof, downspout and a window screen.
“When it’s all stretched out, like it’s a little jumbled up I’m sure in the picture from when we dragged it out, it’s larger than a small car. It’s a very, very big piece of equipment,” Devitt told WLS.
United said it was seeking to find out exactly how the slide ended up in the neighborhood.
“We immediately contacted the FAA and are working with our team to better understand the circumstances around this matter,” United said in a statement.
The FAA said, without releasing more details, that it was continuing to investigate.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-07-18T01:20:08+00:00 | kob.com | https://www.kob.com/news/us-and-world-news/no-injuries-as-jetliners-evacuation-slide-falls-in-chicago-neighborhood-near-ohare-officials-say/ |
MISSOULA - Governor Greg Gianforte hosted a discussion at Missoula’s Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, to discuss priorities ahead of the upcoming legislative session in January.
Members of the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC) and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) also attended the event.
Wednesday's panel discussion focused on what Gianforte calls "protecting our Montana way of life".
We asked the governor what he meant by that term.
"I think that's probably a little different to every single Montana. I know for me, as a hunter and a fisherman and an outdoorsman, it's these are not things that we do. They're not activities. It's really who we are. It's an identity and access to lands for hunting and fishing is part of our identity. And that's why the work that Rocky Mountain Elk is doing at FWP DNRC as well as our administration to make sure Montanans continue to have access is so critically important." - Gov. Greg Gianforte
We asked the governor if he was familiar with the proposed expansion of Holland Lake Lodge, which has sparked some controversy in Western Montana.
"I'm not familiar with the details there. But let me say on any public land use issues... I always strive for consensus in the local community. I think that's critical. And I laid out the priorities. You know, public lands have to stay in public lands, we have to be working to increase access, and the voice of the local community needs to be heard." - Gov. Greg Gianforte
The initial public comment period for the Holland Lake Lodge proposal is over, but U.S. Forest Service officials say another public comment period will open once further environmental analysis ends.
A decision on the proposal is expected by February or March of next year.
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- Buy Powerball tickets online? | 2022-11-02T23:59:26+00:00 | krtv.com | https://www.krtv.com/news/montana-politics/governor-hosts-discussion-about-public-lands-in-missoula |
Celebrity chefs share their experiences at Marion County public schools
OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - Five celebrity chefs will share their experiences with Marion County Culinary Arts students on Friday.
It is as part of a local food festival.
Chef Elizabeth Falkner is visiting Belleview High School. She specializes in desserts and pastries. It starts at 9:30 a.m. and goes until 11 a.m.
Chef Esdras Ochoa is going to Dunnellon High School. He specializes in Mexican cuisine. It starts at 9:15 a.m.
TRENDING: Paige’s Kitchen Food Drive is nearing the home stretch
Rashad Jones will teach all things barbeque over at Forest High School. He’ll be there from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m.
Chef Tim Hollingsworth will be heading to Lake Weir High School. It will be from 9:45 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Kids can learn about contemporary American and French cuisine.
Lastly, Art Smith will teach southern cuisine at the Marion Technical Institute and that’ll be from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
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Copyright 2022 WCJB. All rights reserved. | 2022-11-04T10:57:10+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/2022/11/04/celebrity-chefs-share-their-experiences-marion-county-public-schools/ |
WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Former Colorado Avalanche goaltender, Darcy Kuemper, has signed a five-year deal with the Washington Capitals worth $26.25 million.
Earlier in the week, the Avalanche traded for goaltender Alexander Georgiev, signaling a departure with Kuemper.
Kuemper, 32, was a big part of Colorado's run to the Stanley Cup. In 16 playoff games, Kuemper went 10-4 with a 2.57 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.
In the regular season, Kuemper had a 37-12-4 record with a 2.54 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.
"Darcy is an established starting netminder who proved that he can win on the game's biggest stage, and we are excited to welcome him to Washington," said Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. "We feel this signing will provide our team confidence and stability in net."
Kuemper was originally drafted 160th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2009 NHL Draft. He has played a combined 299 NHL games for Minnesota, Los Angeles, Arizona and Colorado.
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For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9NEWS" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon. | 2022-07-13T19:09:56+00:00 | 9news.com | https://www.9news.com/article/sports/nhl/colorado-avalanche/darcy-kuemper-washington-capitals/73-fbe529a8-6c04-4499-8fb9-66e63294549a |
Free Big Zax Snak® Meal with every new download or update
ATHENS, Ga., Oct. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Zaxby's, the premium quick-service restaurant, beloved for its Chicken Fingerz™, wings and legendary Zax Sauce, is introducing its new loyalty program and mobile app: "Zax Rewardz." With the new program structure and features full of flavor-packed rewards, the brand aims to refine and upgrade the mobile experience for Zaxby's most loyal customers, who will receive a free Big Zax Snak® Meal with every new download or update of the existing app.
"Zaxby's has passionate fans and now we have an industry-leading rewards program just for them. Online orders, in-person purchases, and in-app actions turn into points, redeemable for 'Rewardz,'" said Patrick Schwing, chief marketing and strategy officer at Zaxby's. "With the new app and loyalty program, we want to make it even easier for our customers to enjoy our products while racking up the rewards. To celebrate the launch, new and existing loyalty members who download or update our app will get a FREE Big Zax Snak. We are offering our most famous meal to recognize just how much we appreciate our loyal fans."
The intuitive structure of the new app allows loyalty members to easily earn rewards online or in person by converting spent dollars into "Rewardz" points. A point-based catalog of rewards allows users to turn earned points into flavor-packed freebies. Every $1 earns 10 points, which accumulate into a choice of free menu items and select dollars-off rewards.
The new structure offers several tiered reward options for guests, with a variety of "Rewardz" from Zaxby's extensive menu. This structure allows guests the instant satisfaction of redeeming points for rewards from small to large. Customers can review full details in the loyalty program terms, available at zaxbys.com/rewards.
Brand fans will also benefit from new features that focus on user experience. Those include a personalized welcome and conversational language used throughout the app experience, the ability to save favorite meals, a streamlined checkout process, and the choice of ordering pick up or delivery to your door.
To experience the new loyalty program and start earning points immediately, customers can sign up online at zaxbys.com/rewards, or download the new app on Google Play or the App Store. Existing loyalty members can simply update the current app to enjoy all new features. As an incentive to download the new app and a thank you to existing loyalty members for updating, fans can instantly redeem a Big Zax Snak Meal for FREE.
Zaxby's Big Zax Snak Meal features three tender, tasty Chicken Fingerz, Texas Toast, and Zax Sauce, served with Crinkle Fries, Ranch sauce and a small Coca-Cola Freestyle® drink.
Founded in 1990, Zaxby's is committed to serving delicious chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads with Southern hospitality and a modern twist. For the second year in a row, Zaxby's iconic Signature Sandwich has won Thrillist's 2022 Fasties Award for Best Fried Chicken Sandwich. Zaxby's has grown to more than 900 locations in 17 states and is headquartered in Athens, Georgia. For more information, visit zaxbys.com or zaxbysfranchising.com.
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SOURCE Zaxby's | 2022-10-11T13:23:24+00:00 | wbrc.com | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2022/10/11/zaxbys-introduces-new-loyalty-program-zax-rewardz/ |
MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Catholic bishops’ conference says it has found evidence of 728 sexual abusers within the church since 1945, through the testimony of 927 victims, in its first public report on the issue.
The church said 83% of the victims and 99% of the abusers were male and that more than 60% of the offenders were dead.
In a report presented Thursday, more than 50% of offenders were said to be priests. The rest were other church officials.
The church said that most cases occurred in the last century, 75% of them before 1990.
The conference said the collection of testimonies was continuing and the figure would be updated periodically. The data was collected in some 200 offices for the protection of minors, set up by the church around Spain in 2019.
Leading daily El País, which has been reporting constantly on cases in Spain and abroad, said Friday the real figures of abuses within the church were likely to be much higher, as the church report only referred to cases recorded since 2019 and did not include the number of cases the church was aware of before that date.
A Madrid-based law firm that is conducting a parallel inquiry ordered for the Spanish Episcopal Conference has told the media that the number of victims is likely to be in the thousands. The firm has yet to produce its results.
Up until very recently, the Spanish church has been reluctant to carry out investigations or release information on sexual abuse cases. Spain’s state prosecutor earlier this year complained that the bishops were withholding information. The bishops denied this.
“Members of this our church have hurt other members of the church or society,” said César García Magán, the Spanish Episcopal Conference secretary general, said at the presentation. ”And for this reason, we feel pain and shame.”
But he said that this would be meaningless if it did not lead to changes in the ways children were protected and offenders sidelined. He said the church was also committed to sharing its findings and must use the lessons learnt to ensure “sexual abuses do not occur again in the heart of the church.”
The bishops´ report said the abuses occurred mostly in schools, seminaries, and parish buildings.
Spain’s parliament voted in 2022 to open the first official investigation led by the country’s ombudsman into the extent of sexual abuse committed by priests and church officials after El País published allegations of abuse involving more than 1,200 victims.
Earlier this year, the ombudsman said his independent commission had collected testimonies from 445 victims, but the probe was continuing.
Only a handful of countries have had government-initiated or parliamentary inquiries into abuse like Spain’s.
The most extensive took place in Australia. In 2017, it found that 7% of Catholic priests were accused of abusing minors between 1980 and 2010. Judge-led investigations in Ireland from 2005 impacted the Catholic Church’s once-dominant influence in society and politics.
And in France, an independent inquiry estimated in 2021 that some 330,000 children were victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy or other Catholic-affiliated lay employees from 1950-2020.
In neighboring Portugal, an expert panel said this year that more than 4,800 individuals may have been victims of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. | 2023-06-02T17:17:31+00:00 | wcia.com | https://www.wcia.com/news/international/spanish-catholic-bishops-find-evidence-of-728-sexual-abusers-927-victims-since-1945/ |
CLEVELAND (AP) — An attorney who was arrested for throwing a water bottle at Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam at the end of a home game last month has been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct by intoxication.
Jeffrey Miller, 51, of Rocky River, is scheduled to appear in Cleveland Municipal Court on Oct. 20. A message seeking comment was left with Miller on Friday. He was charged on Thursday.
Haslam was struck by the bottle as he walked off the field and headed toward the end zone tunnel at FirstEnergy Stadium during a last-second loss to the New York Jets on Sept. 18. Miller was detained by security guards when he tried to leave the stadium, according to cleveland.com.
Haslam was not injured.
The Browns are considering banning Miller from attending games. | 2022-10-08T05:36:54+00:00 | kron4.com | https://www.kron4.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-lawyer-charged-in-bottle-throwing-incident-at-browns-game/ |
Police: Man accused of driving with blood alcohol level of .338 crashes into 3 cars, killing teen
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE/Gray News) – A man in Kentucky was charged with murder after being accused of driving under the influence and crashing into three cars, killing a teenager.
According to a toxicology report, 27-year-old Ernesto Ocampo had a blood alcohol level of .338, four times the legal limit.
Those with a blood alcohol concentration of .35-.40 could be on the brink of a coma or have loss of consciousness, according to Stanford University. Those with a BAC level of .25-.30 are considered severely intoxicated, have mental confusion and would likely need assistance walking.
Police said he was driving a Mazda when he crashed into the back of a Toyota. The citation said there was no evidence Ocampo tried to brake before hitting the car.
The Toyota was shoved forward into a Pontiac, which then hit a Buick.
Police said the driver of the Buick, Pontiac and Toyota were all taken to the hospital, as well as the front-seat passengers in the Toyota and Pontiac.
The passenger in the back of the Toyota, 17-year-old Mohammed Hussein, was also taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Police said Ocampo was driving at a high rate of speed when the crash happened and did not have a driver’s license.
Investigators said there were several empty bottles and one full bottle of Corona found inside the Mazda.
Ocampo was arrested and charged with one count of murder, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving without a license.
Police also charged him with five counts of wanton endangerment, the extreme indifference to the value of human life.
Copyright 2023 WAVE via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-25T16:31:56+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/2023/04/25/police-man-accused-driving-with-blood-alcohol-level-338-crashes-into-3-cars-killing-teen/ |
The Aug. 6 letter “Stop preventable deaths” mentioned devices and countermeasures to address the problem of speeding in school zones. Two additional effective measures, and not limited to school zones, are having speed-limit signs stating “strictly enforced,” as used in the Delaware towns of Bethany Beach and South Bethany, and the magic words “photo enforced.”
Receiving a photo in the mail of your rear license plate, along with a bill for $50 or more, is very effective at encouraging drivers to obey speed limits (at least in “photo enforced” zones).
Robert F. Benson, Silver Spring | 2022-08-11T21:58:28+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/11/magic-words-speed-reduction/ |
WASHINGTON — The House has voted to restore abortion rights nationwide in Democrats' first legislative response to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The bill has little chance of becoming law, with the necessary support lacking in the 50-50 Senate. Yet voting marks the beginning of a new era in the debate as lawmakers, governors and legislatures grapple with the impact of the court's decision.
The legislation passed 219-210. The House also passed a second bill to prohibit punishment for a woman or child who decides to travel to another state to get an abortion, 223-205.
“Just three weeks ago the Supreme Court took a wrecking ball to the fundamental rights by overturning Roe v. Wade,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ahead of the votes, gathering with other Democratic women on the steps of the Capitol. “It is outrageous that 50 years later, women must again fight for our most basic rights against an extremist court.”
Republicans spoke forcefully against the bills, praising the Supreme Court’s decision and warning the that the legislation would go further than Roe ever did when it comes to legalizing abortion.
Urging her colleagues to vote no, Washington GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers called abortion “the greatest human rights issue of our generation.”
She said the Democratic legislation “has nothing to do with protecting the health of women. It has everything to do with forcing an extreme agenda on the American people.”
By overturning Roe, the court has allowed states to enact strict abortion limits, including many that had previously been deemed unconstitutional. The ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
Already, a number of GOP-controlled states have moved quickly to curtail or outlaw abortion, while states controlled by Democrats have sought to champion access. Voters now rank abortion as among the most pressing issues facing the country, a shift in priorities that Democrats hope will reshape the political landscape in their favor for the midterm elections.
This is the second time the House has passed the bill, which would expand on the protections Roe had previously provided by banning what supporters say are medically unnecessary restrictions that block access to safe and accessible abortions. It would prevent abortion bans earlier than 24 weeks, which is when fetal viability, the ability of a human fetus to survive outside the uterus, is generally thought to begin. It allows exceptions for abortions after fetal viability when a provider determines the life or health of the mother is at risk.
The Democrats’ proposal would also prevent states from requiring providers to share “medically inaccurate” information, or from requiring additional tests or waiting periods, often aimed at dissuading a patient from having an abortion.
The bill that would prohibit punishment for traveling out of state would also specify that doctors can’t be punished for providing reproductive care outside their home state. Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, one of the bill’s authors, said the threats to travel “fail to reflect the fundamental rights that are granted in our Constitution.”
Democrats have highlighted the case of a 10-year-old girl who had to cross state lines into Indiana to get an abortion after being raped, calling it an example of how the court's decision is already having severe consequences.
“We don’t have to imagine why this might matter. We don’t need to conjure up hypotheticals. We already know what’s happened,” Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday on the Senate floor.
“Should the next little 10-year-old's right or 12-year-old's right or 14-year-old's right to get the care that she desperately needs be put in jeopardy?"
The Constitution doesn’t explicitly say travel between states is a right, though the Supreme Court has said it is a right that “has been firmly established and repeatedly recognized.” Yet the court has never said exactly where the right to travel comes from and that could leave it open to challenge or elimination, as the right to an abortion was.
Lawmakers in Missouri earlier this year, for example, considered making it illegal to “aid or abet” abortions that violate Missouri law, even if they occur out of state. The proposal was ultimately shelved.
Democrats have teed up more bills for passage in the coming weeks. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Friday that the House will vote next week on legislation guaranteeing a right to contraception.
GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who supports instituting a nationwide ban on abortion, accused his colleagues across the aisle Thursday of seeking to “inflame" the issue of abortion. He said proponents of the travel bill should ask themselves, “Does the child in the womb have the right to travel in their future?”
Only two Senate Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, have been supportive of abortion rights, but they do not support the Democrats' proposal, calling it too far-reaching. They have introduced alternative legislation that would bar states from placing an "undue burden” on a woman's ability to obtain an abortion before fetal viability, among other provisions.
When pressed Thursday on whether Democrats should work with the two senators, Pelosi pushed back, “We’re not going to negotiate a woman’s right to choose."
Since the court's ruling last month, some activists have accused President Joe Biden and other top Democrats of failing to respond forcefully enough to the decision. Biden, who denounced the court's ruling as “extreme,” last week issued an executive order intended to head off some potential penalties that women seeking abortion may face. His administration has also warned medical providers that they must offer abortion if the life of the mother is at risk.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee has already launched a digital ad campaign to energize voters on the issue, warning that Republicans’ ultimate goal is to outlaw abortion nationwide.
“We have to elect a couple more Democratic senators so that we can get around the filibuster so that we can pass legislation that truly impacts a woman’s right to choose,” she said. “There’s no halfway measure.”
___
Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report. | 2022-07-15T19:10:27+00:00 | 11alive.com | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/nation-world/us-house-making-first-attempt-to-protect-abortion-access-in-post-roe-era/507-8a052bb8-6d39-4d15-97de-95c6a0ac4cbd |
JASON RANTZ
Mark Mullet: ‘I’m not conceding any Democratic votes to Ferguson’ for governor
Jun 5, 2023, 4:13 PM | Updated: 4:41 pm
(Photo by Ted S. Warren/Associated Press)
Washington state Sen. Mark Mullet (D-5th District) announced his candidacy for governor last week as the pool of gubernatorial candidates continues to grow following Gov. Jay Inslee’s 10-year run in Olympia.
With this announcement, Mullet — known throughout his party as more moderate than most of his representatives — joins fellow Democrat candidates Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz while Dr. Raul Garcia and Richland School Board member Semi Bird are a few of the candidates running on the Republican ticket.
“Is it fair to say that a key strategy for you to advance is to win over some actual Republicans as you’re going up against Bob Ferguson, Hilary Franz, and maybe whoever else announces?” Jason Rantz asked Mullet on The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH 770 AM.
Sen. Mullet may enter governor’s race because ‘Ferguson is more of the same’
“I’m not conceding any Democratic vote to Bob Ferguson,” Mullet answered. “There’s a lot of Democrats, like myself, who feel our party can do a lot better when it comes to public safety, affordable housing, and taxes. I’m not ready to concede any voters because I think there are a lot of Democrats who are similar to me, where they like some of those core values I support, but are agreeing with the fact that I challenge our party to be better on those three issues.”
That being said, Mullet acknowledged readers of The Stranger — which released a story on Mullet’s announcement paired with the subhead “HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA” — will probably not look his way to replace Inslee in favor of Bob Ferguson, whose campaign team released an ad against Mullet just hours after his candidacy was announced. In the video were Pro-Choice Washington’s Executive Director Kia Guarino, Ironworkers Local 86 Political Director Heather Kurtenbach, and IBEW Local 46 Director of Government Affairs Nicole Grant, all describing Mullet as “completely out of touch.”
“It’s kind of hilarious that they obviously had to film that in advance, I think he was a little nervous about the announcement,” Mullet said in response to the Ferguson-funded ad. “I think the advantage I have is, I actually have a voting record on those core issues that we’re talking about. Women’s reproductive rights? I have a 100% voting record. LGBTQ+ support? I have a 100% voting record.”
One of Mullet’s more controversial stances, and one that differed him from most of his political party, was his disapproval of the long-term care payroll tax. The tax collects 0.58% from wages, no matter the salary, to create a long-term care benefit (worth up to $36,500) for when the resident paying the tax needs it. The average salary n the state is $50,091, meaning the tax is slightly more than $24 a month — or nearly $300 in a year.
Long-term health care tax debated in WA Legislature
The tax kicks in next month.
“I opposed the long-term care payroll tax. I was very vocal of my opposition over the tax and I remain opposed to it,” Mullet told Rantz. “Yes, that’s created a lot of political misery for me, but I can live with that. I think at the end of the day, I got out of my last tough race. I won my tough race previously to that. I’ve always had tough Senate races, and I think the things I stand up and fight for are actually the things most Washington residents want to see me fighting for.”
In 2020, Mullet won by 0.1% of the vote (58 votes out of a total of 85,331) over Ingrid Anderson for the State Senate seat in Washington’s fifth district after originally finishing second in votes behind her in the nonpartisan primary. He won by just 0.7% in his previous race in 2016 — winning with a margin of 516 votes over Chad Magendanz.
In addition to his 11-year political career, Mullet also works as a small business owner, owning and operating Zeek’s Pizza and a couple of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream franchises in the Issaquah and Sammamish area.
“Republican voters care about public safety, taxes, and being smarter about the level of business regulations,” Mullet said in response to coaxing Republicans to vote for him despite his political affiliation. “The Republicans that have voted for me in my three previous Senate races, it’s because I’ve always been very vocal on those issues, and I think it’d be the same in a statewide race.
“You’re right, they probably wish I was different on some of these other social issues,” Mullet continued. “But I’ve never pretended otherwise. I’ve been very upfront with Republican voters my entire time in office. They know I support that stuff. But I also have been extremely consistent in my opposition to unnecessary tax increases. And that’s been really important to them. I think at the end of the day, they’re like, ‘Well, it’s nice to at least have a Democrat there who does support some of those values.’ I really do care about that.”
WA AG settles neglect, document withholding case for $3.1M
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is the current favorite to replace Inslee as the state’s governor, according to a poll by the Northwest Progressive Institute in March, but has been marred in controversy following the order from the King County Superior Court and the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to pay a fine for failing to release more than 11,000 pages of records for a lawsuit involving the neglect of Emily Tobin, a developmentally disabled woman at an assisted living facility in Kent.
The Washington state Attorney General’s Office had to pay more than $3 million in the settlement.
“I didn’t have to run an attack ad for that one,” Mullet said. “I had nothing to do with that, that happened on its own. I think it’s very clear that Bob Ferguson has been running for governor for probably the last 10 years. I’ve been running for governor for less than 10 days now. There’s a real contrast there, but I’m in this race. I’m giving voters a chance for change. I mean, I’d be the first small business owner in the last 30 years. Every governor has been a lawyer.”
Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. | 2023-06-06T00:50:51+00:00 | mynorthwest.com | https://mynorthwest.com/3897063/mullet-im-not-conceding-any-democratic-vote-to-ferguson-governor/ |
STOCKHOLM, May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, May 20th, Indian news outlets published information claiming that Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have received a request to investigate the possibility of the development of a state-sponsored call identification service in India.
The information in the Indian press claims that TRAI has received a request from the Department of Telecommunications to investigate what would be required in order to develop a simple caller identification service. Based on the limited information available, the purpose seems to be to develop a service that will display the caller's name based on the Know Your Customer (KYC) process conducted in India in connection with the purchase of a SIM-card. The available information indicates that the solution should be an "opt-in service". This is one of several similar initiatives from TRAI over the past ten years, and Truecaller welcomes all attempts aimed at helping in the mission to make communications safer and more secure. If the service described was to be developed, the assessment is that its implementation would take many years and require a successful collaboration with all major telecom operators.
"Based on the information available at present, we do not see that this would be a competitive service comparable to the full range of services and functionality that Truecaller offers to our more than 310 million monthly active users. With our technology and data, Truecaller solves many more issues than a basic number identification service. We believe that the proposed TRAI development can even be a driving catalyst for our continued growth in India, as more people discover our offerings. During our 13 years, we have seen many players - both private and state-driven - trying to enter this industry, and we are humble in the face of this great challenges it entails to ensure safe and reliable communication for everyone. At Truecaller, we believe that our focus on our services and our users will create the most value for both the users, society as a whole, and our shareholders", says Alan Mamedi, CEO and co-founder.
For further information, please contact:
Andreas Frid, Head of Investor Relations Truecaller
+46 70 529 08 00 andreas.frid@truecaller.com
About Truecaller:
Truecaller (TRUE B) is the leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication. We enable safe and relevant conversations between people and make it efficient for business to connect with consumers. Fraud and unwanted communication are endemic to digital economies, especially in emerging markets. We are on a mission to build trust in communication. Truecaller is an essential part of everyday communication for more than 310 million active users, with half a billion downloads since launch and around 38 billion unwanted calls identified and blocked in 2021. Headquartered in Stockholm, since 2009, we are a co-founder led, entrepreneurial company, with a highly experienced management team. Truecaller is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 8 October 2021. For more information, please visit corporate.truecaller.com
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
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SOURCE Truecaller AB | 2022-05-24T08:30:07+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/24/truecaller-issues-statement-relation-information-indian-press/ |
Fewer Americans applied for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to cool the economy and tamp down inflation.
Applications for jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending March 11 fell by 20,000 to 192,000 from 212,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens out some of week-to-week volatility, fell by 750 to 196,500, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the eighth straight week.
Applications for unemployment benefits are seen as a barometer for layoffs in the U.S.
In a note to clients, analysts at Oxford economics said there are still few signs that the recent jump in layoff announcements, particularly in the tech sector, is translating to a rise in unemployment.
“Many announced layoffs don’t end up happening, and those that have been laid off are quickly finding work elsewhere, reflecting the ongoing imbalance between labor demand and supply,” the analysts wrote.
At its February meeting, the Fed raised its main lending rate by 25 basis points, the eighth straight rate hike in its year-long battle against stubborn inflation. With recent data showing that those rate hikes have done little to bring down inflation and even less to cool the economy and labor market, many analysts were expecting the Fed to raise rates by another half-point when it meets next week.
However, the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history over the last week — which have been blamed in large part to rising interest rates — have some economists thinking Fed officials will tread more lightly next week and either raise its rate by 25 basis points or perhaps not at all.
The central bank’s benchmark rate is now in a range of 4.5% to 4.75%, its highest level in 15 years. Before the banking sector turmoil that began last week, the Fed had signaled that two more rate hikes were likely this year. Some analysts had even forecast three increases that could push the lower end of that rate to 5.5%.
The Fed’s rate increases are meant to cool the economy, labor market and wages, thereby suppressing prices. But so far, none of those things have happened, at least not to the degree that the central bank had hoped.
Inflation remains more than double the Fed’s 2% target, and the economy is growing and adding jobs at a healthy clip.
Last month, the government reported that employers added a substantial 311,000 jobs in February, fewer than January's huge gain but enough to keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, from a 53-year low of 3.4%.
Fed policymakers have forecast that the unemployment rate would rise to 4.6% by the end of this year, a sizable increase historically associated with recessions.
Though the U.S. labor market remains strong, layoffs have been mounting in the technology sector, where many companies overhired after a pandemic boom. IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Twitter and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months.
Earlier this week, Facebook parent Meta said it was slashing another 10,000 jobs, in addition to the 11,000 culled in November. The social media giant also said it would not fill 5,000 open positions.
The real estate sector has taken the biggest hit from the Fed's interest rate hikes. Higher mortgage rates — which have risen closer to 7% again in recent weeks — have slowed home sales for 12 straight months. That's almost in lockstep with the Fed's rate hikes that began last March.
About 1.68 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended March 4, a decrease of 29,000 from the week before. That number is close to pre-pandemic levels.
—— | 2023-03-16T13:33:13+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/nation-world/us-jobless-aid-claims-fell-last-week-as-layoffs-remain-low/BINXTAMSR5HRVBJYEF6PXCMPZM/ |
Partnership distinguishes CareCredit as ADA Member Advantage's only endorsed patient financing solution and includes comprehensive payment options and digital features for members and patients
STAMFORD, Conn., April 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Dental Association (ADA) Member Advantage and Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) today announced a 10-year partnership extension, making CareCredit, a Synchrony product, the only financing solution endorsed for ADA members. The endorsement is the result of a comprehensive due diligence process established by ADA Member Advantage to partner with and recommend trusted companies that provide unique value to the organization's 159,000+ dentist members. The partnership includes special financing options, digital features and exclusive deals for providers.
"Synchrony's purpose in the healthcare industry aligns with the ADA's mission to help dentists succeed and support the advancement of the oral health of the public," said Beto Casellas, EVP and CEO, Health & Wellness, Synchrony. "Our common vision has set the foundation for a long and mutually beneficial partnership between CareCredit and ADA Member Advantage, giving dental practices a powerful financing resource patients can use for recommended treatments and ongoing dental care."
CareCredit, one of the industry's first dental credit cards, has been endorsed by ADA Member Advantage since 2001. Through the renewed partnership, CareCredit will offer ADA members payment education, resources and financing solutions that will enable providers to have confident and successful cost conversations with patients, empowering them with financial solutions to help cover out-of-pocket dental costs.
"We have a defined process for choosing companies we want to endorse to our members. When we review Synchrony and the CareCredit product within that framework we find it to be an essential product that provides value to members and their patients, it becomes an easy decision to continue our partnership," said Bill Bulman, Chair of the ADA Member Advantage Board of Directors.
"Their ongoing commitment to providing financing options, education and practice resources to providers and dental teams makes them one of our most valued partners."
CareCredit is integrated in the top dental practice management software solutions, making it easy for dental teams to offer to patients and for patients to apply. Dental patients looking for a modern, flexible way to pay for dental care can apply in a dental practice, on any smart device, or over the phone, for the CareCredit credit card with no impact to their credit score. A credit decision is made within minutes and if approved, patients can use their account to pay the dentist right away. CareCredit has a wide range of financing options available, from 6 to 60 months, depending on the purchase amount. Additionally, patients can use the CareCredit payment calculator to help estimate their monthly payments based on the amount of care financed and the financing option selected.
"CareCredit helps providers improve revenue cycle management and maintain financial stability during a time of evolving change," said Bete Johnson, GM, Dental, Synchrony. "With CareCredit, dental practices are able to offer their patients the option to make convenient monthly payments to help make out-of-pocket expenses more manageable and budget friendly."
Today, CareCredit is accepted at more than 266,000 healthcare provider locations.
About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing 159,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), published monthly, is the ADA's flagship publication and the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit ADA.org. For more information on oral health, including prevention, care and treatment of dental disease, visit the ADA's consumer website MouthHealthy.org.
About Synchrony
Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry's most complete digitally enabled product suites. Our experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, outdoor, pet and more. We have an established and diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers, which we refer to as our "partners." We connect our partners and consumers through our dynamic financial ecosystem and provide them with a diverse set of financing solutions and innovative digital capabilities to address their specific needs and deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences. We offer the right financing products to customers in their channel of choice. For more information, visit www.synchrony.com and Twitter: @Synchrony.
Media Relations:
Michelle Blaya Romero
Synchrony
Michelle.Romero@SYF.com
ADA Media Relations
mediarelations@ada.org
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SOURCE Synchrony | 2023-04-13T13:49:13+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2023/04/13/american-dental-association-member-advantage-extends-partnership-with-synchronys-carecredit-endorsing-it-patient-financing/ |
MARIETTA, Pa. (AP) _ Donegal Group Inc. (DGICA) on Thursday reported a second-quarter loss of $8.2 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.
On a per-share basis, the Marietta, Pennsylvania-based company said it had a loss of 26 cents. Losses, adjusted for investment costs, were 5 cents per share.
The insurance holding company posted revenue of $204.3 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $212.7 million.
_____
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DGICA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DGICA | 2022-07-28T11:52:06+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Donegal-Q2-Earnings-Snapshot-17334463.php |
The Detroit automaker earned $1.67 billion from April through June, well below the $2.79 billion it made a year earlier. GM couldn’t deliver 95,000 vehicles during the quarter because it lacked parts.
Investors are also looking to the Federal Reserve, which is is expected to announce a rate hike of up to three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, triple the usual margin. The central bank is waging an aggressive campaign to stem four-decade high inflation. The expected hike would put the Fed’s benchmark rate in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, the highest since 2018.
Tech heavyweights Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon are due to report their results later this week.
FILE - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, as he presents the Monetary Policy Report to the committee on Capitol Hill, on June 22, 2022, in Washington. With inflation raging at a four-decade high and the job market strong, the Fed is under pressure to raise interest rates aggressively. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta
Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta
FILE - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, as he presents the Monetary Policy Report to the committee on Capitol Hill, on June 22, 2022, in Washington. With inflation raging at a four-decade high and the job market strong, the Fed is under pressure to raise interest rates aggressively. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta
Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta
A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday as investors braced for another sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday as investors braced for another sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday as investors braced for another sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday as investors braced for another sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday as investors braced for another sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday as investors braced for another sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
Credit: Ahn Young-joon
Statues adorn the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, July 14, 2022, in New York. Stocks are opening mixed on Wall Street Monday, July 25, 2022. Cruise lines are falling while gold miner Freeport-McMoRan and Texas-based oil explorer Diamondback Energy are leading the gainers at the opening bell. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Credit: John Minchillo
Statues adorn the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, July 14, 2022, in New York. Stocks are opening mixed on Wall Street Monday, July 25, 2022. Cruise lines are falling while gold miner Freeport-McMoRan and Texas-based oil explorer Diamondback Energy are leading the gainers at the opening bell. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Credit: John Minchillo
Credit: John Minchillo | 2022-07-26T15:16:33+00:00 | springfieldnewssun.com | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/grim-news-from-walmart-sends-us-markets-tumbling/I7YIF4RR5VE2VPFLPB56BRRLRU/ |
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Local | 2022-06-27T10:16:08+00:00 | nbcmiami.com | https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/woman-arrested-for-stealing-car-with-baby-inside/2792627/ |
Lebanon's Ben True trains for 2023 Boston Marathon; will start in pro field
One elite runner in New Hampshire is running his first Boston Marathon in the Boston Athletic Association's professional field.
Ben True runs every day, twice per day, and averages 120 miles per week.
Even when it was 17 degrees in West Lebanon, with a wind chill feels-like at 3 degrees, True was outside for a 40-minute late-afternoon training run after doing 90 minutes that morning.
And that is how you become one of the best runners in the world.
“While it's easier, a lot of times when it's light out and it's warmer and there's not a fear of slipping on ice, it's a little bit easier to get the miles in,” True said. “But I actually really enjoy the winter, so it is not too much of a hassle for me.”
As True trains to run his first Boston Marathon in the professional field, his resume suggests he will be terrific.
His first and only marathon was in New York City in 2021. He finished seventh and second among Americans, and, he says, he should have done even better.
“I know I had the fastest last 10-split of anybody in the field, which is a bad sign when you're in seventh place because it just means that you left way too much at the end of the race," True said. "And I should have used that energy a little bit smoother throughout and hopefully have been slightly higher up in the standings."
He has found fast success everywhere he has gone.
He was an All-American at Dartmouth in both Nordic skiing and running.
True is the American record holder in the 5K distance on the roads.
He has owned the BAA 5K in the last decade, winning four times.
He was the New York City Half-Marathon winner in 2018, and he won the prestigious Beach to Beacon race in Maine.
Twice, True has been close to making the Olympic team, narrowly missing making Team USA at both the 5K and 10K distance.
True's wife is a two-time Olympic triathlete, Hanover native Sara True, and they have a 19-month-old son now, so balancing their training with his needs has changed things a bit.
But Ben still races to win.
Will marathon running lead him to Paris and the 2024 Summer Olympics?
Perhaps, but his focus now is on the World Marathon Majors, and Boston is the next race up.
“Yeah, no. I'm excited. Growing up in Maine, Maine and Massachusetts, the only states that recognize Patriot's Day as a holiday. And so I’d always have school off that day, and watching the Boston Marathon was always an annual ritual," True said. “And it's always been a race that I’ve wanted to run at some point in my career. And so I’m looking forward to it this year. I think the course, the hillier and the harder the courses, suits me and my running style a lot more than the flatter courses, some of the other races.”
The marathon is one week from Monday and will air on WMUR. | 2023-04-11T00:19:49+00:00 | wmur.com | https://www.wmur.com/article/lebanon-ben-true-2023-boston-marathon-pro-field/43557796 |
The Minnesota Timberwolves (22-23) will be in Colorado on Wednesday night for a matchup against the Denver Nuggets (31-13) that is scheduled to tip off at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
- WATCH LIVE: fuboTV (7-day free trial), Sling (half off first month)
Minnesota is coming off of a one-point loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday night where standout, high-flying guard Anthony Edwards recorded 29 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell tallied 21 points, 7 assists and a rebound, and Jaylen Nowell was the third-leading scorer in that one with 16 points.
In a game on Jan. 14 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Timberwolves won 110-102, and it was Edwards again who did most of the heavy lifting for the team by scoring 26 points and recording 7 assists along with 6 rebounds.
Denver is on a seven-game winning streak and its last loss actually came against the Timberwolves— 124-11— on Jan. 2. Nikola Jockic continues to be the headliner for the Nuggets on a nightly basis and is averaging 25 points, 11 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game so far this season.
He recorded a triple-double against the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday night with 36 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The game will be available to stream live on Wednesday evening via fuboTV (7-day free trial), Sling (half off first month).
— Follow Nebiy Esayas on Twitter @_nebiy_
Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. | 2023-01-18T21:14:45+00:00 | pennlive.com | https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2023/01/minnesota-timberwolves-vs-denver-nuggets-basketball-live-stream-011823-how-to-watch-time-channel.html |
Wheat for Dec. rose 10.25 cents at $8.1375 a bushel; Dec. corn gained 4.75 cents at $6.58 a bushel, Dec. oats was up 8.75 cents at $3.87 a bushel; while Nov. soybeans advanced 25 cents at $14.5550 a bushel.
Beef and pork lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Dec. live cattle lost 1.55 cents at $1.5152 a pound; Nov. feeder cattle was off 1.67 cents at $1.7695 a pound; while Dec. lean hogs dropped .52 cent at $.8435 a pound. | 2022-11-11T21:44:13+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Grains-higher-Livestock-lower-17578083.php |
Request unsuccessful. Incapsula incident ID: 6522000300099657238-94374936025106315 | 2023-03-09T19:48:04+00:00 | bizjournals.com | https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/inno/stories/fundings/2023/03/09/cognosos-raises-largest-investment.html |
INSTINE, Howard E. "Gene"
Age 86, of Cable, Ohio, passed away June 7, 2022. Services entrusted to Skillman, McDonald & Vernon Funeral Home, Mechanicsburg, OH.
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Skillman, McDonald & Vernon Funeral Home
257 West Main Street | 2022-06-09T05:30:08+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/obituaries/instine-howard/VBJ5NUG3NZHKNHV3IB25AJQIDM/ |
UNION CITY, Calif., Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The U-Bolt Pro Wi-Fi smart lock from ULTRALOQ, the leading brand of the smart lock industry, invented by U-tec, has been named one of the best smart locks of 2022 by CNET. Before that, Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro WiFi has also been selected as the 2022 Top picks by PCMag, Wirecutter, and Reviewed.com.
CNET's experts and staff test a wide variety of smart locks each year. After comparing 7 dimensions of the product including Performance, Ease of Use, Price, Availability, Packaging, Assurances, and Branding, ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro WiFi has been recommended to readers.
ULTRALOQ is committed to bringing a smarter, more convenient, and safer entry experience to users. Thus, U-Bolt Pro WiFi was designed for providing different users with ultimate flexibility. This is confirmed by the fact that CNET recognized it as the top pick for Airbnb hosts and the top performer when it comes to built-in Wi-Fi range.
The key innovations of ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro WiFi are thought that is advancing the industry in the way of smart and convenience improvements for homeowners, as well as green improvements for the environment.
6-in-1 True keyless entry of U-Bolt Pro Wi-Fi's includes a fingerprint ID, numerical keypad, smartphone bluetooth proximity sensor, and the option of temporary codes or Ekeys that can be shared with short-term users and guests – which means no more missed deliveries, no more rushing home to open the door, and no more fumbling for the keys when the hands are full.
With Bluetooth 4.0's ultra-low power consumption, U-Bolt Pro Series only needs four AA recycling batteries allowing for harmless disposal for up to 6,000 times access. Plus, all ULTRALOQ's product production and outside package parts are in full compliance with the latest environmental standards including RoHS and REACH compliance. For that matter, 90% of the entire door lock is recyclable.
Plus, an exterior built to withstand heat and cold as well as an IP65-rated exterior for dust and water keeps both smart lock models working hard in bad weather. ANSI commercial Grade 1 (ANSI Code 156.36 & 156.25) certification assures users of the locks' hardiness and durability, providing 35 times the strength of standard residential locks as well as a seven times longer lifespan.
"Our plan is to upend the market by offering innovative products providing the ultimate experience. The world's first WiFi smart lever lock with Fingerprint ID, ULTRALOQ Latch 5, and the world's first Z-Wave smart lock with Fingerprint ID, U-Bolt Pro Z-Wave, are examples." said Clark Ruan, VP of U-tec. "We are grateful to CNET and other media platforms and look forward to sending a message that: smart home devices are not nice-to-haves but a smart investment worth making."
In addition to product innovation and environmental ecosystem, ULTRALOQ also has been paying attention to the Smart Home Ecosystem. Clark believed that once branded in the Smart home ecosystems, U-tec has a playbook for growth.
ULTRALOQ utilizes the smart lock to protect smart home's entry to enter into the smart home ecosystem. U-Bolt Pro Wi-Fi is now compatible with Samsung's SmartThings, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTT. Further, Apple's HomeKit is the next platform ULTRALOQ plans to integrate with.
About U-tec
Located in Silicon Valley, U-tec invents and manufactures ULTRALOQ Whole-Home smart lock system that delivers an exceptional access experience for ultimate flexibility, security and convenience. U-tec is setting new standard for smart home security with its best-in-class design and advanced technologies. Every day, U-tec helps keep more than 1 million North American customers and their assets safe.
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SOURCE U-tec | 2022-10-13T16:43:14+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2022/10/13/ultraloq-u-bolt-pro-wi-fi-named-2022-best-smart-lock/ |
Dame, NBA Twitter react to news of Draymond's suspension originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Seemingly for the umpteenth time in the last 24 hours, NBA Twitter was buzzing because of what happened in Game 2 of the Warriors-Kings first-round NBA playoff series at Golden 1 Center.
After it appeared Draymond Green would avoid a suspension for stomping on Kings center Domantas Sabonis' chest during the fourth quarter of the Warriors' 114-106 loss Monday night, the NBA announced Tuesday night that the Golden State forward will be suspended for Game 3 at Chase Center.
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Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and center Jusuf Nurkić, along with the rest of NBA Twitter, swiftly reacted to the news of Green's suspension.
RELATED: Kings' Sabonis sustained sternum contusion in Draymond stomp
Many had expected Green to be suspended, but after The Athletic's Shams Charania reported earlier Tuesday, citing sources, that Green likely would receive just a fine for the altercation, the NBA's announcement was a surprise.
Sports
Down two games to none in the best-of-seven series, the Warriors were dealt a huge blow, and now will look to stave off the Kings with a much-needed bounce-back win Thursday night without Green. | 2023-04-21T15:22:49+00:00 | nbcmiami.com | https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/draymond-green-suspension-reaction/3017691/ |
HHS announces action plan in response to Supreme Court's abortion ruling
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra unveiled an action plan on Tuesday, at President Joe Biden's direction, in response to the Supreme Court Decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health.
During Tuesday's press conference, Becerra said the HHS will increase access to medication abortion and the right of a woman to travel to another state if the procedure is outlawed in her home state.
In his remarks, Becerra emphasized the importance of women's access to emergency contraception. "Federal law requires [federally supported] programs to provide medication abortion in certain circumstances — such as the life of the woman, rape or incest," he said.
He continues on saying, "Now more than ever, it is imperative that all federally supported programs and services are complying with the law."
Friday's ruling struck down a 1973 legal precedent known as Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place for nearly 50 years.
Abortion foes cheered the ruling, but abortion-rights supporters, including Biden, expressed dismay and pledged to fight to restore the rights.
"It's a sad day for the court and for the country," Biden said at the White House. He urged voters to make it a defining issue in the November elections, declaring, "This decision must not be the final word."
Video below: President Biden speaks on overturned abortion rights
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | 2022-06-28T17:15:56+00:00 | wyff4.com | https://www.wyff4.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-june-2022/40445843 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Legacy Church leadership conference wrapped up on Wednesday night. The service was headlined by Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker and two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis.
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The packed house was full of high school football teams from around the Albuquerque metro area, and Lewis provided them with some inspirational words. Lewis credited his faith among other factors that drove him to be better than his competition throughout his career.
“Avery athlete, where you guys buy into athletics, I bought into a legacy,” Lewis said. “That’s the difference. That’s the difference of when you say I want to be something, when you are destined to do something, the conversation is totally different.” | 2022-09-15T05:28:17+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/community/hall-of-fame-football-player-ray-lewis-speaks-at-legacy-church/ |
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Roger Coody has no legal training and his political experience until recently had been limited to registering people to vote. Now, the Oklahoma hairstylist is pushing a ballot proposal he wrote that would make abortion access a constitutional right in his deeply red state, where Republican lawmakers have banned the procedure in nearly all circumstances.
It’s part of a growing trend across the nation to put reproductive freedom to a popular vote after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide for nearly 50 years.
“I don’t ever want to see anybody else’s right stripped away from them, because you never know when it is going to be yours,” said Coody, who said women who have been instrumental in his life inspired his foray into politics. “I am just trying to do my best to change things.”
It won’t be easy. Having overcome the initial hurdle where someone can protest a petition’s legality, the Tulsa man now needs approval from the secretary of state’s office. He then will have 90 days to gather more than 173,000 signatures of registered voters who want to put abortion rights to a vote. Campaigns for ballot questions can cost millions of dollars, and each signature must be verified before the governor schedules an election.
Republican state Rep. Jim Olsen, who wrote the bill to make it a felony crime to perform an abortion in Oklahoma, said he recognizes the right of citizens to launch an initiative petition, but added that “basic morality should not be argued from a standpoint of majority vote.”
Coody’s effort comes after voters in six other states this year rejected measures to restrict abortion access or supported efforts to protect it. Those states included liberal California and Vermont, but also more conservative Kansas and Kentucky, as well as swing-state Michigan. In Montana, voters rejected a measure that would have required health providers to take steps to save the life of an infant born alive, including after an attempted abortion.
The American Civil Liberties Union has been contacted by partners in at least a dozen states regarding similar campaigns, said Carolyn Ehrlich, a senior political strategist with the group. Such ballot initiatives can serve as a “roadmap in states where the legislature is a roadblock,” she said.
Supporters of abortion access have also started the process of trying to get measures on the ballot in New York in 2023 and South Dakota — which has an abortion ban — in 2024.
In Virginia, Democrats who control the state Senate plan to advance legislation that would start a multiyear effort to enshrine the right to an abortion into the state constitution. But it would almost certainly be voted down in the GOP-controlled House.
Democrats who control New Jersey’s state government have wrestled over putting a question on the ballot next year.
The Oklahoma effort is different than in many other places because Coody is looking to overturn an existing ban.
He tailored the proposal to follow state requirements while mimicking aspects of this year’s successful proposals, he said.
“If these states can get it done, then I know that we can too,” Coody said.
Citizens and advocacy groups in Oklahoma have had several successes in recent years using the initiative petition process, which is outlined in the state constitution, to bypass the Republican-controlled Legislature and put progressive ideas popular with voters on the ballot.
In one of the most surprising policy shifts in the conservative state, marijuana supporters in 2018 managed to successfully pass one of the country’s most liberal medical marijuana programs. The question was approved by 57% of voters and opened the state to a booming industry.
Other ballot measures have enshrined Medicaid expansion into the state’s constitution and reduced penalties for drug possession and low-level property crimes, in both cases circumventing the Legislature.
Any successful ballot initiative, particularly for a constitutional amendment, would be very difficult to pull off without significant financial support and a well-developed infrastructure that includes volunteers and attorneys or other experts familiar with the legal process, said Amber England, a political consultant in Oklahoma who successfully spearheaded an initiative to enshrine Medicaid expansion into the Oklahoma Constitution.
“Oklahoma’s initiative petition process is one of, if not the most difficult, in the country, specifically because they give us 90 days to collect the number of signatures necessary,” England said. “It’s a very difficult process, and it’s one of the reasons it’s been done so few times.”
England said supporters of Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma likely spent more than $5 million on the effort.
Oklahoma state Rep. Mickey Dollens, a Democrat, said timing and strategy will be important in getting fundraising and support. Dollens plans to file a resolution to put abortion access on the ballot in an effort to gain momentum for the citizen-led movement.
“Oklahoma is arguably the reddest state in the country, but the people of Oklahoma love liberal ideas,” Dollens said. “This is why the people have to pretty much do the politicians’ jobs and take measures into their own hands.”
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Coronado reported from Austin, Texas. AP reporters Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed. | 2022-12-01T20:11:52+00:00 | fox44news.com | https://www.fox44news.com/news/national-world-news/ap-oklahoma-citizen-led-initiative-would-codify-abortion-access/ |
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Aug. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 16, 2022, Pampa Energía S.A. ("Pampa" or the "Company") announced the commencement of an offer to exchange (the "Exchange Offer") any and all of the outstanding 7.375% Notes due 2023 (CUSIP Nos. 71647X AA5 and P7873P AE6 ISIN Nos. US71647XAA54 and USP7873PAE62) (the "Old Notes") for newly issued 9.500% Notes due 2026 of Pampa (the "New Notes") and certain cash consideration, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the exchange offer memorandum dated June 16, 2022 (as amended and supplemented by the announcements made by Pampa on July 7 and 18, 2022, the "Exchange Offer Memorandum"), the related eligibility letter (the "Eligibility Letter") and, where applicable, the related letter of transmittal (together the "Exchange Offer Documents"). Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Exchange Offer Documents.
The Exchange Offer expired as of 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on July 29, 2022 (the ("Expiration Date"). On August 8, 2022 (the "Settlement Date"), Pampa delivered the Early Exchange Consideration in exchange for the Old Notes validly tendered, together with the Accrued Interest Payment in respect thereof. All conditions described in the Exchange Offer Memorandum that were to be satisfied or waived on or prior to the Settlement Date were duly satisfied. On the Settlement Date, Pampa issued US$292,796,835 aggregate principal amount of New Notes and paid US$122,127,894.75 in cash as total consideration for the Old Notes validly tendered in the Exchange Offer.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Santander Investment Securities Inc. acted as the Joint Global Coordinators and Lead Dealer Managers (the "Joint Global Coordinators and Lead Dealer Managers") for the Exchange Offer. BNP Paribas Securities Corp., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as the Joint Dealer Managers (the "Joint Dealer Managers" and, together with the Joint Global Coordinators and Lead Dealer Managers, the "Dealer Managers") for the Exchange Offer. Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires S.A.U., Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Argentina) S.A.U and Balanz Capital Valores S.A.U. acted as local placement agents.
Important Notice
This announcement is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States, and none of the New Notes has been or will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or any state securities law. They may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act. This press release does not constitute an offer of the New Notes for sale, or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, in any state or other jurisdiction in which any offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Any person considering making an investment decision relating to any securities must inform itself independently based solely on an offering memorandum to be provided to eligible investors in the future in connection with any such securities before taking any such investment decision.
This announcement is directed only to holders of Old Notes who are (A) "qualified institutional buyers" as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act or (B) (x) outside the United States as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act, (y) if located within a Member State of the European Economic Area ("EEA") or in the United Kingdom, "qualified investors" as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation") and (z) if outside the EEA or the UK, are eligible to receive this offer under the laws of its jurisdiction. No offer of any kind is being made to any beneficial owner of Old Bonds who does not meet the above criteria or any other beneficial owner located in a jurisdiction where the Exchange Offer solicitation is not permitted by law.
The distribution of materials relating to the Exchange Offer may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. The Exchange Offer is void in all jurisdictions where it is prohibited. If materials relating to the Exchange Offer come into your possession, you are required by the Company to inform yourself of and to observe all of these restrictions. The materials relating to the Exchange Offer, including this communication, do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. If a jurisdiction requires that the Exchange Offer be made by a licensed broker or dealer and a dealer manager or any affiliate of a dealer manager is a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the Exchange Offer shall be deemed to be made by the dealer manager or such affiliate on behalf of the Company in that jurisdiction.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on expectations and assumptions on the date of this press release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market conditions, and factors over which the Company has no control. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, and does not intend to do so, unless otherwise required by law.
Notice to Investors in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom
The New Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area ("EEA"). For these purposes, (a) a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (the "Insurance Distribution Directive"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation"); and (b) the expression "offer" includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the New Notes to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to subscribe for the New Notes. Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore otherwise offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.
The New Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the United Kingdom. For these purposes: (a) the expression retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of the following: (i) a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the "FSMA") and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA and (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; and (b) the expression an offer includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the Notes to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to subscribe for the New Notes. Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the "UK PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the UK may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation.
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SOURCE Pampa Energía S.A. | 2022-08-08T20:55:07+00:00 | kcbd.com | https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2022/08/08/pampa-energa-sa-announces-final-results-settlement-exchange-offer-its-7375-notes-due-2023/ |
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man has been convicted of murder and attempted armed robbery.
After a four-day trail, Ron-Ricco Duncan was found guilty Wednesday for the murder of Gerald Beamon, said police.
In 2019, Beamon’s body was discovered inside a vacant apartment in the 3200 block of North Ruckle Street two days after his family reported him missing.
Beamon was found face down with multiple shell casings around his body, said police.
According to Beamon’s family, he was last seen with Duncan walking toward the vacant apartment where he was later found dead.
The investigation revealed that Duncan communicated with Beamon through social media leading up to the robbery, said police.
Duncan appeared to be speaking about Beamon’s death to friends on social media, according to a press release.
Investigators said that Duncan also admitted to being friends with Beamon since high school and they had worked together at a restaurant.
A sentence hearing has been set for 9 a.m. May 19. | 2022-04-20T23:10:19+00:00 | wishtv.com | https://www.wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/indianapolis-man-found-guilty-of-2019-murder/ |
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran sentenced two Swedish citizens to multiyear prison terms on charges of drug smuggling, the judiciary announced on Tuesday, the latest in a string of cases heightening tensions between the Islamic Republic and the Nordic nation.
Iran's hard-line judiciary handed down a five-year sentence and fine of roughly $34,000 to Swedish national Simon Kasper Brown for allegedly trafficking 9.7 kilograms (about 22 pounds) of the banned pain medication Tramadol. Security forces scooped up Brown from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport and confiscated his stash of the mild narcotic pills, said Masoud Setayeshi, the judiciary spokesman.
Tehran also sentenced Swedish citizen Stephen Kevin Gilbert to eight years in prison and ordered he pay a $500 fine. Gilbert was arrested at the airport in January 2020 for allegedly smuggling 9.8 kilograms of opium-based drugs into the country, the judiciary said.
Brown and Gilbert are the latest Swedes to land in Iranian prison as relations between the two countries deteriorate. Earlier this year, Iran jailed two Swedish visitors in separate incidents on widely criticized espionage charges. Another Swedish citizen, a respected 50-year-old doctor who Iran accuses of spying for Israel, faces the death penalty.
The cases come amid a landmark quest in Sweden to hold accountable a former Iranian official accused of committing atrocities has kindled outrage back in Tehran. A court in Stockholm sentenced Hamid Nouri to life imprisonment over his alleged war crimes, prompting Iran to recall its ambassador.
Iran has imprisoned at least a dozen dual nationals in recent years as Tehran negotiates for money and influence with the West. Most of them are held on disputed spying charges.
Iran’s law also stipulates harsh punishment for drug crimes. Those charged with drug possession, dealing or trafficking offenses make up some 73% of executions in the country. | 2022-08-30T10:34:37+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/nation-world/iran-sentences-2-swedes-to-prison-terms-over-drugs/WYJBTEHHMZCNXIQCI3WBCN3PNI/ |
Captured mafia boss was working undercover as pizza maker, authorities say
(CNN) – A mafia boss who was working undercover as a pizza maker was captured after evading authorities for 16 years, according to French officials.
The anti-mafia police said 63-year-old Edgardo Greco was caught working as a pizzaiolo in Saint-Etienne last week.
Greco was part of the ‘Ndrangheta (Calabria mafia) and sentenced in absentia for the murder of two brothers from a rival clan in the 1990s. The men are presumed to have been dissolved in acid based on the testimony of turncoats.
The anti-mafia police said Greco was convicted for the murder of brothers Stefano and Giuseppe Bartolomeo.
While in France, Greco had adopted a new identity, Paolo Dimitrio, despite being on Italy’s most wanted list since 2006.
The Italian press reported Greco was even featured in a local French paper as “an authentic Italian pizza maker.”
Authorities said he was arrested on an Interpol arrest warrant and will likely be extradited to Italy.
Copyright 2023 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | 2023-02-02T23:59:55+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2023/02/02/captured-mafia-boss-was-working-undercover-pizza-maker-authorities-say/ |
There’s nothing worse than being stuck at a Super Bowl party without having the slightest knowledge about the game, especially in a football-loving town such as Chicago.
But because the Super Bowl is a national holiday and almost everyone participates, we’ve created a list of non sequiturs to drop into any party conversation and leave the impression you know what you’re talking about.
The key is knowing the right time to make a bold statement, then letting the others do the dirty work of keeping the conversation going. Once you’ve delivered your line, sit back and nod your head while the party guests marvel at your expertise.
Here are 16 handy lines that can be used Sunday for Super Bowl LVII gatherings.
1. ‘Justin will be Jalen Hurts in two years.’
As soon as the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback runs the ball for a first down, drop this comparison to Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Make sure you don’t call him “Justin Fields.” Just “Justin.”
2. ‘That was clearly a catch.’
Sooner or later a wide receiver will be sprawled out on the field after making a great catch. But a challenge flag will drop and the game will stop for minutes while officials determine whether one millimeter of the football touched the ground. No one will be able to determine this conclusively, so make your declaration quickly and don’t be swayed by the dozen replays.
3. ‘No way is Brady going to stay retired.’
Tom Brady will join the Fox TV booth in 2024, so the network will begin hyping the fact Sunday. Whether Brady changes his mind and unretires is irrelevant. By the time we know for sure, no one will remember anything you said at a 2023 Super Bowl party.
4. ‘The ′85 Bears were still the greatest.’
If you’ve spent any part of your life in Chicago, you know this fact has to be repeated during every Super Bowl for the rest of time. It can be used any time during the game and repeated ad nauseum if it’s a blowout.
5. ‘This Aaron Rodgers dark-retreat thing is some crazy (bleep).’
Save this for the first Rodgers commercial. Mentioning the Green Bay Packers quarterback’s decision to spend four days isolated in a dark room will elicit plenty of responses on Rodgers’ hallucinogenic experimentations. It doesn’t matter if you have no idea what it means. Once the name comes up, everyone will have an opinion.
6. ‘Oh, boy, Philly’s going to grease those light poles again.’
The city of Philadelphia slathers grease on its street lamps to try and prevent fans from climbing them during big celebrations or bitter losses. Best to mention this if the Eagles take an early lead or are losing in the fourth quarter.
7. ‘Mahomes’ dad played for the Cubs, ya know.’
Pat Mahomes, the father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, played 11 years in the major leagues, including in 2002 with the Chicago Cubs. Knowing this trivia suggests you are knowledgeable in all sports.
8. ‘Man, if Justin ever gets a line like the the Eagles line …’
Again, this shows you have complete faith in Fields and no faith in the Bears offensive line. Just don’t use it after Jalen Hurts gets sacked.
9. ‘Did you know that’s Rick Bayless’ brother?’
The Fox telecast inevitably will plug an FS1 debate show co-hosted by Skip Bayless, the less famous brother of the Chicago restaurateur. For bonus points, throw out the line: “Skip was always jealous of Rick’s success.”
10. ‘I had him on my fantasy team.’
This all-purpose line can be used after any big play. But don’t use it for Mahomes. No one will be impressed.
11. ‘I don’t ever need to see that guy again.’
This is the appropriate response when Chiefs senior offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy is shown on the sideline near coach Andy Reid. He’ll be the bald guy wearing a visor. Everyone will quickly agree.
12. ‘The commercials were way better in the ‘80s.’
Everything was better in the ‘80s, so you can’t go wrong saying this after any commercial.
13. ‘She’s OK, but no one can match Prince’s halftime show.’
Everyone agreed Prince’s performance in Super Bowl XLI between the Bears and Indianapolis Colts was the greatest of all time. Even if you don’t remember it, this is safe to say at any point during Rihanna’s halftime show.
14. ‘I sure don’t miss Joe Buck at all.’
Play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt replaced Joe Buck as the top Fox football announcer and will call his first Super Bowl. Loving Prince and disliking Buck are two things all Americans can agree upon.
15. ‘These cheese curds are awesome. Who made them?’
No one made them, of course. You bought them at the Jewel at the last minute when you couldn’t come up with an excuse to avoid going to a Super Bowl party.
16. ‘Damn, that reminds me of that (bleep) Cody Parkey.’
Only to be uttered after a kicker misses a field-goal or extra-point attempt, informing guests you’re still haunted by the miss in the 2018 playoffs by the most hated kicker in Bears history. For bonus points, add the words “double doink” and let out a huge sigh.
() | 2023-02-12T13:10:11+00:00 | bostonherald.com | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/02/12/column-how-to-start-a-conversation-at-a-super-bowl-party-in-chicago-even-if-you-know-nothing-about-football/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo; Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.; Rahm Emanuel, U.S. ambassador to Japan.
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NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Raimondo; Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md.; Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.
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CBS’ “Face the Nation" — Vice President Kamala Harris; Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.; Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va.; filmmaker Alex Holder, who made a documentary about Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.
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CNN’s “State of the Union” — Govs. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., and Chris Sununu, R-N.H.; Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
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“Fox News Sunday” — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo. | 2022-07-09T00:26:10+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/entertainment/article/Guest-lineups-for-the-Sunday-news-shows-17293682.php |
Three New Mexico counties — San Juan, Union, and Guadalupe — have high community levels of COVID-19, five less than the previous week according to the latest CDC data that accounts for hospitalization and case rates. But data also shows high spread of the virus with nearly all of the state in bright red.
Facing its third pandemic winter, New Mexico hospitals are overflowing into outdoor tents, as UNM Health System CEO Dr. Douglas Ziedonis told the Legislative Finance Committee on December 14.
"Right now we're at 130%," Ziedonis said. "We're way over capacity."
Meanwhile, COVID-19 surveillance in New Mexico continues to shift, including Curative closing its PCR testing program at the end of the month.
Marquel Musgrave is a member of the Pueblo of Nanbé Owingeh-Tewa (Nambé Pueblo) and the COVID Technical Assistance Specialist with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. She says ending the rapid PCR service in Española impacts six Tewa Pueblos in Northern New Mexico.
"Removing PCR testing, especially at this time when we have such high rates of COVID, RSV and flu and healthcare systems, including IHS [Indian Health Service], are becoming overwhelmed, will really increase that flow of people towards those healthcare systems that don't have the capacity to to bring them in," Musgrave said.
She said rural communities need the state and federal government to secure free and accessible PCR testing outside of urgent care and added it’s necessary for adequate surveillance.
"PCRs offer the best in early detection, especially for folks who have symptoms," Musgrave said.
Early detection helps stop spread. Rapid antigen home tests may take two to three tests to show positive results, each separated by days, potentially delaying access to needed treatment and allowing viral spread.
Tanya Lattin is the Corrales Fire Commander and Emergency Manager in charge of the Corrales distribution of free at-home tests. She echoed Musgrave’s concerns that home-tests don’t replace the need for PCR tests.
"I do recommend to people who are high risk, that are sick, try to still find a PCR test," Lattin said.
On December 1st, DOH ordered 1 million free at-home tests from the CDC for managers like Lattin to distribute. She hasn’t heard when or how many tests she will get. Her current stockpile expires on January 13.
Curative PCR sites were the default referral for Lattin. Now she has to make a new list of PCR test sites for people calling for help.
She encourages people to have a COVID readiness plan. Lattin said, "If you're at risk, you should have a plan with your primary care doctor. If I get COVID, who do I call? Do I qualify for Paxlovid?"
NMDOH spokesperson Jodi McGinnis-Porter told KUNM folks seeking treatment after receiving positive results would bring their home test with them to an appointment through the state’s Test to Treat Program.
Lattin also appeals for common sense over the winter holidays.
"There's so many illnesses going around right now, not just COVID. If you're sick, don't, don't go to your holiday party," she said.
Musgrave also encourages people to utilize a layered prevention strategy like the People’s CDC Safer In-Person toolkit testing, masking, and looking out for each other.
"One thing isn't gonna stop transmission, but the more layered mitigations that we have, the less risks that we have," they said.
The White House has restarted the free at-home test program through the US postal service after Biden ended the program in early September blaming Congress for not providing funds. Orders placed may not arrive before the holidays.
New Mexico residents can still receive mail order free at-home tests through the Rockefeller Foundation’s Project Act program.
Meanwhile, DOH will shift to biweekly trends reporting on December 20, 2022. That includes data on race and age for deaths, cases and vaccinations, as well as variants of concern.
Deputy Health Secretary Laura Parajón said tracking trends versus daily numbers changes policy during a DOH briefing earlier in December.
"Following trends over time, we can actually focus our attention on doing good prevention strategies and policy development for COVID," Parajón said.
Except on holidays and weekends, DOH will still report daily numbers of COVID hospitalizations, deaths, and confirmed cases from tests administered by labs or medical facilities. At-home tests are not counted.
Nationwide, CDC COVID wastewater surveillance shows 46% of sites report a COVID increase in the two weeks before December 11, including one for both Sandoval, Bernalillo, and Los Alamos counties.
New Mexico’s own wastewater surveillance stalled after the DOH Acting Secretary David Scrase said he did not understand procurement procedures needed to contract with Eastern Research Group. While hopeful, DOH offered no start date to resume reports as of this report.
DOH lacks staff in information technology and epidemiology and faces decreases in federal funding for COVID responses. Requesting an 11% budget increase from the state, DOH told lawmakers it hovers around 30% staff vacancy–double the vacancy rate in 2015 according to emails to KUNM from spokesperson McGinnis-Porter.
Among state mortality rates New Mexico ranks the 6th highest, the number of deaths per 100,000 people. Nationally, an average of over 450 people die daily. New Mexico has recorded 8761 lost lives to the disease. | 2022-12-17T02:09:53+00:00 | kunm.org | https://www.kunm.org/local-news/2022-12-16/as-new-mexico-emphasizes-at-home-testing-pcr-testing-access-is-shrinking |
Which paddle board for kids is best?
Paddle boarding is a hybrid of surfing and kayaking. You stand on a paddle board as you would on a surfboard and paddle as you would a kayak. Also called stand-up paddle boarding, it’s a great way to have fun on the water while getting a full-body workout.
The biggest difference between paddle boarding, surfing and kayaking is that surfers and kayakers can handle waves and rough water, but paddle boarding is typically an activity that needs smooth water to have the most fun. If you are looking for a lightweight inflatable paddle board, take a look at the Atoll 11-Foot Inflatable Stand-Up Paddle Board.
What to know before you buy a paddle board for kids
Paddle boards are also called stand-up paddle boards and are referred to by insiders as SUPs. They’re a great way to get out and have fun on the water. Before you choose one, here are some things to take into account.
Inflatable or rigid?
- Inflatable paddle boards blow up like beach rafts — the more air you put in, the stiffer they get. Hand or foot pumps are usually included, as are repair kits. Inflatable paddle boards are the easiest to transport and store.
- Rigid paddle boards are made of fiberglass, epoxies and resins that are more durable and offer better performance than inflatables because their shapes are sleeker. A few are made of aluminum.
Dimensions
- Length: All paddle boards are measured by how long they are. Lengths range from as short as 6 feet to as long as 15 feet.
- Width: Generally speaking, a paddle board’s width is proportionate to its length. Wider paddle boards are more stable while longer ones are easier to paddle.
What to look for in a quality paddle board for kids
Paddle boards come in four basic shapes, each designed for a different activity. Most kids want full-sized paddle boards and the industry labels most paddle boards as for kids and adults.
All-around paddle boards
This is the most popular type of paddle board and is great for beginners. All-around boards are 10 or 11 feet long, have rounded noses and come in inflatable and rigid versions.
Touring paddle boards
This design is a compromise between speed and stability. Touring boards are typically 12 to 13 feet long. Their long decks have plenty of room for bringing along camping gear. Touring boards may be rigid or inflatable.
Surfing
These are the shortest of the four types, usually 8-10 feet long. They have pointed noses and hulls made to skim on the surface of the water. Serious surfers use only rigid paddle boards.
Racing
These are the longest and skinniest of the paddle boards, 11 to 14 feet long, with pointed noses and narrow tails. Because they are so narrow, they are the easiest to tip over. Most serious racers use rigid paddle boards.
Paddles
- Length is the key to being able to maintain proper, efficient paddling form. Look for paddles that are long enough that you don’t have to stoop over to paddle.
- Blade size and shape determine how much energy it takes to paddle through the water. Choose paddles for kids that are easy to use.
- Materials determine the weight and stiffness of a paddle. Lightweight paddles are the best for kids.
How much you can expect to spend on a paddle board for kids
Most standup paddle boards cost from $100-$300. Racing boats cost in the thousands.
Paddle board for kids FAQ
Are all paddle boards inflatable?
A. No, but because they are cushiony, cost less to make and ship and are easy to transport, inflatables have taken over the paddle board industry.
Who invented paddle boarding?
A. Legend tells that back in the 1940s, Hawaiian surf instructors stood up on their boards to better instruct student surfers. The addition of a paddle let them speed up or slow down and also was useful as a balancing device.
What is the farthest anyone has gone on a paddle board?
A. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Shilpika Gautam traveled 1,641 miles along the Ganges River in India to raise awareness of the need for clean water.
What’s the best paddle board for kids to buy?
Top paddle board for kids
Atoll 11-Foot Inflatable Stand-Up Paddle Board
What you need to know: This ultralight board is 32 inches wide, weighs only 19 pounds and has a tri-fin design for maneuverability.
What you’ll love: You get a heavy-duty travel backpack with mesh sides that allow water to drain away. Inside is a reinforced three-piece travel paddle, leash, and repair kit and the whole thing breaks down and sets up quickly.
What you should consider: Some say its light weight makes it hard to handle in windy conditions.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top paddle board for kids for the money
Cooyes 10-Foot Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board with Premium SUP Accessories
What you need to know: This 10-foot, 6-inch board is 30 inches wide and holds up to 300 pounds.
What you’ll love: The removable center fin slides in and out and the bungee cords on the nose of the board hold your gear. The anti-slip pad is comfortable on your feet and knees and the whole rig fits neatly into the backpack.
What you should consider: Some say the bag is poor quality.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Bluefin Cruise Package Stand-Up Inflatable Paddle Board with Kayak Conversion
What you need to know: This 32-pound board converts from a stand-up paddle board into a kayak in seconds.
What you’ll love: You can clip on the comfortable padded seat and swap the stand-up paddle for a kayak blade you can use while seated. The rail layers and paddles are made of carbon fiber, and this ultra-rigid board has a separate central air chamber. The bungee cords on deck hold your gear securely.
What you should consider: The added weight does not appeal to small kids.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-09-16T16:30:44+00:00 | upmatters.com | https://www.upmatters.com/reviews/br/camping-outdoors-br/beach-br/best-paddle-board-for-kids/ |
Tornado-producing storms threaten New York City and DC
CNN
By Jennifer Gray, CNN meteorologist
By this evening, damaging winds, large hail and even tornadoes will tear through the country’s most densely populated region and could raise havoc with the evening commute.
One forecaster from the Washington, DC National Weather Service (NWS) office said on the phone this morning “As far as the coverage of severe weather, today could be the most widespread this season so far.”
More than 100 million people will be in the bull’s-eye today, as a cold front sweeps through areas including New York City, Washington DC and Philadelphia, just to name a few.
The severe threat has us a little concerned today, to be honest. It’s not unheard of to have tornado potential in these areas, but they are much rarer than we see in the Southeast and the Plains.
Just last year, several tornadoes hit around the DC area, and less than two months ago, tornado warnings were prompted in the nation’s capital. You may remember the viral video of the DC meteorologist who warned his family on live television when a tornado was bearing down on them.
More than 28 million people are included in today’s area of greatest risk, which is a Level 3 out of 5 “enhanced” risk of severe weather. Philadelphia and Washington, DC are both included in today’s highest risk.
New York City, Raleigh and Norfolk are all included in a “slight” risk of severe weather, which is Level 2 out of 5.
“Damaging winds appear to be the primary threat, but large hail and a few tornadoes are possible,” said the NWS office in Baltimore/Washington, DC.
Storm timeline
The storms will occur in several rounds today. The first round will be discrete storms that develop ahead of the main line of storms early this afternoon, anytime between noon and 3 p.m. The pop-up cells can form alone and are not part of a larger line of storms.
“These storms are often the most dangerous and the most likely to produce tornadoes, because they can take advantage of the entire storm environment and energy around them,” said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen. “Storms in a line are competing with other storms around them, which can take some of the energy and disrupt the winds that can cause a tornado.”
Most NWS offices noted the risk of discrete cells – storms that form on their own – in their forecast discussions this morning, including New York.
“Any discrete cells that get going could produce large hail or even an isolated tornado,” said the NWS office in New York City.
By midafternoon, the cold front will be advancing from the Appalachians and into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, when the second round of severe weather will start moving in.
“These rounds will only be a couple hours apart, so the bottom line is that scattered to numerous severe storms will impact the area this afternoon into early this evening from west to east,” said the NWS office in Baltimore/DC.
The main line will reach:
- Washington, DC by 2 p.m. ET
- Philadelphia by 4 p.m. ET
- New York City by 5 p.m. ET
The severe weather accompanying the cold front will primarily be a wind threat. “Damaging straight-line winds of 55-60+ mph are still the main threat,” said the NWS office in Philadelphia.
The cold front will be racing through the large cities during the height of the afternoon commute as well. “Anyone who plans on traveling or being outdoors today should pay extra attention to any watches and warnings, and be ready to seek shelter quickly,” said the NWS office in Baltimore/DC.
With storms moving quickly, there is only a slight risk of flash flooding, but with the nature of this event and the expected torrential downpours, be on the lookout for potential flash flooding.
“Rain rates will likely be intense meaning if any areas near or over the urban corridor get hit with multiple rounds this could lead to instances of flash flooding,” said the NWS office in Philadelphia.
As the front continues to push eastward, it will slowly weaken. The storms should be pushing offshore during the overnight hours.
Storms are also possible over the country’s largest wildfire. But they likely won’t bring any rain relief.
Wildfires showing no signs of slowing down
The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire is now the largest fire in New Mexico state history and is showing no signs of slowing down.
As of Monday morning, the fire has burned 298,060 acres and 27% contained.
Red flag warnings are in place again today in the area, which means conditions could allow the fire to spread even more.
“Dry lightning with sudden and strong erratic wind shifts from any nearby storm” could lead to rapid spreading or shifting of the fire lines. Winds from storm outflows could gust as high as 60 mph, in addition to a Level 1 of 5 risk for damaging thunderstorm winds with a few of the storms. “Any new or ongoing fires will be very hard to control,” the warning said.
Fire weather watches are also in effect across western Texas, where the fire danger will make it into the Level 2 of 3, critical range by Tuesday afternoon.
The fire weather will only worsen as heat continues to build across the South this week.
More than 200 daily record high temperatures are forecast to be challenged over the next few days from the Southwest all the way to the East Coast by midweek.
Read more about the fires, heat and drought here.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-16T17:44:22+00:00 | keyt.com | https://keyt.com/news/weather-news/cnn-weather-environment/2022/05/16/tornado-producing-storms-threaten-new-york-city-and-dc-2/ |
Spending the day, or the weekend, outside enjoying live music and fun in the sun seems like a great way to spend your summer. However, if you aren’t a seasoned festival goer, it’s probable that once you get there, you’ll realize you probably didn’t pack the right gear. From not knowing the rules and logistics of the festival grounds, to just feeling gross from a hot humid weekend with no access to a shower, there is a lot that can go wrong.
Today we were joined by outdoor festival expert, Lindy Bell. With years of concert experience under her belt, she joined us to share how we can make the most of soaking up the tunes and rays.
| Related: How to pack for a trip >
Lindy’s festival packing tips:
First and foremost, know the rules for the festival and festival grounds along with what your specific ticket allows you to access and what it doesn’t. This includes reading up on the festival’s FAQs!
Take photos of maps of the grounds along with other important details such as schedules and important information. Don’t rely on being able to access the information on the internet as wi-fi service is often spotty.
Close toed shoes are an essential when it comes to traversing up and down muddy hills packed with other festival goers.
Bring a flashlight with a clip such as a mechanic’s flashlight or a pen flashlight for hands-free peeing. Porta potties get dark!
Put a flag or other identifiable marker on your tent or at your home-base for to aide with meet-ups and finding your own way back to your friends.
Buddy up when it comes to packing. You don’t need two of everything so make a list of must-haves and then split it in half with someone going with you.
You might not love every band, so bring a deck of cards!
Blankets and air chairs are a must for venues that don’t allow chairs with legs.
And Lindy’s favorite tip of all? Keep a package of baby wipes in your cooler to help you freshen up when spending a weekend outside without a shower!
Other items to consider:
- Carabiner clips
- Portable chargers
- Water spray bottle
- Glow necklaces
- Inflatable sleeping pad
- Poncho
- Koozie
- Imodium/nail file/ ibuprofen, anti itch cream | 2022-07-12T00:07:01+00:00 | keloland.com | https://www.keloland.com/keloland-living/porta-potty-flashlights-and-other-festival-packing-tips/ |
NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gross Law Firm issues the following notice to shareholders of MINISO Group Holding Limited.
Shareholders who purchased shares of MNSO 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 persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded MINISO securities pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and related prospectus issued in connection with MINISO's October 2020 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: (1) defendants and other undisclosed related parties owned and controlled a much larger amount of MINISO stores than previously stated; (2) as a result, MINISO concealed its true costs; (3) the Company did not represent its true business model; (4) defendants, including the Company and its chairman, engaged in planned unusual and unclear transactions; (5) as a result of at least one of these transactions, the Company is at risk of breaching contracts with People's Republic of China authorities; (6) the Company would imminently and drastically drop its franchise fees; and (7) as a result, defendant's statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
DEADLINE: October 17, 2022 Shareholders should not delay in registering for this class action. Register your information here: https://securitiesclasslaw.com/securities/miniso-group-holding-limited-loss-submission-form/?id=32491&from=4
NEXT STEPS FOR SHAREHOLDERS: Once you register as a shareholder who purchased shares of MNSO 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 October 17, 2022. 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
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SOURCE The Gross Law Firm | 2022-10-12T11:40:32+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2022/10/12/shareholder-alert-gross-law-firm-notifies-shareholders-miniso-group-holding-limited-class-action-lawsuit-lead-plaintiff-deadline-october-17-2022-nyse-mnso/ |
LOS ANGELES, July 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces that investors with substantial losses have opportunity to lead the securities fraud class action lawsuit against Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Verrica" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: VRCA).
Class Period: May 28, 2021 – May 24, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 5, 2022
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Verrica lawsuit, you can submit your contact information at www.glancylaw.com/cases/verrica-pharmaceuticals-inc-1/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at shareholders@glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights.
The complaint filed alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that there were manufacturing deficiencies at the facility where Verrica's contract manufacturer produced bulk solution for VP-102; (2) that these deficiencies were not remediated when Verrica resubmitted its NDA for VP-102 for molluscum; (3) that the foregoing presented significant risks to Verrica obtaining regulatory approval of VP-102 for molluscum; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about this class action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to the pending class action lawsuit, please contact Charles Linehan, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
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SOURCE Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP | 2022-07-28T16:19:23+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/07/28/vrca-investors-have-opportunity-lead-verrica-pharmaceuticals-inc-securities-fraud-lawsuit/ |
To Focus on Reinvigorating the Fundamentals: Relationships, Engagement and Competency
BURLINGAME, Calif., Aug. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Adam Blitz, CPA, has was installed as the 2022-23 chair of the CalCPA Education Foundation ('the Foundation") during the July 29 CalCPA Council meeting.
"The difficulties our profession has faced the last two years have underscored the importance of our need as a community to come together to support each other in meaningful ways," said Blitz. "I'm honored to be elected chair of the Foundation this year, and I urge my fellow CPAs to join me in reinvigorating the fundamental things that make us, us. "These fundamentals focus on relationship building and networking with each other, engaging with CalCPA to get value out of our membership and be best prepared for what the future holds, and enhancing our professional competencies through quality education and training from the Foundation so we can meet the needs of businesses."
"Adam Blitz is an experienced, open, upfront and honest CPA willing to listen and explore alternatives using teamwork to identify new ways to evaluate and solve problems," said Denise LeDuc Froemming, CPA, CAE, president and CEO of CalCPA and the CalCPA Education Foundation. "As chair of the Foundation board of trustees, Adam's goal is to continue elevating the quality and accessibility of CalCPA education and expand the support to the CPA profession delivering relevant and timely learning opportunities."
Blitz is founder of Streamline CPA Accountancy Corp based in Fresno, California, and leverages his more than 10 years in public accounting to develop relationships with partners and clients alike in the pursuit of enhancing business profitability and individual satisfaction. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and received a master's degree in leadership studies from Fresno Pacific University. He has been licensed by the California Board of Accountancy since 2008 and a CalCPA Board of Trustee since 2017. In his spare time, Blitz is hiking in the Sierra Nevada's or training for his next triathlon.
CalCPA traces its heritage to 1903 when the California State Society of Certified Public Accountants was organized. In 1909, it merged with two other state CPA associations to form CalCPA. CalCPA serves more than 40,000 members in public practice, private industry, student, academia and government, and has 14 chapters across California. CalCPA also offers more than 1,400 live courses, conferences, webcasts and on-demand self-study courses annually. More information is available online.
Media contact: David Colgren, 917-587-3708, dcolgren@colcomgroup.com
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SOURCE California Society of CPAs | 2022-08-01T22:03:13+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2022/08/01/adam-blitz-cpa-appointed-new-chair-calcpa-education-foundation/ |
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Dominion Energy plans to fill its vacant block in downtown Richmond with a “clean energy park” with green space, walking paths and nearly 30 electric vehicle charging spaces available 24/7.
The park will be built in the vacant plot at 700 East Canal Street that was initially meant for Dominion’s second corporate headquarters tower before the company scrapped those plans.
Dominion says the “clean, energy, zero emissions hub” will feature fast chargers for electric vehicles, a solar canopy, and enough space for food trucks, farmers markets and small events.
“This project brings together two themes that are key to our vision of building a clean energy future: innovation and sustainability,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email.
The hub will be open 24/7 for those trying to charge their electric vehicles, but it will come at a cost, and drivers who park their non-charging vehicles in the lot could have their cars towed.
While the price will be set by Electric Vehicle Service Providers, the company operating the 28-29 EV charging spaces, Dominion claims the typical market competitive price “ranges from $0.25/kWh to $0.45/kWh, or approximately $10 for 100 miles of range added.”
Dominion says the site will have “level 3 fast chargers” that could provide over 200 miles of charge in 15 minutes. But how fast a charge will take will depend on the vehicle and charging equipment.
The site could also accommodate urban wind turbines, an urban battery storage facility and have the potential to capture rainwater for irrigation, according to the company.
The energy giant hopes to start construction in 2023 and complete a substantial part of the project within the first three months of 2024.
Dominion’s project needs to get regulatory and permitting approval from the city. The project is still in the design process and Dominion is starting the required special use permit process, according to the spokesperson. | 2022-10-19T18:04:01+00:00 | wric.com | https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/dominion-energy-wants-to-turn-vacant-richmond-lot-into-electric-vehicle-charging-park/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slid Tuesday as the U.S. government crept closer to the edge of a potentially disastrous default on its debt.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1% after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said, “We’re not there yet” on a deal to prevent the U.S. government from running out of cash. That followed a meeting late Monday that he and President Joe Biden called productive but ultimately ended with no agreement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 231 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite lost 1.3%.
Until now, the stock market has remained largely resilient even as Washington approached a June 1 deadline. That’s when the U.S. government may no longer be able to pay its bills, unless Congress allows it to borrow more. Economists and investors widely believe a default would send shockwaves through the global economy and financial markets.
The assumption on Wall Street has been for Congress to reach a deal at the 11th hour, as it’s already done several times before, because the alternative simply seems too dire for anyone to allow.
But a worry on Wall Street is that Washington may not feel urgency to act until financial markets shake hard enough to light a fire under politicians in both parties.
“There’s a theory that neither one looks like a hero until there is that scare of cascading prices,” said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. “One party or both can seem like white knights.”
Portions of Wall Street have shown more concern, particularly in the bond market where some Treasury bills are supposed to get repaid around the date of a possible default. Prices for those bonds have fallen, in part because of the debt-ceiling worries, which in turn has pushed up their yields.
But the stock market hasn’t shown as much concern. Buchanan said that may be because it’s difficult to know how prices across different markets would react to something that’s never happened before and was once unthinkable.
He said he hasn’t made any moves to investments he oversees because of fears of a default, at least not yet.
“I think everyone’s taking it moment by moment,” he said. “Every minute that goes by raises the urgency.”
The worries about the debt ceiling are coming on top of concerns that the slowing economy could be heading for a recession, even without a default. A preliminary report released Tuesday morning suggested the economy remains split, with growth for travel and other service businesses strengthening while manufacturing remains under pressure.
“The US economic expansion gathered further momentum in May, but an increasing dichotomy is evident,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
On Wall Street, AutoZone dropped 6% after reporting weaker growth in revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It pointed to a slower-than-expected March.
Electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors fell 5.3% to 28 cents after it announced a reverse stock split in order to boost its share price. Investors will get one new share for every 15 they currently hold. Its stock has remained below $1 since mid-March.
On the winning side of Wall Street was Lowe’s, which rose 1.7% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But it also cut its financial forecasts for the year partly because of lower-than-expected sales to do-it-yourself customers.
Retailers are among the last companies to report their results for the first three months of the year, and most companies have been beating expectations. Retailers in particular have gotten lots of attention because resilient spending by U.S. households has been one of the main positives keeping the economy out of a recession.
Manufacturing and other areas of the economy are struggling under the weight of much higher interest rates meant to get inflation under control.
High interest rates have also meant stress for the U.S. banking system. Three high-profile bank failures since March have rattled the system, and Wall Street has been on the hunt for the next bank that could suffer a debilitating drop in confidence by its customers.
Some of the heaviest scrutiny has been on PacWest Bancorp, but it rallied for a second day after announcing the sale of a $2.6 billion portfolio of real-estate construction loans. It rose another 7.9% after jumping 19.5% Monday.
Other banks also strengthened, including a 4.6% jump for Zions Bancorp.
All told, the S&P 500 lost 47.05 points to 4,145.58. The Dow dropped 231.07 to 33,055.51, and the Nasdaq lost 160.53 to 12,560.25.
In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield ticked down to 3.70% from 3.72% late Monday. It helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans.
The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, inched up to 4.34% from 4.32%.
Most stock markets abroad fell, including a 1.3% drop for Paris and a 1.5% slide for Shanghai.
——
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Joe McDonald contributed. | 2023-05-23T20:39:15+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/business/ap-stock-market-today-wall-street-slides-as-debt-worries-worsen/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing tougher standards for a deadly air pollutant, saying that reducing soot from tailpipes, smokestacks and wildfires could prevent thousands of premature deaths a year.
A proposal released Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency would set maximum levels of 9 to 10 micrograms of fine particle pollution per cubic meter of air, down from 12 micrograms set a decade ago under the Obama administration. The standard for particle pollution, more commonly known as soot, was left unchanged by then-President Donald Trump, who overrode a scientific recommendation for a lower standard in his final days in office.
Environmental and public health groups that have been pushing for a stronger standard were disappointed, saying the EPA proposal does not go far enough to limit emissions of what is broadly called “fine particulate matter,” the tiny bits of soot we breathe in unseen from tailpipes, wildfires, factory and power plant smokestacks and other sources.
In a development that could lead to an even lower standard, the EPA said Friday it also would take comments on a range of ideas submitted by a scientific advisory committee, including a proposal that would lower the maximum standard for soot to 8 micrograms. A microgram is one-millionth of a gram.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the proposal to strengthen the national ambient air quality standards for fine particle pollution would help prevent serious health problems, including asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. Those populations include children, older adults and those with heart and lung conditions as well as low-income and minority communities throughout the United States.
“This administration is committed to working to ensure that all people, regardless of the color of their skin, the community they live in or the money in their pocket, have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and the opportunity to lead a healthy life,” Regan said at a news conference. “At EPA, we are working every single day to create cleaner and healthier communities for all and have been doing so for over 50 years.”
Harold Wimmer, the president of the American Lung Association, called the EPA’s proposal disappointing, saying it is “inadequate to protect public health from this deadly pollutant.”
“Current science shows that stronger limits are urgently needed … to protect vulnerable populations,” Wimmer said, calling for the EPA to lower the standard to 8 micrograms or lower.
Seth Johnson, an attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, called the EPA plan “a disappointment and missed opportunity overall.” While it would strengthen some public health protections, “EPA is not living up to the ambitions of this administration to follow the science, protect public health and advance environmental justice,” Johnson said. He urged the EPA “to hear communities, not industrial polluters, and strengthen this rule. Overburdened communities have the right to breathe clean air.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups called for the current standards to be maintained.
“The United States has some of the best air quality in the world, thanks to steady reductions in contributors to particulate matter emissions over the last decade,” said Chad Whiteman, vice president of environment and regulatory affairs at the chamber’s Global Energy Institute.
The proposed rule could “stifle manufacturing and industrial investment and exacerbate permitting challenges that continue to hamper the economy,” Whiteman said.
Mike Ireland, president of the Portland Cement Association, which represents U.S. cement manufacturers, added that the EPA’s proposed action “is yet another regulatory burden that will hamper the cement industry’s ability to manufacture sustainable construction materials to meet the nation’s infrastructure needs.”
EPA scientists have estimated exposure at current limits causes the early deaths of thousands of Americans annually from heart disease and lung cancer as well as causing other health problems.
Dr. Doris Browne, president of the National Medical Association, the oldest and largest national organization representing African American physicians, hailed the plan as “the bold action needed to protect public health across the country.”
Appearing with Regan at a news conference, Browne said the proposal is likely to have lasting benefits across the country “but especially for those communities of color and low-income communities that experience the increase in particulate matter pollution.” Smog, soot and other pollution near factories, power plants and other hazards has a “devastating impact on public health,” she said.
The EPA proposal would require states, counties and tribal governments to meet a stricter air quality standard for fine particulate matter up to 2.5 microns in diameter — far smaller than the diameter of a human hair. A micron, also called a micrometer, is equal to one-millionth of a meter.
The standard would not force polluters to shut down, but the EPA and state regulators could use it as the basis for other rules that target pollution from specific sources such as diesel-fueled trucks, refineries and power plants.
A 2022 report by the American Lung Association found that 63 million Americans live in counties that experience unhealthy daily spikes in soot pollution and 21 million live in counties that exceed annual limits for soot pollution. Most of those counties were in 11 Western states, the report said. People of color were 61% more likely than white people to live in a county with unhealthy air quality, the report said.
Fresno, California, displaced Fairbanks, Alaska as the metropolitan area with the worst short-term particle pollution, the report found, while Bakersfield, California, continued in the most-polluted slot for year-round particle pollution for the third year in a row.
As of Dec. 31, five metropolitan areas were not in compliance with current standards, the EPA said. Four of those areas are in California, including the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which includes Pittsburgh, also is out of compliance.
The EPA will accept comments on the proposed rule through mid-March and will hold a virtual public hearing over several days. A final rule is expected this summer. | 2023-01-07T14:09:08+00:00 | fox59.com | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-epa-moves-to-toughen-standards-for-deadly-soot-pollution/ |
Can nostalgia outweigh controversy? That’s what Paramount Plus is betting on with “Zoey 102,” its feature film reboot of the Nickelodeon series “Zoey 101.” The original sitcom centered on the life of Zoey Brooks, a teen girl attending the formerly all-boys Pacific Coast Academy, as she navigates relationships, school and typical Nickelodeon-style mayhem.
In “102,” Zoey is looking for love in her 20s and hasn’t heard from former love interest Chase in years — until the pair find themselves thrown together as members of their friends’ wedding party.
After a successful four-season run from 2005 to 2008 under producer Dan Schneider, “Zoey 101” ended suddenly, leaving key storylines dangling. In recent years, the work environments of several of Schneider’s shows such as “Zoey 101” and “iCarly” have come under scrutiny following reports of Schneider’s alleged behavior during production. | 2023-07-27T21:04:59+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/07/27/zoey-102-paramount-plus/ |
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
Trump officials tried to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census in a move experts said would benefit Republicans despite initial doubts among some in the administration that it was legal, according to an investigative report released Wednesday by a congressional oversight committee.
The report offers a smoking gun of sorts — a secret memo the committee obtained after a two-year legal battle showing that a top Trump appointee in the Commerce Department explored apportionment as a reason to include the question.
“The Committee’s investigation has exposed how a group of political appointees sought to use the census to advance an ideological agenda and potentially exclude non-citizens from the apportionment count,” the report released by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform said.
It has long been speculated that the Trump administration wanted the citizenship question in order to exclude people in the country illegally from apportionment numbers.
The report includes several drafts showing how the memo evolved from recognizing that doing so would likely be unconstitutional to coming up with other justifications for adding the citizenship question.
The apportionment process uses state population counts gathered during the once-a-decade census to divide up the number of congressional seats each state gets.
Opponents feared a citizenship question would scare off Hispanics and immigrants from participating in the 2020 census, whether they were in the country legally or not. The citizenship question was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2019. In the high court’s decision, Chief Justice John Roberts said the reason the Commerce Department had given for the citizenship question — it was needed for the Justice Department’s enforcement of the Voting Rights Act — appeared to be contrived.
The Commerce Department oversees the Census Bureau, which conducts the count used to determine political power and the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal funding each year. Then-Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross testified before the oversight committee that apportionment wasn’t the reason for the citizenship question, even though the Commerce Department memo suggests otherwise, the House report said.
“I have never intentionally misled Congress or intentionally said anything incorrect under oath,” Ross said during a 2019 hearing before the oversight committee.
According to the House committee report, during planning for the citizenship question, an adviser to the Commerce Department reached out to a Republican redistricting expert who had written that using citizen voting-age population instead of the total population for the purpose of redrawing of congressional and legislative districts could be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.
The August 2017 memo prepared by senior Commerce Department political appointee James Uthmeier went to the heart of of interactions by the Commerce Department and the Justice Department to come up with a contrived reason for the citizenship question, the House report said.
An initial draft of the memo raised doubts that a citizenship question would be legal since it can only be added to the once-a-decade census if the Commerce Secretary concludes that gathering that information in survey sampling is not feasible. But a later draft removed that concern and added that the Commerce Secretary had the discretion to add a citizenship question for reasons other than apportionment.
An even later draft removed apportionment as an exception to the Commerce Secretary’s discretion and added “there is nothing illegal or unconstitutional about adding a citizenship question.”
An early draft of the memo also noted that using a citizenship data for apportionment was likely unconstitutional and went against 200 years of precedent, but that language also was removed in later drafts.
The House report says Uthmeier researched using Voting Rights Act enforcement as a reason for the citizenship question three months before the Justice Department requested it, and hand-delivered his memo with that suggestion to the Justice Department in order to avoid a digital fingerprint.
Uthmeier, who now is working as chief of staff to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, didn’t immediately respond to an email inquiry Wednesday.
In an effort to prevent future attempts at politicizing the census, members of the oversight committee on Wednesday planned to debate a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., that would require new questions for the head count to be vetted by Congress, and prohibit a Census Bureau director from being fired without cause.
The Trump administration named an unusually high number of political appointees without prior experience in the statistical agency to top positions in the Census Bureau. The legislation would limit the number of political appointees to three, with all other positions being filled by career civil service workers.
Even though many of the Trump administration’s political efforts ultimately failed, some advocates believe they did have an impact, resulting in significantly larger undercounts of most racial and ethnic minorities in the 2020 census compared to the 2010 census.
“It is clear that legislative reforms are needed to prevent any future illegal or unconstitutional efforts to interfere with the census and chip away at our democracy,” said Maloney, who chairs the oversight committee.
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Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2022-07-20T17:58:19+00:00 | wtmj.com | https://wtmj.com/national/2022/07/20/secret-memo-links-citizenship-question-to-apportionment-2/ |
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The next time Illinois steps on the basketball court the calendar will have flipped to March.
Two regular season games remain on the schedule. Home against Michigan. On the road at Purdue. Two last opportunities for Illinois to figure out exactly what kind of team it is.
Brad Underwood said his group knows what kind of team it wants to be. And how successful it can be.
Hitting that level on a consistent basis? A major work in progress, with Sunday’s 72-60 loss at Ohio State a clear example of a team that’s still trying to find the right combination of energy and effort and execution. The only revelation after losing by double figures to the 13th place team in the Big Ten that had lost nine straight games and 14 of its last 15 was that Illinois didn’t have nearly enough of any of it.
“We’ve got to find five guys right now who will play hard and execute,” Underwood said. “It’s not a time for guys to be in their feelings. It’s time to rally.”
Illinois was just three days removed from finding that level of energy and effort and execution to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit to knock off No. 21 Northwestern. There wasn’t a similar answer after falling behind by 12 by halftime in Columbus.
Mostly because the Illini couldn’t get enough stops. Ohio State shot 61 percent in the first half alone and didn’t cool off that much in the final 20 minutes. A lack of aggression and a rash of scouting report mistakes — particularly letting the Buckeyes’ guards get downhill to their dominant hand — wound up being too much to overcome.
"I think we didn’t have any bite on defense,” Coleman Hawkins said. The Illinois junior forward led the team with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. “We knew their play calls and what they were doing in certain actions, and we just didn’t guard it. When we get stops and get in transition, I think that’s when we're at our best. No bite on defense.”
Another slow start and another game without the requisite energy and effort to win at this point of the season seemed to confound Underwood and his players. None of them were able to pinpoint where it all went wrong against Ohio State.
That it was still going wrong with March right around the corner, though, was the staggering revelation.
“I honestly don’t know,” Hawkins said. “I don’t know. We had a chance to be a part of a regular season championship. We should have all been motivated by that, so I can't say it’s no motivation. I honestly don’t know. I couldn’t tell you. It’s just upsetting. I never want to lose. I just wish we had more energy coming out in the game.”
Underwood questioned whether his team was mentally or physically tired after playing four games in nine days before doubling down that another jam packed stretch in the Big Ten schedule wasn’t an excuse for Sunday’s loss. Hawkins waved away those specific concerns.
But there are concerns for this team.
“Just showing up every day and being every day guys,” freshman guard Ty Rodgers said was crucial to finding some consistency. “I don’t think that’s what we are right now.”
That statement alone might be the biggest indictment of where Illinois finds itself as March approaches. Underwood brought the idea of “every day guys” to Champaign when he was hired. It’s central to the makeup of the program, but still a notion and mindset that has to come from the players.
“I can’t go play for them,” Underwood said. “I can peel paint in the locker room if you’d like me to, but I can't go play for them. It’s got to be an internal deal. They’ve got to want to go do that.”
On that point, coach and players agreed. The motivation to play hard can’t come from Underwood and the Illinois coaching staff.
“We’ve got to hold ourselves accountable as far as getting in extra work, playing as hard as we can and playing hard in practice and not just getting by and getting through,” Hawkins said. “I thought we were going to clean things up, but I feel like we make the same mistakes when we lose. We’ll be good. We’ll clean a lot of stuff up before March. We’ll be good for March.” | 2023-02-27T20:24:13+00:00 | news-gazette.com | https://www.news-gazette.com/newsletter/content/sports/illini_basketball/illinois-missing-everyday-guys-mentality-in-road-loss/article_c6df2ed6-2f08-5e28-bbba-151dfaf65172.html |
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — It’s where Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf reigned. Rod Laver, Billie Jean King and Althea Gibson before that. And Bill Tilden, Helen Wills Moody, Don Budge and Suzanne Lenglen before that.
It’s been called the cathedral of tennis and the site of the most famous patch of grass in the world.
Centre Court at the current Church Road location of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club opened 100 years ago, in 1922, and that centenary is being celebrated at Wimbledon on Sunday — which, in and of itself, is a special occasion, because it marks the debut of scheduled play on the fortnight’s middle Sunday, which traditionally has been a day of rest at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
There is a sign on the side of the chair umpire’s stand with the words “Centre Court” and “100.” A unique version of the ever-popular tournament towel for the occasion. A series of votes via Wimbledon.com let fans choose their favorite moments from the arena’s history.
The structure has been updated and improved over time, with new cushioned green seats this year, for example, and, most famously, the installation of a retractable roof ahead of the 2009 tournament. The capacity has grown from 9,989 seats and “standing accommodation” 3,600 when first opened, to today’s 14,974 seats.
What does not seem to have changed is the reverence with which players regard the place.
That sentiment was expressed this way by seven-time Wimbledon champion Sampras after he earned what would be his last match win at Centre Court — or anywhere at the All England Club — by beating Martin Lee of Britain 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-3 on June 24, 2002: “You step out on Centre Court, it’s like Mecca out there. The U.S. Open, French Open, those are great events, but Centre Court at Wimbledon, there’s something very special whenever you step out there. I feel like I kind of came back home today.”
Some find it all a bit daunting. Some, of course, never get to play there. Some say they’ve gone inside to look around before the tournament begins, just to see it.
Here are the thoughts or recollections about Centre Court from some players of the past and present:
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“For me, that was the first experience seeing Princess Kate. She was sitting in the Royal Box, and I could not NOT see her. She’s super beautiful. And I also remember I saw Tom Cruise. It all was a bit overwhelming.” — Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, runner-up to Ash Barty in last year’s Wimbledon final.
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“When I would walk on Centre Court (for) a final, there would be like a hush — a hush of reverence, a tingling of excitement — of something that was just going to explode any minute. Sure enough, the crowds would explode. You think about all the former champions, the ghosts and spirits that played on that Centre Court. I do that only at Wimbledon. I don’t do that really at any other Grand Slam.” — Three-time Wimbledon champion Chris Evert.
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“I’d imagine that it’s probably a magical place. I don’t want to go in there until I play on the court.” — Tommy Paul of the United States, who faces Cam Norrie of Britain in the fourth round Sunday at No 1 Court.
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“I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was 16. More than half my life ago. I was impressed by the elegance.” — Mihaela Buzarnescu, a 34-year-old from Romania, who visited Centre Court when she was playing in the Wimbledon junior tournament, and first played there on Thursday.
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“They know the game, so there’s this incredible silence, followed by this great roar. I mean, that happens at all stadiums; there’s something even more so there. There’s no seat that’s bad there.” — Three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe on entering the arena.
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“The walk to the court is definitely the most nerve-racking, because you see the members’ enclosure. It’s a very beautiful area. They have, I don’t know if they’re guards or whatever, they’re standing in front of Centre Court, looking straight. I didn’t expect that the first time when I came in. I remember being like, ‘Wow!’ You kind of want to take a picture of it. Obviously you can’t.” — Coco Gauff, who played in, and won, her first match there at age 15 in 2019.
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More AP Wimbledon coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/wimbledon and https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-07-02T18:23:24+00:00 | wjhl.com | https://www.wjhl.com/sports/us-world-sports/wimbledon-marks-players-recall-centre-courts-100-years/ |
Practical gifts your dad wants for Father’s Day
In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd listened to a sermon on Mother’s Day that caused her to reflect on her own upbringing. Sonora’s father was a Civil War veteran who raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. She presented her ideas to local religious leaders, and with their support, the first Father’s Day was held on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington. It took until 1972 for Father’s Day to officially become a national holiday.
The purpose of Father’s Day is to honor the father figures in your life. This is traditionally done by spending time with those people who had a positive influence on your life and giving them a gift, such as a tie rack or power tools. But sometimes dads can be hard to buy for. This list has 21 simple yet practical gift ideas they will love.
21 Simple but practical Father’s Day gifts
Remington HC4250 Shortcut Pro Self-Haircut Kit
For a quick, no-fuss shave or haircut, this handy little gadget from Remington can’t be beat. It has a wide contoured blade that provides maximum coverage while matching the curves of your head. The rechargeable battery offers up to 40 minutes of runtime per charge, and it comes with a variety of comb lengths.
Sold by Amazon
Craft A Brew Beer Making Kit (Hefeweizen)
Arguably the only thing better than drinking beer is drinking beer that you brewed yourself. With this craft beer kit, dad can brew his own German-style Hefeweizen beer. This kit is designed for novice brewers and has everything you need to make your first batch.
Sold by Amazon
Vivere Double Cotton Hammock with Stand
Sometimes, dad needs a break. This nine-foot cotton hammock comes with its own stand, so you can set it up wherever you’d like. The adjustable hooks let the lounger decide how low or high they want to lay. For convenience, this hammock comes with a carry bag.
Sold by Home Depot
HP Reverb G2 Virtual Reality Headset
If dad is into VR, this headset from HP makes an excellent gift. It is compatible with SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality, has flexible material for long-wearing comfort and requires no external sensors to track movement. The small, ergonomically designed controllers feel natural in your hands.
Sold by HP
Whether dad likes to lounge around listening to podcasts and audiobooks, or he likes to go for a morning run while being motivated by his favorite playlist, Apple AirPods Pro will satisfy. With adaptive EQ, spatial audio and three soft silicone tips for a customizable fit, these earbuds are sure to please.
Sold by Amazon, Macy’s and Staples
This personal massager is an excellent way for dad to relax after a hard day’s work or a grueling workout. The lithium battery provides up to two hours of continuous use, while the customizable speed range lets you set this unit to any speed from 1750 to 2400 PPMs. The smart app integration allows you to run personalized wellness routines.
Sold by Amazon, Kohl’s and Theragun
The Cut Buddy Shaping and Styling Tool
Stylish dads want a perfect trim. This handy, affordable device gives you the perfect line with every shave. The device works with beards, mustaches and hairlines. Just place it where you want a sharp, well-defined edge and start shaving. The Cut Buddy has three curves, so you can style as you wish.
Sold by Amazon
Dad shouldn’t have to get up to get things done. With the Echo Dot, he won’t have to. When partnered with the proper smart home accessories, this popular smart speaker lets you turn on the lights, set the temperature and lock the doors without getting up off the sofa. If you’d like to check the news, weather or just hear a dad joke, Alexa can do that too.
Sold by Amazon, Kohl’s and Staples
Grilling temperatures can get pretty hot. To protect your hand and forearm from dangerous temperatures, you need a grill mitt. This offering from Nexgrill can keep you safe from heat up to 450 degrees. The non-slip grip ensures you can securely grasp all the tools you need to use.
Sold by Home Depot
This journal is as much a gift for you as it is for dad. The prompts in this book encourage your father to share his life with you in a format that you can treasure your entire life. Besides prompts, the journal is filled with loving affirmations of what it is like to be a good dad.
Sold by Amazon
Drop Stop The Original Patented Car Seat Gap Filler
Surprise your dad with a gift he never knew he needed. This little device fits between your car or truck seat and the center console. It keeps items such as change, crumbs or your cell phone from dropping in that narrow gap where things are nearly impossible to retrieve. You get two Drop Stops in a package — one for the driver’s side and one for the passenger’s side.
Sold by Amazon
Squatty Potty The Original Bathroom Toilet Stool
Part of the joy of getting gifts is receiving something you need but would never buy yourself. The Squatty Potty fits that description to a T. This little helper gives you a better, more efficient bathroom posture that can help things move along more smoothly.
Sold by Amazon, Home Depot and Wayfair
Pick-a-Palooza DIY Guitar Pick Punch Mega Gift Pack
Let dad know he’s a rock star. This ingenious kit allows you to create your own guitar picks. The mega pack includes a guitar pick punch, 15 starter strips — enough to make 100 guitar picks — and a leather pick holder. The compact device lets you make guitar picks out of any suitable items such as a gift card, hotel room key cards, an old credit card, a driver’s license and more. With this tool, you will never be without a guitar pick again.
Sold by Amazon
Mystery Tackle Box Motherlode Bass Kit
Everyone loves a surprise. If it involves fishing, even better for dad. This Motherlode box comes with a variety of premium fishing products that range in color and size. It also features a golden ticket with a unique promotion code. A winning ticket could land your dad a Lowe Stinger 175 bass fishing boat, Googan Squad rods and more.
Sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods
One of the biggest frustrations in life is misplacing your keys. It only seems to happen when you are in a rush. With the Tile Mate tracker, dad will never lose his cool over lost keys again. This little device has an impressive 200-foot range, and it works with nearly any item that can be misplaced around the home.
Sold by Amazon
There are two approaches to fixing a flat tire: take it off yourself or inflate the tire so you can drive to the shop and have someone else do all the hard work. If you want to give your dad a break, this 12-volt tire inflator comes with a 28-inch air hose and a 12-volt vehicle plug that makes it suitable for roadside emergencies. Besides tires, this device can also be used on sports equipment and air mattresses.
Sold by Home Depot
TungSam Self-Therapeutic Bamboo Back Scratcher
There’s this spot in the middle of a dad’s back about halfway down that always seems to itch. It’s right in between where it can be reached by going over the shoulder or up from the waist. This bamboo back scratcher can get the job done to provide instant relief.
Sold by Amazon
Computers, laptops, chargers and other sensitive devices should be protected from power surges and power outages. This model has eight outlets: four for battery backup and surge protection and four for just surge protection. The unit also features Ethernet cable surge protection, a circuit breaker, a wiring fault light and more. Help dad keep his digital world protected this Father’s Day.
Moso Natural Mini Air Purifying Bags
Dads may be great in many ways, but sometimes they can develop a little odor problem — especially in their shoes. This two-pack of odor-eliminating bags contains Moso bamboo charcoal, a fragrance-free, chemical-free solution to unpleasant smells. Just stick these tiny bags in a pair of shoes to rid them of unpleasant odors. With proper care, these bags are effective for up to two years.
Sold by Amazon
Max’is Creations The Mug With A Hoop
Here’s a little secret: dad’s never fully grow up. They like their toys. While this mug with a hoop isn’t the most practical gift, it is one that can let dad shoot tiny marshmallows through a hoop to land in his hot chocolate. And that’s something he’ll love.
Sold by Amazon
All those years of buying dad a tie are about to pay off. This motorized tie rack rotates in both directions at the touch of a button. It features an LED light so you can easily find what you are looking for. This space-saving device holds up to 72 ties and eight belts.
Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-30T00:17:30+00:00 | cbs4indy.com | https://cbs4indy.com/reviews/your-dad-will-love-these-simple-but-practical-fathers-day-gifts/ |
LONDON — After 112 days of near solitary existence among ferocious waves with only the odd passing whale for company, Irish adventurer Damian Browne this week returned to land, becoming the first person to row unsupported across the Atlantic from New York City to Galway, according to his team.
The feat is all the more notable because Browne cannot swim — and he doesn’t plan to learn anytime soon.
After training sessions in New York’s Hudson River in which he dodged ferries and passed the Statue of Liberty, Browne, 42, left Chelsea Piers in Manhattan in June, traveling almost 3,000 miles to his home in Galway, western Ireland, across the Atlantic Ocean.
“You really have to know what you’re doing, mentally, while you’re out there,” he told The Washington Post on his return to land and a hero’s welcome.
“It feels great to be back,” he said. “It’s nice to be alive.”
He had set off with his rowing partner, Fergus Farrell, who in his own personal feat relearned to walk after suffering a catastrophic injury. The two men aimed to smash the world record for the fastest unsupported row across the Atlantic, successfully completed only about a dozen times, according to his team. But on Day 13, Farrell fell ill and had to be medically evacuated, leaving Browne alone with a daunting task ahead.
The expedition then turned from a world record attempt to a grueling test of personal endurance, pushing Browne to his limit, he said.
“Physically, it’s incredibly arduous. It’s just a relentless task, the workload everyday was absolutely enormous,” he said. “There were moments of loneliness and moments of euphoria — it’s an emotional roller coaster.”
He had good training as a former professional European rugby player, but since retiring, he has shifted his focus to extreme expeditions and says he does it for the mental agility as much as the physical challenge.
“My whole outlook around extreme adventures and dealing with the stressful state they elicit is to stay as neutral as possible,” he explains. “It’s about controlling your mind and true self-awareness.”
A tricky feat when battling giant waves, freezing temperatures and hours of intense, solitary rowing.
While in his 6.2 meter bespoke rowing boat, affectionately named “Cushlamachree” (“sweetheart” in Irish), Browne lived on 10,000 calories a day of rehydrated rations, had a small desalination unit onboard allowing him to drink clean water and slept a few hours each night in a tiny two meter cabin he called his “sanctuary,” where he also stowed his GPS and radio gear.
But the main focus was the sea — rowing long and hard for more than 11 tough hours a day.
One particularly worrying moment came on Day 24, he said, when the moon was covered by clouds, plunging him into total blackness and leaving him barely able to make out the end of his oar. A major storm hit about 800 miles off the New York coast and capsized his boat three times.
“That was scary,” he recalls, adding that the storm raged for some 19 hours. “Those hours were the longest of my life” he said, waiting in dread and anticipation for the next time he’d be hurled into the sea.
“You can’t win against the Atlantic … but you can survive it,” he said, calling the sea an “overwhelming opponent.”
Again, he found solace in mental strength.
“I find concentrating on the task at hand helped,” he told The Post. “You can’t be stressed or anxious … just be present.”
Reunited with his partner and 13-month-old baby in Ireland, Browne told The Post he was looking forward to spending time with his family and enjoying the luxuries of a bed, toilet and good food.
But his finish did not go exactly to plan.
Just as he prepared to enter Galway docks, he was washed onto rocks and had to be rescued by emergency personnel, who helped him finally crawl onto dry land Tuesday — after 2,686 hours at sea and over 3,450 nautical miles rowed.
His epic journey, which took 3½ years to plan, is also raising funds for a variety of charities, supporting health, homelessness and rescue dogs. The take so far totals about $70,000. He is also coaching others on building self-discipline and pushing themselves in their own lives and challenges.
“We want to give other people the opportunity to take on oceans,” he said.
He has run ultramarathons in the Sahara desert, rowed from San Sebastian, Spain, to Antigua in the Caribbean and climbed Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro. More recently, he tried to scale Mount Everest before getting the coronavirus meant he missed out on reaching the summit. Next year, he plans to lead a mountain climb in Kyrgyzstan.
What does his family think of his adventurous streak? They “take it in their stride,” he said with a laugh. His mother, who has a fear of the sea, was less pleased with this particular challenge, he added. “She was very happy both times when I eventually set foot on land.”
For now, Browne is relieved to be on terra firma and looking forward to downtime and recovery, with no plans to do this again “any time soon.”
“It takes a lot, but I am pretty proud of this one,” he added. | 2022-10-08T13:53:52+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/08/damian-browne-ireland-rowing-galway-atlantic/ |
TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four times in the second period to beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 Monday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Anthony Cirelli, Nicholas Paul and Corey Perry also scored to help the two-time defending champion Lightning bounce back after playing poorly while losing the first two games on the road. Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman had two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 37 shots.
Stamkos, Paul, Maroon and Perry scored in the second period, when the Lightning chased Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper while pulling away to trim their series deficit to 2-1.
Gabriel Landeskog had two goals and Mikko Rantanen had two assists for the Avalanche. Kuemper gave up five goals on 22 shots before he was replaced by Pavel Francouz, who finished with nine saves.
Game 4 is Wednesday night at Amalie Arena, where the Lightning have won a franchise-record eight straight playoff games and where the Avalanche lost on the road for the first time this postseason.
Two nights after being limited to 16 shots in a 7-0 loss in Denver, the Lightning rebounded by finally finding a way to neutralize the Avalanche’s speed and solve Kuemper to avoid falling to the brink of elimination.
The defending champs became the first team since 1919 to win a Stanley Cup Final game after losing by seven-plus goals the previous game.
The Avalanche lifted Kuemper after Maroon scored a soft goal that put the Lightning up 5-2 with 8:45 remaining in the second. Perry reached behind Francouz to tap in a rebound that came off the right post to make 6-2 with 5:02 left in the period.
The Lightning overcame a 2-0 series deficit in the Eastern Conference finals to eliminate the New York Rangers in six games. They’re looking to do it again against the Avalanche to complete their quest for the NHL’s first three-peat in nearly 40 years.
Cirelli and Palat scored in the first period for the Lightning, who played with a lot more energy than in Games 1 and 2, when they appeared to be a step or two slower than the speedy, high-scoring Avalanche.
The seven-goal loss in Game 2 raised the question of whether a team that has played 68 postseason games since 2020 — the most by one team over a span of three playoffs — is running out of gas as it tries to become the first franchise to win at least three consecutive Stanley Cup titles since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83.
And while coach Jon Cooper discounts the toll playing so much playoff hockey has taken on his players, the Avalanche clearly looked like the fresher team in Games 1 and 2 after going 12-2 against the Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers in breezing through the first three rounds.
Spurred on by a sellout crowd of more than 19,000 and playing with a sense of urgency absent for much of the first two games, the Lightning scored twice in a span of 1:51 to wipe out a 1-0 lead the Avalanche took on the first of Landeskog’s two power-play goals.
Cirelli crossed in front of Kuemper to make it 1-1 at 13:03 of the opening period. Palat delivered his 10th goal of the playoffs off a pass from Stamkos to give the Lightning a lead for the first time in the series.
Vasilevskiy yielded a second power-play goal to Landeskog, who briefly trimmed a two-goal deficit to 3-2 before the Lightning pulled away for good.
After allowing the most goals he ever has given up in the playoffs in Game 2, Vasilevskiy had 13 saves in the first period, 12 in the second and 12 in the third.
The Lightning became the third team in NHL history to score six goals in a Stanley Cup Final game after yielding at least seven the previous game.
Injuries
Both teams played without one of their top forwards.
Lightning center Brayden Point, who missed 10 games after being injured during the series-clinching victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, was scratched after playing in Games 1 and 2 in Denver.
Avalanche forwards Andre Burakovsky and Nazem Kadri sat out. Coach Jared Bednar said both are day to day.
Paul scored for the Lightning after sitting out a portion of the first period with what appeared to be a right leg injury.
Streaks
The Avalanche entered Monday with a franchise-record seven-game postseason winning streak. The Avalanche also suffered their first road loss, dropping to 8-1. The Lightning improved to 8-1 at home this postseason. | 2022-06-21T06:17:05+00:00 | sun-sentinel.com | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/national-sports/ct-stanley-cup-final-lightning-avalanche-20220621-qohsieh7vzfn7g2hmheurq4lny-story.html |
Patrick Mahomes wins 2nd MVP award ahead of Super Bowl
Patrick Mahomes dominated the voting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award. Now, he’ll try to break the MVP curse.
Mahomes, who also won in 2018, easily outdistanced Jalen Hurts, receiving 48 of 50 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league. He earned 490 points to 193 for Hurts, who got one first-place vote, 26 seconds, 11 thirds and 10 fourths.
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (16-3) face Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The last nine MVPs to play in the Super Bowl that season are 0-9. Kurt Warner was the last to win both the MVP award and Super Bowl following the 1999 season.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen received the other first-place vote, finishing third with 151 points. Bengals QB Joe Burrow placed fourth and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson came in fifth.
The 27-year-old Mahomes is the third player to win his second MVP before turning 28, joining Brett Favre (27) and Jim Brown (22).
Mahomes was the 2018 NFL MVP in his first full season as a starter.
The Chiefs lost the AFC championship game that season but Mahomes led them to a Super Bowl victory over San Francisco the following season.
Comeback player
Geno Smith, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth after becoming a full-time starter for the first time since 2014, is the AP Comeback Player of the Year.
The Seattle Seahawks quarterback received 28 first-place votes to beat out San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
The 32-year-old Smith threw for 4,282 yards, 30 TDs and led Seattle to an NFC wild-card berth.
Smith earned 171 points and McCaffrey had 110 with 12 first-place votes. New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley came in fourth. He got four first-place votes.
Others receiving first-place votes were: Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (2), Giants center Nick Gates (2), Lions quarterback Jared Goff (1) and Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt (1).
Coach of the year
Brian Daboll made a big impression in the Big Apple.
The New York Giants’ rookie coach won the AP Coach of the Year honors after leading the team to its first playoff appearance in six years.
Daboll received 16 first-place votes to outpace 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who got 12. Daboll totaled 123 points to Shanahan’s 100 in the closest race of all the 2022 AP NFL awards.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson finished third with 75 points, including five first-place votes.
Bills coach Sean McDermott was fourth followed by Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni.
McDermott got seven first-place votes, Sirianni had six, Kansas City’s Andy Reid got two and Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell and Detroit’s Dan Campbell got one apiece.
The Giants started 6-1, finished 9-7-1 and won a playoff game under Daboll.
Defensive rookie
It’s all about that Sauce.
New York Jets cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award Thursday, taking 46 first-place votes.
Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson finished second with 129 points, getting three first-place votes.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen came in third with 73 points, including one first-place vote.
Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, started every game for the Jets. He had two interceptions and allowed just 33 catches on 73 targets. Gardner was a first-team All-Pro, becoming the first rookie cornerback to achieve the honor since Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott in 1981.
Gardner and Garrett Wilson are the third teammates to win the offensive and defensive rookie awards in the same season. Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore did it with the Saints in 2017 and Detroit’s Mel Farr and Lem Barney did it in 1967.
Offensive rookie
Garrett Wilson, the Jets’ wide receiver, edged out Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker for the AP Offensive Rookie of the year award, 156-129.
Wilson led all rookies with 83 catches and 1,103 yards receiving. Walker led all rookies with 1,050 yards rushing and nine TDs.
Wilson received 18 first-place votes, one fewer than Walker. However, he got 19 seconds to Walker’s eight. Wilson had nine third-place votes, also one fewer than Walker.
First-place votes are worth 5 points, second-place votes are worth 3 and third are worth 1.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy finished third.
Defensive player
Nick Bosa made it a landslide for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award.
San Francisco’s All-Pro defensive end received 46 first-place votes after leading the NFL with 18 1/2 sacks in the regular season.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons finished second with 101 points, far behind Bosa’s 237. Parsons didn’t get a first-place vote but had 30 second-place votes and 11 for third.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones came in third with 56 points. Jones had one first-place vote.
Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick got two first-place votes but ended up in fourth place.
New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams earned the other first-place vote.
Bosa is due for a hefty pay raise this offseason. He’s set to play on his fifth-year option worth nearly $18 million for 2023 but it’s likely he’ll get an extension that could be worth more than $30 million a year.
Offensive player
Justin Jefferson ran away with the AP Offensive Player of the Year award.
Minnesota’s All-Pro wide receiver got 35 first-place votes and earned 192 points, outdistancing runner up Patrick Mahomes by a significant margin.
Mahomes received 10 first-place votes and finished with 75 points. Jalen Hurts came in third with 52 points, including three first-place votes. Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill got one first-place vote, finishing fourth. Bills quarterback Josh Allen received the other first-place vote and ended up eighth.
Jefferson led the NFL with 128 catches and 1,809 yards receiving in his third season with the Vikings. He was one of two unanimous choices for AP All-Pro along with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
It’s the second straight year a wide receiver has won the award. Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp won it last season.
Assistant coach
DeMeco Ryans will take the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award with him to Houston.
The new Texans head coach received 35 first-place votes after guiding the league’s No. 1 ranked defense in San Francisco.
Ryans, who spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, earned 206 points. He was named on 48 of 50 ballots.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson finished second in voting with 113 points, including 11 first-place votes.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen came in third with 26 points.
Ryans, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker during his playing career with the Texans, has spent his entire coaching career with the 49ers. He was San Francisco’s inside linebackers coach from 2018-20 after spending the 2017 season as the defensive quality control coach. | 2023-02-10T05:17:57+00:00 | wyff4.com | https://www.wyff4.com/article/patrick-mahomes-wins-2nd-mvp-award/42820603 |
MAHOMET, Ill. (WCIA) – The Museum of the Grand Prairie in Mahomet is receiving another national recognition.
It achieved accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, the highest honor for museums in the country.
Officials said the museum has now been accredited for 50 straight years. The recognition signifies excellence to the museum community, funders and visitors.
The museum shared on its website that since its founding in 1968 as a facility of Champaign County Forest Preserve District, it’s their mission to inspire visitors to create connections to the natural and cultural history of Illinois.
Officials said the founding collection from William Redhed was comprised of objects from a pre-industrial age. The museum was called the Early American Museum, as Redhed preferred that name, for 40 years.
The museum changed to its current name in 2011. Officials said the term Grand Prairie, a 19th-century designation for the vast untamed American Midwest, recalls the cultural and natural heritage.
Nowadays, visitors can see thousands of artifacts representing the diverse history and population in Illinois. | 2023-03-26T22:09:37+00:00 | wcia.com | https://www.wcia.com/news/mahomet-museum-receives-national-recognition-for-50-years-straight/ |
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — The 311 Ramp to westbound I-40 from northbound I-74/US-311 is currently shut down to all traffic after a box truck carrying paint overturned on Thursday night, according to a Winston-Salem Police Department news release.
There were no injuries reported.
The ramp will be shut down for the next several hours while crews clean up the scene.
Officers advise all drivers, especially large trucks and tractor-trailers, to heed the cautionary speed signage near the ramp and ahead of the curve.
45 mph is the cautionary speed for optimal conditions, and drivers should go slower if conditions are poor.
Drivers are encouraged to take a different way around the area. If you are unfamiliar with the area, use GPS or other navigation apps responsibly while driving. | 2022-07-01T02:21:43+00:00 | myfox8.com | https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/winston-salem/box-truck-carrying-paint-overturns-311-ramp-to-westbound-i-40-closed/ |
2022 has been a tumultuous year in social media and the coming year holds more uncertainties as U.S. outlets scramble to match the popularity of apps like TikTok.
Copyright 2022 NPR
2022 has been a tumultuous year in social media and the coming year holds more uncertainties as U.S. outlets scramble to match the popularity of apps like TikTok.
Copyright 2022 NPR | 2022-12-25T14:36:07+00:00 | nprillinois.org | https://www.nprillinois.org/2022-12-25/turmoil-on-social-media-sites-is-driving-users-to-smaller-more-private-alternatives |
New offering includes 600A – 1000A products designed to be the safest on the market and most reliable in emergency situations
WAUKESHA, Wis., Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Generac Industrial Power, one of North America's largest suppliers of power generation equipment and part of Generac Power Systems (NYSE: GNRC), today announced the expansion of its line of TX Series transfer switches. The expanded offering includes the 600A, 800A and 1000A service and non-service entrance transfer switches with some of the highest withstand and closing ratings in the industry.
"Generac continues to expand on our journey to design more versatile and robust transfer switches," said Brandon Bassler, director of sales at Generac. "Generac sought to design a contactor mechanism to achieve high withstand ratings, and our engineering team designed something revolutionary. The contactor mechanism is maintenance-free and one of the fastest in the market, allowing smooth in-phase transition."
Some of the many standard features of the TX Series transfer switches include field selectable voltage, fully programable exerciser, signal before transfer contact, 100% rated service entrance switches, and a battery backup for the controller, designed to offer flexibility and making the product easily adaptable to the customers' needs. The modular design and removable panels make easy installation possible by a single person, saving time and money.
The front accessible USB port allows users access to retrieve data and upload custom programming and firmware updates safely and easily without the use of PPE. The built-in battery backup for the controller increases switch reliability and reduces the switch transition time to an alternate source. The battery energizes the controller until the power source (generator or utility) is available. This eliminates the need for a controller to reboot, which can consume valuable time during a power loss, and the ability to achieve a 10-second start of an emergency backup system per NFPA 110 for type 10 applications.
The TX Series transfer switches contactor mechanism is double-throw and interlocked with an over-center design to ensure safe, positive transfer between power sources. The contactor has self-cleaning, maintenance-free sliding contacts with a parallel blade design that magnetically latches onto the source and provides market leading 3-cycle withstand ratings. The TX Series transfer switches are UL 1008 certified and designed to help customers meet applicable NEC codes.
All TX Series transfer switches are designed and manufactured by Generac in the US.
Generac Power Systems, Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) is a leading energy technology company that provides advanced power grid software solutions, backup and prime power systems for home and industrial applications, solar + battery storage solutions, virtual power plant platforms and engine- and battery-powered tools and equipment. Founded in 1959, Generac introduced the first affordable backup generator and later created the category of automatic home standby generator - a market in which nearly eight of ten generators sold is a Generac. The company is committed to sustainable, cleaner energy products poised to revolutionize the 21st century electrical grid.
Media Contact: Stephanie Rodgers
Stephanie.Rodgers@Generac.com
Phone: 262.544.4811 Ext. 4456
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Generac Power Systems, Inc. | 2023-01-11T13:09:18+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/01/11/generac-industrial-power-expands-innovative-transfer-switch-line/ |
Honor Recognizes cnHeat™ RF Mapping Tool Featuring Broadband Data Collection (BDC) Reporting
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cambium Networks (NASDAQ: CMBM), a leading global provider of fixed wireless and Wi-Fi networking solutions, today announced that its cnHeat RF mapping tool has received the 2022 Service of the Year Award from the members of the Wireless ISP Association (WISPA). Built upon Cambium Networks' expertise in fixed wireless radio frequency (RF) planning, propagation, and modeling, cnHeat makes it easy for all fixed wireless broadband service providers to plan their fixed wireless access networks, assess the effective coverage of their networks, market their services to served addresses, and meet their FCC-mandated Broadband Data Collection (BDC) reporting requirements.
cnHeat, utilizing LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) GIS data, accurate to one-meter precision, which, in part, allows the user to generate highly accurate RF predictions and derivative services that accurately represent the reality of the RF world. Its integrated BDC reporting is manufacturer agnostic and can be exercised with Cambium Networks fixed wireless broadband infrastructure, as well as other fixed wireless solutions, to produce the data required for the FCC's demanding reports.
The platform is particularly beneficial for service providers seeking to deliver reliable fixed wireless connectivity using the CBRS frequency band in the context of the NTIA BEAD program.
"Our 1,200 subscribers cover one county completely and a quarter of the surrounding counties," said Kurt Fankhauser, president of Wavelinc Communications. "There is no way I would have been able to go through and look at all these addresses. cnHeat not only made it possible, it made the time needed minimal." For more information, read the case study "Avoid Government-Funded Overbuilds Using cnHeat with Integrated BDC to Submit High-Quality Data."
The award for cnHeat follows Cambium Networks' October 4 annoucement of its ONE Network platform, which leverages a converged fabric of transmission technologies to automate operations and optimize applications to deliver outstanding subscriber experiences. The new platform allows Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to more efficiently and economically manage their network operations and deliver consistently excellent online experiences to their business and residential subscribers.
"The Service of the Year award is a testament to our vision and ability to bring innovative solutions to market and help WISPs deliver fiber-like speeds reliably over wireless technology," Atul Bhatnagar, president and CEO of Cambium Networks, said. "Whether's it cnHeat or the Cambium Networks' ONE Network platform, Cambium Networks makes it easy for service providers to deliver outstanding online end user experiences."
The nearly 1,000 WISP operators who are members of WISPA are leading the communications industry in deploying fixed wireless access and Wi-Fi 6 equipment to connect communities. By being on the leading edge of a fast-paced evolution in technology, they are also creating best practices for others to follow. Cambium Networks has been working closely with WISP operators to bring wireless connectivity to communities around the world.
More information:
- CnHeat with BDC Reporting brochure
- Video: Demystifying the BEAD Program for WISPs
- Webinar: Avoid Overbuilds by Adding CBRS to your Towers and use cnHeat™ BDC
Cambium Networks' full range of solutions are available through its global network of partners.
About Cambium Networks
Cambium Networks delivers wireless communications that work for businesses, communities, and cities worldwide. Millions of our radios are deployed to connect people, places and things with a unified wireless fabric that spans multiple standards and frequencies of fixed wireless and Wi-Fi, all managed centrally via the cloud. Our multi-gigabit wireless fabric offers a compelling value proposition over traditional fiber and alternative wireless solutions. We work with our Cambium certified ConnectedPartners to deliver purpose-built networks for service provider, enterprise, industrial, and government connectivity solutions in urban, suburban, and rural environments, with wireless that just works.
Media Contact:
Dave Reddy
Big Valley Marketing for Cambium
+1 (650) 868-4659
dreddy@bigvalley.co
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Cambium Networks | 2022-10-06T12:20:45+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2022/10/06/cambium-networks-earns-wispa-service-year-award-leadership-network-planning-solutions/ |
Lamborghini celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023 and among the events planned is the launch of a trio of special editions based on the Huracán—one each for the STO, Tecnica, and Evo Spyder versions of the V-10 supercar.
Each special edition will have a production run of 60 units, and feature a “1 of 60” carbon-fiber plaque, as well as a “60th” script painted on the doors and embroidered on the seats. The cars will also feature specific color combinations.
The Huracán STO special has been designed to highlight the athletic nature of the track-focused model. As a result, its two available color combinations have been inspired by athletic sportswear or sport team colors. One combination features Blu (blue) Aegeus with accents in Blu Astraeus, which can be combined with exposed carbon-fiber elements with a Blu Mira finish. The second goes with Grigio (gray) Telesto and Nero (black) Noctis combined with exposed carbon fiber.
The Huracán Tecnica special has been designed to highlight Italy’s Tricolore flag and will offer buyers the choice between a combination of Grigio Telesto with Nero Noctis and Rosso (red) Mars accents, or a combination of Bianco (white) Asopo with Verde (green) Viper accents.
The last of the special editions is based on the Huracán Evo Spyder, and once again there are two combinations to choose from, which Lamborghini said are meant to highlight the lifestyle aspect of the droptop supercar. One combination features bodywork in Blu Le Mans with contrasting Bianco Isi accents. The other goes with a more expressive Verde Viper body combined with Bianco Isi accents.
The special editions make their formal debut on Friday at an event in Milan. Lamborghini hasn’t said how many build slots, if any, are reserved for customers in the U.S.
Lamborghini’s Huracán Sterrato revealed last December is officially the automaker’s last series production car powered purely by a combustion engine, but there will likely be more special-edition versions of the Huracán as well as the Urus before both models go the plug-in hybrid route like the Aventador-replacing Revuelto. The Huracán is expected to remain in production until late 2024, when it will be replaced by its plug-in hybrid successor.
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- Range Rover Sport SV performance flagship coming May 31 | 2023-04-22T08:46:36+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/automotive/internet-brands/lamborghini-reveals-trio-of-huracan-60th-anniversary-specials/ |
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A record number of Venezuelan nationals is petitioning for refugee status in Mexico, the head of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance says.
The agency received an average of 148 refugee petitions from Venezuela during the first week of November, compared with only 14 per day in mid-October, according to Andres Ramirez Silva, general coordinator of COMAR, as the agency is known in Mexico.
The 1,000 percent increase in applications coincides with an Oct. 12 announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security making Venezuelans amenable to Title 42 expulsions at the border. Since then, the number of Venezuelans attempting to cross both the U.S. border and the Mexico-Guatemala border has plummeted.
“The flow of Venezuelan migrants – coming from the south or expelled (from the U.S.) under Title 42, are down, but the flow (at COMAR) has not,” Ramirez tweeted.
He said most Venezuelan refugee petitions are coming from individuals who were expelled from the U.S. but aren’t going back home for now and from those who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border after mid-October. The bulk of the petitions (79.54 percent) are being filed in Mexico City, Ramirez said, adding the agency will be monitoring developments regarding a possible end to the Title 42 policy in the U.S.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has given the Biden administration until December 21 to do away with Title 42. In Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, a few hundred Venezuelans remain in a tent camp along the Rio Grande. Several of the migrants have told Border Report they are waiting out the end of the Title 42 policy. | 2022-11-22T21:56:56+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/border-report-tour/unable-to-cross-into-u-s-venezuelans-file-record-number-of-refugee-petitions-in-mexico/ |
SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of soccer, died Thursday at 82 years old. His exuberance and mesmerizing moves as the standard-bearer of "the beautiful game" transfixed generations of fans around the globe.
Reactions flooded in from other sports greats, with Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo calling him "the eternal King Pelé."
___
“A simple goodbye to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that hits the entire world of football at this moment. An inspiration for so many millions, a reference of yesterday, today, always. The affection he has always shown for me was reciprocal in every moment we shared, even at distance. He will never be forgotten and his memory will last for ever in each and everyone of us football lovers. Rest in peace, King Pelé.” — Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese soccer star.
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“Your place is on God’s side. My eternal king. Rest in peace.” — 1970 World Cup winner Roberto Rivellino and teammate of Pele on the Brazilian national team.
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“Before Pelé, ’10′ was just a number. I read that somewhere at some point in my life. But that line, beautiful, is incomplete. I would say that before Pelé football was just a sport. Pelé changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment. He gave voice to the poor, to the Black and above all he gave Brazil visibility. Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pelé is eternal!” — Brazilian soccer star Neymar.
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“I had the privilege that younger Brazilians didn’t have: I saw Pelé play, live, at Pacaembu and Morumbi (stadiums). Play, no. I saw Pelé give a show. Because when he got the ball he always did something special, which often ended in a goal. I confess that I was angry with Pelé, because he always massacred my Corinthians. But, first and foremost, I admired him .... Few Brazilians took the name of our country as far as he did." — Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
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"Pelé was one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game. And as one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him.” — Former U.S. President Barack Obama.
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“The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten. RIP KING.” French player Kylian Mbappé.
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“With the death of Pelé, soccer has lost one of its greatest legends, if not the greatest. Like all legends, the King seemed immortal. He made people dream and continued to do that with generations and generations of lovers of our sport. Who, as a child, didn’t dream of being Pelé?" — Didier Deschamps, former player and manager of the French national team.
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“It will be very difficult to find another Pelé. Pelé had everything a player should have. Agile, jumped like no one, could kick with both legs, physically very strong and brave. There was no one like Pelé.” — Cesar Luis Menotti, Argentine coach and Pele teammate in the Santos football club in Brazil.
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“Today football says goodbye to its most beautiful chapter. The man who charmed the world and changed the history of the game forever. You will always be the greatest, because 60 years ago, with all the difficulties you faced, you already did what only a few can do today. The man who dedicated his 1000th goal to children and made our country discover it could be much more." - Brazil player Richarlison.
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“Thanks for his flair and his class. He left a mark even on the generations who weren’t lucky enough to see him play. Today the whole world mourns a legend named Pele.” - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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“Pelé had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped. His life is about more than football. He changed perceptions for the better in Brazil, in South America and across the world. His legacy is impossible to summarise in words. Today, we all mourn the loss of the physical presence of our dear Pelé, but he achieved immortality a long time ago and therefore he will be with us for eternity.” - FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
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“Pele has died. The most divine of footballers and joyous of men. He played a game only a few chosen ones have come close to. 3 times he lifted the most coveted gold trophy in that beautiful yellow shirt. He may have left us but he’ll always have footballing immortality. RIP Pele.” - Former English player and broadcaster Gary Linker.
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“RIP Pelé. A hero to so many and one of the greatest to ever grace the game.”- London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
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“Pelé is an incontestable symbol of our nation, a source of pride for all of us. Beyond his achievements as a legend of world sport, Pelé was an exemplary public officer, loyal to his principles, values and to our country. We all lose in his departure." — Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Pelé served as his sports minister. | 2022-12-29T23:58:48+00:00 | newscentermaine.com | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/sports/world-reacts-to-death-of-brazilian-soccer-king-pele/507-2c9ff8f2-739d-4d57-af3b-fe81ada8f8d9 |
HIGH SCHOOL
Fairfield produces precision performance against Garrett 66-43
Indy Star AI Sports
Indianapolis Star
Fairfield's all-around dominance took the form of a rollercoaster and rolled downhill on Garrett during a 66-43 blowout for an Indiana boys basketball victory on February 2.
In recent action on January 28, Fairfield faced off against Angola . For a full recap, click here. Garrett took on Lakeland on January 27 at Garrett High School. Click here for a recap.
You're reading a news brief powered by ScoreStream, the world leader in fan-driven sports results and conversation. To see more game results from your favorite team, download the ScoreStream app and join over 10 million users nationwide who share the scores of their favorite teams with one another in real-time. | 2023-02-03T04:21:41+00:00 | indystar.com | https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/02/03/fairfield-produces-precision-performance-against-garrett-66-43/69868869007/ |
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety says a 17-year-old was hospitalized after suffering a gunshot wound.
Officers were called to West Michigan Avenue around 12:15 Saturday morning for a report of shots fired. They found a shooting scene but couldn't find any victims.
While officers were still on the scene investigating, a 17-year-old Kalamazoo resident went to the hospital with a gunshot wound. The car the teenager was driving had a number of gunshots in it.
Officers determined it was related to the shots fired scene.
The teen suffered non-life threatening injuries.
If you have any information on the case, you're asked to contact the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety at 269-488-8911 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 | 2023-02-11T07:27:20+00:00 | fox17online.com | https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kalamazoo-teen-hospitalized-for-gunshot-wound |
- Shares of Alphabet tumbled Wednesday after the company held an event that showed off its new artificial intelligence chatbot.
- Google officially announced Bard Monday, and the company said it will begin rolling out the technology in the coming weeks.
- Google's event took place just one day after Microsoft hosted its own AI event at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
Shares of Google's parent Alphabet tumbled more than 7% on Wednesday after the company held an event that promoted its new artificial intelligence chatbot called Bard, one day after competitor Microsoft held its own event to show off new AI technologies in its competing search engine, Bing.
Google officially announced Bard on Monday, confirming CNBC's prior reporting, and the company said it will begin rolling out the technology in the coming weeks.
During the event Wednesday, which was livestreamed from Paris, Google executives discussed some of Bard's capabilities. The presentation showed how Bard can be used to display the pros and cons of buying an electric car, for example, or to plan a trip in Northern California.
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Bard is powered by the company's large language model LaMDA, or Language Model for Dialogue Applications. Google will open up the conversation technology to "trusted testers" ahead of making it more widely available to the public, the company said in a blog post Monday.
The event also showed AI improvements to a number of other Google products, including Maps and Google Lens, which lets people search for images from their phone's camera.
Shares of Alphabet slid during the event, suggesting that investors were hoping for more in light of growing competition from Microsoft.
Money Report
Google's event took place just one day after Microsoft hosted its own AI event at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft's event centered around new AI-powered updates to the company's Bing search engine and Edge browser. Bing, which is a distant second to Google in search, will now allow users get more conversational responses to questions.
The Microsoft product updates were built on technology from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, in which Microsoft has invested billions.
ChatGPT is AI software that generates text based on complex written prompts. The web-based tool went viral after its debut in November, prompting analysts and Google employees to ask whether the company was falling behind in AI, an area which has been a core focus for Google for several years. In response to ChatGPT's popularity, Google declared an internal "code red" to accelerate development of Bard and other AI products, and the company's co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, reportedly got involved again, years after stepping down from day-to-day work at the company.
Though Microsoft's latest AI investments increase the pressure on Google search, some analysts say it will take time for Microsoft to see any significant gains.
"Search improvements will act as a tailwind to [advertising revenue long term], but it will take time to bring users back to Bing and they will need a crowbar to pry away advertisers from Google," Jefferies' analyst Brent Thill wrote in a Tuesday note. "We view these updates as the tip of the iceberg for MSFT's AI capabilities, with the largest opportunity in enterprise use cases."
An analyst at UBS said that if Microsoft hopes to overtake Google, it has a "mountain to climb."
— CNBC's Jennifer Elias contributed to this report. | 2023-02-08T21:57:37+00:00 | nbcmiami.com | https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/business/money-report/alphabet-shares-slip-following-googles-a-i-event/2968940/ |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tennis is abuzz with tongue-in-cheek talk about a “Netflix curse” during the Australian Open, drawing a line from the streaming service’s new docuseries about the sport to the recent rough times for Season 1 protagonists.
Of the 10 players featured prominently across the five episodes released last week, right before the start of play at Melbourne Park, only one remains in the singles competition heading into Saturday: Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 22-year-old from Canada.
The No. 6-seeded Auger-Aliassime, a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2021, said he wasn’t aware this was even a topic of conversation until Friday, when his girlfriend clued him in.
“I thought it was funny,” he said after beating 28th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the fourth round. “I don’t know; I don’t think it’s connected. … Maybe the players that lost, maybe they do feel like it’s connected, somehow. I don’t think they do. I don’t think it’s connected, anyhow.”
Well, of course it isn’t.
There is no such thing as a “curse” in the world of sports, although folks sure do love to concoct and discuss them. The Curse of the Bambino, for one. The Sports Illustrated cover jinx was another.
It is worth noting that no one is drawing any sort of similar silly connection between active participation in the filming of Netflix’s popular “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” — made by the same executive producers as “Break Point” — and F1’s on-track results.
Consider: Lewis Hamilton has taken part in interviews and managed to win the driver’s championship in each of the first three years of that series. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, did not sit for the Netflix cameras and collected the past two titles.
Still, just for fun, let’s run down the roster of what’s been released from “Break Point”:
— Episode 1: Nick Kyrgios (withdrew before the tournament because he needs surgery on his left knee); Thanasi Kokkinakis (lost to 35-year-old Andy Murray in the second round in a five-setter that lasted 5 hours, 45 minutes and ended at 4:05 a.m. on Friday)
— Episode 2: Matteo Berrettini (lost to Murray in the first round in a five-setter that lasted 4 hours, 49 minutes); Ajla Tomljanovic (withdrew before the tournament because of an injured knee)
— Episode 3: Maria Sakkari (lost to 87th-ranked Zhu Lin in the second round Friday in a three-setter); Taylor Fritz (lost to 113th-ranked Australian wild-card entry Alexei Popyrin in the second round in a five-setter)
— Episode 4: Ons Jabeur (lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the second round in a three-setter); Paula Badosa (withdrew before the tournament with an injured thigh)
— Episode 5: Auger-Aliassime (plays Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round Sunday); Casper Ruud (lost to Jenson Brooksby in the second round)
Yes, one of these is not like the others.
“Funny how things work out sometimes,” Auger-Aliassime said.
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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-01-21T00:42:51+00:00 | everythinglubbock.com | https://www.everythinglubbock.com/entertainment-news/ap-is-there-a-netlix-curse-on-australian-open-tennis-players/ |
Restaurant tasting menus are like the stock market: You have to invest if you want to play, you should know a thing or two about where you’re putting your money, and there are no guarantees. But if you’ve done the research, and you play the long game while willingly riding the waves of uncertainty, there’s a good chance you’ll be handsomely rewarded.
Ellen Slattery may have the best perspective when it comes to tasting menus in the Ocean State. The proprietor of Ellie’s Bakery and Gracie’s restaurant in Providence introduced a tasting menu to the latter in the early 2000s, and to most diners then, it was a foreign concept. “I don’t think a lot of people knew what a tasting menu was back then,” recalls Slattery. “It’s really exciting for us to see the evolution of it.”
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Today, Slattery says 80 percent of Gracie’s diners order the tasting menu, a five- or seven-course experience that can be paired with wine if the guest chooses. The rate was even higher before Trinity Rep across the street resumed live performances, which often brings in diners with less time to linger.
Gracie’s menu is a blind tasting, meaning diners put their trust in chef Matthew Varga to deliver a series of perfectly composed dishes that pack an impressive punch of flavor profiles in fun-size portions. Save for any dietary restrictions or foods that are simply off-limits, the diner is typically at the chef’s culinary mercy, as is the case with many but not all tasting menus, and the experience can last up to three hours if diners dawdle in the deliciousness of it all. Persnickety palates: be warned.
Once reserved as a decadence for the deep-pocketed, tasting menus have become decidedly more approachable, even playful in recent years, but such epicurean adventures still maintain a degree of exclusivity that sets it apart from à la carte options.
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“The tasting menu is something I love doing because nothing on it is on the regular menu,” says Champe Speidel, the James Beard Foundation-recognized chef who owns Persimmon in Providence with wife Lisa. “You really get some fun experiences on any given night, and it’s never the same experience twice.”
Here are some of the Rhode Island restaurants offering tasting menus.
Little Sister
“I wanted to push people out of their comfort zone a little bit more,” says Milena Pagán, owner and head chef of Little Sister in Providence. Last month, Pagán was one of three local chefs named as a James Beard Foundation Awards Best Chef semi-finalist. Along with her husband and co-owner, Darcy Coleman, Pagán introduced the tasting menu in October, “just wanting to put the culture a little more front and center.” The all day bakery and cafe specializes in Puerto Rican and Latin American inspired dishes, but Pagán isn’t afraid to add her own creative interpretation. Though a blind tasting, subscribers to the restaurant’s email newsletter sometimes get a hint at what Pagán is cooking up. A recent dish that made an appearance was floquis de malenga, a Puerto Rican twist on Italian gnocchi made from taro root with garlic and recao cream sauce, roasted cherry tomatoes and queso fresco gratiné. There’s a philosophy, however, to keeping her culinary cards close to the vest. “If people see a menu full of things that they don’t know… they are just going to choose what sounds familiar,” Pagán said. “I think in this setting, people are more comfortable trusting us blindly with the menu.” Five courses, $65 per person. 737a Hope St., Providence, (401) 642-9464, littlesisterpvd.com
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Persimmon
Chef Champe Speidel says diners at Persimmon won’t find any dishes from the restaurant’s à la carte menu on his five-course tasting menu, a strategic decision on his part that empowers him and his team to “be hyper creative” and use extraordinary ingredients that might not have the bandwidth to be widely served in greater quantity. “It could be something brought in especially for the tasting menu,” said the chef. “It allows us to highlight a certain ingredient that I don’t need to buy a thousand pounds of. I can just focus on one part; one area or two different parts of the animal.” Guests at the East Side restaurant actually won’t receive a menu at all, which Speidel says allow them to sit back, relax and enjoy the culinary ride. This time of year, guests may enjoy a truffle course or foie gras, and later in the month, seasonal vegetables like European white asparagus will be brought in. “So you really get some fun experiences on any given night and it’s never the same experience twice,” he explained. Five-courses, $90 per person. Wine pairing additional. 99 Hope St., Providence, (401) 432-7422. persimmonri.com
Cara at The Chanler at Cliff Walk
Starting at $155 per guest for five-courses (plus tax and gratuity), Cara at The Chanler in Newport boasts one of the priciest tasting menus around, but it’s also one of the most unique. “You should be able to close your eyes when you taste something, we are doing this for you; you’re somewhere on the seaside of Rhode Island in a beautiful mansion that has been meticulously restored — that is what we are trying to give to guests when they come,” said executive chef Jacob Jasinski. The intimate Forbes Five-Star restaurant is partitioned from the property’s cafe by a pair of glass doors, creating an instant air of exclusivity — and curiosity — as course after course is whisked into the private, oceanfront space, with Jasinski or one of his colleagues eager to wax poetic about about each dish’s complex components. “There is a certain allure about it,” said the chef, adding this time of year, the menu has an emphasis on seafood. Seating one: 5 p.m., five-courses, $155 per person. Seating two: 8 p.m., eight-courses, $225 per person. Wine pairing additional. 117 Memorial Blvd., Newport, (401) 847-1300. thechanler.com
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Giusto
Italian for “just right,” Giusto in Newport lives up to its name with a tasting menu of just-right dishes at just the right price. Living up to its self-described “freestyle Italian” approach, chef Kevin O’Donnell eschews the formulaic course-after-course blind tasting experience — which he says sometimes “feels rigid” — for one with a more relaxed vibe. “A little more laid back, but still very thoughtful [with] attention to detail and very smart when it comes to how dishes are prepared, [and] the order in which they’re coming out,” is how he describes it. O’Donnell takes into account if the guest is a first-timer at Giusto, in which case they’ll receive some of the restaurant’s “fan favorites,” like the ricotta frittelle, honey and truffle pillowy fried fritters dusted with parmesan. The five-course menu is meant to be shared and has a purposeful blueprint. “You start out with snacks, and they’re fun and playful, and as the meal progresses, the plates become more and more substantial,” said O’Donnell. Five courses, $55 per person. Beverage pairing additional. 4 Commercial Wharf, Newport, (401) 324-7400. giustonewport.com
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Gracie’s
Perhaps the most long-standing and highly-touted blind tasting menus in Rhode Island are the five- and seven-course chef’s tastings offered at Gracie’s in Providence. For more than two decades, owner Ellen Slattery observed how the once curious concept has morphed into a must-try experience. “I think that the beauty of a tasting menu is putting your trust into us and sitting back and relaxing,” she said. When restaurants reopened amid the pandemic, Slattery and chef Matt Varga thought they’d ease back in with an à la carte or prix-fixe menu; something “more approachable,” she described. But then the two noticed guests were coming in and building their own multi-course tasting menus — a DIY dine out. “They had been home all the time and that they wanted to come out and have an experience, and we saw a huge demand for it,” explained Slattery. For Varga and his team, Slattery said, the tasting menus provide an opportunity to explore and experiment; to test out new techniques and see what resonates with guests — a litmus test that sometimes finds a course migrating to à la carte offerings. Similarly, the tasting menus’ wine pairings allow the restaurant to introduce more small producers and pour wines not necessarily on their wine list, but sometimes wind up on it after making an impression. Five courses, $110 per person. Seven courses, $145 per person. Wine pairing additional. 194 Washington St., Providence. (401) 272-7811. graciesprov.com
Foglia
You might be halfway through the six-course tasting menu at Foglia in Bristol before you realize you’re eating at an entirely vegan restaurant — and that’s just the way chef-owner Peter Carvelli likes it. Dishes like the tortellini en brodo, a hearty, house-made jumbo pasta stuffed with what seems like cheese-based ricotta but is in fact made of tofu, resting in a rich vegetable broth, showcase the chef’s talent for making exquisitely presented, complex dishes. If the idea of a dairy-free baked Alaska with chocolate olive oil cake and from-scratch ice cream sounds impossible, Carvelli proves otherwise. Like Foglia’s à la carte menu, tasting dishes change on the regular, but frequently booked-solid reservations prove there’s a hunger for inventive, plant-based dining. The demand may be driven in part by Vegetarian Times naming Foglia as one of the best new vegetarian restaurants last fall — one of less than a dozen to garner the national spotlight in the popular publication. Six courses, $75 per person. Wine pairing additional. 31 State St., Bristol, (401) 235-1195. fogliabristol.com
Castle Hill Inn
Perched on a grassy hilltop overlooking the confluence of Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, the cylindrical dining room at Castle Hill Inn in Newport exclusively offers a tasting menu to guests, promising “a curated tasting experience that is inspired by both the flavors of coastal New England and influences around the globe.” Chef de Cuisine Dylan Cadrette said that in March of last year, the restaurant restructured, trading their three-course menu for a six-course tasting to diversify dining options and capitalize on his fine dining experience. Instead of a blind tasting, diners can choose two dishes from each of the six courses, and all guests dining together will be served the same selections. “It’s meant to be a comfortable experience so that anybody can enjoy it, even if they have never done a tasting menu before,” explains Cadrette. Right now, one of the first course options he’s excited about is oysters from Quonnie Rock Oysters from Quonochontaug, just 30 miles away. “I love the profile they have as far as the salinity,” said Cadrette. “We have some of the best oysters here in the whole country.” Six-courses, $135 per person. Wine pairing additional. 590 Ocean Drive, Newport, (401) 849-3800. castlehillinn.com | 2023-02-13T16:50:15+00:00 | bostonglobe.com | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/13/metro/tasting-menus-rhode-island-decadent-even-playful-adventures-3-12-courses/ |
GENEVA (AP) — Russian athletes who have actively served in the military invasion of Ukraine should be allowed to return to international sports if they did not take part in war crimes, according to a United Nations expert advising the International Olympic Committee.
The U.N. special rapporteur for cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, said late Sunday only Russian military members implicated in “allegations of war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity or propaganda for war” should be denied neutral status to compete in international sports ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Xanthaki angered Ukrainian athletes who took part in an IOC-hosted call to consult them ahead of an Olympic announcement due Tuesday to update guidance for sports bodies 16 months before the opening of the Paris Games.
Ukrainian government and sports officials want the IOC to ban all Russians from the 2024 Games and claim most of the country’s recent Olympic medalists were affiliated with the military.
Xanthaki wrote on her official Twitter account Sunday her view that “an athlete who has participated in war would be included” for neutral status to compete in sports without national symbols such as flags and anthems.
The Greek lawyer later clarified it was usual that “men all around the world are conscripted to take part in wars” and have to follow orders, including killing. She also referred to “illegal aggressive” conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, Israel and Iraq.
“We cannot hold all men who participate in illegal wars by their states following orders responsible. Those who perform crimes, we must,” Xanthaki wrote.
It is unclear how far the IOC will follow her advice ahead of its executive board meeting Tuesday. It is due to discuss “solidarity with Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the status of athletes from these countries.”
The IOC’s initial advice to sports bodies within days of the war starting last February was to exclude athletes from Russia and ally Belarus. It cited Russia’s “extremely grave violation” of the Olympic Truce in place for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, plus the integrity and security of sports events.
Since January, the IOC has pushed for finding a path to reintegrate Russians and Belarusians into world sports. It pointed to advice from Xanthaki and another U.N. expert that excluding athletes based only on their passport would be discrimination that breached their human rights.
Xanthaki on Friday briefed members of official athlete panels from most national Olympic bodies, including Ukraine, in a two-hour call hosted by the IOC.
The Ukrainians “ferociously disagreed with my analysis,” she acknowledged in a Twitter exchange, adding that athletes taking part from countries in the Global South agreed with her.
“It makes no sense in terms of sport,” Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, a two-time Olympian, told The Associated Press on Monday about Xanthaki’s views on the call and the difficulty of proving an athlete’s links to war crimes.
“Do we have to make a documentary about how he makes a crime?” said Heraskevych, who drew attention at last year’s Beijing Games by holding up a “No War in Ukraine” sign after his race.
The IOC was talking Monday with representatives of Olympic sports bodies who will decide for themselves on conditions for letting athletes compete in their upcoming events, and define neutrality.
A strong position against the IOC was taken last week by track and field’s World Athletics, which is refusing to admit any Russians or Belarusians “for the foreseeable future.”
Final decisions on Russian athletes competing at the Paris Games still rest with the IOC. In the Olympic Charter, article 44.3 states: “Nobody is entitled as of right to participate in the Olympic Games.”
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More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-03-27T12:42:52+00:00 | ourquadcities.com | https://www.ourquadcities.com/sports/un-expert-advising-ioc-gives-views-on-russians-at-olympics/ |
(NewsNation) — Amtrak ridership has seen a steep drop since 2019 when the train service pulled in 32.5 million riders, to 2021, when Amtrak saw 12.5 million riders. Despite the drop in riders and huge financial losses for the operation, Amtrak executives still received huge bonuses.
Amtrak CEO William Flynn received $284,205 in bonuses in 2021. Company President Stephen Gardner got $261,359 in bonuses, Deputy General Counsel William Herrmann received $300,981 in bonuses. Overall, there were nine Amtrak executives who received more than $200,000 in bonuses.
Gary Peterson, the chief of staff for the Transport Workers Union, said non-executive Amtrak employees can’t make any sense of the executive bonuses given Amtrak’s recent performance.
“Not anything that we can pinpoint in the current environment that would allow for awarding of such rich bonuses for executives while the workers are out there trying to make ends meet with everything going on, specifically the period of COVID, for sure,” Peterson said.
Financial losses have plagued Amtrak virtually its entire existence, despite Congress pumping trillions of dollars into it over the years.
Congress pledged to give $66 billion to the rail sector as part of its $1 trillion infrastructure bill, with Amtrak being one of the primary recipients.
“There is no justification,” Peterson said. “Clearly, Congress did not agree to provide any type of executive bonus compensation, and here we are looking at these numbers that nobody can make sense of.”
In a Wednesday interview with Peterson on NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert,” Vittert called into question the practicality of keeping Amtrak funded, given its drop in ridership and severe financial woes.
Peterson said he had no disagreement with the criticisms of Amtrak, but said studies need to be done to make passenger rail more practical, as it will be a critical part of transportation infrastructure in the next century.
“Everything needs to be looked at on viability and why we’re doing it, there’s no disagreement there,” Peterson said. “But even public sector transit as well, as we venture into the next century, how that looks and the studies that are being done to make it viable for the folks that need it certainly needs to be put into perspective.” | 2022-10-14T02:09:39+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/news/amtrak-execs-receive-bonuses-nobody-can-make-sense-of/ |
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