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Judge rejects plea deals for couple accused of trying to sell nuclear sub secrets
Posted/updated on: August 16, 2022 at 3:56 pm(NEW YORK) -- A federal judge in West Virginia on Tuesday rejected the plea deals of Jonathan Toebbe, a former nuclear engineer for the U.S. Navy, and his wife Diana, because she said they did not allow for enough prison time.
Jonathan Toebbe's plea agreement called for a sentence of 12-17 years and Diana Toebbe's plea agreement called for a sentence of three years after they pleaded guilty to offering to sell secrets about submarine nuclear propulsion systems to a foreign country.
Toebbe had faced life in prison for violating the Atomic Energy Act before reaching the agreement with federal prosecutors in West Virginia, where he put an SD card at a "dead drop," according to the charging documents.
"These are serious crimes but we are talking about serious punishment. Twelve-and-a-half years is not a slap on the wrist," defense attorney Nicholas Compton said.
The judge, though, said it was not in the best interest of the community to accept the plea agreements since the proposed sentences failed to account for the "grave harm" she said the Toebbes caused.
"Make no mistake these defendants have been charged with very serious crimes," Judge Gina Groh said. "I find the sentencing options available to me to be strikingly deficient."
The Toebbes, of Annapolis, Md., seemed to neighbors and co-workers as the typical suburban couple before they were arrested last October for allegedly scheming to sell secrets about Virginia-class nuclear submarines to a foreign country, which was not identified in court papers but was Brazil, a source told ABC News.
At the time of his plea, Toebbe conceded he sent a package to a foreign government, listing a return address in Pittsburgh that contained a sample of restricted data and instructions for establishing relationship to buy additional restricted data.
Toebbe said he began corresponding with someone he thought was a representative of the foreign government who was really an undercover FBI agent.
On June 8, 2021, the undercover agent sent $10,000 in cryptocurrency to Toebbe as "good faith" payment.
A few weeks later, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe traveled to a location in West Virginia, prosecutors said. There, with Diana Toebbe acting as a lookout, Jonathan Toebbe placed an SD card concealed within half a peanut butter sandwich at a pre-arranged "dead drop" location, they said.
After retrieving the SD card, the undercover agent sent Jonathan Toebbe a $20,000 cryptocurrency payment, prosecutors said. In return, Jonathan Toebbe emailed the undercover agent a decryption key for the SD card. A review of the SD card revealed that it contained restricted data related to submarine nuclear reactors, the indictment said.
Both the Toebbe's withdrew their plea agreement after a judge rejected the agreement.
"Yes, your honor, I'd like to withdraw my plea," Jonathan Toebbe said.
The judge on Tuesday set a trial date of Jan. 17, 2023, giving the parties time to negotiate a new plea agreement or proceed to trial.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. | 2022-08-16T22:06:03+00:00 | ktbb.com | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1154256 |
House fire outside Killeen results in death of woman
Published: May. 19, 2022 at 5:03 PM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - Bell County Fire Marshal Chris Mahlstedt concluded his investigation and could not find the cause of a deadly fire outside the city of Killeen.
The blaze was reported at about 5:20 p.m. in the 300 block of Whispering Oaks Loop on Wednesday, May 18.
Three people were inside the home at the time of the fire. A woman inside the home died as a result of the blaze.
No further information was provided.
Copyright 2022 KWTX. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-19T23:07:51+00:00 | kwtx.com | https://www.kwtx.com/2022/05/19/house-fire-outside-killeen-results-death-woman/ |
Prosecutors charge 3 with murder in Sacramento mass shooting
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors have filed murder charges in a mass shooting that rocked California’s capital city a month ago.
District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said Tuesday that three men have been charged with murder in the slayings.
All three are eligible for the death penalty, but that decision has not been made yet.
The gang feud erupted in gunfire before dawn April 3 as patrons of bars and nightclubs emptied out onto the streets in downtown Sacramento. Six people were killed in the bloodshed, including one man who was an alleged shooter.
A dozen others were wounded by bullets — including two other alleged gunmen. Police say at least five people fired bullets in the shooting.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-03T23:53:04+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/05/03/prosecutors-charge-3-with-murder-sacramento-mass-shooting/ |
Mortgage rates rise: 30-year climbs to 6.39%
WASHINGTON (AP) —
U.S. mortgage rates rose this week for the first time in more than a month, at least a temporary setback for would-be home buyers and a housing market already reeling from more than a year of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that that average fixed-rate 30-year mortgage edged up to 6.39% from 6.27% the week before. A year ago, the average rate was 5.11%.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with those refinancing their homes, also rose — to 5.76% from 5.54% a week earlier.
The Fed, responding to a surge in inflation that last year hit a four-decade high, has raised its benchmark interest rate nine times in just over a year. Mortgage rates surged — to a two-decade high of 7.08% last fall. But rates had fallen five straight weeks before the upturn this week.
Higher borrowing costs have taken a toll on the housing market. The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales of existing U.S. homes fell 2.4% from February to March at an annual rate of 4.44 million — signaling a disappointing start to the spring homebuying season. Median home prices fell to $375,700 — down 0.9% from a year ago, biggest year-over-year drop since January 2012.
Investment in U.S. housing has dropped for seven straight quarters — including freefalls at an annual rate of 27.1% from July through September and 25.1% from October through December last year.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-04-20T16:34:27+00:00 | kaaltv.com | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/mortgage-rates-rise-30-year-climbs-to-6-39/ |
(NewsNation) — With a heat wave across the country affecting millions of Americans, and the temperature expected to reach above 100 in some areas, many are looking for ways to keep cool. But it could be costly as record-high inflation is driving up electric bills.
Gas prices and food are already soaring, as inflation hit a 40-year high last month of 8.6%. The Federal Reserve has said it will introduce a large rate hike to combat it.
With the heat, there’s another thing to worry about — the price of air conditioning.
This week, more than 100 million Americans are under a heat advisory or heat watch in more than one dozen states such as Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Indiana. Many are cranking up their air conditioning to find relief, continuing to push up electrical demand — and send electric bills through the roof.
“Air conditioners start running almost 24/7 in homes, and that continues to push up electrical demand,” George Justice, VP of Electric Operations for Ameren Illinois, said.
Even before the nation saw historic inflation rates, one in six Americans couldn’t pay their electric bill. It’s a problem that will likely only get worse.
St. Clair Newbern IV, CEO of Live Energy Inc. said people can expect to pay between 15 and 100% more for electricity in the coming year. According to May’s Consumer Price Index, Americans are paying 12% more in electricity costs this year compared to last.
Newbern blames the COVID-19 pandemic for these changes.
“In 2020 when demand dropped off because everybody was at home, the number of drilling rigs dropped to under 300,” he said.
The Russia-Ukraine war also plays a part. Russia was the world’s largest exporter of oil to global markets, but much of the West sanctioned it after the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
“Therefore we’re having to help make up the balance,” Newbern said.
When asked if there could be any cost relief in the near future, Newbern said it’s not looking good.
“It’s like a structural recalibration of energy prices where they’ve gone up, and there’s not a good case for them coming down anytime soon,” Newbern said.
For those trying to cut down on their electric bill, experts suggest getting a controllable thermostat; making sure doors and windows are properly sealed; and getting LED light bulbs as well as energy efficient appliances. | 2022-06-15T18:12:52+00:00 | fox44news.com | https://www.fox44news.com/news/national-world-news/staying-cool-during-heat-wave-costing-more-thanks-to-inflation/ |
Here are some of the top stories from the past week from NBC 6 News:
Federal Judge Blocks DeSantis Law on Barring ‘Woke' Education
A federal judge in Florida on Thursday blocked a law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in colleges.
Tallahassee U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a temporary injunction against the so-called “Stop Woke” act in a ruling that called the legislation “positively dystopian.”
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
The law prohibits teaching or business practices that contend members of one ethnic group are inherently racist and should feel guilt for past actions committed by others. It also bars the notion that a person’s status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race or gender, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity.
"Our professors are critical to a healthy democracy, and the State of Florida’s decision to choose which viewpoints are worthy of illumination and which must remain in the shadows has implications for us all," Walker wrote.
For the full story, click here.
Local
Judge Appoints Receiver for Hammocks HOA After Arrest of Board Members
A Miami-Dade judge has appointed a receiver for the Hammocks Homeowners Association after the arrest earlier this week of several current and former board members accused of stealing more than $2 million of residents' money.
Police made an unannounced visit to the Hammocks Homeowners Association Thursday, ordering computers and records be left in place and telling staffers to go home as a result of a civil lawsuit.
"This is the first major step in getting our community back into the hands of the homeowners," resident Idalmen Ardisson said.
Earlier this week, police arrested five people in the HOA's leadership on charges ranging from racketeering to grand theft to money laundering.
For the full story, click here.
Man Arrested in Miami Beach After Video Shows Him Telling Cops He's a ‘Federal Officer'
A man was taken into custody after police body cameras recorded him telling officers in Miami Beach that he's a federal agent.
When 40-year-old Nicholas Morena was stopped by officers in Miami Beach, they had questions about his license plate. And then came the following exchange.
"Have you been arrested before," one officer asked in the video.
"No, actually I'm a federal officer," Morena responded.
The officer later asked Morena if he had identification, which Morena responded he did and asked if the officer would like to see it. Morena told the officer he worked for Homeland Security.
Officers began looking inside Morena's car and found a badge, and determined it wasn't real.
For the full story, click here.
Fast-Growing Sunrise Software Company Buffeted by Lawsuits, Complaints
Atal Bansal, owner of the fast-growing Sunrise software development company Chetu, had some words of advice for Florida International University’s 2016 engineering graduates: “Go as fast as you can. Go as hard as you can.”
And Chetu – pronounced “chey-too” – has been going hard and fast for more than 20 years, reporting more than $67 million in revenues last year and marketing itself as a “global provider” offering “world-class services” to clients needing to develop or maintain apps or other software.
In that “life lessons” speech, Bansal said, his privately-held company “runs on streamlined processes that have been architected to minimize … efforts and enhance productivity, also known as lean or mean machine.”
But in court filings in Broward County and in federal court, some unhappy clients allege a different business model, one involving breaches of contract and schemes to defraud.
In a federal lawsuit filed against Chetu in August, Blue Chip Alliance alleges it paid $156,000 “for software that Chetu never delivered and for code that is entirely worthless.”
For the full story, click here.
Inflation Drives Acute Need for Hunger Relief This Holiday Season
This is the time of year, with Thanksgiving around the corner, when society considers the plight of the neediest among us, as if food insecurity only exists during the holidays.
Those who work in hunger relief know better. For example, Feeding South Florida, the biggest food bank operation in the area, is currently serving 1.2 million people.
“The holidays is a huge time for our families, but the need is year-round, especially during the summer months, when kids are home from school,” said Paco Velez, CEO of Feeding South Florida.
Speaking of school, The Harvest Drive started 30 years ago in one Broward County Public School. Now, volunteers are involved in 200 schools, providing essentials for 2,400 families.
For the full story, click here.
Broward Foster Baby Set to Be Sent to Haiti to Remain in US for Now
A U.S.-born foster baby who was set to be sent to live with relatives in Haiti will remain in South Florida for now.
Broward foster mom Tamara Simmons and her husband Gerald have been caring for the little boy they call Angel since he was born.
Court documents showed Angel's mom and dad terminated their parental rights but a grandmother stepped in, saying she could care for the child in Haiti.
A Broward County judge had decided that Angel would be placed with his grandmother in Haiti but Simmons said they wanted to apply to adopt him.
But now because the situation in Haiti has become more dangerous and the baby’s medical problems have increased, a judge agreed Thursday that it's best if the baby stays in the U.S.
For the full story, click here. | 2022-11-20T17:44:33+00:00 | nbcmiami.com | https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/news-you-should-know/icymi-judge-blocks-desantis-law-on-barring-woke-education-man-arrested-in-miami-beach-after-video-shows-him-telling-cops-hes-a-federal-officer/2913234/ |
Asian shares fall as China protests, lockdowns cloud outlook
By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares skidded in Asia on Monday, with Hong Kong briefly dipping more than 4% following weekend protests in various cities over China’s strict zero-COVID lockdowns.
U.S. futures were lower after a mixed, shortened session Friday on Wall Street. Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel.
The unrest in China is the boldest show of public dissent against the ruling Communist Party in years. It followed complaints that policies aimed at eradicating the coronavirus by isolating every case might have worsened the death toll in an apartment fire in Urumqi in the northwestern Xinjiang region.
China’s infection rate has been lower than in the United States and other countries, but the authorities are facing rising resentment over the economic and human costs of the approach known as “zero-COVID” as businesses close and families are isolated for weeks with limited access to food and medicine.
“For investors, when it comes to China, trying to predict with any degree the reopening certainty that has no certainty, basis, or track record to go by is looking like a dangerous game in the context of the disquietening protests and the colossal challenge China’s leaders now have on their hands,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
By midday Monday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 2% lower at 17,225.41 and the Shanghai Composite index had declined 1% to 3,069.66.
On Friday, China’s central bank sought to boost the economy by easing its reserve requirement ratio, the proportion of assets banks must hold in reserve, by a quarter percentage point to 7.8%.
“The cuts are a bid to support weakening economic growth dragged down not only by COVID restrictions but also a deeper property market rout,” Mizuho Bank noted in a report. However, it said, that news was overshadowed by rising numbers of virus cases and the protests.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.5% to 28,131.00 and the Kospi in Seoul lost 1.1% to 2,411.34. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4% to 7,230.30 following the release of weaker than expected retail sales data.
Bangkok’s SET was 0.1% lower while the Sensex in Mumbai added 0.2%.
On Friday, when markets closed at 1 p.m. Eastern following the Thanksgiving day holiday on Thursday, the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% to close at 4,026.12.
Nearly 70% of stocks in the benchmark index gained ground, but the broader market was dragged lower by technology companies, whose high valuations give them more heft in pushing the market higher or lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 34,347.03. The Nasdaq fell 0.5% to 11,226.36.
Long-term bond yields were relatively stable but still hovered around multi-decade highs. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 3.70% from 3.69% late Wednesday.
Investors remain concerned about whether the Federal Reserve can tame the hottest inflation in decades by raising interest rates without going too far and causing a recession.
The central bank’s benchmark rate currently stands at 3.75% to 4%, up from close to zero in March. It has warned it may have to ultimately raise rates to previously unanticipated levels to rein in high prices on everything from food to clothing.
Wall Street gets several big economic updates this week. The Conference Board business group will release its November report on consumer confidence and the U.S. government will release its closely watched monthly employment report.
In other trading Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $2.24 to $74.04 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up $1.66 on Friday to $76.28 per barrel.
Brent crude, which is used to price oil for international trading, sank $2.37 to $81.34 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 138.57 Japanese yen from 139.28 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0358 from $1.0379. | 2022-11-28T06:21:16+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national/2022/11/27/asian-shares-fall-as-china-protests-lockdowns-cloud-outlook/ |
Vice President Harris has found herself at the center of multiple key policy pushes and national debates in recent weeks, giving her a significant platform as she and President Biden ready a reelection campaign.
Harris became the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit Africa when she traveled to the continent late last month. Last week, she made a quickly arranged trip to Nashville after two Black Democrats were expelled from the state legislature for engaging in gun violence protests.
And Harris has again found herself as the administration’s leading voice on protecting reproductive rights in the face of a judge’s ruling against a popular abortion drug and a Florida ban on the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.
“I’ve been thrilled to see her in the spotlight on these two issues in particular over the past couple of weeks here. And it makes sense as we’re really starting to focus on the reelection campaign here,” said David Thomas, a Democratic strategist who was an aide to then-Vice President Al Gore.
“These are two issues, guns and abortion, that are really such stark contrasts between Democrats and Republicans, and the fact she’s out there being really active on these outside of Washington, D.C., is exactly where she should be,” Thomas added.
The vice president stepped into the foreign policy spotlight late last month when she traveled to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia as part of a week-long trip to Africa. Harris’s presence was intended to reiterate the Biden administration’s commitment to the continent, and it was backed up by billions of dollars in government and private sector investments in bolstering economic opportunities for women and efforts to adapt to the changing climate.
The trip also took on a personal tone for Harris, who is the first African American woman to serve as vice president. After touring an old slave trading post in Ghana, she delivered somber remarks about the need to remember history and learn from it.
Upon returning to the U.S., Harris quickly found herself at the center of a major national news story when she flew to Nashville with little notice to meet with the “Tennessee Three,” a trio of state lawmakers who were targeted for expulsion because of protests over gun violence on the state House floor following a school shooting.
Former government officials were particularly impressed with how rapidly the trip came together, as Harris was on the ground speaking with lawmakers in Tennessee within 24 hours of the expulsion votes.
This week, Harris has reprised her role as the White House’s leading voice on the issue of reproductive rights, with key developments over access to abortion playing out in the courts and statehouses.
A federal judge invalidated the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, a popular abortion medication, in a decision the Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court, which issued a temporary stay on Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate, signed into law a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, though many women do not yet know they are pregnant by that point. Advocates have expressed concern that the Florida law will drastically limit abortion access across the South.
Harris on Wednesday hosted a meeting of the White House’s task force on reproductive health care to discuss ways to protect patient privacy. On Saturday, she appeared at a Los Angeles rally in support of reproductive rights.
On Tuesday, she will travel to Nevada for an event with actress Rosario Dawson and Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve to discuss how the fight for abortion access impacts young Americans.
“Let us clearly understand the moment we are in: a moment in which our hard-won freedoms are under attack,” Harris told a crowd of supporters Friday at the National Action Network’s convention.
A spokesperson for Harris stressed that the vice president has been active in addressing gun violence and abortion access throughout the Biden administration, noting her response to a shooting in Highland Park, Ill., and her visit to Buffalo, N.Y., after a shooting at a grocery store.
The recent stretch in the spotlight has been notable for Harris, who frequently attracts scrutiny from Republicans, particularly over her role as the White House’s point person on addressing migration from Central America.
Conservatives have repeatedly zeroed in on the influx of migrants at the southern border, placing the blame on Harris and questioning whether she’s qualified for the job.
Among Democrats, Harris’s performance has at times sparked speculation about whether Biden should consider picking a different running mate for 2024 — or if Democrats would unite behind Harris should Biden opt not to run for a second term. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made waves in January when she was asked if Harris should remain Biden’s running mate and said she’d defer to Biden.
A March 21 survey from Monmouth University found Harris with a 36 percent approval rating, 5 percentage points lower than Biden’s in the same poll. The vice president’s approval rating in that poll among Democrats was 76 percent, 10 percentage points lower than Biden’s with the same group.
Biden and his team have repeatedly voiced public support for Harris, and some Democratic strategists and Harris allies believe the vice president has shown she can be a valuable asset when she is outside of Washington, discussing issues such as gun violence and abortion, which have proven to be key drivers of turnout for the party.
Rev. Al Sharpton, a leading civil rights activist, welcomed Harris on Friday as a keynote speaker at the National Action Network’s convention in New York, hailing her as a symbolically and substantively important politician and comparing the vice president to the Biblical figure Esther.
“She was built for this. She was born for this. She was raised for this. She can take every shot you shoot, because she’s been through shots worse than this,” Sharpton said. “She’s tough enough, she’s strong enough.” | 2023-04-16T11:48:55+00:00 | cbs4indy.com | https://cbs4indy.com/hill-politics/harris-steps-into-spotlight-on-abortion-guns/ |
WILBUR-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. (AP) — The remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole sent heavy rains falling from Georgia to New York on Friday as flooding and surging ocean waters receded from a stretch of Florida coastline where the most damaging impacts became evident after it made landfall as a hurricane.
Now a depression, Nicole could dump as much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain over the Blue Ridge Mountains and there was a chance of flash and urban flooding as far north as New England.
With the center of the storm about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southwest of Macon, Georgia, and maximum sustained winds at 35 mph (55 kph), forecasters issued a string of tornado warnings in North and South Carolina, although no touchdowns or damage were reported immediately. Much of both states and Virginia were under a tornado watch.
Wrecks added to Atlanta's notoriously bad traffic as rain from Nicole fell across the metro area during rush hour, and a few school systems in mountainous north Georgia canceled classes.
The storm caused at least three deaths and swallowed once-wide stretches of sand in the Daytona Beach area — famous for its drivable beaches — after coming ashore near Vero Beach early Thursday. Some homes toppled into the Atlantic Ocean.
Officials in Volusia County, northeast of Orlando, said Thursday evening that building inspectors had declared 24 hotels and condos in Daytona Beach Shores and New Smyrna Beach as well as at least 25 single-family homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea to be structurally unsafe, forcing their evacuations.
That roughly 15-mile (24-kilometer) stretch was hit hard by coastline erosion that destroyed sea walls just six weeks earlier when Hurricane Ian came ashore on the Gulf Coast, killing more than 130 people and destroying thousands of homes.
The rare November hurricane was the first to hit the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that devastated the archipelago in 2019. For storm-weary Floridians, it was only the first November hurricane to hit their shores since 1985 and only the third since record-keeping began in 1853.
Nicole's surge was more destructive than those of similar storms in the past because seas are rising as the planet’s ice melts due to climate change, said Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer. Higher coastal flooding is flowing deeper inland, and what used to be once-in-a-century events will happen almost yearly in some places, he said.
“It is definitely part of a picture that is happening,” Oppenheimer said. “It’s going to happen all across the world.’’
Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald said the destruction there was unprecedented.
"We’ve never experienced anything like this before,” he said.
The lifting of a curfew at 7 a.m. Friday enabled evacuated residents to return to the area to take stock of their properties, if only from the outside, and to begin to figure out whether they'll be able to live there again.
A man and a woman were killed by electrocution when they touched downed power lines in the Orlando area, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said. Another man died as waves battered his yacht against a dock in Cocoa, despite efforts to resuscitate him by paramedics who managed to get on board as the boat broke away from its moorings, Cocoa Police said.
Nicole also caused flooding well inland, as parts of the St. Johns River were at or above flood stage. Some rivers in the Tampa Bay area neared flood levels, according to the National Weather Service.
Emergency declarations were approved for all 67 Florida counties and the Seminole Tribe of Florida as the sprawling storm moved over the state.
Parts of Florida were devastated by Hurricane Ian, which struck as a Category 4 storm. Ian destroyed homes and damaged crops, including orange groves, across the state — damage that many are still dealing with — and sent a storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters) onshore, causing widespread destruction. | 2022-11-11T15:48:24+00:00 | kgun9.com | https://www.kgun9.com/news/national/nicole-leaves-trail-of-destruction-across-florida-brings-rain-from-georgia-to-new-york |
Best of the Best
Bottom Line: Its suction power captures all types of debris on slick hardwood and even gets into corners more effectively than other robots.
Pros: It ran for over an hour and a half on a single battery charge. Its sophisticated mapping allows for cleaning specific rooms or areas. Testing revealed it transitions easily between hardwood and carpet. Its D-shape also fits easily into corners and along baseboards.
Cons: It can scatter heavier debris with its fan brush while cleaning hardwood. It is one of the most expensive models we tested.
Best Bang for the Buck
Bottom Line: This Roomba covers a large area, navigates efficiently and performs well on carpeting and hard floors.
Pros: Testing revealed that it can handle carpeting piles of various heights effectively. It works efficiently, fully cleaning 346 feet in an hour and 11 minutes. We found it was easy to clean because the rubber brushes don’t tangle with hair, and the caster wheel pops out if dirt gets stuck. It cleans in neat, orderly rows rather than random routes.
Cons: It takes a bit of effort to create an accurate map of an area. It doesn’t have a self-emptying base.
Also Great
Bottom Line: With top-notch suction and tangle-free rollers, this robot removes pet hair from hardwood with ease.
Pros: We found its suction power on hardwood allows it to capture pet hair easily. It avoids obstacles in its path by swerving away from them. Its mapping is highly accurate. It is compatible with voice commands for targeted cleaning.
Cons: It can send some debris flying from its path on hardwood. Its battery doesn’t last as long as other high-end Roombas.
Also Great
Bottom Line: This model offers smart mapping, zone cleaning and a virtual wall barrier to effectively clean multiple rooms with ease.
Pros: Its smart mapping process mapped an area of 250 square feet in just 12 minutes, making it an ideal option for people with a lot of space to cover. The included virtual wall barrier effectively keeps the robot out of areas where it shouldn’t go, which is ideal for people who want to exert as much control as possible. Testing found that it performs especially well on hard flooring.
Cons: Its suction on carpeting is somewhat lacking for medium to large particles.
Also Great
Bottom Line: This hybrid robot vacuum not only vacuums hardwood but mops without damaging it too.
Pros: Its mopping pad flips up on top of the robot to avoid scrapping or oversaturating the floor. We found it had enough suction power to suck up all but a few grains of heavier debris. It can clean with water only. Its battery can run for over 2 hours before recharging.
Cons: It doesn’t have a mop-only setting. It ran into an erroneous pump error message during mopping.
Buying guide for best Roombas
Vacuuming usually tops most homeowners’ list of least favorite chores, so a Roomba — something that has become synonymous with automating a dreaded chore — has been gaining in popularity over recent years. The BestReviews Testing Lab evaluated 17 of iRobot’s popular robot vacuums to identify the five best Roombas and two runner-ups. We graded each model on its ease of use, performance on carpet and hardwood, transition between flooring types and navigation capabilities. We also analyzed how well the product delivered on its manufacturer’s claims.
Our testing began with setting up each Roomba to see how smooth the process went and how long it took before it was ready for vacuuming. We also studied the battery performance and evaluated the size of the dust bin to determine how long the vacuums could clean. Additionally, we tested the Roombas on different surfaces and ran specific tests with different types of particles and debris to evaluate their suction power in everyday situations.
We also tested the connected iRobot app to see how it aided the robots’ performance. For models with advanced navigation features, we put them through their paces to see how well they could target clean and avoid obstacles. Finally, we considered how easy the Roombas were to empty and clean. After finishing our testing, we determined that the s9+ is the best Roomba overall.
Which Roomba model is best?
Choosing the best Roomba for your home depends on various factors, such as your budget, the size of your home and whether you have pets. We chose the best overall model for those who want peak performance in all areas, but we also identified Roombas that excel in specific situations.
Roomba s9+
Best Overall Roomba
Product specifications: Battery life: 107 minutes | Dimensions: 12.25” wide x 3.5” high | Dust bin capacity: 0.5L | Weight: 8.15 lb. | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: Yes | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
Like all Roombas we’ve tested in our 6+ years of covering the product line, the Roomba s9+ was easy to set up — it took less than five minutes to remove it from the box, plug in the base, set it in place to charge and connect it to Wi-Fi to register with the iRobot app. The s9+ has just a few buttons for operation, but they are user-friendly and intuitive, with one marked “Clean” to send it vacuuming or pause it, another with a home icon to send it back to its base and a third for spot cleaning. While its simplicity is a virtue, it’s a fairly sophisticated piece of technology that performs well in other areas as well.
We were pleased with the S9’s battery life, which allowed it to clean for an hour and 47 minutes uninterrupted. But its smart mapping function is what really impressed us. It not only learned a general floor plan but also remembered specific areas and rooms. That allowed us to send it out to clean specific zones and keep it out of areas that didn’t need cleaning. It could even remember certain objects and knew to avoid or clean around them. For example, we sent it to vacuum beneath a dining table.
The S9+ demonstrated excellent suction on both hard flooring and carpeting, boasting some of the best power of all the Roombas we considered. We tested it in a space with heavy pet hair, and it took care of all of it without any getting tangled around its brushes — a pesky issue for other robotic vacuums we have tested. Additionally, unlike other popular Roomba models, such as the i4 or j7+, it isn’t round. Instead, it has a U-shape with a flat edge that allows it to get into corners and clean along walls more effectively. The s9+ is an excellent model if you want your Roomba to be your main vacuum or have small children and pets who create plenty of mess to clean up. We give this Roomba a 10 out of 10 for its superior suction, smart navigation features and easy-to-use design.
Roomba i4
Best Roomba for the money
Product specifications
Battery life: 92 minutes | Dimensions: 13.26” wide x 3.3.36” high x 13.34” deep | Dust bin capacity: 0.3L | Weight: 7.44 lbs. | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: No | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
The Roomba i4, iRobot’s entry-level model, provides numerous features similar to those found in higher-end models. Unlike other more affordable models, such as the 692 or 694, we found that it cleaned in orderly rows rather than random routes. With its smart mapping capabilities, it could capture an accurate map of the testing area in just two trips. We could then send the i4 out to clean specific areas like the living room.
We were surprised by how well it performed on carpeting. It could handle all pile heights and didn’t get stuck even on shag rugs. It also had enough suction to remove small pieces of sewing thread from a carpet on its first pass. Testing revealed that it had solid suction power on hard flooring, but its fan brush sometimes pushed particles away from the robot. Its battery allowed it to clean for just over an hour and a half, but we didn’t need to empty the bin until after more than three hours of vacuuming.
In areas with heavy dirt or traffic, the i4 performed well, relying on its Dirt Detect Technology to slow down and spiral deliberately over spots of noticeable dirt. It was also highly efficient, cleaning 346 square feet in just 1 hour and 11 minutes. It didn’t come with a self-emptying dock, and emptying its dirt bin initially was tricky. However, we were pleased with how simple the cleaning process was for the i4 and found its rubber brushes less likely to get tangled with hair than the bristled brushes on the 692 and 694. The i4 is a great option for those on a budget or who want a robot vacuum for casual, everyday use. We give it a score of 9 out of 10 for its reliable, efficient cleaning, versatility and affordable price.
Roomba j7+
Best Roomba for pets
Product specifications
Battery life: 97 minutes | Dimensions: 13.3” width x 3.4” high | Dust bin capacity: 0.4L | Weight: 7.49 lbs. | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: Yes | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
The Roomba j7+ is designed with pet owners in mind, and we found that it delivers on everything it claims it will. We tested its ability to pick up pet hair both on hard flooring and carpeting. In both cases, the j7+ captured all the hair in a single pass. Its suction power put it in the top tier of the Roombas we tested, though it took longer to clean an entire area than a traditional vacuum would. Still, we were impressed by its efficiency, which allowed it to clean a 320-square-foot room in just 53 minutes.
The j7+ features rubber brushes that are supposed to prevent pet hair from becoming tangled around them. When we cleaned the robot after it completed a vacuuming run, we observed no hair or fibers around the brushes. We couldn’t test the j7+’s ability to avoid pet accidents on purpose — because we like to test products in real-world situations, and there’s no real-world situation where a pet owner would intentionally facilitate an accident — but we did find that it avoided obstacles more effectively than the other models we tested. We placed a purse and a stuffed pet toy in its path to observe its reactions, and both times, it sensed the item and swerved around it.
The j7+ offered 97 minutes of battery life, which put it in the middle of the pack. However, that was enough time to clean an entire floor and return to its base for charging. We also found it was easy to pair it with Alexa for voice control. It responded well to various commands, including “Start vacuuming” and “Vacuum the living room.” Overall, we give this model a 9 out of 10 for its strong suction, tangle-free brushes and astute obstacle avoidance.
Roomba i8+
Best Roomba for a large home
Product specifications
Battery life: 89 minutes | Dimensions: 13.3” width x 3.4” high | Dust bin capacity: 0.4L | Weight: 7.44 lbs. | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: Yes | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
The Roomba i8+ is equipped with smart mapping technology, so it learns your home’s floor plan and can recognize specific rooms and areas. We sent it out on a mapping run before it cleaned for the first time, and though it only had a 250-square-foot area to map, it created an accurate map in just 12 minutes. When we sent it out to clean that same space, the i8+ vacuumed the entire room in just 27 minutes, making it our favorite Roomba for large homes. Testing also revealed it could vacuum for 89 minutes before running out of power, so it can clean a large area on a single charge.
In addition to smart mapping, the i8+ offers other advanced navigation features. During testing, we created Clean Zones and Keep Out Zones with the iRobot app to direct the Roomba where to vacuum. It followed our guidelines and even responded to voice commands to clean specific areas, including beneath a dining table and around a chair. This model also came with a virtual wall barrier that we used to keep it out of a cluttered laundry area. It responded to the barrier, staying out of the space on its run. However, we didn’t have as much luck with the virtual wall barrier’s halo feature, which is designed to create a circular boundary for the robot to observe. We set it up around pet water bowls to keep the Roomba away, but it bumped into them anyway.
We discovered that the i8+ had solid suction power but performed better on hard flooring than carpeting. It removed a large clump of pet hair from a medium-pile carpet during testing, but it sometimes required a second pass to pick up all of the debris during routine cleaning. While it sucks in dirt from hard floors more effectively, its side brushes can sometimes push larger debris particles like cereal out of its path where it can’t reach them. We rated this robot a 8 out of 10 for its ease of use, excellent navigation features and focused cleaning options.
Roomba j7+ Combo
Best Roomba for hybrid cleaning
Product specifications
Battery life: 128 minutes | Dimensions: 13.3” width x 3.4” high | Dust bin capacity: 0.4L | Water tank capacity: 0.48L | Weight: 7.35 lbs. | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: Yes | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
The Roomba j7+ Combo stands out as the only vacuum/mop hybrid in the iRobot line. It offered the same features as the j7+, but it vacuums and mops simultaneously with a reusable mopping pad that fully retracts away from carpeting. Because of the mopping feature, we first sent the robot on a mapping run to learn which floors were carpeted and which were hard surfaces. It took just 34 minutes to map an entire floor with five rooms, correctly identifying all the surfaces and areas. We were also highly impressed by its battery life — it ran for two hours and seven minutes before it needed recharging, the longest of all of the models we tested.
Like the j7+, the j7+ Combo offered solid performance on carpeting. During testing, it picked up pet hair without any issues. However, it sometimes required two passes to capture debris like kitty litter and cereal. In its mopping mode, it cleaned up spilled iced tea without leaving any sticky residue. We also noticed it completely removed a stubborn sticky spot on laminate flooring on a routine cleaning run. Additionally, it demonstrated excellent obstacle avoidance during testing. It pivoted away from a shoe we placed in its path and a stuffed dog toy. For those with pets, we were pleased that its rubber brushes didn’t become tangled with hair even in a testing area with two dogs, though we did remove a few strands afterward.
In addition, the j7+ offered pretty efficient cleaning. It vacuumed and mopped a 320-square-foot area in 52 minutes. This efficiency makes it ideal for those who don’t have much time to maintain their floors but want the most thorough clean possible. We scored it of 8 out of 10 for its versatility, top-notch mapping and navigation and impressive battery life.
Roomba i1+
Best no-frills Roomba
Product specifications
Battery life: 92 minutes | Dimensions: 13.5” width x 3.6” high | Dust bin capacity: 0.4L | Weight: 7.44 lbs. | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: Yes | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
The Roomba i1+ is an entry-level model from iRobot that still offers many convenient features at a lower price. Unlike other lower-tier models, such as the i4, it is self-emptying. It comes with a Clean Base that automatically removes the dirt from the robot’s internal dust bin when it’s full. During testing, the i1+ ran for 37 minutes before the bin was full. It returned to the base and emptied itself, though, so the robot continued cleaning uninterrupted. The battery life is surprisingly good, too — this model ran for 92 minutes before it needed recharging. The model was also easy to use, so even those new to robot vacuums wouldn’t find it too intimidating.
While the i1+ can learn a space, it doesn’t have smart mapping like the s9+, j7+, or i8+, so it doesn’t identify specific zones. Instead, it cleaned in neat, orderly rows. During testing, we found this slowed the cleaning process, so it took 54 minutes to clean 255 square feet.
However, while it works more slowly and can’t clean specific rooms, it does work with voice commands with a home assistant. We tested several voice commands, including “Start vacuuming” and “Pause vacuuming,” and found the robot very responsive.
Testing also revealed that the i1+ had solid suction power for an entry-level model. It performed better on hard flooring than carpeting, but it could remove most pet hair and small-to-medium particles like kosher salt. We were also pleased to find that pet hair didn’t get tangled around its brushes. We only had to remove a few pieces, even though the robot was tested in space that housed two medium-to-large dogs. Overall, we score this Roomba a 7 out of 10 for its user-friendly operation, solid suction and affordable price.
iRobot Braava Jet m6
Best Roomba for mopping
Product specifications
Battery life: 64 minutes | Dimensions: 10.6” width x 3.5” high | Water tank capacity: 0.48L | Weight: 4.85 lbs. | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: N/A | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
While the other Roombas we tested were all robot vacuums or a robot vacuum/mop hybrid, the iRobot Braava Jet m6 is the only robot mop on our list. Like the robot vacuums, though, it maps an area to learn the layout. During testing, it took just five minutes to successfully map two rooms. Once the rooms were mapped, the m6 also mopped with high efficiency, taking just 8 minutes to wet mop 19 square feet in a kitchen and 14 minutes to wet mop 24 square feet in a bathroom. We also found that it could run for 64 minutes without fully draining its battery. The mop can wet and dry mop, too, depending on your needs.
We tested the Braava Jet m6 on hardwood and linoleum and found it works well on both surfaces. However, the mop had an easier time with non-sticky, non-oily messes, such as spilled water. It fully absorbed grape juice but spread a film of the liquid around, so the entire floor smelled of the juice afterward. When it cleaned spilled cooking oil, the mop absorbed it neatly but left a noticeable film because the wet pad spread it across the floor. Fortunately, replacing the pad right after it absorbed the liquids prevented these issues. So it does require you to keep an eye on it during operation. Additionally, we were impressed by the Braava Jet m6’s ability to clean in corners, along walls and around furniture, which it did better than some Roomba robot vacuums like the 692 and 694. The mop’s jet spray also maintained its spray pattern and didn’t overspray during testing.
While the Braava Jet m6 was fairly easy to use, we found that there was something of a learning curve to filling the tank and choosing the right pad and cleaning solution. But we appreciate that you can choose from reusable or disposable pads. We give the m6 a score of 7 out of 10 on the strength of its impressive navigation, efficiency and overall convenience.
How we tested
To identify the best Roomba for our readers, we spared no effort in our in-depth testing process guided by the BestReviews Testing Lab. We began with testing that could provide quantifiable metrics, so we started the robots with full batteries and monitored how long they ran before they needed recharging. Afterward, we observed how long it took for the batteries to fully recharge. We also emptied the Roomba’s dust bins and noted how long they could vacuum before they were full. Finally, we tested how long it took each model to fully clean a room, noting both the time and the square footage of the space.
Additionally, we examined how the Roombas handled specific types of messes. We placed small to medium-sized particulates like kosher salt or coffee grounds, kitty litter, pet hair or thread and cereal on both hard flooring and carpeting and observed how well they could clean up the debris. We also tested how well the robots transitioned from one flooring type to another and how well they reacted when small objects like a backpack or a pet toy were placed in their paths.
In addition to these specific tests, we sent the robots out on routine cleaning runs to record general impressions of how they performed in everyday conditions. We also considered how noisy each model was and how easy they were to empty and clean. For models with smart mapping and voice commands, we explored how well these features worked and the value they added to the Roombas’ overall performance.
Benefits of using an iRobot Roomba
For many people, the main draw is the time that it can save in one’s house cleaning routine. Because it cleans on its own, you can move on to other cleaning chores while it’s doing the vacuuming for you. With the connected app, you can even send your Roomba out to clean while at work or running errands. The scheduling feature also lets you select a regular time to clean on a weekly or daily basis, depending on your needs.
A Roomba is also a perfect vacuum option for anyone with limited mobility. You don’t have to push or carry it anywhere, and because it cleans on its own, you don’t have to stand at all to vacuum your home.
The Roomba can also easily go under most furniture so you never have to worry about dust bunnies or pet hair collecting under your couch again. Just keep in mind that because of its small size and design, unfortunately, a Roomba cannot provide a deep clean, especially on carpeting. Ketia Daniel, our cleaning expert, recommends a dual-cleaning strategy for carpet: a Roomba for daily spruce-up cleaning and a full-sized vacuum with the power and filtration for a weekly deep clean to protect your flooring investment and your health.
iRobot Roomba features to consider
When trying to find the best Roomba for your cleaning needs, it helps to understand your options. Some features are standard in all models, but you can find more advanced technology and settings in premium Roombas.
Suction power
When shopping for a Roomba, the first thing to consider is the flooring you’ll use it on. Carpeting requires greater suction to lift debris from its fibers, while hard flooring doesn’t need such powerful suction because the dirt sits right on its surface.
All Roombas are advertised as effective for all floor types, including hardwood, tile and carpeting because their cleaning heads automatically adjust to keep their brushes in close contact with the floor surface. However, some models are better suited for carpeting than others because they feature superior suction power. Models like the i4 and j7+ offer 10 times the suction power as standard models, such as the 694. For the most power, the s9+ delivers an impressive 40 times the standard suction.
The improved suction allows these Roombas to pull dirt, debris and even pet hair out of carpeting for a more thorough cleaning. For example, during testing, we found that the s9+ could pick up a wad of pet hair from carpeting without leaving a single strand behind. The j7+ performed similarly, removing all the pet hair in a single pass. In a test with small lengths of cut thread, the i4 also showed effective suction on carpeting, removing most of the pieces on its first pass.
3-stage cleaning
All Roomba models feature a patented 3-stage cleaning system. The vacuums loosen, lift, and suction dirt and debris to clean your floors effectively. They feature two multi-surface brushes, which work together to thoroughly clean your floors. The first brush agitates the floor surface to loosen and lift embedded dirt, while the second brush directs the debris under the Roomba to ensure it is pulled in by the suction channel. Roombas also have an edge-sweeping brush that helps remove dirt from corners and edges.
However, some models clean more effectively because this 3-stage cleaning system is paired with stronger suction power. For the most complete clean, you may want to opt for a higher-end Roomba model, such as the s9+ or j7+.
Battery life
All Roomba vacuums operate on a battery, but not all batteries provide the same cleaning time.
Some Roombas, such as the 692 and 694, are equipped with batteries that have 70 to 75 minutes of run time, while other mid-range models, like the i4, have a 90-minute battery life. For the longest-running Roomba, look for a model with a battery life of about 100 minutes, such as the j7+ Combo or s9+.
Self-charging capabilities
Every Roomba model has a self-charging feature, which means that they will automatically return to their docking station to charge when they’re running low on power.
They won’t go back to cleaning on their own, though, so you’ll need to set the vacuum back to cleaning again once it’s done charging.
However, some Roomba series like the i, j and s have a Recharge and Resume feature. It allows the vacuum to return to the docking station when it needs to charge but immediately pick up the cleaning job where it left off once it’s fully charged.
Mapping and navigation
Roombas utilize responsive navigation and sensors to create a high-efficiency cleaning pattern that allows them to move around furniture and other clutter without missing a beat. But while they can all learn your home to determine the best way to clean, some models offer better navigation and mapping features than others.
The best Roombas have smart mapping capabilities, which enables them to remember specific areas and rooms in your home for more targeted cleaning. Models like the s9+, i7, i3+ EVO, i8+, m6 and j7+ feature camera-aided navigation and can go on mapping runs to learn your home’s floor plan. They will designate most rooms on their own, but you can go into the app and rename areas or move dividers for improved accuracy.
For example, during testing, we sent the j7+ out on a mapping run before it vacuumed to help it learn the floor plan. It successfully mapped five rooms, accurately identifying all but one. To give the unidentified space a title, we only had to go into the iRobot app and add its name.
In addition to cleaning specific rooms, some models with smart mapping, like the s9+ and the j7+, let you create Clean Zones and Keep Out Zones in your home to target your cleaning. During testing with the s9+, we created a Keep Out Zone around pet bowls to avoid spills. The Roomba successfully avoided the bowls but effectively cleaned the rest of the space.
You can even find some models, such as the j7+ and j7+ Combo, that can detect and avoid certain objects. These objects are also added to the Roomba’s map, so it knows to avoid them in the future.
Automatic dirt disposal
Roombas have an internal bin that holds all the dirt, dust, pet dander and other debris they collect during cleaning. The bin is easy to remove and empty into your trash can, but it can sometimes get messy. Also, a Roomba will stop vacuuming when its bin is full and won’t continue until you dispose of the dirt.
To avoid having to come into contact with mess — and allow vacuuming to continue uninterrupted — some Roomba models like the i1+, j7+ Combo and s9+ are equipped with a Clean Base that contains a dirt disposal bag that can hold up to 60 days’ worth of dirt, dust and pet hair. These Roombas automatically empty their bins at the end of a cleaning session and return to the base during vacuuming to empty the bin when it’s full. That means a vacuuming session is never interrupted by a full bin you’re unaware of.
For a simple way to know if the Roomba you’re considering has a cleaning base, check for a “+” in the name.
Controls and scheduling
Every Roomba is Wi-Fi connected, which allows you to control your vacuum wirelessly with the Roomba app on your smartphone or tablet. That way, if you’re out running errands, you can turn the Roomba on to clean while you’re on the go so it’s done before you are back home.
You can also schedule your Roomba to clean the house at a designated time with the app. For example, we set up the j7+ to clean the kitchen and living at two specific times during the day, and it automatically went out to vacuum at the scheduled times without us needing to do a thing.
The app also allows you to check the Roomba’s cleaning history so you can be sure that certain areas of your home have been cleaned recently.
Voice commands
You can integrate your Roomba into your smart home setup by connecting them with a smart assistant, such as Alexa or Google Assistant. Once you register your Roomba, you can use voice commands to clean your home on-demand.
For example, you can say, “Alexa, ask Roomba to start vacuuming,” or “Hey Google, pause vacuuming.” Advanced models, such as the s9+ and the 7+, offer a broader range of voice commands, such as cleaning a specific room or around a certain piece of furniture.
Mopping
Having a robot vacuum to suck up dirt, dust and pet hair around your home is certainly convenient, but a model that can also handle wet and sticky messes may be even more of a time-saver.
The j7+ Combo is a hybrid Roomba that both vacuums and mops throughout your home. We sent it out on a mapping run before cleaning, so it could learn which areas were carpeted and which featured hard flooring. It then vacuumed and mopped simultaneously without wetting any of the carpeted surfaces.
If a hybrid model isn’t for you, you can also opt for a robot mop like the iRobot Braava Jet M6 to pair with your Roomba.
Tangle-free extractors
If you have a pet, opt for a Roomba model equipped with tangle-free extractors, such as the Combo j7+, j7+, i4, i8+ and s9+. These extractors help lift pet fur, hair, and other fibers from the floor without allowing them to become entangled in the Roomba’s brushes. Instead of traditional bristle brushes, which pet hair tends to get caught up in, these models have rubber brushes. The flexible design of the brushes prevents hair from wrapping around them and getting stuck.
In a house with a lot of pet dander, the tangle-free roller will keep your Roomba from stalling so it can continue to work as efficiently as possible.
High-efficiency filter
If you or another household member suffer from allergies, you’ll want a Roomba fitted with a high-efficiency filter like the j7+ or s9+. The filter can capture 99 percent of allergens, pollen, and particles that are as small as 10 microns to limit the dander in your home.
Clean map reports
Some Roombas, like the i3+, i8+ and s9+, provide Clean Map reports. These maps provide a visual representation of where your Roomba has cleaned by marking out the areas with light green. You can also see any spots the vacuum missed, which are colored white on the map.
Clean Map reports also show you where the Roomba detected high concentrations of dirt, marking these areas with dark green dots. This information can help you clean more thoroughly because you can send your robot out to vacuum those spots often. This feature can come in handy in a home with small children and/or pets, where there may be crumbs, hair and other debris you’re unaware of.
Custom cleaning preferences
If you’re very particular about how clean your floors are and don’t trust an automatic vacuum to get the job done as precisely as you’d like, choose a Roomba model that provides custom cleaning preferences, such as the s9+ or j7+.
With the custom cleaning preferences, you can adjust various settings, including the number of cleaning passes and the suction power. It’s easy to do in the iRobot app, so you can create a customized cleaning plan even when you’re away from home.
How much do Roombas cost?
Purchasing a Roomba is a costly investment, so it’s important to shop carefully. Typically, you’ll pay between $200 and $1000 for one.
If you plan to only use the Roomba for maintenance work and still rely on a traditional vacuum to do the heavy lifting when it comes to cleaning your floors, opt for a basic model like the 694 or i1+ that costs around $275.
If you’re relying on your Roomba to do most of the floor cleaning in your home and want improved navigation, a mid-tier model like the i3+ EVO or i4 is a better fit. These Roombas generally cost between $400 and $550.
If you want a model that can do all of the floor cleaning in your home and offers the most sophisticated navigation, you’ll want to choose a higher-end option like the j7+ or s9+ that is equipped with features that allow for more thorough cleaning. Expect to spend between $800 and $1000.
How to clean a Roomba
The exact process for cleaning a Roomba can vary based on the model, but the steps are fairly similar. Most models, including the i4+, the j7+, the i8+ and the j7+ Combo, feature access to the dust bin at their front side. You press a tab and to remove the bin from the robot. However, the s9+’s dust bin is located at the top of the vacuum, so you open the top door to remove it. Once you remove the bin, hold it over the trash, and push the release button to open it and dispose of the dirt. Wash the bin in warm water and dry it thoroughly before returning it to the Roomba.
In addition to the dust bin, you should also clean the vacuum’s brushes and wheels. Turn your Roomba upside down, and press on the lever that releases the two rolling brushes. If there is hair wrapped around the brushes, pull it off. For tangled hair, you may need a pair of scissors or a kitchen knife to remove it.
Cleaning a Roomba’s caster wheels is easy because it pops out without any fuss. You can then wipe it down and clean out its wheel well. The side wheels aren’t removable, but you can push them aside to remove any dirt, hair or dust that may be trapped around them. Before you put your Roomba back to charge, wipe down the contacts on its underside with a clean, dry cloth. That will ensure that it continues to charge properly.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2023-07-20T04:11:33+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/reviews/br/home-br/vacuums-br/7-best-roombas-july-2023-bestreviews/ |
PITTSBURGH, July 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KOP), an integrated global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds, today announced that it plans to release its financial results for the second quarter of 2022 before the market opens on Thursday, August 4, 2022, and discuss its outlook on a conference call later that day at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Presentation materials will be available at least 15 minutes before the call on www.koppers.com in the Investor Relations section of the company's website.
Interested parties may access the live audio broadcast toll free by dialing 1-833-366-1128 in the United States and Canada, or 1-412-902-6774 for international, Conference ID number 10167786. Participants are requested to access the call at least five minutes before the scheduled start time to complete a brief registration. The conference call will be broadcast live on www.koppers.com and can also be accessed here.
An audio replay will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the call at 1-877-344-7529 for U.S. toll free, 855-669-9658 for Canada toll free, or 1-412-317-0088 for international, using replay access code 8743727. The recording will be available for replay through November 4, 2022.
About Koppers
Koppers, with corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an integrated global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds. Our products and services are used in a variety of niche applications in a diverse range of end markets, including the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction industries. We serve our customers through a comprehensive global manufacturing and distribution network, with facilities located in North America, South America, Australasia, and Europe. The stock of Koppers Holdings Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "KOP."
For more information, visit: www.koppers.com. Inquiries from the media should be directed to Ms. Jessica Franklin at FranklinJM@koppers.com or 412-227-2025. Inquiries from the investment community should be directed to Ms. Quynh McGuire at McGuireQT@koppers.com or 412-227-2049.
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SOURCE Koppers | 2022-07-22T13:05:32+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/22/koppers-holdings-inc-schedules-second-quarter-2022-conference-call/ |
Suns vs. Nuggets Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under - Western Conference Semifinals Game 6
Published: May. 11, 2023 at 4:54 PM EDT|Updated: 40 minutes ago
The Phoenix Suns are 2-point favorites heading into a decisive Game 6 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at Footprint Center on Thursday, starting at 10:00 PM ET on ESPN. The Nuggets lead the series 3-2.
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Suns vs. Nuggets Game Info & Odds
- Date: Thursday, May 11, 2023
- Time: 10:00 PM ET
- How to Watch on TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Location: Phoenix, Arizona
- Venue: Footprint Center
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Suns vs. Nuggets Score Prediction
- Prediction: Suns 114 - Nuggets 113
Suns vs Nuggets Additional Info
Spread & Total Prediction for Suns vs. Nuggets
- Pick ATS: Nuggets (+ 2)
- Pick OU:
Over (226)
- The Nuggets' .537 ATS win percentage (44-36-2 ATS Record) is higher than the Suns' .500 mark (41-38-3 ATS Record) in 2022-23.
- Phoenix covers the spread when it is a 2-point favorite or more 58.5% of the time. That's less often than Denver covers as an underdog of 2 or more (62.5%).
- Phoenix and its opponents have eclipsed the total 48.8% of the time this season (40 out of 82). That's more often than Denver and its opponents have (37 out of 82).
- As a moneyline underdog this year, the Nuggets are 10-11, while the Suns are 36-14 as moneyline favorites.
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Suns Performance Insights
- Offensively, Phoenix is putting up 113.6 points per game (17th-ranked in league). It is ceding 111.6 points per contest at the other end of the court (sixth-ranked).
- The Suns have been one of the top teams in the league in terms of assists, as they are dishing out 27.3 per game (third-best in NBA).
- The Suns rank 13th in the NBA with 12.2 threes per game so far this year. Meanwhile, they rank seventh with a 37.4% shooting percentage from three-point land.
- Phoenix is attempting 57.5 two-pointers per game this year, which account for 63.8% of the shots it has taken (and 71% of the team's baskets). Meanwhile, it is attempting 32.6 threes per contest, which are 36.2% of its shots (and 29% of the team's buckets).
Nuggets Performance Insights
- Denver scores 115.8 points per game and allow 112.5, making them 12th in the NBA on offense and eighth on defense.
- With 28.9 assists per game, the Nuggets are second-best in the NBA.
- The Nuggets are 18th in the league in 3-pointers made (11.8 per game) and fourth-best in 3-point percentage (37.9%).
- Denver attempts 36.1% percent of its shots from behind the 3-point line, and 63.9% percent from inside it. In terms of makes, 27.1% of Denver's buckets are 3-pointers, and 72.9% are 2-pointers.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-11T22:35:08+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/sports/betting/2023/05/11/suns-nuggets-western-conference-semifinals-game-6-nba-picks-predictions/ |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An elected Florida prosecutor who was removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis because of his positions on abortion and transgender rights filed suit Wednesday to get his job back, saying the Republican leader violated his First Amendment rights.
DeSantis said he suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren this month for signing a national pledge to not prosecute women and doctors for violating state abortion laws or families seeking treatments for transgender minors.
“If the governor’s allowed to do this, what’s left of democracy? If the governor’s allowed to retaliate against me for speaking out, what’s left of the First Amendment,” Warren asked at a news conference in Tallahassee.
The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis did not identify any actual conduct involving criminal activity that would warrant a suspension and says the governor is punishing Warren for voicing positions that DeSantis opposes.
DeSantis, criticized by Democrats for signing abortion restrictions and bills seen as anti-LGBTQ into law, held a campaign-like event to announce Warren’s suspension where supporters cheered the decision. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday morning.
Now seeking re-election in November and positioning himself as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, the governor cited Warren’s “neglect of duty” and other alleged violations.
In his executive order, DeSantis cited Warren’s policy of not pursuing some lesser categories of crime, including “trespassing at a business location, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and prostitution.”
The suspension was backed by several law enforcement officers including Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, who said Warren had been acting as a kind of “supreme authority” to decide ”what crimes will be legal or illegal in our county.”
Similar uses of prosecutorial discretion by progressives elected around the country in recent years have prompted some pushback.
In San Francisco, voters in June recalled Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who was elected district attorney in 2019 on a criminal justice reform platform. Boudin faced criticism over rising crime after declining to prosecute most drug offenses. A similar effort to recall the Los Angeles D.A. failed to garner enough signatures this week.
Warren, who was elected in 2016 by Tampa-area voters and re-elected in 2020, said the governor is overturning the will of the people who put him in office.
“The governor has attacked our democracy and it should worry everyone,” Warren told reporters. “If the governor’s attempt to unilaterally overturn an election is allowed to stand, it threatens to undermine the integrity and outcome of elections across our state for years to come.”
Warren described the pledge circulated by prosecutors around the country as “a value statement,” not a definitive decision on how he might handle any particular case. He also noted that Florida’s new ban on abortions after 15 weeks of gestation has been ruled unconstitutional, and that the state doesn’t even have a law against hormone treatments for transgender minors.
Warren’s lawsuit says the suspension was retaliatory after he opposed the governor on a number of issues, including DeSantis’ efforts to deny the restoration of voting rights for felons and create new crimes for public protests in response to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the new abortion restrictions.
“Of course, DeSantis is free to express his views and his disagreements with Warren as often as he likes. Indeed, the Federal Constitution ensures that he is,” the suit says. “DeSantis went too far.”
The suit says Warren has an obligation to voters to say where he stands on such issues, and that as a prosecutor, he has the right to decide how the limited resources he has should be used to prosecute crimes. That priority should be on public safety, it said.
“The First Amendment protects the right of elected officials to speak out on matters of public controversy, and in fact it does so because it’s so important that the voters who choose these elected officials know where they stand on these issues,” Jean-Jacques Cabou, a lawyer for Warren, said in a phone interview.
Warren’s suspension is now an issue in the governor’s race as Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the state’s only statewide-elected Democrat, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist enter the final week of the primary to see who will challenge DeSantis.
“For this governor to weaponize his office and remove a state attorney — a prosecutor — who has prosecutorial discretion over which cases he brings forward and which he doesn’t, this is the overreaching and overstepping of this governor,” Fried said at a campaign event Tuesday night. “It is the most dangerous thing to our democracy that we have seen.” | 2022-08-17T17:14:18+00:00 | wishtv.com | https://www.wishtv.com/news/desantis-sued-by-florida-prosecutor-he-removed-over-abortion/ |
HONG KONG, July 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb Life today announced that Jack Chang has been appointed President of the company's life insurance operations in Taiwan that were recently acquired from Cigna. Mr. Chang is currently President of Chubb Life Taiwan. In his new role, Mr. Chang will have executive operating responsibility for Cigna Taiwan and will lead the integration, subject to regulatory approval, of the Chubb Life and Cigna Taiwan insurance operations in this market. During the integration period, Rose Huang, the current Chief Financial Officer of Chubb Life Taiwan, will serve as President of Chubb Life Taiwan. Upon completion of the integration, the combined business will operate under the Chubb Life brand in Taiwan.
On July 1, Chubb, the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer, completed its acquisition of the life and non-life insurance companies that house the personal accident, supplemental health and life insurance business of Cigna in six Asia-Pacific markets, including Taiwan. The addition of this consumer-focused business advances Chubb's strategy to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, a long-term growth area for the company, and adds to an already sizable accident and health (A&H) business while expanding the company's Asia-based life insurance presence.
Mr. Chang will report to Brad Bennett, Senior Vice President, Chubb Group and Chief Operating Officer, Chubb Life. The appointment is effective immediately.
"Jack is an experienced industry executive with a deep understanding of the insurance market in Taiwan," said Mr. Bennett. "That experience, along with his proven track record as a leader and manager, positions him well in his new role integrating the Cigna and Chubb Life businesses and continuing to build Chubb's life insurance presence in this important market. I look forward to working with Jack and welcome all of our new colleagues from Cigna at this exciting moment for our business in Taiwan and across the region."
Mr. Chang has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry in Taiwan. He joined the company in 2021 as President of Chubb Life Taiwan. Prior to joining Chubb, he was Chief Partnership Officer at AIA Taiwan. He has also served as General Manager at TCB Life, where he was responsible for the general management and strategic direction of the joint venture between TCB Holding and BNP Paribas Cardif.
About Chubb Life
Chubb Life is an international life insurer, primarily focused on Asia, that provides protection and savings-oriented life insurance products to individuals and groups. Chubb Life serves the needs of consumers through a variety of distribution channels, including primarily captive agents, but also through banks, retailers, brokers, independent agents and direct marketing. Chubb Life has operations in eight Asian markets — Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Myanmar, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam — as well as Latin America.
About Chubb
Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 34,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com
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SOURCE Chubb Life | 2022-07-03T23:17:54+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/07/03/chubb-life-appoints-jack-chang-lead-newly-acquired-life-insurance-operations-cigna-taiwan/ |
Kellogg Company SVP, Global Chief Information Officer, Lesley Salmon, recently shared 4 tips on building a positive company culture
BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On average, a person will spend one-third of their time at work over a lifetime. That's far too much time to do something you don't love.
As Global CIO at Kellogg Company, I think a lot about how to keep my team engaged, growing, and delivering the best results for our stakeholders – both internally and externally. My worst nightmare is to have people on my team thinking, "Oh no, I have to go to that place again."
Sheryl Sandberg once said, "leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence." These are words that I live by. Leading people is a privilege; when you do so with passion and empathy, the entire organization will reap the rewards.
Unsurprisingly, an engaged team produces better results, regardless of the industry and company size. Here are a few ways we've approached building our company culture within our IT department:
- Cultivate a Continuous Learning Culture – A successful IT team must create value by marrying IT investments that match the business strategy and drive growth outcomes. At Kellogg, we know that to achieve this, we must focus on growing the talents of our team.
We invest heavily in skills and leadership development. In 2021 we launched YODA (Year of Development, Always), which is about creating career-long learning opportunities to help our team learn new skills around technology, data and analytics as technology is forever evolving. - Purpose – In times of change, purpose is a grounding for resilience, giving people a reason to get up and go the extra mile every day. At Kellogg, our vision is a good and just world where people are not just fed but fulfilled. Our purpose is to create better days and a place at the table (or keyboard) for everyone. That sense of purpose is the bedrock for how we approach everything – from people, processes, technology, and data – and, ultimately, how we're creating the future of food.
- One Team Mantra – Regardless of whether you report to the IT function, we are continuously breaking down silos, partnering, and experimenting with the commercial teams to drive business outcomes.
For example, in 2020, a team member attended an event and learned that more than 2 million people in the UK live with sight loss and cannot read the information on the packaging. It sparked an idea to add Navilens technology to our packaging, allowing visually impaired people to access all of the information on our cereal packaging via their smartphones – either by having it played aloud or using accessibility tools.
Kellogg became the first company in the world to include NaviLens on our packaging, and later this year we're expanding the offering in the United States.
My leadership team and I model an inclusive culture that invites colleagues at every level of the team to play their part in creating the future of Kellogg IT. - A Winning Strategy – Earlier this year, Kellogg announced it would spin off our North American cereal and plant-based foods businesses to result in three independent public companies. This strategy will allow us to build tighter connections across the consumer journey and presents a massive opportunity for the IT team to make the company future-ready with suitable systems and capabilities.
By focusing on these four strategies, we're creating a workplace defined by personalized solutions, well-being, and a focus on experimentation, culture, and inclusivity. A team becomes the competitive advantage when you get this right. Are you interested in helping us create the future of food? Learn about what exciting opportunities we have here.
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SOURCE Kellogg Company | 2022-11-10T21:09:36+00:00 | kwtx.com | https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2022/11/10/kellogg-company-cio-youre-only-good-your-team/ |
DALLAS (AP) — The NBA fined the Dallas Mavericks for a third time in the playoffs on Sunday because of violations of rules regarding their bench.
The fine has doubled each time, with the latest at $100,000 after Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at Golden State on Friday. Game 3 in Dallas was scheduled for Sunday night. None of the fines was from games in Dallas.
Several Mavericks players have stood for most or all of the games during the playoffs, including home games. The fines have been for players and coaches standing for extended periods, straying too far from the bench and encroaching on the court during game action.
Both of the first two fines were from the West semifinals against Phoenix, after Games 2 and 7 in Arizona. The first fine was $25,000, the second $50,000 after a 33-point Dallas victory in the deciding game.
During the Warriors' 126-117 victory in Game 2, Stephen Curry threw a pass out of bounds with no teammate in the area. The pass was in the vicinity of Dallas' Theo Pinson, who was wearing a white shirt while standing and waving. Golden State was wearing its home white uniforms.
“He’s got his arms up, calling for the ball,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after shootaround Sunday. “That’s too much.”
Kerr added that Curry's turnover was the only time he was upset with the Dallas bench during Game 2.
“In fact, I love their bench,” Kerr said. “They’ve got great chemistry, great energy. They’ve had a phenomenal season, and part of it is because they’re so connected.”
Pinson signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks during a COVID-19 outbreak early in the season. He ended up getting a two-year deal and has been leading cheers from the bench as his playing time dwindled. Pinson has been inactive in the playoffs.
Tim Hardaway Jr. also has gotten into the spirit of cheering from the bench. He's been out since January with a broken left foot and isn't expected to return during the playoffs.
They aren't the only two who have been standing for long stretches, and the Mavericks may not be ready to change their approach with the bench, if Hardaway's reaction on Twitter to the latest fine is any indication.
In another incident from Game 2, Davis Bertans of the Mavericks got tangled up with Damion Lee after making a 3-pointer in front of the Dallas bench. The contact led to several Golden State players approaching the bench, but there were no confrontations. Bertans and Lee were assessed technical fouls.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-05-22T19:13:01+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/NBA-fines-Mavs-100-000-for-3rd-bench-violation-17190734.php |
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A toddler was shot in the head Monday in St. Louis and rushed to a hospital in critical condition, police say.
No additional details about the shooting were immediately released, but the parking lot of an auto parts store was taped off by police afterward.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that as of Sunday, 17 children have died this year by gunfire across the metropolitan area. At least 73 others have been injured in shootings.
Nearly all of them were in St. Louis. | 2022-10-10T20:08:17+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Toddler-shot-in-head-in-St-Louis-rushed-to-17499671.php |
Former President Trump and his allies think they have found the chink in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) armor.
Trump and those around him have recently sought to paint DeSantis as an opportunist and flip-flopper. It’s the common thread in a number of recent Trump attacks — on topics including Social Security, Ukraine and even COVID.
In a speech in Iowa early this week, Trump accused DeSantis of wanting to “decimate” Social Security.
After DeSantis issued a statement on Ukraine that included the assertion that the war was a “territorial dispute” with no “vital” U.S. interests at stake, Trump — who holds a position that is broadly similar — accused DeSantis of having mimicked him.
Meanwhile, on COVID, Trump has sought to narrow the perception that there was any meaningful difference in approach between the Florida governor’s actions on the pandemic and his own.
On each of these points, Trump does have legitimate material to work with.
DeSantis, while a congressman, backed nonbinding measures that would have raised the retirement age to 70 — though he now says he would not “mess” with Social Security.
When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, DeSantis was critical of then-President Obama for the supposed weakness of his response. DeSantis advocated arming Ukraine at that time.
And on COVID, DeSantis did indeed announce a lockdown of his state in the early days of the pandemic — even though he went on to become a fierce critic of many COVID-related restrictions.
DeSantis has for the most part avoided responding to Trump’s baiting — though when a Trump-backing super-PAC filed an ethics complaint against him on Wednesday, a DeSantis spokesperson called it “frivolous and politically motivated.”
The Florida governor has been reluctant to say anything openly about whether he will enter the race, even though all signs suggest he will.
When it comes to Trump, DeSantis has mostly traded in subtler jabs, such as implicit references to the chaos and staff in-fighting that typically surround Trump.
“If you look at my administration,” DeSantis said during a recent event in Iowa, “part of the reason we’re able to do so well, we’re not leaking to the media. We don’t have palace intrigue; we don’t have any drama. It’s just execution every single day. And we end up beating the left every single day.”
But some Trump allies do believe the former president’s attacks are hitting their mark — in part simply by disrupting the otherwise positive treatment of DeSantis in conservative-leaning media outlets.
“There was no negative conservative messaging on DeSantis six months ago,” one GOP strategist close to Trump World told this column. “This is the first time he has taken any incoming at all, and I think Trump is landing real shots on him.”
This source also contended that such attacks were effective even when Trump and DeSantis were broadly similar policy-wise, as is the case with the war in Ukraine.
The former president wants it known that, even though the two men have landed on the same page, he got there first.
“That’s a very effective attack,” the Trump World source said. “Ron DeSantis is the cover band, the tribute act. Why would you want the tribute act when you can have the real thing.”
Michael Caputo, a longtime friend and adviser to Trump who is now an executive with Americano Media, noted that on Ukraine, “Trump is saying the same thing he has always said, and DeSantis has switched. Now, why has he switched, that’s not clear. I’m sure that will come out. But his position is completely different than it was a few years ago.”
Despite Caputo’s long association with Trump, however, he cautioned against suggesting that DeSantis would be fatally wounded by such charges.
Caputo noted that attacks from one candidate accusing another candidate of being a flip-flopper have been a near-permanent feature of primary campaigns.
“I have worked for politicians who have changed over time,” he said. “The question is, how short of a time and how much of a change? The Republican primary voter has a high tolerance for change, just not if it happened yesterday on a fundamental issue.”
If DeSantis enters the race, he can defend his changes of position as a response to shifting events — or note that Trump himself has hardly been a paragon of consistency.
Years before seeking and winning the White House in 2016, for example, Trump had expressed supportiveness of abortion rights and looked favorably on universal healthcare.
For now, it’s clear that DeSantis is easily the most serious rival to Trump — despite the presence of former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley in the race and the fact that other big names could join the contest, including former Vice President Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
In a CNN/SSRS poll released earlier this week, DeSantis was within four points of Trump with Republicans nationwide.
Results like that lead some within the GOP to see the vigor of Trump’s attacks on the Florida governor as a backhanded acknowledgement of the threat he poses.
Matt Mackowiak, the chair of the Travis County, Texas, GOP, when asked about the effectiveness of Trump’s attacks said: “I think the two best ways to judge that is, first, is he forcing DeSantis to respond? To this point, he really hasn’t. And, are these hits affecting DeSantis in any of the polls? We are not seeing that.”
In the end, Mackowiak added: “What it signals most to me is that Trump’s team is concerned about DeSantis.”
The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage. | 2023-03-17T11:47:13+00:00 | kfor.com | https://kfor.com/hill-politics/the-memo-trump-team-seeks-to-paint-desantis-as-opportunist/ |
The Supreme Court's ruling that curbs the power of the Environment Protection Agency will slow its ability to respond to the climate crisis, but "does not take the EPA out of the game," according to the agency's administrator Michael Regan.
The Court on Thursday ruled that the EPA does not have the authority to set limits on carbon emissions from existing power plants.
Regan labeled the move a setback and said it made the U.S. less competitive globally.
"Over the past 18 months or so, [the EPA] has done a really good job of focusing on the full suite of climate pollutants," he said. "Power plants play a significant role in this larger picture and that's why the Supreme Court's ruling is disappointing, because it's slowing down the momentum of not only curtailing climate change impacts, but the globally competitive aspects that this country can seize to create jobs and grow economic opportunities."
President Biden has set a goal for an emissions-free power sector by 2035 and yesterday said the ruling was "another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards."
"While this decision risks damaging our nation's ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis," he said in a statement.
Regan said the EPA was taking time to review the ruling and he called on Americans to speak out.
"When we see the setbacks, we will take these punches, absorb them, but then come back with a counterpunch," he said. "We're going to move forward with every legal authority to regulate climate pollution and protect communities that we have."
"Rulings like yesterday prevent us from moving forward as quickly as we would like. So Americans should use their voices as much as possible to ensure that we can move forward and do the things that the American people would like for us to do."
The Biden administration came into office with the most ambitious climate agenda of any president, including the pledge to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of this decade, based on 2005 levels.
Regan wouldn't be drawn on whether there could be ripple effects on the rest of the world's ability to fight the effects of climate change if the U.S. failed to meet its own targets, and instead focused on the work the EPA had already achieved.
But he did say the court's ruling was a hurdle on meeting those targets.
"The Court's ruling, obviously, puts a speed bump in the path of the important work that this agency and other agencies would like to pursue. We will continue to keep our eye on the Court now and in the future."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-07-01T22:29:08+00:00 | delawarepublic.org | https://www.delawarepublic.org/npr-headlines/npr-headlines/2022-07-01/the-epa-prepares-for-its-counterpunch-after-the-supreme-court-ruling |
POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Three-time PGA Tour winner Bart Bryant was killed Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash along State Route 33 in unincorporated Polk City, Florida, according to deputies.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Bryant and his wife were waiting in a white Volkswagen SUV while construction crews, equipped with flags, cones, and signs, stopped traffic in the northbound and southbound directions of SR 33.
While the couple was stopped, authorities said a black 2011 Ford F-150 pickup truck, driven by 21-year-old Mark Farkas of Clermont, was driving southbound at roughly 60 mph when he failed to stop.
Deputies said Farkas’ pickup truck slammed into the back of the Volkswagen.
When first responders arrived, they found the 59-year-old Auburndale golfer unresponsive. Authorities said CPR was immediately provided until Bryant arrived to a local hospital where he ultimately died as a result of his injuries.
Bryant’s 49-year-old wife, Donna, was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.
Farkas was not injured.
Authorities said it is currently unknown why Farkas failed to stop for traffic before he crashed. An investigation is ongoing.
In a tweet, PGA Tour said, “The PGA Tour family mourns the tragic loss of 3-time Tour winner Bart Bryant.”
“The Bryant family is grateful for all the prayers and support from the golf community across the country. We know Bart is with Jesus . We will miss him,” the Bryant Family said in a statement.
SR 33 was closed for approximately four hours during the investigation, deputies said. | 2022-06-01T18:22:11+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/pga-tour-winner-bart-bryant-killed-in-polk-county-car-crash-deputies-say/ |
GRAPHIC: Mother shot 14 times by ex-boyfriend in front of children, police say
MILWAUKEE (WDJT) – A Wisconsin mother said her ex-boyfriend shot her over a dozen times in a violent attack caught on camera.
She said she believes she’s alive now because her young children stepped in to stop their father.
When Nikeya Shumake watched the surveillance video from the day her former boyfriend chased her down and shot her 14 times on July 23, she didn’t break down until she saw her children step in to keep their dad from killing her.
“I would like the whole video to be played so people can understand from my point of view and from my kids point of view,” she said.
In the video, Shumake’s ex-boyfriend, who police said is 32-year-old Askia Strong, keeps shooting when she was on the ground.
The ex-boyfriend turns to run away, then comes back and shoots several more times to finish the job.
“He just kept shooting and I fell to the ground, and laid there and let him keep shooting until he was done,” Shumake said.
As Shumake lies on the ground numb and bleeding, the former boyfriend runs off down the alley.
She said her oldest child was there, screaming out in anger.
“She just wanted him to stop,” Shumake said.
After being shot in the head, stomach, arms and legs at close range, Shumake gets up.
She said she was compelled to get back up by the presence of her children.
“When I opened my eyes and I seen my baby, my eyes were able to focus so I just got up a little bit. and I was like, ‘Oh, I can stand up, and then I just stood up all the way,’” she said. “Then I grabbed my babies and I saw a lady. She was just sitting there watching. So I went to her car and I opened her door, and I pushed her laundry over. and I was like, ‘Can you please just take me?’”
Shumake said she and her ex had been dating for 17 years, since they were both 15-years-old.
She said he was in and out of jail, and their children, ages 12, 5 and 2, have witnessed him abuse her for the last several years.
Shumake said she broke up with him a few days before the shooting.
After he fled down the alley on July 23, police said the ex-boyfriend is still on the run for attempted homicide.
Milwaukee police said they believe Strong is hiding with friends and family in Wisconsin, Illinois or Indiana.
Shumake said she just wants to see him arrested. She said she is a hero for being able to move on from that moment.
“I feel that I’m a hero the moment I get up off of that ground, I was a hero,” she said. “It was a victory for me from that point on.”
Shumake said she is now focused on protecting her children from her ex-boyfriend and helping other women in abusive relationships.
Authorities are hoping for tips that will lead to Strong’s arrest.
Copyright 2022 WDJT via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | 2022-10-02T17:28:54+00:00 | wbrc.com | https://www.wbrc.com/2022/10/02/graphic-mother-shot-14-times-by-ex-boyfriend-front-children-police-say/ |
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7 Days | 2022-07-26T18:45:01+00:00 | krgv.com | https://www.krgv.com/gallery-videos/morning-weather-93875 |
Nikon Also Announces the Ultra Slim and Lightweight NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 Pancake Lens
MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Nikon Inc. has announced the highly anticipated NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S, a professional-level ultra-fast prime lens that exemplifies the powerful potential of the Nikon Z Mount for those capturing stills or video footage, whether it be studio head shots, weddings, events, high fashion, b-roll, close ups and more. This 85mm portrait lens with an incredibly fast f/1.2 aperture delivers the ultimate in image quality for the most discerning clients, plus the benefits of a flattering, compressing focal length that dissolves the background into a beautiful and intoxicating bokeh. Nikon has also released the slimmest and lightest full-frame AF NIKKOR lens ever created1, the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 "pancake" lens. This new ultra-compact lens is made for creators, offering versatility for capturing all kinds of content from street style and landscapes to everyday casual snaps.
"The NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S is a lens that unquestionably exhibits the extraordinary potential of the Z mount to resolve amazing details and dimensionality, and I'm confident this lens will quickly establish itself with legendary status among its users," said Jay Vannatter, Executive Vice President, Nikon Inc. "The NIKKOR Z line continues to expand to benefit all kinds of creators, and those who adore the idea of carrying a super slim, light, sharp and fast walk-around lens will love NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8."
NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S: Beautiful Bokeh and Precise AF
The view from this premium S line lens is nothing short of captivating. Ultra-high-resolution and intense sharpness renders skin texture and hair realistically, with a striking yet gradual depth of field and abundant light gathering ability that only a lens with a wide f/1.2 aperture could offer. Focus on the eyes creates a deep human connection between the viewer and the subject, with three-dimensional rendering that portrays a heightened level of emotion and depth.
What makes the new NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S lens extraordinary isn't immediately apparent; the outstanding optical performance goes beyond the impressive sharpness to create a truly unique optic, with special emphasis given to the distinct character of the bokeh and out-of-focus area. The background blur is soft and natural, while the transition from the plane of focus is subtle and gradual. Wide open, the depth is utterly astounding, and even when stopping down it's downright dreamy and opulent with smooth and circular bokeh that drives attention to the subject to create a glamourous appearance that's desirable for fashion, boudoir and brides.
Similar to the coveted NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 NOCT, the optical construction includes 11 rounded diaphragm blades, which work together with the fast aperture to melt away point light sources into round and soft circles. Additionally, the use of ED glass suppresses color fringing, while the position of lens elements is carefully considered to eliminate any kind of "onion-ring" characteristics.
The new NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S benefits from Nikon's advanced multi-focusing system for enhanced optical performance at close distances as well as rapid AF performance that enables precise accuracy even with the razor-thin depth of field at f/1.2. This is the precision that helps to capture what's most important; from a model's dynamic poses, a couple's fleeting emotional embrace, or intricate event details. To achieve this level of performance, the NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S's multi-focusing system consists of two stepping (STM) motors to coordinate positioning of two focusing lens groups simultaneously. These small-diameter, high-torque STM's in the AF mechanism ensure outstandingly quiet, fast, and accurate operation.
Additional Features of the new NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S
- A Nikon first, f/1.2 aperture on an 85mm lens, provides shallow depth of field, gorgeous bokeh and amazing light gathering capability.
- A minimum focusing distance of only 2.8ft / 0.85m lets you get close to subjects for immaculate details.
- Embrace shooting with challenging backlight thanks to a Nano Crystal Coat that suppresses ghosting and flare.
- Videographers will appreciate the quiet operational sound and fast AF afforded by the STM motors, the minimized focus breathing2 as well as the support for manual linear focusing on select cameras.
- The independent control ring and an additional L-Fn button are fully customizable.
- The optical formula consists of 15 elements in 10 groups with 2 aspherical elements and one ED element. The ED lens effectively reduces chromatic aberration while the aspherical lens reduces spherical aberration, distortion, and other aberrations.
- The lens is constructed of durable magnesium alloy, while superior dust and drip-resistance is ensured by sealing in various areas including movable parts of the lens barrel and mount.3
The NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8: A Premium Pancake for Every-Day Carry
The new NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 is a super-thin wide angle prime for Z series mirrorless cameras, and it's Nikon's slimmest and lightest full-frame AF lens ever. Despite its small size, the lens packs a tremendous punch with superior sharpness and beautiful blurred backgrounds with a fast f/2.8 aperture. This is the first NIKKOR Z lens to be slender and light enough to be considered a true "pancake", with a total length of less than one inch (23.5mm) and a weight of approximately 4.5oz (125g).
The new NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 is so small and lightweight, it's easy to take anywhere to capture photos and video with maximum impact. Whether shooting street photography, travel vlogs or landscape shots in a unique location, the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 has you covered as the perfect companion wherever the journey may lead.
Additional Features of the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8
- The slimness and lightness are achieved thanks to the adoption of an All-element focusing system, as well as three aspherical lens elements.
- When mounted on a DX-format camera, the focal length becomes 39mm (equivalent), similar to a standard angle lens.
- A minimum focus distance of approx. eight inches (0.2m) lets users to get close to their subjects.
- Use of an STM motor enables a highly accurate AF drive.
- Functions such as aperture and exposure compensation can be assigned to the control ring.
- Includes a new lens cap and a lens hood that has been specially designed to be slim and work with 52mm filters (filters sold separately)
- The lens is fitted with a durable metal mount, and the body is designed carefully considering dust- and drip-resistant performance enabling it to be taken anywhere with greater confidence.3
Price and availability:
The new NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S will be available in late March 2023 for a suggested retail price of $2,799.95*, while the NIKKOR Z 26mm f/2.8 will be available in early March for $499.95* SRP. For more information about the latest Nikon products, including other NIKKOR Z lenses and the entire collection of Z series cameras, please visit nikonusa.com.
About Nikon
Nikon Inc. is a world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and technologies for photo and video capture; globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and performance for an award-winning array of equipment that enables visual storytelling and content creation. Nikon Inc. distributes consumer and professional Z Series mirrorless camera, digital SLR cameras, a vast array of NIKKOR and NIKKOR Z lenses, Speedlights and system accessories, Nikon COOLPIX® compact digital cameras and Nikon software products. For more information, dial (800) NIKON-US or visit www.nikonusa.com, which links all levels of photographers and visual storytellers to the Web's most comprehensive learning and sharing communities. Connect with Nikon on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo and Flickr.
Specifications, design, product name, and supplied accessories may differ by country or area. Specifications and equipment are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer.
1. Slimmest among full-frame/FX-format AF lenses for mirrorless cameras, available as of February 7, 2023; statement based on Nikon research and lightest among NIKKOR Z lenses available as of February 7, 2023.
2. Focus breathing may be noticeable depending on the distance between the lens and the subject due to the characteristics of the lens.
3. Thorough dust- and drip-resistance is not guaranteed in all situations or under all conditions.
*SRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Nikon Inc. | 2023-02-07T14:46:08+00:00 | kwtx.com | https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2023/02/07/flawless-amp-flattering-new-nikkor-z-85mm-f12-s-prime-lens/ |
EARLE, Ark. (AP) — An 18-year-old college student has been elected to serve as mayor of a small east Arkansas city, becoming one of the youngest people to serve as a city's top leader in the U.S.
AP
18-year-old college student elected mayor of Arkansas city
An 18-year-old college student has been elected to serve as mayor of a small east Arkansas city, becoming one of the youngest people to serve as a city’s top leader in the United States
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LOS ANGELES — Things are busy at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
"Adding 1200 units dedicated to veterans is a massive game-changer," said Keith Harris of the Department of Veteran Affiars.
Harris runs the VA's efforts to fight homelessness in Los Angeles. In LA alone, there are an estimated 4,000 homeless vets on the streets, the largest number in the country. The plan is to add 1,200 housing units over the next ten years.
Combine that with Veteran's Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers and the VA hopes to see a significant decline in homelessness among veterans.
"It's a long-term plan as I'm sure you've gathered. Part of our commitment is to do something right now for the veterans who are experiencing homelessness right now," said Harris.
"All these pallet shelters, 126 that we have here on-site are for our veterans so they can stay here while they're working on their permanent housing," said Chanin Santini. She runs the temporary housing program for the campus.
The tiny homes are there for vets like Gerald Jackson and Kevin Green, both formerly homeless.
Green and Jackson are both now successfully housed thanks to the VA programs. And if this new plan works in Los Angeles, thousands of other homeless veterans across the country could successfully be placed into housing.
"This is the first and only of its kind. If we can make this work, we have proof of concept," said Harris.
It's not a fast process, but the hope from the VA is that it's the right process.
"What it really came down to, the watchword for me was to allow myself to be helped," said Jackson. | 2022-05-16T23:12:43+00:00 | news5cleveland.com | https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/national/va-to-add-housing-for-homeless-vets-hopes-it-can-be-a-model-around-the-country |
Georgia police department under fire for using image of Black man for handgun training class
VILLA RICA, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) - There are calls for changes at a Georgia police department after a controversial post on the department’s Facebook page went viral, WANF reports.
The post showed a silhouette of a Black man being used as a shooting target during a gun training exercise at the Villa Rica Police Department.
“I started getting tagged from all the residents and organizations pertaining to the silhouette target of just this individual Black man, who in my opinion had been dressed to look like a thug,” said Dominique Conteh, president of the Carroll County NAACP branch.
Conteh said the post shows negligence by the department.
“What you start to do is condition people to think this race or these individuals I’ve trained on them, I’ve used them as targets,” he said.
Villa Rica Police Chief Michael Mansour says the department uses a variety of targets approved by the Georgia Peace Officer Standard Training Council.
Mansour said the targets range in age, sex and race.
He said the photos posted were taken out of context.
“We had other photos that show us using other targets, but that one photo and video was put up and that’s where we messed up,” Mansour said.
The Carroll County NAACP shared a letter sent to Mansour on their social media page addressing the controversial Facebook post on the Villa Rica Police Department Facebook page. That post has since been deleted.
Villa Rica Mayor Gil McDougal sent this statement on the recent backlash: “I’d like to speak to you about the offensive post on the Villa Rica Police Department Facebook page that so many have commented on. I am personally embarrassed by it, and as soon as it was brought to my attention last night I and other city staff began to address this situation. This administration will be asking our human resources director and the city attorney to select an outside organization to review how this entire incident came about, not just the post itself. Meanwhile, we are removing the video and images from the post but I have directed that the comments to remain so that people can freely express their opinions about it. This incident does not reflect the values of this community and I will keep you informed as this process continues.’
Moving forward, both sides acknowledge there is room for improvement.
“It was not an intentional act. We do everything we can to not offend anyone,” Mansour said
Conteh said the NAACP will be addressing the situation.
“This is just the beginning. This is just the catalyst and it’s time for a change,” Conteh said.
Copyright 2023 WANF via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2023-06-22T13:02:49+00:00 | wnem.com | https://www.wnem.com/2023/06/22/georgia-police-department-under-fire-using-image-black-man-handgun-training-class/ |
(CNN) — Netflix is officially winding down the business that helped make it a household name.
This fall, the streaming giant will officially say goodbye to its DVD rental service and all of the red envelopes that made it possible.
“On September 29th, 2023, we will send out the last red envelope,” the company tweeted Tuesday. “It has been a true pleasure and honor to deliver movie nights to our wonderful members for 25 years.”
“Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members, but as the DVD business continues to shrink, that’s going to become increasingly difficult,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post Tuesday. “Making 2023 our Final Season allows us to maintain our quality of service through the last day and go out on a high note.”
The company reported a miss for its second-quarter earnings after market close on Tuesday. Shares fell by around 6%.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-19T11:16:56+00:00 | wsvn.com | https://wsvn.com/entertainment/netflix-is-winding-down-its-dvd-business-after-25-years/ |
Even the smallest of car shows can be tough to resist – especially when you mix the scent of exhaust fumes, the bite of black coffee and a bit of classic rock playing from a speaker somewhere nearby.
It’s a scene that pairs well with the summer months and post-church mornings. Speaking with community members passionate about their automobiles is second only to admiring their striking vehicles.
Cheyenne has a strong foundation of vintage car collectors, with some newer, much louder models sprinkled in for good effect. The coming weeks are the perfect time to step out into the community and take a look at the legendary cars that lie dormant through the winter, only to flex their muscles in the summer sun.
There are plenty of major shows to keep on your radar this summer. Here are some of the car shows and events coming up in Cheyenne and the greater Front Range area that are worth the trip:
40th Classical Glass Corvette Club Celebration
May 23, 5-7 p.m.
This long-running club, present at most local car gatherings, will have a Corvette-only car show celebrating its 40th anniversary in the parking lot of Culver’s, 2231 E. Lincolnway.
Rocking on the Reservoir Car Show (Fort Collins, Colorado)
May 27, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
The Rockabilly Vixens, a Northern Colorado women’s organization, will host a car show near Horsetooth Reservoir, in the parking lot of Horsetooth Store and Gas, 4737 Shoreline Drive. There will also be a pinup contest, food, music, raffles and vendors. Half of the proceeds for registered cars will go toward Wounded Warrior Project, with the remaining profits being distributed to other community organizations.
WyoTech Annual Car Show (Laramie)
June 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Founded in 1966, WyoTech boasts a set of automotive programs that make the school grounds the perfect place to honor the classic cars of southeast Wyoming. The event will also be an inauguration of the first class of WyoTech Hall of Fame alumni. There will be food trucks and a kids play area, as well.
Blue 3rd Annual Car Show
June 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Becoming one of the more popular shows in the area, the third installment will again feature food trucks and some of the most unique cars the city has to offer. Located at Blue Federal World Headquarters, 2401 E. Pershing Blvd.
Frontier Car Show
June 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
If the Blue car show wasn’t enough, Frontier Trampoline Park will simultaneously hold its annual show in the vast parking lot off of Nationway. With similar attractions like food trucks, live music and raffles occurring throughout the day, the two events are apt to spoil any motorheads looking for a day outside.
51st Cheyenne Rods and Customs Benefit Show
June 17, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
In celebration of those who are most predisposed to admire classic cars, this prominent local club is hosting its 51st Father's Day Car Show at Cahill Park, 4429 Dell Range Blvd. Expect a diverse collection of vintage muscle cars and souped-up modern sports cars, with food and on-site vendors available, as well.
37th Chugwater Chili Cookoff & Roundup Car Show
June 17, 9 a.m.
Among the many aspects offered in this popular event is the Roundup Car Show. Featuring 16 different vehicle classes – and lots of chili, live music and a rodeo – this event is the complete package for a Father's Day excursion.
Blue Mountain Car Show (Wheatland)
July 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Classic cars of all varieties, including big rigs, semi trucks, customs and imports will fill the streets of downtown Wheatland. There will be a people's choice award inviting attendees to cast one vote for their favorite ride.
16th Annual All American Car Show (Loveland, Colorado)
July 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Hosted by the Northern Colorado Mustang Car Club, this show, located east of Mountain View High School, invites all American-made restorations to participate. Its website contains a photo gallery of past entries that should be enough to convince those interested to make the trip down to Loveland.
Don Sands Hot Rod Reunion
Aug. 26, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
The club specifically states that this is not a “car show” in the sense that there are no awards available. Instead, the event serves to honor longtime participant Don Sands with a massive gathering to fundraise for various local charities. It will be held in the parking lot of Uncle Charlie’s Package Liquor, Grill & Tavern, 6001 Yellowstone Road.
Angelina’s Dream Foundation Car Show
Aug. 26, 10 a.m.
In early January, Angelina Harrison was shot and killed while traveling in a car on Dell Range Boulevard. Her parents founded the Angelina’s Dream Foundation to carry on their daughter’s memory by raising funds for a $19,000 beauty school scholarship. In this case, local sponsors, car entries and raffles will help achieve that goal with this car show at Frontier Park.
Recurring shows
In case you’re looking for a fix during a lull between show dates, consider these recurring events that have long kept local enthusiasts satisfied:
Cheyenne Cruise Nights
Saturday nights, 6:30 p.m.
Car enthusiasts are well acquainted with Cheyenne Cruise Nights, prominently located in the parking lot at 24th Street and Central Avenue. The gathering invites spectators and car owners to gather for a weekly show, then cruise through a set route in downtown Cheyenne. The club fundraises for a different local charity every week.
Cars and Coffee
First Sunday of every month, 9 a.m.
Located in the parking lot of the Rail Yard Coffee Haus & Eatery, this gathering has gained a small, but healthy following among early risers who come for food and drink. Next month’s meet-up has been flexed to June 11 to accommodate other annual car shows. | 2023-05-19T13:25:05+00:00 | wyomingnews.com | https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/car-shows-coming-to-the-front-range-this-summer/article_c51a326c-f5ab-11ed-9cfa-1fa22e38c96d.html |
HUHHOT, China, July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 12, the launch ceremony of the Global Smart Manufacturing Industrial Park of Yili Future Intelligence and Health Valley was held in Hohhot, China. Four major projects, including a liquid milk production base, a milk powder production base, the Chilechuan Ecological Intelligent Pasture and the Yili Intelligent Manufacturing Experience Center, have now entered into operation.
Aspiration to build a "Dairy Silicon Valley"
With the goal of building a "Dairy Silicon Valley", Yili aims to establish a region that will serve as a global hub for the dairy and health industries.
The Global Smart Manufacturing Industrial Park applies world-class intelligent equipment and takes full advantage of leading technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.
The benchmarking production bases for liquid milk, infant formula and cheese at the Park represent the world's largest scale of their kind, most advanced technology and highest level of automation and digitization. The Valley is also home to six national platforms, including the National Center of Technology Innovation for Dairy and the National Metrology and Testing Center for Dairy Products.
Bringing prosperity to the industry and the region
Exploring the development of dairy industrial clusters, the program is expected to boost regional economic growth and accelerate the growth of global health industries.
With a total investment of RMB five billion, the liquid milk production base covers an area of about 950 mu (equivalent to the field of play area of 89 FIFA World Cup stadiums) and employs world-leading digital equipment that can ensure unmanned, transparent, efficient and traceable production processes. It can process 6,500 tons of fresh milk per day, which can meet a megacity's daily demand.
The milk powder production base, with an investment of RMB three billion, has an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons, which can feed 1.28 million infants per year. As the world's largest infant formula production base with the highest level of digitization, the production base leads the industry in introducing the Intelligent Building Management System (IBMS), the Facility Management and Control System (FMCS) and applies a variety of cutting-edge interactive technologies.
Chilechuan Ecological Intelligent Pasture, a supporting farm for the Valley, occupies an area of 11,250 mu and has received a total investment of RMB 700 million. Equipped with world-class systems for automatic management and smart low-carbon management, it aims to create and share prosperity with farmers, herdsmen and industrial partners working in the area.
Yili Intelligent Manufacturing Experience Center houses the world's first 5D cinema for industrial tours, where visitors are shown videos made with advanced sound and light technologies that showcase the intelligent manufacturing process for liquid milk and milk powder. This enables them to learn more about state-of-the-art dairy production models and the entire lifecycle of milk production.
Integrating industry, tourism and urban functions, Yili Future Intelligence and Health Valley will generate greater ecological, social and economic benefits by 2035. It is expected to create direct and indirect employment opportunities for more than 350,000 people and attract a total of one million people to live in the region.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Yili Group | 2022-07-14T15:46:31+00:00 | kwch.com | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/07/14/dairy-silicon-valley-unveiled/ |
New content releases and platform improvements help support financial education and social impact initiatives
CHARLESTON, S.C., May 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of software for powering social impact, announces that EVERFI from Blackbaud has launched several innovative content programs and platform improvements during the first quarter of 2023. Content updates include new resources for increasing financial capability in K-12 schools, enabling the company's strategic partners to drive direct impact in communities.
"Providing high-quality educational content for teachers, students, end users, and our customers is always our top priority," said Tom Davidson, CEO and Founder, EVERFI from Blackbaud. "The hard work of our product and engineering teams to constantly be moving the needle on how we continue to progress and drive product and platform innovations and improvements is an instrumental part of our success. In addition to these content and platform updates, we are excited for what's coming down the pike later this year to provide increased real-time visibility into impact for strategic partners working to achieve their social impact goals."
Some of the new K-12 content includes:
- Accounting Careers: Limitless Opportunities. Launched in January and sponsored by the Center for Audit Quality, this two-module course shows high school students how an accounting background can help them achieve career goals. Learners are exposed to the wide range of careers available in the accounting and finance space. The program empowers students of all backgrounds to pursue their professional and personal goals with accounting.
- SmartEconomics. Sponsored by the MassMutual Foundation, this new middle school course went live in January. The program teaches students about the three core components of economics, individual and government roles in the economy, and buying and selling through a story-based narrative. The curriculum empowers middle school students to analyze the economy and identify the factors that impact the price of consumer goods. SmartEconomics was designed to further the impact and reach of the FutureSmart financial literacy program, particularly in states with middle school economics standards.
In addition to these new content offerings, EVERFI released several platform innovations.
- Updates to EVERFI's K-12 platform are designed to streamline teacher registration and make course content more accessible to students. Improvements to the K-12 platform include making it easier for teachers to bookmark pages and share specific links throughout the teacher dashboard; modernizing the appearance of course and class cards to improve the way information is displayed to be more intuitive; and inspired by feedback from educators, language on the course cards has been updated to ease confusion and allow teachers to add a course to multiple class cohorts at once.
- Updates to the EVERFI consumer platform include the addition of a search button on the Playlist, Content Player, and Library pages. The first iteration of this functionality will use keywords in the titles and descriptions of program content and allows searches within any translated languages within the platform. Additionally, the platform team developed an incentive widget to be installed on the Learner Dashboard that showcases all active incentives for a program and allows learners to see their progress toward completion in one convenient place.
To view a full listing of EVERFI's content offerings or to sponsor EVERFI educational content in your community, please visit www.everfi.com.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud's essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud's solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies, Quartz's list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes' list of America's Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at www.blackbaud.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com
Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organization; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.
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SOURCE Blackbaud | 2023-05-25T17:05:50+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/05/25/everfi-blackbaud-rolls-out-impactful-products-platform-updates/ |
The general public may have to go to a secondary market to find tickets to "The Eras Tour."
The tickets were supposed to go on sale Friday. However, Ticketmaster announced on Thursday that the sale has been canceled.
It cited "extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand."
This is just the latest disappointment for Swift fans searching for tickets.
Ticketmaster's website suffered massive outages during the presale for Swift’s tour earlier this week.
Fans reported difficulties with the ticket-buying process. Some reported waits of several hours, only for glitches preventing them from buying tickets. Tuesday’s presale was only available to a limited number of fans who were given access codes through a program called “Verified Fan.” Ticketmaster says codes are given to those who register at random. Fans also reported problems on Monday, when the tickets first went on sale for the select group.
Since announcing her 2023 tour, Swift added 25 shows due to demand. All of the shows are being played in large football stadiums. | 2022-11-17T21:16:03+00:00 | kgun9.com | https://www.kgun9.com/news/national/general-public-ticket-sale-for-taylor-swifts-2023-tour-canceled |
LAS VEGAS, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UFC®, the world's premier mixed martial arts organization, and Roobet.fun, a completely free-to-play social casino where the Roobet.fun community competes every day for cash and real-world prizes, today announced a multi-year partnership that provides Roobet.fun with significant exposure through some of UFC's biggest events and digital platforms.
BRANDED INTEGRATIONS AND ENTITLEMENTS
Under the terms of the agreement, Roobet.fun will receive prominent branding in the world-famous Octagon® at select UFC Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights and will be featured as a Presenting Partner of select episodes of Embedded, UFC's all-access video content series featuring top UFC athletes preparing for upcoming events. UFC and Roobet.fun will also collaborate on a variety of custom and original content that will be distributed across UFC-owned social media channels and digital platforms, which reach more than 243 million users worldwide.
In addition, UFC and Roobet.fun will also give fans the chance to experience the excitement of UFC in-person by competing for sweepstakes packages that will feature exclusive in-person prizes, such as tickets to UFC events, post-fight tours of the Octagon, meet and greets with UFC athletes and legends, and VIP tours of the UFC Performance Institute -- the state-of-the-art sports research, innovation, and mixed martial arts training facility in Las Vegas.
The agreement also provides for an annual Brand Ambassador fund that will bring the partnership to life through appearances, content, and creative campaigns with UFC athletes.
"We're thrilled to welcome Roobet.fun as an official UFC partner," said Grant Norris-Jones, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships. "Roobet.fun is an innovative online gaming platform that offers an incredibly compelling user engagement experience via a free-to-play social casino. It's a forward-thinking approach to gaming we believe UFC fans will enjoy."
"Roobet.fun originally entered the fight space to support some of the best UFC fighters on the planet, and now as the official social casino of the UFC, we will provide exciting, free games and prizes to the greatest fans in the world," said Anthony Brennan, Roobet.fun Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships. "With this partnership, Roobet.fun will create groundbreaking experiences that UFC fans have never seen before."
The Roobet.fun brand already has deep roots within the MMA community, as they individually support several of UFC's best fighters through multi-faceted sponsorships of former champions Alex Pereira, Charles Oliveira, Brandon Moreno and Marlon "Chito" Vera. The company also produces several MMA podcasts, including Champions Corner with former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno; Chute Boxe hosted by Diego Lima, head coach and manager of the famed Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil; and On the House with MMA agent Jason House.
About UFC®
UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 243 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC's active fighter roster features the world's best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization's digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world's leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global sports and entertainment company Endeavor and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About Roobet.fun
Roobet.fun is the official social casino of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is designed with the next generation of gamer in mind. A crypto faucet with a twist, Roobet.fun provides a player-centric, free-to-play experience on an immersive and secure platform accessible to eligible gamers worldwide. Roobet.fun is a pillar brand which exemplifies the brand's values of empowering the crypto and web3 community, while leveraging cutting-edge technologies to make it happen.
Roobet.fun is creating a space for every type of gamer. With Roobet.fun catering to those trying out crypto or simply enjoying free-to-play games, and Roobet.com continuing its industry-leading innovation in the crypto casino space, the Roobet.fun brand is redefining the entertainment landscape and leading the way in inclusive and creator-led gaming. What started as a haven for crypto enthusiasts has hit the mainstream: with over 300M views on TikTok, the drumbeat from Gen Z and Millennials is building – Roobet.fun is a brand "for the internet, by the internet."
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SOURCE UFC; Roobet.fun | 2023-07-31T14:35:37+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/roobetfun-named-official-social-casino-ufc/ |
Philadelphia Dance Day, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Discovery Day, Snoop & Wiz Khalifa in this week’s ‘Things To Do’
July 27 - July 30: Philly Dance Day, Snoop, Wiz Khalifa, and Too Short in N.J., plus The Mavericks in Delaware are among the weekend’s highlights.
Listen 5:40The temps may be suffocating, but this weekend, there are many options for activities that nourish your mind, body, and spirit. Music certainly does, and there are numerous concerts in various genres, including two free festivals, to choose from. Comedy always helps ease weary souls, and some heavy “hittas” are in town to do just that. And forgive us for sounding corny but a festival centered around… well, corn makes its debut in Bucks County.
Special Events | Arts & Culture | Outdoors | Comedy | Food & Drink | Music | New Jersey | Delaware
Special Events
ALT 104.5 Fishtown FestivALT Block Party
- Where: The Fillmore Complex, 29 E. Allen St.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 1 p.m.
- How much: Free, except for headlining concert
At ALT 104.5’s Fishtown FestivALT Block Party, the area in and around the Fillmore music venue, including The Other Half Brewery, will transform into a day party. There will be vendors, music, and more, including a round of free bowling at Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia. Cafúne and Grouplove will join DJ Reed Streets at Brooklyn Bowl, while David Kushner, Voilà, and local contest winner Max Davey will take the stage at the Foundry. A ticketed performance by Portugal. The Man with Snacktime starts at 8 p.m. And whether you dance or trek, there’s something to get your limbs moving and your mind clearing.
Arts & Culture
Philadelphia Dance Day 2023
- Where: Multiple venues
- When: Saturday, July 29, 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
- How much: Classes, workshops are free, suggested donation of $10 for the closing event
Let’s dance, Philadelphia! At Philadelphia Dance Day you can try everything from ballroom to ballet — in a non-judgemental space. The annual event was created to unite the community around the joyous movement and free expression of dance. The day was originated by Philly Dance Fitness in conjunction with National Dance Day, which has since moved to the fall. But in Philly, the summer festival continues, with workshops, performances, and a ticketed evening finale that includes partner dance lessons, open dancing, and a showcase.
Memphis
- Where: Upper Darby Summer Stage, 601 N. Lansdowne Ave.
- When: July 28-29, Aug. 4-5 at 7:30 p.m., July 29, at 1:30 p.m.
- How much: $15 and up
“Memphis” is part of Upper Darby’s “Broadway in Delco” series, which brings Broadway productions to the county. The musical tells the story of white disc jockey Huey Calhoun who discovers Felicia Farrell, a Black club singer, and puts her on the radio, something that 1950s Memphis isn’t quite ready for. “Memphis” won Tonys for Best Book, Best Musical, and Best Original Score during its Broadway run.
Two Gentlemen of Verona The Musical
- Where: Clark Park, 4300-4398 Baltimore Ave.
- When: Through Sunday, July 30
- How much: Free
It’s Shakespeare but with music. “Two Gentlemen of Verona” gets the musical treatment at the annual Shakespeare in Clark Park event. The comedy is performed by a multicultural cast from a book by John Guare and Mel Shapiro, with lyrics by Guare and music by Galt MacDermot. Performances are free, but registration is encouraged.
Outdoors
Wissahickon Trolley Trek
- Where: Starting at Chestnut Hill East Station,102 Bethlehem Pk.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
- How much: Free, registration encouraged
FreeWalkers, the national nonprofit that encourages people to go on long-distance walking events, is behind Saturday’sWissahickon Trolley Trek . The walk starts at Chestnut Hill East Station and ends at 30th Street Station. Along the way, it takes a challenging route through established but lesser-known trails that pass by the Margarge Dam, Valley Green, Rittenhouse Town, Lemon Hill, and other scenic locations. This is an advanced-level walk, so consider your fitness level if you join and your hydration needs, given the forecast.
Sweet Corn Festival
- Where: Charlann Farms, 586 Stony Hill Rd., Morrisville, Pa.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- How much: $9.99
If the Tony-winning Broadway sensation “Shucked” is any example, corn is having a moment. Charlann Farms hosts its inaugural Sweet Corn Festival Saturday. Corn crafts and corn-themed games (and yes, cornhole is one of them) will rule the day along with a corn pit. The fest also promises live music, pony and barrel cart rides, and what’s billed as “unique” vendors to complete the day. Doesn’t sound “corny” to us!
Discovery Day
- Where: The Discovery Center, 3401 Reservoir Dr.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- How much: Free, with registration for each event, except ziplining which is first come, first serve
Discovery Day begins with the annual butterfly count. Budding wildlife scientists can help the Discovery Center catalog its various species of butterflies, including monarchs, painted ladies, swallowtails, and more. They can also help find and measure freshwater mussels or observe the process. The day includes a chance to ride Outward Bound’s zipline attraction. While it’s open to all ages, a parent or guardian has to sign a liability form for participants under 18. Note: Only closed-toe shoes are acceptable on the zipline.
Comedy
Laff Out Loud Presents the Heavy Hittas of Comedy
- Where: Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick Ave.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
- How much: $50 and up
Veteran comedians Jay Anthony Brown, Mark Curry, Red Grant, and Faizon Love have been on the circuit for years. They’re combining talents for the Heavy Hittas of Comedy tour, which heads to Keswick this weekend. Their raucous routines have been cancel-proof so far, but only because they’ve amassed so many loyal followers over the years. Curry starred in the popular sitcom “Hanging with Mr. Cooper,” and Love has been in movies including “Couple’s Retreat” and “Friday.” Standup comic and radio personality Jay Anthony Brown moved from “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” to “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” while Grant is a comedy club staple.
Food & Drink
Ardmore Restaurant Week
- Where: Multiple venues
- When: Through Sunday, July 30
- How much: Special three-course, prix-fixe meals from $20 – $40
Ardmore Restaurant Week concludes this weekend so you have until Sunday to take advantage of the $20, $30, and $40 prix fixe menus. Participating eateries with special ARW menus include Montco fave Lola’s Garden, Suburban Square hotspot Rosa Mexicano, and Venezuelan restaurant Autana.
Music
Beta Hi-Fi Emerging Artist Fest
- Where: World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.
- When: Through Saturday, July 29
- How much: Free
So few things in life are free, but the Beta Hi-Fi Emerging Artist Festival is one of them. Over three days, local artists compete to determine who makes Saturday’s grand finale. The winner gets $500, a show at the Lounge at World Cafe Live, rehearsal time at Repercussion Studios, recording time at Studio Crash, and an interview with Philth Media. Participating acts include Baldini and the Bastards, Nervous Nikki and the Chill Pills, Alyssa Garcia, and The Side Chicks.
Boy George & Culture Club: The Letting It Go Show
- Where: The Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Ave.
- When: Sunday, July 30, 7 p.m.
- How much: $20 and up
In the ‘80s, Boy George was at the forefront of the LGBTQ movement with his flamboyant makeup and by being coy about his sexuality. Now he’s openly gay and has reunited with his band, Culture Club. Their hits “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” once defined the MTV Generation. George and the Club are currently on the Letting It Go Tour, which stops by The Mann Sunday.
Anthony Hamilton
- Where: The Met Philly, 858 N. Broad St.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 8 p.m.
- How much: $39 and up
Anthony Hamilton was an in-demand background singer for artists like D’Angelo before he moved to the front of the stage. In 2003, his hits “Charlene” and “Coming From Where I’m From” became neo-soul standards. Hamilton heads to the Met Philadelphia, where he’ll bring his powerful vocals and stellar backing group, the Hamiltones. Legend has it that when he starts singing, collard greens start cooking somewhere, but we’ve seen no proof of that. (*Wink, wink*).
The Stylistics
- Where: Rivers Casino Philadelphia, 1001 N. Delaware Ave.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 8 p.m.
- How much: $39 and up
Betcha by golly wow! The Stylistics are coming home to Rivers Casino. The group originated in Philly in the ‘60s, and with legendary producer Thom Bell, they crafted a string of hits in the ‘70s that include “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart),” “You Are Everything,” “Break Up to Make Up,” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” along with “Betcha, By Golly Wow.” Though the lineup has changed over the years, and original lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr. now tours with The New Stylistics, original members Airrion Love and Herb Murrell remain in the group.
New Jersey
Snoop, Wiz Khalifa & Too $hort: High School Reunion Tour
- Where: Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.
- When: Sunday, July 30, 6 p.m.
- How much: $20 and up
What can we say about the careers that Snoop, Wiz Khalifa, and Too $hort have established over time? Snoop and Too $hort are rap pioneers from Los Angeles and the Bay Area, while Pittsburgh native Wiz represents the younger generation of hip hop. They’re together, along with Warren G and DJ Drama, on the High School Reunion tour, which comes through Camden’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on Sunday. Just follow the smoke.
Delaware
Tyler Hubbard
- Where: Delaware State Fair, M&T Bank Grandstand, 18500 S. Dupont Hwy., Harrington, Del.
- When: Saturday, July 29, 7:30 p.m.
- How much: $39 and up
Country singer Tyler Hubbard will close the Delaware State Fair on Saturday night. After enormous success as the lead singer for the duo Florida Georgia Line, Hubbard started his solo career after a hiatus in 2021. His self-titled release came out earlier this year, following up his 2022 EP “Dancin’ in the Country.” The concert is on the State Fairgrounds but is separately ticketed.
The Mavericks
- Where: Freeman Arts Pavilion, 31806 Lake View Dr., Selbyville, Del.
- When: Sunday, July 30, 7 p.m.
- How much: $39
Country, rock, Latin? The Mavericks, who formed in Miami in 1989, do it all. Their versatility and musicianship were highlighted in their 2022 Tiny Desk performance, which generated over 300,000 views. They take the stage at the Freeman Arts Pavilion in support of their latest project, “In Time,” the tenth-anniversary deluxe edition of the original release.
Saturdays just got more interesting.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today. | 2023-07-27T12:41:17+00:00 | whyy.org | https://whyy.org/articles/things-to-do-philadelphia-dance-day-shakespeare-clark-park-discovery-day-snoop-wiz-khalifa/ |
HOOD RIVER — The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate bridge will be closed to all traffic for four consecutive days, beginning at 12:01 a.m. the morning of Friday, May 19 through 11:59 p.m. the night of May 22. During this 96-hour period, crews from Hamilton Construction will remove and replace and adjust the tension in the wire ropes that support the counterweights.
The work will include complete replacement and adjustment of the counterweight ropes. The work is not weather dependent and will be underway continuously round the clock during the entire closure.
“A recent inspection found that the ropes have worn to the point that replacement is warranted,” said Paul Bandlow, principal and unit manager for bridge engineering firm Wiss, Janey, Elstner Associates, Inc. “While replacement is warranted, the existing ropes are not so badly worn as to affect the safe operation of the bridge or of the vehicles that pass over the bridge. Rather, replacing ropes is similar to the replacement of tires on a vehicle in that the idea is to replace the ropes prior to the ropes becoming a safety issue. This work is therefore being done to make sure the bridge remains safe for the people who rely on it.”
Replacement of the ropes requires jacking the counterweights to unload the ropes, removing the existing ropes, installing new ropes and de-jacking the counterweight to allow the new ropes to support the counterweights. This work requires access to the roadway surface as well as other areas on the bridge and therefore the bridge will be closed to all vehicular traffic.
The bridge will not be operational for marine traffic when the ropes are being replaced. The new ropes have a service life of at least 30 years.
The port accepted a bid from Hamilton Construction in the amount of $1,119,250 for the project in October. Procurement activities immediately commenced, and the work schedule was finalized on Jan. 26.
During the months of March and April, there will be intermittent, single-lane closures of the bridge primarily during nighttime hours as Hamilton Construction crews work to prepare for the closure.
The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge is the only Columbia River crossing between Cascade Locks and The Dalles from I-84 in Oregon, a 42-mile distance. The tightly-knit communities on the Oregon and Washington sides of the river experience severe disruption during extended closures of any of the three Gorge bridges, as detours for regular daily commuters are 40 miles or more of additional driving. Resulting congestion on I-84, WA SR 14, and city streets near bridge approach ramps can be very heavy.
“Our bi-state region depends, utterly, on this bridge being open. It is not an overstatement to say the bridge is a literal lifeline for all of the local economies of the Gorge,” said Kevin Greenwood, Port of Hood River executive director. “The port is committed to ensuring that this critical link in our region’s infrastructure remains unbroken. For that reason, we are working very hard with our partners in the Bi-State Working Group to raise the needed funding to replace the bridge, while continuing to invest in the repair and maintenance projects this 100-year-old steel structure requires of us.”
Originally constructed in 1924, the bridge is beyond its design life, obsolete, and insufficient for modern vehicle and marine freight. During a three-day closure last year, the bridge replacement partners created a video describing the impacts of such closures and the urgent need for replacement funding, viewable at vimeo.com/storygorge/hrbridgeclosure.
For more information, contact the Port of Hood River via email to porthr@gorge.net. | 2023-02-01T07:08:51+00:00 | columbiagorgenews.com | https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/free_news/four-day-closure-of-hood-river-white-salmon-bridge-coming-in-may/article_340408d6-a1d0-11ed-a860-4b11873e233b.html |
Conference call to be held on the same day at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
REHOVOT, Israel, July 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nova (Nasdaq: NVMI) today announced that it expects to release its financial results for the second quarter of 2022 before the Nasdaq market opens on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
Q2 2022 Conference Call Details:
Eitan Oppenhaim, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Dror David, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to review the Company's second quarter 2022 financial results on August 4, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
To attend the conference call, please dial one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin by placing your call at least five minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free numbers, please try the international dial-in number.
U.S. TOLL-FREE: 1-855-327-6837
ISRAEL TOLL-FREE: 1-809-458-327
INTERNATIONAL: 1-631-891-4304
WEBCAST LINK: https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1555124&tp_key=3175622040
At:
8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
5:30 a.m. Pacific Time
3:30 p.m. Israel Time
The conference call will also be available via a live webcast from a link on Nova's Investor Relations website - https://www.novami.com/investors/events/.
A replay of the conference call will be available from August 4, 2022, to August 11, 2022. To access the replay, please dial one of the following numbers:
Replay TOLL-FREE: 1-844-512-2921
Replay TOLL/INTERNATIONAL: 1-412-317-6671
Replay Pin Number: 10019423
About Nova:
Nova is a leading innovator and key provider of material, optical, and chemical metrology solutions for advanced process control in semiconductor manufacturing. Nova delivers continuous innovation by providing state-of-the-art high-performance metrology solutions for effective process control throughout the semiconductor fabrication lifecycle. Nova's product portfolio, which combines high-precision hardware and cutting-edge software, provides its customers with deep insight into developing and producing the most advanced semiconductor devices. Nova's unique capability to deliver innovative solutions enables its customers to improve performance, enhance product yields, and accelerate time to market. Nova acts as a partner to semiconductor manufacturers from its offices worldwide. Additional information can be found at Nova's website link – https://www.novami.com/.
Nova is traded on Nasdaq & TASE, Nasdaq ticker symbol NVMI.
Forward looking statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 relating to future events or our future performance, such as statements regarding, but not limited to, anticipated growth opportunities and projections about our business and its future revenues, expenses, and profitability. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect our results, performance, circumstances, or achievements include, but are not limited to, the following: catastrophic events such as the outbreak of COVID-19; increased information technology security threats and sophisticated computer crime; foreign political and economic risks; changes in U.S. trade policies; inability to protect our intellectual property; open source technology exposure; failure to compete effectively or to respond to the rapid technological changes; consolidation in our industry; difficulty in predicting the length and strength of any downturn or expansion period of the market we target; factors that adversely affect the pricing and demand for our product lines; dependency on a small number of large customers; dependency on a single manufacturing facility per product line; dependency on a limited number of suppliers; difficulty in integrating current or future acquisitions; lengthy sales cycle and customer delays in orders; political, economic, and military instability in Israel; risks related to our convertible notes; currency fluctuations; and quarterly fluctuations in our operating results. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. The matters discussed in this press release also involve risks and uncertainties summarized under the heading "Risk Factors" in Nova's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2022. These factors are updated from time to time through the filing of reports and registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nova Ltd. does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
Company Contact:
Dror David, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +972-73-229-5760
E-mail: investors@novami.com
Nova Website Link - https://www.novami.com/
Investor Relations Contact:
Miri Segal
MS-IR LLC
Tel: +917-607-8654
E-mail: msegal@ms-ir.com
Logo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1446151/Nova_Logo.jpg
View original content:
SOURCE Nova | 2022-07-12T16:31:28+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/12/nova-announce-second-quarter-2022-financial-results-august-4-2022/ |
-Earnings Call Scheduled for 7:00 a.m. ET on August 16, 2022-
GUANGZHOU, China, July 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HUYA Inc. ("Huya" or the "Company") (NYSE: HUYA), a leading game live streaming platform in China, today announced that it will report its second quarter 2022 unaudited financial results on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, before the open of U.S. markets.
The Company's management will host an earnings conference call at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on August 16, 2022 (7:00 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong time on August 16, 2022).
For participants who wish to join the call, please complete online registration using the link provided below 20 minutes prior to the scheduled call start time. Upon registration, participants will receive the conference call access information, including dial-in numbers, a personal PIN and an e-mail with detailed instructions to join the conference call.
Participant Online Registration: https://register.vevent.com/register/BIa451f7eabc6c4462aa4aa81302702803
Once complete the registration, please dial-in at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time of the earnings call and enter the personal PIN as instructed to connect to the call.
A live webcast of the earnings call will be accessible at https://ir.huya.com. and a replay of the webcast will be available following the session.
About HUYA Inc.
HUYA Inc. is a leading game live streaming platform in China with a large and active game live streaming community. The Company cooperates with e-sports event organizers, as well as major game developers and publishers, and has developed e-sports live streaming as one of the most popular content genres on its platform. The Company has created an engaged, interactive and immersive community for game enthusiasts of China's young generation. Building on its success in game live streaming, Huya has also extended its content to other entertainment content genres. Huya's open platform also functions as a marketplace for broadcasters and talent agencies to congregate and closely collaborate with the Company.
For more information, please visit: https://ir.huya.com.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
HUYA Inc.
Investor Relations
Tel: +86-20-2290-7829
E-mail: ir@huya.com
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Jenny Cai
Tel: +86-10-6508-0677
E-mail: huya@tpg-ir.com
In the United States:
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
E-mail: huya@tpg-ir.com
View original content:
SOURCE HUYA Inc. | 2022-07-20T11:38:26+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/07/20/huya-inc-report-second-quarter-financial-results-tuesday-august-16-2022/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Don’t look for plastic partitions or faraway benches when visiting Santa Claus this year. The jolly old elf is back, pre-pandemic style, and he’s got some pressing issues on his mind.
Santa booker HireSanta.com has logged a 30% increase in demand this Christmas season over last year, after losing about 15% of its performers to retirement or death during the pandemic, said founder and head elf Mitch Allen.
He has a Santa database of several thousand with gigs at the Bloomingdale’s flagship store in New York, various Marriott properties and other venues around the U.S. Most of Allen’s clients have moved back to kids on laps and aren’t considering COVID-19 in a major way, he said, but Santa can choose to mask up.
Another large Santa agency, Cherry Hill Programs, is back up to pre-pandemic booking numbers for their 1,400 or so Santas working at more than 600 malls and other spots this year, said spokesperson Chris Landtroop.
“I can’t even explain how excited we are to see everyone’s smiles at all locations this season without anything covering up those beautiful faces,” she said.
Cherry Hill Santas are also free to wear masks, Landtroop said.
Among standout Santas still keeping their distance? There will be no lap visits at the Macy’s flagship store in New York’s Herald Square. Santa is seated behind his desk.
Some Santas who stayed home the last two years out of concern for their health have returned to the ho ho ho game, but Allen is desperately trying to refill his pipeline with new performers.
Inflation has also taken a bite out of Santa. Many are older, on fixed incomes and travel long distances to don the red suit. They spend hundreds on their costumes and other accoutrements.
“We’re charging the clients slightly more and we’re also paying our Santas slightly more,” Allen said.
Bookings for many Santas were made months in advance, and some work year-round. Allen’s Santas will earn from $5,000 to $12,000 for the season.
A few Santas told The Associated Press they’re unbothered by the cost, however. They’re not in the Santa profession to make a buck but do it out of sheer joy.
Allen and other agencies are juggling more requests for inclusive Santas, such as Black, deaf and Spanish-speaking performers. Allen also has a female Santa on speed dial.
“I haven’t been busted yet by the kids and, with one exception, by the parents, either,” said 48-year-old Melissa Rickard, who stepped into the role in her early 20s when the Santa hired by her father’s lodge fell ill.
“To have a child not be able to tell I’m a woman in one sense is the ultimate compliment because it means I’m doing Santa justice. It cracks my husband up,” added Rickard, who lives outside Little Rock, Arkansas. “I know there are more of us out there.”
By mid-November, Rickard had more than 100 gigs lined up, through Hire Santa and other means.
“A lot of it is word of mouth,” she said. “It’s `Hey, have you seen the female Santa?’”
Rickard charges roughly $175 an hour as Santa, depending on the job, and donates all but her fuel money to charity. And her beard? Yak hair.
Eric Elliott’s carefully tended white beard is the real deal. He and his Mrs. Claus, wife Moeisha Elliott, went pro this year after first taking on the roles as volunteers in 2007. Both are retired military.
They spent weeks in formal Claus training. Among the skills they picked up was American Sign Language and other ways to accommodate people with disabilities. Their work has included trips into disaster zones with the Texas-based nonprofit Lone Star Santas to lend a little cheer.
The Elliotts, who are Black, say breaking into the top tier of Santas as first-time pros and Clauses of color hasn’t been easy. For some people, Eric said, “We understand that we’re not the Santa for you.”
The Santa Experience at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, is staffing up with six Saint Nicks, including two who are Black and its first Asian Santa. Visits in Spanish and Cantonese are provided.
Working smaller jobs, including house visits, the Elliotts have seen how rising prices have hit some people hard. They’ve lowered their rates at times when they sense that people are struggling.
“People are having issues just eating, but they don’t want to miss out on the experience,” Eric said. Sometimes, he said, “You’ll meet them and be like, `You go ahead and hold on to that. I know you worked hard for that.’”
For other clients, the Elliotts charge anywhere from $150 to $300 an hour.
Charles Graves, a rare, professional deaf Santa in New Braunfels, Texas, said through an interpreter that he was inspired to grow his beard and put on the suit in part by awkward encounters with hearing Santas as a child.
“As a child, I was very excited to receive a gift, but then you just kind of go away and you’re like, there’s no connection there. Children look at me now and they’re like, wow, you know, there’s a connection there with the deaf culture. And I can always connect with the hearing kids as well,” said Graves, a spry Santa at 52.
Graves, who has a day job at a school for deaf children, also received training to be Santa. He works as Santa with interpreters. Breaking in has been difficult and expensive, he says, but “this is something really, really important to me.”
By mid-November, he had more than a dozen gigs, including a parade in Santa Paula, California, a mall in Austin, Texas, and at Morgan’s Wonderland, a nonprofit accessible theme park in San Antonio. He’s also doing some Zoom visits.
Among Santa’s rising costs this year are his duds. The price of suits, from custom to ready-to-wear, is up about 25%, said 72-year-old Stephen Arnold, a longtime Santa who heads the more than 2,000-strong International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas.
“Most of the performers I know are raising their rates, mostly due to the costs of transportation, accommodation and materials,” he said. “Personally, I’m raising my rates a bit for new clients but I’m holding prices this year for my repeat gigs.”
Arnold, who’s in Memphis, Tennessee, charges $250 to $350 an hour. Others in his organization, depending on location and experience, charge anywhere from $100 to $500 an hour, the latter in big cities like Los Angeles. Some, he said, don’t know their worth and lowball it at $50 or $75 an hour.
As for the pandemic, Arnold hasn’t heard a word about it from his clients, compared to last year and 2020, when he worked inside a snow globe. The Santas he knows seem unflustered.
“I’m surprised how few people are concerned about it,” Arnold said. “I visit my wife twice a day in a nursing facility. I’m diabetic. I mean, most of us are old fat men.”
___
Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie
—-
For more AP Lifetyles stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/lifestyle. | 2022-11-28T23:24:16+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/business/ap-santas-back-in-town-with-inflation-inclusion-on-his-mind/ |
(MoneyGeek) – State and local governments spend billions each year on road maintenance and operations, but does it amount to better roads for taxpayers?
MoneyGeek analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Census Bureau to learn more about America’s urban road infrastructure, find the states with the best and worst road quality and determine if more state spending translated to better roads.
Our findings suggest that taxpayers are not necessarily getting their money’s worth. At best, they are getting just enough road investment to maintain the current condition of roads, but not enough to improve them. The analysis found:
– About 1 in 10 U.S. roads are in poor condition, but urban roads are even worse: 1 in 5 are in poor condition.
– California and Rhode Island were the states ranked worst for road roughness, with 44% and 41% of roads in poor condition, respectively.
– New Hampshire and Alabama had the best roads in the U.S. and spent some of the lowest capital outlay per mile ($9.82 and $6.44, respectively).
Comparing rough roads and infrastructure spending by state
MoneyGeek analyzed overall road quality and the investment levels per lane mile in every state and found that more spending on roads did not necessarily lead to better road quality.
The road roughness index is the weighted average value of the observed measurements of the international roughness index (IRI) for the state. The higher the score, the more rough the road is. The Federal Highway Administration indicates that an IRI measure of less than 95 indicates a road in good condition, between 95 and 170 is acceptable, and greater than 170 is poor condition.
For example, California’s roughness index score of 160 means that the state’s road conditions are borderline acceptable, on average. In reality, 44% of California’s roads are in poor condition, the most of any state in the U.S.
These 10 states have the roughest roads in America
10. New Jersey
Average Road Roughness Score (higher = worse): 123
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 26%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 44%
Total Highway Spend: $6.9B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $30.39
9. Michigan
Average Road Roughness Score: 128
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 24%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 38%
Total Highway Spend: $7.8B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $7.74
8. Louisiana
Average Road Roughness Score: 128
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 26%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 36%
Total Highway Spend: $3.5B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $9.66
7. Massachusetts
Average Road Roughness Score: 131
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 31%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 37%
Total Highway Spend: $5.0B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $21.03
6. Hawaii
Average Road Roughness Score: 134
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 25%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 28%
Total Highway Spend: $1.0B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $28.87
5. New York
Average Road Roughness Score: 137
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 30%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 34%
Total Highway Spend: $16.6B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $24.84
4. Wisconsin
Average Road Roughness Score: 139
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 28%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 25%
Total Highway Spend: $7.5B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $11.32
3. Nebraska
Average Road Roughness Score: 141
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 33%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 33%
Total Highway Spend: $3.0B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $5.66
2. Rhode Island
Average Road Roughness Score: 149
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 41%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 27%
Total Highway Spend: $1.3B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $42.37
1. California
Average Road Roughness Score: 160
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 44%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 22%
Total Highway Spend: $32.0B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $23.16
5 states with the best roads
Every state in the nation has some bad and good roads. The following five states have the best road conditions on average, led by New Hampshire.
5. Minnesota
Average Road Roughness Score: 82
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 4%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 68%
Total Highway Spend: $8.6
Spend Per Lane Mile: $10.85
4. Florida
Average Road Roughness Score: 79
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 5%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 71%
Total Highway Spend: $20.4B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $29.37
3. Georgia
Average Road Roughness Score: 77
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 5%
% of Roads in Good Condition:72%
Total Highway Spend: $8.0B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $10.88
2. Alabama
Average Road Roughness Score: 74
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 5%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 75%
Total Highway Spend: $4.0B
Spend Per Lane Mile: $6.44
1. New Hampshire
Average Road Roughness Score: 71.9
% of Roads in Poor Condition: 7%
% of Roads in Good Condition: 74%
Total Highway Spend: $1.1B
Who pays for roads?
This analysis of all 50 states shows that states generally spend proportionately to the vehicle miles traveled; however, there are exceptions. New York and Pennsylvania both spend proportionately more than the vehicle miles traveled, and California spends proportionately less.
Regardless of how much money they spend on road conditions, data suggests that states are using available funds to maintain — not fix or improve — crumbling roads. Additionally, the analysis found that many of the most tax-friendly states in the U.S. had fairly good road quality. They are trying to keep roads in working order, just as states with higher taxes are.
Three-quarters of spending to maintain and fix roads and highways comes from state and local governments. According to the Urban Institute, the average state spends nearly 8% of its budget on roads. The rate of investment has not changed much over time. In 1977, 8% of state and local budgets combined went toward roads and highways, compared with 6% in 2017. It’s no wonder state highways are the deadliest type of road in the U.S., accounting for 33% of all traffic fatalities.
Through the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the federal government provides grants to states to maintain and improve the Interstate Highway System. Funded by transportation-related taxes such as gasoline and diesel taxes, the HTF spends more than it raises in revenue. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the fund ran a $16 billion deficit in 2020. The CBO’s projections predict that the fund, which has relied on transfers from general tax funds since 2008, will be depleted by 2023.
Why are roads in good repair important?
Quality roads and highways are essential to the broader U.S. economy. Most consumer goods travel along the nation’s highways, and investing in improving roads has historically boosted economic growth. Better roads mean lower costs to deliver goods due to lower maintenance and gas costs. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in late 2021 is expected to spur economic growth as funds are deployed on infrastructure projects including the repair of crumbling roads.
For the consumer, poor road conditions translate directly into higher car repair and maintenance costs. They may even have a harder time finding cheap car insurance due to increased claims. Drivers in states with rough road conditions that don’t want to be left paying for damage due to potholes should purchase full coverage car insurance. Full coverage includes comprehensive and collision insurance which is the provision that insures damages to your car, unlike liability-only insurance which will only cover damages you owe to others in accidents where you are at fault. Adding comprehensive and collision insurance can cost drivers hundreds more every year, but there are affordable full coverage options and the coverage you get is worth it.
Methodology
MoneyGeek determined how states rank on the condition of their urban and suburban roads and their highway infrastructure spending by comparing the roughness measure of each state’s urban and suburban highways and state and local (municipal and county) government expenditures on their highway system. We used the metrics below to establish final scores and rankings:
– Road Roughness Index: We developed a composite roughness score of all major urban roadways in each state by weighting each category of measured pavement roughness and aggregating this information across the entire state system.
– Percentage Poor vs. Good Condition: We designated each category of measured pavement roughness into larger groupings and compared the number of lane miles across the state by groupings of higher and lower pavement roughness.
Capital Outlays per Lane Mile: This value is calculated as the total state expenditure on capital outlays for highways divided by the total lane miles in each state’s functional road system.
– Total Highway Spend: This value is calculated as the total state expenditure on both capital outlays and other expenditures for highways.
Sources
Congressional Budget Office. “Budget and Economic Data.” Accessed October 21, 2021.
Urban Institute. “Highway and Road Expenditures.” Accessed September 21, 2022.
U.S. Census. “2020 State & Local Government Finance Historical Datasets and Tables.” Accessed September 13, 2022.
U.S. Department of Transportation. “Highway Statistics 2020 – Functional System Length – 2020.” Accessed September 13, 2022.
U.S. Department of Transportation. “Highway Statistics 2020 – Annual Vehicle Miles.” Accessed September 13, 2022.
U.S. Department of Transportation. “Highway Statistics 2020 – Functional System Lane-Length.” Accessed September 13, 2022.
This story originally appeared on MoneyGeek and has been independently reviewed to meet journalistic standards. | 2023-02-27T15:45:10+00:00 | kdvr.com | https://kdvr.com/news/these-states-have-the-roughest-roads-in-america/ |
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Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. | 2022-05-14T05:54:55+00:00 | albertleatribune.com | https://www.albertleatribune.com/2022/05/comedy-night-raises-funds-for-inclusive-playground/ |
CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Guardians traded shortstop Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Noah Syndergaard and cash considerations on Wednesday in a deal that addresses major needs for both contending clubs.
Rosario has been a valuable, versatile player for the defending AL Central champions the past few years. The 27-year-old is returning to the National League after spending three seasons with the New York Mets before going to Cleveland in the blockbuster trade for Francisco Lindor after the 2020 season.
The Guardians' surplus of young middle infielders made Rosario expendable. He's batting .265 with six triples, three homers and 40 RBIs this season. But he was in his final contract year and eligible for free agency this winter.
Rosario has been the subject of trade speculation for months, and Wednesday he sat out Cleveland's 8-3 win over Kansas City. Rookie Gabriel Arias started at shortstop and had two hits.
Tyler Freeman and Bryan Rocchio are also potential long-term fits at shortstop for the Guardians.
The move shores up the Dodgers' current issues at the position.
All-Star Mookie Betts has played some short, but he's the team’s primary right fielder. The Dodgers found themselves in need after Gavin Lux went down with a season-ending knee injury in spring training and Miguel Rojas has struggled offensively at the spot.
Cleveland, which trails first-place Minnesota by two games, needed to add a pitcher with starters Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill all dealing with injuries.
The 30-year-old Syndergaard might be able to eat up some innings for Cleveland — if he's healthy. He's been on the injured list with a blister on his right index finger since early June and pitching in rehab games for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Syndergaard, who was once one of the game's rising pitching stars before injuries, signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers before the season and posted a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts.
The Guardians have been leaning on rookies Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen and the club needs to closely monitor their workloads down the stretch.
___
AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-07-27T01:34:10+00:00 | local10.com | https://www.local10.com/sports/2023/07/27/guardians-agree-to-trade-shortstop-rosario-to-dodgers-for-pitcher-syndergaard-ap-source-says/ |
On this week’s edition, JD Williams and Ethan Moe react to wrapping up their high school track careers with top finishes at the state meet.
After the Whistle: Chatting with the Champs featuring Williston Track and Field
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Subscribe Now | 2023-06-26T21:16:40+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/local-sports/after-the-whistle-chatting-with-the-champs-featuring-williston-track-and-field/ |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday morning's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Morning" game were:
7-3-7-8, FIREBALL: 3
(seven, three, seven, eight; FIREBALL: three)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday morning's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Morning" game were:
7-3-7-8, FIREBALL: 3
(seven, three, seven, eight; FIREBALL: three) | 2022-11-15T16:28:25+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-Morning-game-17586304.php |
LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry won the first stage of a libel suit against the publisher of Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper as a judge ruled Friday that parts of a story about his fight for police protection in the U.K. were defamatory.
High Court Justice Matthew Nicklin hasn’t yet considered issues such as whether the story was accurate or in the public interest, defenses that the newspaper will be able to offer in the next phase of the proceedings.
The suit revolves around the newspaper’s coverage of a separate High Court action Harry filed in an effort to force authorities to provide police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the U.K. The government withdrew the family’s round-the-clock protection when Harry and his wife, Meghan, gave up front-line royal duties and moved to California.
On Feb. 20, 2022, the Mail on Sunday reported that Harry sought a “far-reaching confidentiality order” to keep the details of his action against the government secret. Despite public statements by his spin doctors that the prince had always been willing to pay for police protection, that offer wasn’t made in his initial bid to overturn the government’s decision, the newspaper said.
Harry claims that the Mail on Sunday libeled him when it suggested that the prince lied in his initial public statements about the suit against the government and that he “cynically” tried to confuse the public by authorizing his representatives to put out “false and misleading statements” about his willingness to pay for police protection.
Nicklin ruled that “natural or ordinary meaning” of the article was defamatory. But he stressed that the decision didn’t apply to other issues in the case.
“This is very much the first phase in a libel claim,” the judge wrote in his decision. “The next step will be for the defendant to file a defense to the claim. It will be a matter for determination later in the proceedings whether the claim succeeds or fails, and if so on what basis.”
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of Prince Harry at https://apnews.com/hub/prince-harry | 2022-07-08T21:51:15+00:00 | wcia.com | https://www.wcia.com/news/business/ap-business/prince-harry-wins-first-stage-in-suit-against-uk-tabloid/ |
WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, May 2, 2022
_____
RED FLAG WARNING
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Lubbock TX
349 AM CDT Mon May 2 2022
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 9 PM CDT
THIS EVENING FOR STRONG WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR THE
FAR SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE, SOUTH PLAINS, AND NORTHERN ROLLING
PLAINS...
The National Weather Service in Lubbock has issued a Red Flag
Warning, which is in effect from 11 AM this morning to 9 PM CDT
this evening.
* Timing...11 AM until 9 PM CDT.
* Wind...Westerly 15-25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.
* Humidity...7 to 12 percent.
* Fuels...Extremely dry.
* Impacts...Any fires that develop can spread rapidly. Outdoor
burning is discouraged.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are imminent or already occurring. These conditions can create
rapid wildfire growth.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-05-02T10:20:29+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-LUBBOCK-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17140987.php |
Ukrainian forces have struck and seriously damaged a bridge that is key for supplying Russian troops in southern Ukraine.
The deputy head of the Moscow-backed temporary administration for the Russia-controlled southern Kherson region, said the Ukrainian military struck the bridge across the Dnipro River with missiles Wednesday, scoring 11 hits.
He said in remarks carried by the Interfax news agency that the bridge sustained serious damage but wasn’t closed for traffic. The British Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the bridge was likely still usable after the Ukrainian strikes, but it is a “key vulnerability for Russian Forces,” adding that it is needed for Russia to supply or withdraw its forces in the territory it has occupied west of the river.
Kherson is an area where hundreds flee on a daily basis. It has been on the front lines of the war since February, draining resources. | 2022-07-20T11:35:34+00:00 | abc15.com | https://www.abc15.com/news/national/russia-ukraine-conflict/ukrainian-forces-strike-key-bridge-in-russian-occupied-south |
Democrats are gearing for another hard-fought Senate race in Nevada next cycle after the state narrowly decided who would control the upper chamber in the midterms.
Last year, Democrats were able to retain Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-Nev.) seat by less than a point but lost the governor’s mansion after former Clark County Sherriff Joe Lombardo ousted incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak (D).
Republicans say that the state’s shifting demographics and electorate are making the state friendlier to the GOP, particularly in the Senate, where incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) is facing reelection in 2024.
“She’s extremely vulnerable,” said Jeremy Hughes, a GOP strategist who has worked on a number of Nevada races. “An incumbent in their first reelection always is.”
Senate Republicans have already started to target Rosen, along with other vulnerable Democrats, ahead of 2024. The National Republican Senatorial Committee rolled out an ad campaign hitting Rosen along with five other incumbent Democrats over Social Security and Medicare.
A poll released last month by the Nevada Independent and OH Predictive Insights showed Rosen with a 37 percent favorability rating and a 40 percent unfavorable rating. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as “lean Democratic.”
Rosen was part of a blue wave of Democrats to win their midterm races in 2018, when the then-congresswoman ousted incumbent Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) by five points.
And 2018 was a considerably good year for Democrats across the board and somewhat of an outlier in Nevada. In 2016, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won the state by 2.4 points, while Cortez Masto won her Senate race by the same margin.
In recent years, Democrats have had to contend with narrower margins in the state. In 2020, President Biden defeated then-President Trump by roughly 2.4 points. Two years later, Lombardo defeated Sisolak by just over 1.5 points, while Republican Senate candidate and former Attorney General Adam Laxalt lost to Cortez Masto by less than a point.
The narrowing margins in Nevada can be attributed to a number of factors, including its changing demographics. Latino voters make up roughly 30 percent of the state’s population, while Asians make up about nine percent of the population and Pacific Islanders make up nearly one percent, according to the Census Bureau.
“The data that we’re seeing on support levels from Latinos is that Catherine Cortez Masto tracked almost exactly on the same support levels from Latinos that President Biden tracked in 2020,” said Melissa Morales, the founder and executive director of Somos Votantes, a Democratic-leaning group aimed at engaging Latino voters.
While Democrats won these groups in 2022, Republicans are continuing to target these demographics going into 2024. As of September last year, the Republican National Committee had opened nearly 40 community centers in Black, Latino and Asian Pacific islander communities.
The continued strategy from Republicans has Democrats on alert going into the next cycle.
“They’re consistently trying to make inroads with those demographics and it’s a concerted effort year after year,” said one Nevada Democratic operative.
On top of that, the state’s transient and growing population is adding to some Democratic anxiety over these groups.
“They’re starting to see as those communities get bigger and more engaged in politics, you’re going to see less monolithic voting,” said David Damore, the chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas.
However, Damore cautioned that Republicans have not yet necessarily made enough progress with these groups to swing them in a general election.
“[Republicans] have done a little better job and moved the needle a little bit here, but not enough to get the margins they need,” he said. “They need to get those under 60 percent and they’re not there yet.”
The transient nature of the state could also impact Rosen, who critics say lacks a political brand. However, this could be due in part to the newcomers in the state who are unfamiliar with Nevada politics.
“It is a state where candidates have to consistently introduce themselves to their own constituents,” the Democratic Nevada operative said. “That’s part of the challenge of running in Nevada.”
Republicans are also eager to tie Rosen to President Biden, pointing to his low approval ratings. The same Nevada Independent/OH Predictive Insights poll showed Biden with a 40 percent approval rating and a 55 percent disapproval rating.
Biden visited Las Vegas on Tuesday, attending a Democratic National Committee fundraiser and announcing a plan to lower prescription drug prices at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The Nevada Democratic operative said kitchen table issues, like lowering prescription drug prices, would play into Rosen’s messaging. Additionally, the operative said Democrats, like Rosen, will likely go on the offense on abortion access.
“The threat of a nationwide abortion ban is going to be very real if Republicans sweep in 2024,” the operative said, referring to the scenario of the GOP winning the House, Senate and White House.
Of course, there is also the effect that former President Trump could have in the race if he wins the GOP nomination next year. The Nevada Independent/OH Predictive Insights poll showed the former president with 42 percent support.
“If it were Trump to be our nominee, then once again, it’s going to be a vote to spite Trump. Kind of like the first go around, it wasn’t that Joe Biden was this wonderful politician that everyone was excited about. It was in spite of Trump,” said Amy Tarkanian, former chair of the Nevada GOP.
But the Republican bench to challenge Rosen is still in its formative stages. Various Nevada Republicans have been floated to take on the incumbent Democrat, including army veteran and former Senate candidate Sam Brown, who lost to Laxalt in 2022. Former congressional candidate April Becker, who lost her challenge against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), has also been floated. Republicans have also pointed to state Sen. Minority Leader Heidi Seevers Gansert (R-Nev.), along with retired boxer and lawyer Joey Gilbert, who lost in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary last year.
However, the issue many of these candidates have, with the exception of Gansert, is that they have recently lost statewide.
“If we’re going to be looking at some of these other possible candidates who didn’t succeed this last election and they’re going to attempt to run for U.S. Senate, I don’t see how that’s going to be a winning strategy for us,” Tarkanian said.
The Nevada Independent/OH Predictive Insights survey showed Rosen polling better than many of the floated GOP challengers, including Brown who came in with a 25 percent favorability rating and Becker who has a 26 percent favorability rating.
Most Republicans and Democrats acknowledge that it’s too early to make any specific calls on the race over a year out and without a firm field of GOP candidates.
“These conversations are already happening,” Morales said. “But I think the strategy in Nevada has always been not to take anything for granted.”
Democrats brace for another Senate nail-biter in Nevada
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Subscribe Now | 2023-03-19T13:40:26+00:00 | fox44news.com | https://www.fox44news.com/hill-politics/democrats-brace-for-another-senate-nail-biter-in-nevada/ |
The COVID-19 pandemic sent Heidi Whitney’s daughter into a tailspin.
Suddenly the San Diego middle schooler was sleeping all day and awake all night. When in-person classes resumed, she was so anxious at times that she begged to come home early, telling the nurse her stomach hurt.
Whitney tried to keep her daughter in class. But the teen’s desperate bids to get out of school escalated. Ultimately, she was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward, failed “pretty much everything” at school and was diagnosed with depression and ADHD.
As she started high school this fall, she was deemed eligible for special education services, because her disorders interfered with her ability to learn, but school officials said it was a close call. It was hard to know how much her symptoms were chronic or the result of mental health issues brought on by the pandemic, they said.
“They put my kid in a gray area,” said Whitney, a paralegal.
Schools contending with soaring student mental health needs and other challenges have been struggling to determine just how much the pandemic is to blame. Are the challenges the sign of a disability that will impair a student’s learning long term, or something more temporary?
It all adds to the desperation of parents trying to figure out how best to help their children. If a child doesn’t qualify for special education, where should parents go for help?
“I feel like because she went through the pandemic and she didn’t experience the normal junior high, the normal middle school experience, she developed the anxiety, the deep depression and she didn’t learn. She didn’t learn how to become a social kid,” Whitney said. “Everything got turned on its head.”
Schools are required to spell out how they will meet the needs of students with disabilities in Individualized Education Programs, and the demand for screening is high. Some schools have struggled to catch up with assessments that were delayed in the early days of the pandemic. For many, the task is also complicated by shortages of psychologists.
To qualify for special education services, a child’s school performance must be suffering because of a disability in one of 13 categories, according to federal law. They include autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities like dyslexia, developmental delays and “emotional disturbances.”
It’s important not to send children who might have had a tough time during the pandemic into the special education system, said John Eisenberg, the executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education.
“That’s not what it was designed for,” he said. “It’s really designed for kids who need specially designed instruction. It’s a lifelong learning problem, not a dumping ground for kids that might have not got the greatest instruction during the pandemic or have major other issues.”
In the 2020-2021 school year, about 15% of all public school students received special education services under federal law, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Among kids ages 6 and older, special education enrollment rose by 2.4% compared with the previous school year, according to federal data. The figures also showed a large drop in enrollment for younger, preschool-age students, many of whom were slow to return to formal schooling. The numbers varied widely from state to state. No data is available yet for last year.
While some special education directors worry the system is taking on too many students, advocates are hearing the opposite is happening, with schools moving too quickly to dismiss parent concerns.
Even now, some children are still having evaluations pushed off because of staffing shortages, said Marcie Lipsitt, a special education advocate in Michigan. In one district, evaluations came to a complete halt in May because there was no school psychologist to do them, she said.
When Heather Wright approached her son’s school last fall seeking help with the 9-year-old’s outbursts and other behavioral issues, staff suggested private testing. The stay-at-home mom from Sand Creek, Michigan, called eight places. The soonest she could get an appointment was in December of this year — a full 14 months later.
She also suspects her 16-year-old has a learning disability and is waiting for answers from the school about both children.
“I hear a lot of: ‘Well, everyone’s worse. It’s not just yours,’” she said. “Yeah, but, like, this is my child and he needs help.”
It can be challenging to tease out the differences between problems that stem directly from the pandemic and a true disability, said Brandi Tanner, an Atlanta-based psychologist who has been deluged with parents seeking evaluations for potential learning disabilities, ADHD and autism.
“I’m asking a lot more background questions about pre-COVID versus post-COVID, like, ‘Is this a change in functioning or was it something that was present before and has just lingered or gotten worse?’” she said.
Sherry Bell, a leader in the Department of Exceptional Children at Charleston County School District in South Carolina, said she is running into the issue as well.
“In my 28 years in special education, you know, having to rule out all of those factors is much more of a consideration than ever before, just because of the pandemic and the fact that kids spent all of that time at home,” said Bell.
The key is to have good systems in place to distinguish between a student with a lasting obstacle to learning and one that missed a lot of school because of the pandemic, said Kevin Rubenstein, president-elect of the Council of Administrators of Special Education.
“Good school leaders and great teachers are going to be able to do that,” he said.
The federal government, he noted, has provided vast amounts of COVID relief money for schools to offer tutoring, counseling and other support to help students recover from the pandemic.
But advocates worry about consequences down the line for students who do not receive the help they might need. Kids who slip through the cracks could end up having more disciplinary problems and diminished prospects for life after school, said Dan Stewart, the managing attorney for education and employment for the National Disability Rights Network.
Whitney, for her part, said she is relieved her daughter is getting help, including a case manager, as part of her IEP. She also will be able to leave class as needed if she feels anxious.
“I realize that a lot of kids were going through this,” she said. “We just went through COVID. Give them a break.”
___
Sharon Lurye in New Orleans contributed to this report. The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | 2022-12-06T12:12:33+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/Many-kids-are-struggling-Is-special-education-17634191.php |
The offense rebounded with a better showing during the second of three mandatory veteran minicamp practices Wednesday, with quarterback Justin Fields making some sharp throws and avoiding turnovers that plagued him the day before.
Here are three things learned at Halas Hall.
1. Tight end Ryan Griffin envisions the Bears building a ‘cold-weather’ team.
The 10-year-veteran, who signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract in April, seemed to describe the kind of offensive system that would rely on good tight ends.
“You can see in our roster makeup we’re a younger team,” Griffin, 32, said. “A lot of hungry guys. Hardworking guys. And I think our vision is a hardworking, tough-nosed, cold-weather football team, and I pride myself on being a part of some of those teams. I’m happy to be here and try to get this thing right.”
How is the offense going to come into shape?
“Seems like we’re going to be physical, we’re going to run, we’re going to be well-conditioned and we’re going to pound,” he said. “And we’re going to run sideline to sideline and hopefully we can get some balls over the top. In the meantime, we’ve got to score. You’ve got to put points on the board to win in this league. We’ve got the guys in this room to do it, we’ve just got to get the execution right, and that’s what this part of the year is all about. This is why we’re here. We’re working.”
Griffin and James O’Shaughnessy, the eight-year veteran from Naperville North and Illinois State, are the only veteran tight ends on the roster behind Cole Kmet. Perhaps it signals that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy will lean more on 12 personnel (one running back, two wide receivers, two tight ends) this season. Getsy comes from Green Bay, and the Packers were No. 2 in the league using 12 personnel last season (29% of the time) behind only the Miami Dolphins.
It can be a good idea for teams that don’t have depth at wide receiver and it can help the running game. But not every team that uses the outside-zone running scheme uses a lot of 12 personnel. The San Francisco 49ers, for example, were in 12 personnel only 10% of the time last season.
2. Trevis Gipson says playing with his hand in the dirt will help.
The defensive end had a bit of a slow adjustment as a rookie in 2020 when he went from being a defensive end at Tulsa to playing as an outside linebacker. He adapted well in 2021, finishing with seven sacks, but is happy with the change in scheme in which he doesn’t have to be as concerned with responsibilities in coverage.
“They’re just turning us loose,” Gipson said. “Honestly, letting us play ball, play fast, play smart, with a tremendous amount of effort. So that’s something that’s going to pay off for the whole defense, the whole team, and I think we’re going to have great results.
“I think overall, especially in this defense … it’s going to be tremendous. I get to come out of a three-point, (accelerate) off the ball faster and just little things like that get lost in different positions.”
Gipson said he has been impressed with rookie Dominique Robinson, a situational pass rusher drafted from Miami-Ohio.
“Sort of reminds me of me, honestly,” Gipson said. “Fifth-round pick, chip on his shoulder, dominating practice every day and still looking to get better anywhere he can.
“He’s really athletic. Dude is lean, can move, very versatile. He can rush the passer with speed and rush the passer with power, and I think that makes him a great player. I would say he’s better than me, honestly. He has a lot more pass-rush attributes than I did coming in. He has more experience on the edge than I did. We take the same approach to the learning game, but overall, he’s a great student, great athlete, and I think he’s going to help us a lot.”
3. At one point, the first-team offensive line had three Day 3 rookies.
Left guard Cody Whitehair had an excused absence and veteran Lucas Patrick was pretty much limited to individual drills, so the Bears moved some parts around. At one point Braxton Jones was at left tackle with Zach Thomas at left guard and Doug Kramer at center. Sam Mustipher lined up at right guard and Larry Borom was at right tackle. Veteran Dakota Dozier was not spotted after leaving Tuesday’s practice on a cart with what appeared to be an injury to his left leg.
At first glance, coach Matt Eberflus said he thought Thomas held up well and didn’t make any mental mistakes.
What’s going to be telling about the line is how the first and second teams are deployed at the start of training camp next month. The coaching staff might plan to have legitimate competitions at one or two positions, but the depth chart has to start somewhere. Decisions on who will be where could be made soon even if the reveal has to wait until late July.
“We’ll have a big meeting (Thursday) with (GM) Ryan (Poles) and his staff, with all of the coaches, just to reassess the whole roster before the players and the coaches go on break,” Eberflus said.
Teven Jenkins, the 2021 second-round pick, hasn’t been an option at guard, with Eberflus saying they’ve wanted him to focus on right tackle.
() | 2022-06-24T10:34:58+00:00 | bostonherald.com | https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/06/23/3-things-we-learned-at-chicago-bears-minicamp-including-a-cold-weather-offense-and-trevis-gipsons-comfort-3/ |
The daughter of a woman accused of killing her stepson in Colorado, putting his body in a suitcase and dumping it off a bridge in Florida said Monday that she never suspected his body was in the van they drove in together across the country.
Testifying at Letecia Stauch's murder trial in Colorado Springs, Harley Hunt said it never crossed her mind that her mother was transporting the body of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch in a suitcase in their rented van after killing him, as prosecutors allege.
"I’m still in shock. I defended her for years. I just feel manipulated and lied to," Hunt said.
When pressed by the defense, Hunt said she never looked in the back of the van where their luggage was as they traveled through Texas and Louisiana on their way to Florida and then South Carolina in February 2020. She said she never smelled anything unusual. But Hunt also said her mother insisted on keeping the air conditioning on even when she complained of being too cold.
Prosecutors say Letecia Stauch stabbed Gannon 18 times and shot him before reporting him missing in January 2020 while her then-husband and Gannon's father, Albert Stauch, was away at a National Guard training. While the search for the boy continued, Letecia Stauch and her daughter, who was 17 at the time, left in a rented van with a vague plan to start a new life somewhere else.
COLORADO PARENTS ASKED TO STEP IN, GUARD MIDDLE SCHOOL AFTER NEARBY SHOOTINGS
Gannon’s remains were found by bridge inspectors in March 2020, in a suitcase under a bridge on the Florida Panhandle. Prosecutors suggested that Stauch snuck out from a hotel room where she was staying with her daughter in Pensacola to dispose of his body in the middle of the night. In answer to a question from the jury, Hunt said she did not remember if their van was parked in a different spot when they went to leave the hotel the following morning.
Stauch is charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The defense claimed she suffered a "major psychotic crack" as a result of childhood trauma when she killed Gannon. But prosecutors have been stressing during the trial that she did know right from wrong, a key element they must prove to defeat the insanity defense. They have been steadily asking witnesses like Hunt whether they thought Stauch was able to make decisions and plans.
Hunt testified that her mother booked their hotel rooms for one person, asking her daughter to sneak in on her own with their dogs so she did not have to pay for them, and that she requested a Ford Motor Company corporate discount because a relative worked for the company.
In answer to defense questions, Hunt acknowledged that she had sometimes found her mother crying in the closet while she was growing up.
Also, when Letecia Stauch was unhappily living with her then-husband and blended family in Alaska, where Albert Stauch was stationed, Hunt said her mother implied she was going to kill herself. Hunt said her mother told her to come have "your last dinner with me" and that she had already taken something to make that happen. But Hunt testified that nothing happened to her mother and they never spoke about it again. | 2023-04-18T21:20:53+00:00 | foxbangor.com | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/i-feel-manipulated-daughter-says-at-mothers-murder-trial/article_e6a16a6f-21cc-58e6-95f9-f84849838da7.html |
Community rallies behind popular Georgia BBQ restaurant destroyed after fire
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - After 21 years in business, one day changed everything at the Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Q in Canton.
It has been an emotional time for owners Reyes and Sharon Morales.
“You wake up every morning and come in open, you’re ready and in this morning is like what we do,” Reyes Morales said.
Atlanta News First obtained footage from the Cherokee County Fire Department which shows flames pouring through the roof of the restaurant early Sunday morning.
“It’s really hard to get staff and ours have ridden with us through COVID They’ve hung on with us. They’re still here. They’re still here, still here right now and we just want to take care of them, and you know and hopefully get them back when we’re open,” Sharon Morales said.
Fire investigators have not determined an exact cause, but believe it was accidental and started in a back storage room.
As a result, hundreds of people in this tight-knit community have reached out offering their support.
“They give back so much to this community. And I know the community is going to be here to support them going forward, and we’ll be looking forward to them building back and reopening,” Customer Gayther Bramlett said.
“People have been offering money, labor, I’ve had companies around offering their employees, you know, hey, we’ll send guys over to help,” Sharon Morales said.
Once the insurance company completes its investigation, the owners can begin rebuilding.
“I tell my wife I was like everything we go through is for good reasons. And in this one this week, we’re going back, we’re getting stronger. And as for what we want to do today and say, thank you very much to everyone,” Reyes Morales said.
Copyright 2022 WANF. All rights reserved. | 2022-10-25T00:20:06+00:00 | atlantanewsfirst.com | https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2022/10/24/community-rallies-behind-popular-georgia-bbq-restaurant-destroyed-after-fire/ |
(NewsNation) — Videos aimed at desperate migrants are making their way across social media platforms, including TikTok.
One in particular shows a user telling Venezuelans they can migrate to the U.S. without getting a visa.
“It broke my heart because you can see the hope coming through in these comments,” Adriana Rivera, who works for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, told NewsNation’s “Rush Hour” on Friday.
Rivera called the claims in these videos outrageous, noting that the videos have now been seen and shared tens of thousands of times. Rivera went on to note that the U.S. already faces an overwhelming situation at its borders. She questioned whether the videos are part of an operation “by bad actors who are just looking to create chaos and confusion.”
This fiscal year alone, there have been more than 2.2 million migrant encounters — up more than 200,000 from the year before.
Allen Orr, the immediate past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told “Rush Hour” on Friday that the videos are in bad taste.
“It happens over and over again in these countries that have a lot of internal turmoil and that have constant migration to the (U.S.) southern border,” Orr said.
“I think these videos add to the desperation of the economic affairs around the world and the desperation that people have to come here,” Orr said.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged the spread of disinformation can affect border security.
Misinformation aimed at migrants was something the Disinformation Governance Board was set to tackle, before the DHS formally terminated the board last month but the unchecked videos keep popping up, followed by likes, shares, and often shared to migrants at the U.S. border.
“Think about it, if you are trying to leave Venezuela in the state that this country is in and you see a video telling you visas are going to be given out … if you’re desperate, and these people are desperate, what are you going to do what are you going to think? It’s just bad all around,” Rivera said. | 2022-09-11T03:36:23+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/national-news/tiktok-users-targeting-migrants-with-misinformation/ |
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Maria Valdes of Chicago's Field Museum about a fresh haul of meteorites she and other scientists collected in Antarctica.
Prior to joining NPR in 2022, Mohammad was a producer on The Washington Post's daily flagship podcast Post Reports, where her work was recognized by multiple awards. She was honored with a Peabody award for her work on an episode on the life of George Floyd.
Christopher Intagliata is an editor at All Things Considered, where he writes news and edits interviews with politicians, musicians, restaurant owners, scientists and many of the other voices heard on the air. | 2023-01-23T22:24:29+00:00 | nepm.org | https://www.nepm.org/national-world-news/national-world-news/2023-01-23/scientists-find-17-pound-meteorite-in-antarctica |
NEW YORK (AP) — They’re at the top of their sport. They’re primed to run down tennis balls. So perhaps it’s perfectly natural that about 3,000 top-flight canines are converging on the grounds of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, where the Westminster Kennel Club dog show began Saturday.
It’s a new venue for the nearly 150-year-old event, now back in New York City after a two-year, pandemic-induced sojourn in the suburbs.
As the show began Saturday with an agility competition and other events, there were a few double-takes, if not double-faults.
Barks, not the pock of tennis balls, were heard across the sunny, 40-acre (16-hectare) grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Westminster’s traditional green carpet had been rolled out in Arthur Ashe Stadium for fleet-footed — but four-footed — competitors.
Dogs relaxed in their crates on a tented practice court. The fan-friendly South Plaza was set up with a 27,000-gallon (102,200-liter) pool for a canine dock-diving demonstration. Turn in any direction, and a dog of some sort was likely to pass by.
“It’s kind of weird to see them out and about at a place where you don’t usually see dogs,” spectator Haili Menard said as she watched in the dock diving to pick up pointers for her Dalmatian back at home in Bristol, Connecticut. Menard had been to the U.S. Open but never to the Westminster show.
“The sport of it is highlighted” by the environs, she said.
Meanwhile, Fletcher the Malinois took the plunge.
“We’re never going to get to Westminster any other way,” laughed owner Jenine Wech of Schellsburg, Pa. When not doing dock diving or other sports, Fletcher works as a bedbug-detection dog.
Stella competed in agility in 2021 but was back Saturday as dock diving, her favorite blow-off-steam sport, got a toe in the Westminster water.
“The experience is so neat, to get to come with your dog … and to even just show a healthy bulldog,” said owner Lucy Hayes of Dayton, Ohio, who taught Stella to swim years ago (she dives in a life jacket for safety).
For most of its history, Westminster was held in Manhattan, where generations of best in show dogs were anointed at Madison Square Garden. In order to hold the event outdoors during the COVID-19 crisis, organizers moved it to the grounds of an estate in suburban Tarrytown, New York, for the last two years.
The club sought to return to New York City, while assessing factors including construction plans at a Manhattan pier building that formerly hosted part of the show. The tennis center emerged as an alternative.
Besides hosting one of tennis’s Grand Slam tournaments, the facility in Queens has been trying to position itself in recent years as a flexible, festive event venue. It has welcomed wrestling, video gaming and BIG3 3-on-3 basketball competitions and embraced letting dogs have their day.
“From the biggest stars in tennis to the biggest stars in the canine world,” said Chris Studley, the facility’s senior director for event services. Westminster President Donald Sturz was equally upbeat about the prospect of “an iconic dog show event in an iconic venue.”
To be sure, Manhattan offered a certain allure to some participants who travel from around the country. But the spacious tennis center allows for holding all the events in one place, adding new ones and giving dogs and people more elbow room.
While dogs aren’t usually the main attraction at the tennis center, there are plenty of players known for bringing their pooches on tour.
Serena Williams had a pooch courtside in Arthur Ashe Stadium when she practiced ahead of last year’s U.S. Open, her final event before retirement. Her older sister, Venus, also has been spotted with a dog at tournaments. Biana Andreescu’s pet, Coco, is often found with Andreescu’s mother in the stands during matches. Alexander Zverev adopted a dog while in Miami ahead of the Miami Open a few years ago.
Some vendors had tennis balls on hand Saturday, but dogs like Leslie Wilk’s had other activities on their minds. The border collie-Staffordshire bull terrier mix rocketed through the agility course as if determined to live up to her name, Champion.
“Every time she steps up to the line,” said Wilk, of Camarillo, California, “she just gives it her best.”
Look at it that way, and the human and canine athletes of the tennis center aren’t so different.
___
AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich contributed from Washington. New York-based Associated Press journalist Jennifer Peltz has covered the Westminster dog show since 2013. | 2023-05-07T10:35:30+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/news/animals/tennis-or-terriers-us-opens-home-hosts-famed-dog-show/ |
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BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — Phil Mickelson lumbered his way down the first fairway and flashed a thumbs-up almost by habit, even if he wasn't responding to an occasional encouraging word from behind the ropes or in the grandstands. In that respect, Tuesday felt like a typical U.S. Open.
This is his 31st appearance, and any degree of normalcy — for Mickelson and so many other big names in golf — is hard to find.
LIV Golf and Saudi riches get as much attention as thick rough and firm greens. Greg Norman is mentioned about as often as Francis Ouimet.
Brooks Koepka had heard enough.
“I'm trying to focus on the U.S. Open, man,” Koepka, a two-time U.S. Open champion, said testily. “I legitimately don’t get it. I’m tired of the conversations. I’m tired of all this stuff. Y'all are throwing a black cloud on the U.S. Open. I think that sucks.”
Mickelson is at the heart of the Saudi-funded rival league that Norman is running, returning from his four-month hiatus last week outside London to play the inaugural LIV event with 13 other players who are now at The Country Club for the U.S. Open.
He played with Jon Rahm and Kevin Na. Approaching the first tee, the applause was warm, though somewhat muted compared with other years, still with the odd shout, “This is your year, Phil!” or “We love you, Phil!”
One fan recognized Rahm and gave him a shout, a nice gesture for the defending champion.
Brookline is nothing like Torrey Pines, where last year Rahm became the first player in U.S. Open history to birdie the last two holes and win by one shot. The scenery is classic New England, not California coast. The test, however, looks familiar.
“It's a U.S. Open. You need everything,” Rahm said. "You need to drive well, hit your irons well, chip well and putt well and be mentally sane for four days. You can’t hide, period. You are going to have a lot of holes where things are going to go wrong, but I just have to know going into it and accept certain things that happen.
“Obviously, as every U.S. Open, par is a good score.”
His biggest concern was finding space on a practice green packed with major champions, PGA Tour winners, amateur and local qualifiers. Again, this is what a U.S. Open brings.
Still, the outside noise is hard to turn off.
Rory McIlroy had said in February, when the top players aligned themselves with the PGA Tour, that the Saudi venture was “dead in the water.” He was asked Tuesday about that comment.
“I thought we were at the U.S. Open,” McIlroy said.
He wasn't as miffed as Koepka, mainly because McIlroy has emerged as a strong voice against the rival league. He is on the PGA Tour's policy board and makes no apologies for being so outspoken “because in my opinion it's the right thing to do.”
“The PGA Tour was created by people and tour players that came before us, the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer," he said. "They created something and worked hard for something, and I hate to see all the players that came before us and all the hard work that they've put in just come out to be nothing.”
At some point, McIlroy will remove his cap as spokesman and try to end eight years without winning a major. He hopes he is helped by a victory last week at the Canadian Open.
He has had a few runner-up finishes and more top 10s at the majors in the last eight years than his first six years as a pro. But he has come to the 18th hole only once with a chance to win since his last major title in the 2014 PGA Championship.
“I think the start of my career was probably more feast or famine in the majors,” McIlroy said. “I would get hot and win or I would miss the cut by 10. A little more consistency going on. But, again, that doesn’t bring with it the glory that the wins do.”
McIlroy has friends who have signed up and cashed in on LIV Golf. He is not quick to judge. As for Mickelson, McIlroy had nothing but respect for what he has done in golf, at least inside the ropes.
“Who am I to sit up here and give Phil a lesson on how to do things? He has had a wonderful career. He is his own man," McIlroy said. "Am I disappointed he has taken the route that he has taken? I am. But I still respect him tremendously.”
It was not unusual to see Rahm and Mickelson together given their history. Mickelson took the Spaniard under his wing while Rahm was at Arizona State, where Mickelson's brother was the golf coach.
Rahm, too, has made his position clear on the threat to the PGA Tour.
“Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I’ve made and live a very happy life and not play golf again,” he said. "So I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world.
“I’ve always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that.”
___
More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-06-14T20:30:47+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Thumbs-up-from-Mickelson-doesn-t-bring-normalcy-17241446.php |
FLINT, MI – A watch party for the ESPN 30 for 30 “The Greatest Mixtape Ever,” that was produced in part by Flint native Brian Mickens, will take place at Comma Bookstore & Social Hub next week upon release.
Doors open at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31 for the watch party at 132 West 2nd Street in downtown Flint. The event is in collaboration with Comma Bookstore & Social Hub and The Flint United Basketball Club.
The documentary examines how 1990s streetball and the And1 Mixtape transformed basketball culture, according to a news release from ESPN.
Narrated by Jadakiss, the documentary has interviews with Fat Joe, Funk Master Flex, Iman Shumpert, Isiah Thomas, Kemba Walker, Lou Williams, Rafer Alston and Scoop Jackson.
“This documentary is monumental to the Black and Brown community,” LOVERS AND FRIENDS curator and organizer Eugene Blackwell said. “Growing up in the inner city, being an athlete and seeing people that look like you on TV doing what they love … you can take that to anything in life.”
This is Mickens’ first documentary. The Flint native signed a deal to work with ESPN in 2020 and works as a comedian, Blackwell said.
The show starts at 8 p.m. on May 31. It is also available for streaming on the ESPN App.
For more information about the event, or to support organizers in bringing Mickens home for the watch party, contact Blackwell at eugene@bda.design or 810-618-5184.
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Flint Public Library reopens after multi-million dollar renovation project | 2022-05-27T17:58:29+00:00 | mlive.com | https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2022/05/watch-party-for-espn-streetball-documentary-produced-by-flint-native-coming-tuesday.html |
ATLANTA, July 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Archie L. Jones, Jr., Founder and CEO of global leadership development firm NxGen COACH Network, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Chemonics International, Inc. Now a part of the team of thousands of global Chemonics employees in over 100 countries, Archie is excited to COACH, Create Opportunity And Cultivate Humanity, the next generation of leaders.
"COACHing is what Chemonics does globally, by promoting meaningful change around the world to help people live healthier, more productive, and more independent lives.", Archie L. Jones, Jr.
Archie founded NxGen COACH Network to develop leaders from underrepresented communities, aid in increasing candidate diversity in governance, and empower underinvested communities through economic justice. We partner with executives, advisors, investors, and educators to invest social, experiential, and leadership capital in the next generation of leaders because we recognize how this shift will drive value creation for organizations and society.
NxGen COACH Network proudly shares Chemonics' values including Caring, Excellence, Innovation, Integrity, and Opportunity. Chemonics, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned ESOP company. This allows employees to share directly in the growth and success of the company.
For more information about NxGen COACH Network, please visit nxgencoachnetwork.com.
About Archie L. Jones, Jr
Archie L. Jones, Jr. is an accomplished investor, advisor, educator, and author. He draws from his leadership journey to empower and coach the next generation of global leaders.
An award-winning Harvard Business School Professor, Archie develops and delivers curricular innovation focusing on entrepreneurial leadership. For three decades, he has led successful private equity investments and value creation in public and private companies including Merrill Lynch, Parthenon Capital, Kenexa, IBM, and NOW Corporation. With his focus on strategy, private equity and corporate M&A transactions, Archie led investments across a variety of industries and sectors in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is a Senior Advisor of Six Pillars Partners.
Archie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Fleetcor Technologies, Inc., Chemonics International, Inc. and was named one of Savoy Magazine's "Most Influential Black Corporate Directors''.
His social impact work with organizations such as Year Up and New Profit drive innovation and systemic change. Archie serves as Board Chairman of Project Evident, is a board member of the Mickey Leland Kibbutzim Foundation, and the Elev8 Foundation.
Archie is a NACD Certified Director, Certified Public Accountant, and graduate of Morehouse College and Harvard Business School.
Archie is available for speaking and training engagements. Direct all inquiries to Nicole Sellers (pr_requests@shisofirm.com) of The Shiso Firm.
SOURCE NxGen COACH Network | 2023-07-20T16:34:39+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/prnewswire/2023/07/20/nxgen-coach-network-founder-ceo-archie-l-jones-jr-appointed-chemonics-international-inc-board-directors/ |
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Monday is the start of National Influenza Vaccination Week, and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is urging everyone age 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine, especially adults whose chronic health conditions put them at higher risk.
Flu activity in the U.S. and Indiana is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed seven new influenza deaths in Indiana in its latest report, released Friday.
In the report, the CDC also shows that 11 Hoosiers have died so far this flu season. The agency also moved Indiana into the ‘very high’ flu category on the CDC flu map, which was last updated Friday and covers the week ending Nov. 26.
The CDC also estimates that there have been at least 8.7 million illnesses, 78,000 hospitalizations, and 4,500 deaths from influenza this season.
Flu cases, along with the still continued coronavirus infections and RSV season, are causing strain for some hospitals.
Dr. John Christensen is a professor of clinical pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. Christensen says there are ways to help prevent you and your family from getting the flu or other illnesses.
“We have vaccines that can prevent influenza, not only for children but also in adults, right? At the same time, we have vaccines that can prevent COVID, so it’s very important that everybody in the family cohort gets vaccinated against these viruses, so that way, you protect everybody,” Christensen said.
Christensen says that, since the beginning of the pandemic, it has become more difficult to predict the start of flu season. It typically doesn’t start until January, but it hit earlier this year, much like RSV. | 2022-12-05T15:32:57+00:00 | wishtv.com | https://www.wishtv.com/news/local-news/national-flu-vaccine-week-aims-to-get-more-people-vaccinated/ |
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Tuesday extended the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months in a closed-door hearing emblematic of the secrecy that has marked the case against the first United States correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges.
Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American citizen, was ordered held until Aug. 30. He was arrested in March on espionage charges on a reporting trip in Russia. He, his employer and the U.S. government have denied the charges.
Tuesday’s pre-trial hearing wasn’t announced in advance, and the entire case has been wrapped in secrecy.
Russian authorities haven’t detailed what — if any — evidence they have gathered to support the espionage charges.
Various legal proceedings in the case have been closed to the media. No details immediately emerged about what was said at Tuesday’s hearing. State news agency Tass said the session was closed because the reporter was accused of possession of “secret materials.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night that Gershkovich’s parents, Soviet emigres living in New Jersey, were visiting Moscow and saw their son during the short hearing.
“I don’t know how to describe this happiness and this sadness at the same time,” the newspaper quoted the reporter’s mother, Ella Milman, as saying. She said Gershkovich looked relaxed and well, and that they communicated through smiles.
The U.S. State Department said at least one U.S. Embassy official also attended the hearing.
Gershkovich’s arrest has rattled journalists in the country and drawn outrage in the West.
The U.S. government declared Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained and demanded his immediate release. He’s being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.
U.S. Embassy officials were allowed to visit Gershkovich once in prison since his arrest in Yekaterinburg on March 29, but Russian authorities have denied two more recent requests to see him.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington, “We once again call on Russia to comply with their obligation to provide consular access to him.” He added that the charges against Gershkovich “are baseless and we continue to call for his immediate release as well as for the immediate release of Paul Whelan.”
Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, is serving a 16-year espionage sentence in a remote Russian prison. The retired U.S. Marine was detained in 2018. Whelan and Washington deny he spied in Russia.
The Biden administration had hoped to secure Whelan’s release during negotiations on a prisoner exchange that eventually freed American basketball star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison last December.
Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips in soaring U.S.-Russian tensions over the Kremlin’s military operation in Ukraine.
In a statement after Tuesday’s hearing, the Wall Street Journal said: “While we expected there would be no change to Evan’s wrongful detention, we are deeply disappointed. The accusations are demonstrably false, and we continue to demand his immediate release.” | 2023-05-24T11:38:34+00:00 | wboy.com | https://www.wboy.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-russia-extends-arrest-of-us-journalist-evan-gershkovich-by-3-months/ |
Sister Patricia Daly, a Dominican nun who as a leader in the field of socially responsible investing took on corporate behemoths like General Electric, Ford and ExxonMobil, died on Dec. 9 in Caldwell, New Jersey. She was 66.
The cause was bile duct cancer, her cousin Edward Conlon said.
For nearly a quarter-century, Sister Pat, as she was known, was the executive director and galvanizing force of the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, a group of religious orders that used the ownership of shares by their pension funds as an entree to challenge corporate executives to act more responsibly on a range of issues, including environmental protection, climate change and social justice.
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“I don’t use the God card,” she told the Chicago Tribune in 2005. “I’m not saying I’m speaking for Jesus here. But if people see the Dominicans and the Jesuits on a shareholder resolution, they’re going to say, ‘These are people with some credibility.’”
Before GE held its annual meeting in 1998, she proposed a resolution calling on the company to publicize the dangers of eating fish from the Hudson River, which GE’s factories had polluted with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. To press its case, the coalition paid for a full-page ad in The New York Times with a picture of a GE plant and, upending the company’s own slogan, a pointed message: “On the Hudson, GE Brings BAD Things to Life.”
At the meeting, she compared GE’s claims that PCBs were harmless to the tobacco industry’s long-espoused assertions that smoking did not damage health.
“That’s an outrageous comparison,” Jack Welch, GE’s chairman and chief executive, shouted at Sister Daly.
“That is an absolutely valid comparison, Mr. Welch,” she shot back.
Insisting that many studies had found no correlation between PCB levels and cancer, he warned Sister Daly, “You owe it to God to be on the side of truth.”
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“I am on the side of truth,” she replied.
Her resolutions rarely if ever passed. Her proposal on PCBs won only 7.6% of the GE shares voted at the meeting.
But her efforts were a way to move the needle on climate change, worker and human rights, genetically modified foods and waste incineration, and to prod companies to take action. GE was eventually forced to dredge a long stretch of the Hudson from 2009 to 2015 under Welch’s successor, Jeffrey R. Immelt.
Shareholder resolutions were only one element of Sister Daly’s work.
“Pat was fearless at engaging at the table with management, where she made a passionate case for companies to do the right thing,” said Josh Zinner, the chief executive of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the umbrella organization to which Sister Daly’s group belonged.
In 1999, she helped persuade William Clay Ford Jr., the executive chairman of Ford Motor, to leave the Global Climate Coalition, a group of big manufacturers and oil and mining companies that lobbied against restrictions on emissions of gases linked to global warming. General Motors and Daimler Chrysler soon followed.
In a statement after her death, Ford said that Sister Daly had “helped inform Ford’s leadership around the idea that businesses could do more to disclose their emissions and align their policies with their action.”
Starting about a dozen years ago, Sister Daly encouraged the Southern Company, an Atlanta-based utility, to move faster toward a future of net-zero carbon power generation at its energy plants.
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Tom Fanning, Southern’s CEO, said his first encounter with Sister Daly was through a resolution she had proposed at an annual meeting. They met regularly, he said, adding that she had made her case for climate justice in a quiet, constructive manner.
“She didn’t come in throwing thunderbolts,” Fanning said in a phone interview. “She came from a position of love and sold it well.”
Patricia Anne Daly was born on Aug. 4, 1956, in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in the Woodhaven neighborhood of Queens. Her mother, Anne (Trust) Daly, was a teacher. Her father, Joseph, worked at an import-export company.
She is survived by her mother; her sisters, Jean Randazzo, Ellen Daly and Kathleen Daly; and her brother, Michael.
Sister Daly entered the Dominican order in 1976, the year she graduated from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies.
In 1977, while still a novice, she learned about workers’ long fight to unionize at textile mills run by the J.P. Stevens company — a struggle dramatized in the 1979 film “Norma Rae” — and that her order, the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell, had Stevens stock in its retirement portfolio.
Intrigued, she attended the company’s annual meeting and found a network of like-minded faith-based shareholders from the Interfaith Center. She had discovered her calling.
“There’s a whole network here, shouldn’t we be part of it?” she said in an interview with The New York Times Magazine in 2007, recalling her reaction when she returned to the convent. “And they said, ‘OK, good, that’s your job.’”
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But it was not yet a full-time job. She taught religion, social justice and morality at two Roman Catholic high schools in New Jersey from 1977 to 1981, then served as associate campus minister at St. Peter’s College (now University) in Jersey City until 1987. She joined the Tri-State Coalition (now Investor Advocates for Social Justice), as her order’s delegate to the organization, in the late 1970s; she became its executive director in 1994. She was also a board member of the Interfaith Center.
For years, Sister Daly and other environmentalists had urged ExxonMobil to take significant steps to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from its operations and products. In 2007, she proposed a resolution that called on that energy giant to set a firm date to report on its progress.
“We’re the most profitable company in the history of the planet,” she told Rex Tillerson, then the company’s CEO (and later secretary of state in the Trump administration), at the company’s annual meeting, “but what will be our long-term health when we are really faced with the regulatory and other challenges around global warming?”
She added: “We are now, this company and every single one of us, challenged by one of the most profound moral concerns. And we have the wherewithal to respond to that.”
The proposal won 31% of the ballots, or about 1.4 billion shares, the largest tally for an ExxonMobil climate-change resolution. If not an outright victory, it was a page in a decadeslong narrative that led ExxonMobil to put a climate scientist on its board in 2017. Three executives who recognized the urgency to address climate change joined the company’s board in 2021, nominated by a tiny activist hedge fund, Engine No. 1.
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“The arc of her work led us to those victories by working from the inside and the outside,” John Passacantando, the founder of Ozone Action, an anti-global warming group, and a former executive director of Greenpeace, said in a phone interview.
In 1999, Vanity Fair named her to its Hall of Fame, applauding her as one who “translates belief into commitment and never backs down from a fight.”
Mary Beth Gallagher, who suceeded Sister Daly as executive director of the Tri-State Coalition in 2017, said Sister Daly had not become frustrated when her resolutions were routinely voted down.
“She lived in hope,” Gallagher said. “We never talked about winning or losing. It was about raising consciousness and educating. If we’re not asking these questions, who will?” | 2022-12-24T21:20:44+00:00 | bostonglobe.com | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/12/24/metro/sister-patricia-daly-66-dies-took-corporate-giants-social-justice/ |
Cigarroa do-everything athlete Ya-aqob Lozano will command a lot of attention from opposing defenses this season. The senior rushed for 1,300 yards and 21 touchdowns, passed for 262 yards and grabbed four passes for 94 yards last year.
Although the Toros have Lozano at their disposal, he isn’t the only playmaker in this year’s offense. And that was evident Thursday in the team’s 28-3 season-opening win over the Zapata Hawks.
While Lozano performed well in the season opener - rushing 71 yards and a touchdown paired with a 22-yard touchdown reception - fellow do-everything athlete Julio Garcia arguably had a greater impact.
Garcia scored Cigarroa’s other two touchdowns as he rushed for 107 yards. He found the end zone on a 23-yard direct snap and a five-yard run. And his performance came to no surprise to head coach Carlo Hein.
“I see him every day. I know what he is capable of,” Hein said. “He is a little jitterbug. He plays with a lot of heart. He knows what’s on the line. He has ice cold veins. He’s always up for the moment.”
While Garcia performed admirably, he couldn’t take all the credit. He gave props to his blockers as he had several wide running lanes to rush through all game long.
“I don’t want to take all the credit,” Garcia said. “I have to give it up to my offensive line. They blocked well for me, they opened up holes for me.
“The way they were blocking, it was easy for me to make big runs.”
Last year, Garcia rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns on 64 carries. With what he showed against Zapata, the Toros are hopeful that he can triple or even quadruple his production this season - which he is ready to do.
Thursday’s outing is what the Toros will need from Garcia game in and game out if they want their offense clicking at 100% efficiency all year. With the attention Lozano will receive from opposing defenses - Zapata defensive coaches were screaming “Ya-aqob’s in” whenever the athlete came onto the field for Cigarroa to alert their players - someone will need to step up every game to ensure there’s no hiccups - letdowns.
Garcia was the offensive player who stepped up against Zapata. His dynamic play forced the Hawks’ defense to be on its toes all game long. Zapata couldn’t just focus on stopping Lozano. It had to stop Lozano and Garcia, which it struggled to do.
Garcia knows that if he struggles to produce, players such as quarterback Lethan Solis or running back Edwin Reyes can add another boost to the offense, too.
“Yes, anyone can pop off on this offense,” Garcia said. “100% confident that anyone can perform well on this team - Edwin, Lethan or Ya-aqob.”
Solis went 2 of 2 for 25 yards and a touchdown through the air and added another 50 rushing yards in the win over the Hawks. Reyes added 38 rushing yards.
Thursday’s performance was a longtime coming for Garcia. The game felt like a coming-out party for Garcia - showing that he will need the respect of opposing defenses, too.
Garcia has been ready to be a go-to playmaker for Cigarroa for a while. He’s been on varsity since he was a sophomore. So now as a senior, he plans to make the most of his opportunities - which are expected to be a lot - this season.
Lozano will command a lot of attention from opposing defenses this season. It’s inevitable. He’s arguably one of the most dynamic playmakers in South Texas. However, Cigarroa isn’t just Lozano on offense. It has plenty of other players who can contribute in big ways.
Garcia proved to be one of them Thursday. With what he showed against Zapata, Hein knew the senior do-everything athlete had that in him. And the coach can’t wait to see Garcia to perform like he did in the season opener hopefully all year long.
“He’s been ready for this moment, been wanting this moment since he was a sophomore,” Hein said. “Now more than ever, with how we use Edwin and Ya-aqob, (Garcia) knows he’s going to have to take on a huge load offensively. He’s up for it.
“I am proud of him.”
garrett.kroeger@lmtonline.com | 2022-08-27T04:00:25+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/sports/article/He-s-up-for-it-Garcia-proves-to-be-17401589.php |
New Product Launch is the first of its kind, including Pre, Post, and Probiotics
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Goli® Nutrition Inc. ("Goli®"), the creators of the World's First Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy, is entering the world of probiotics, introducing the World's First 3-in-1 Pre+Post+Probiotics Gummy.
Each gummy is formulated with a world-class combination of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. Featuring probiotic strain Bacillus Subtilis DE11®, postbiotic Lactobacillus paracasei MCC1849 and the prebiotic XOS (xylooligosaccharides), this dynamic trio works in synergy to provide a multitude of benefits.
"After creating the World's First Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy, we were driven to create another first," said Goli's Senior Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs, Nisha Nonato. "The world of probiotics may be intimidating, but our mission is to make daily wellness simple and delicious."
Each ingredient plays a specific role in the body; prebiotics provide fuel for probiotics. Probiotics are friendly bacteria which maintain a healthy gut microbiome, helping to promote overall digestive health. Finally, the innovative postbiotics are a stable bacterial strain that supports immune health. Creating the World's First 3-in-1 Probiotic+ Gummy, Goli was able to fill the gap in the market, providing the benefits of these three ingredients into each delicious gummy serving.
For more information about the World's First 3-in-1 Pre+Post+Probiotics Gummy, please visit https://goli.com/pages/probioticplus
About Goli Nutrition
Goli® Nutrition is an inventive, people focused nutrition company committed to providing innovative products that make taking your daily supplements enjoyable. Goli Nutrition's products are formulated with quality ingredients you can pronounce and flavors your taste buds will enjoy! At the core of it all, Goli Nutrition leads with purpose, attaining B Corp Certification for their Goli for Good initiatives. To purchase Goli products or for more information, please visit www.goli.com.
CONTACT: Goli@behrmanpr.com
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SOURCE Goli Nutrition | 2023-03-23T13:35:25+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2023/03/23/goli-nutrition-announces-launch-worlds-first-3-in-1-prepostprobiotics-gummy/ |
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – If you want to help families in need while celebrating the spirit of Christmas, look no further than the Lyric Theatre.
The Lyric Theatre will raise money for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma during its production of “A Christmas Carol,” which will be held Nov. 16 through Dec. 23.
For the final year, the performance will be held outdoors at historic Harn Homestead.
After each performance, cast and crew members collect donations from the audience for the food bank.
“This production is one of the best holiday traditions in the metro and we are always amazed at the generosity of Lyric Theatre and its patrons,” said Stacy Dykstra, chief executive officer of the Regional Food Bank. “Over the past decade, the donations we have received have helped provide for more than 800,000 meals. Thank you, Lyric!”
Since 2011, Lyric Theatre audiences have contributed more than $208,000 to help fight hunger in the state.
Tickets for “A Christmas Carol” are available online or by calling the box office at (405) 524-9312. | 2022-11-11T15:34:57+00:00 | kfor.com | https://kfor.com/news/local/lyric-theatre-raising-funds-for-regional-food-bank-through-outdoor-performance/ |
(iSeeCars) – The average new car costs $43,528, while the average one- to five-year-old used car costs $34,291 according to the latest iSeeCars data. While used cars are significantly cheaper than new cars, both are still a major expense. That’s why it’s important to set a realistic budget and determine how much money you can afford to pay for your new — or new to you — car. We have the answers to help you determine that age-old question: how much car can I afford?
1. Determine Your Credit Score
Unless you’re paying for your car in full, you’ll need to secure a car loan. The first step toward getting a car loan and figuring out how much you can afford to pay is determining your credit score. This can also be referred to as your “FICO score” and is a numerical representation of your credit history. The three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – can each provide you with your FICO credit score. Another option is to check with your bank or credit card companies. Many of these institutions also provide a free credit monitoring service that will tell you your credit score.
A credit report, as well as monitoring services, also include a record of your credit history, including any items that are lowering your credit score. The higher your credit score, the better loan term you will be able to secure. Car manufacturers and dealerships will advertise special payment terms like zero-percent financing, but it’s important to remember those terms typically only apply to buyers with favorable, if not top-tier, credit scores.
If your credit score is low, you should try to boost your number before you purchase a car. You should aim for a credit score of 680 or above, but higher is always better. You can start by making sure you make your credit card and loan payments — especially any auto loan payments — on time. Resolve any past-due accounts, and pay down as much of the balance on your loans as you can, especially revolving credit accounts. You should also avoid opening new accounts, as frequent inquiries to the credit bureaus seeking new credit can lower your credit score.
While a good credit score isn’t required to secure a car loan, it will afford you a better annual percentage rate (APR) on the interest you’ll have to pay. The higher interest rate you have, the more you will end up paying in the long run. If you are unable to achieve a favorable credit score, another option is to get a co-signer on your loan. Your co-signer will agree to make loan payments if you default on your loan, which can lower an otherwise high interest rate.
2. Determine Your Down Payment
Making a down payment will lower the amount of the loan, or principle, you will need to take out, which will reduce your monthly payment. This also reduces the overall interest you’ll pay on the loan over time. While this can help make a car easier to afford, don’t deplete your savings account. Be sure to keep enough money on hand for whatever surprises might come your way. Dealers and lenders may offer deals for zero down payment financing, but you can still put money down to shorten the length of your loan and reduce your monthly payment.
3. Estimate the Value of Your Trade-In
The process of trading in your car begins with determining how much your car is worth. Major factors that impact your car’s value include how many miles it has on the odometer and its overall condition. Having your vehicle professionally detailed can also boost the trade-in value for your current vehicle.
Several websites, including Edmunds (Edmunds.com) and Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) have valuation tools that will give you a ballpark estimate on the value of your car. Make sure you are as honest as possible in answering any questions about your car’s condition. Some valuation tools offer an estimate specifically for trade-in value, but that’s just what it is – an estimate.
You can also sell your car to a private buyer, which will be more profitable than trading your car into a dealership. In this instance, you can price your car in accordance with its market value, which is higher than your car’s trade-in value. A car’s trade-in value is the amount of money a car dealer will offer you for your vehicle, whereas market value, also referred to as private party value, is the amount of money you would get selling your car directly to a buyer. Because dealerships handle the complex process of selling the vehicle, they offer a lower trade-in value to ensure they make a profit when they sell the car.
There are helpful online tools like the iSeeCars Price My Car Tool, which provide a detailed pricing report to help calculate your used car’s value. Simply enter your vehicle’s VIN or provide its make, model, year, trim, style, and mileage.
Whether you decide to sell your car privately or trade-in at the dealership, you can apply your car’s value toward the purchase price of your next vehicle, along with your down payment if you’re making one.
4. Calculate Your Car Budget
Setting a monthly budget will guide your new or used car search. As a general rule of thumb, your car payment should not exceed 10 percent of your monthly income, and your total car expenses (fuel, maintenance, car insurance, registration) should not exceed 15 percent of your monthly take-home pay, which is the amount of money you make each month after taxes. Or, if you’re paying in cash, determine the amount you’re willing to pay for your vehicle. You can use the 15 percent rule as a guide, but if you have other major monthly expenses like student loans, you should determine a monthly payment you can comfortably afford.
5. Determine Your Car Loan Amount
After you determine your monthly payment amount, you can determine how much you can borrow from a lender for your car purchase. One way to do this is by obtaining a pre-approval letter from a financial institution, which will review your credit history to determine how much money they will loan you. Keep in mind that you might be pre-approved for more than you can afford, so make sure you stick to your budget. You can also use a car affordability calculator, which is available on many personal finance websites, by entering your credit score, estimated monthly payment, and desired loan term. Remember — the shorter your loan term, the less you will pay in interest over time. Don’t be tempted to stretch out your loan term in order to have a lower monthly payment, because you’ll end up paying more in the long term. For example, if you purchase a $25,000 used car and put $4,000 down with an interest rate of 4.5 percent, your monthly payment on a four-year loan will be roughly $625 and you will pay $1,488 in interest over the duration of the loan. If you spread the loan out over five years with a higher interest rate of 5 percent, you will pay roughly $396 per month and nearly double, $2,778, in total interest. While a smaller monthly payment might seem appealing, it will cost you a lot more in the long run.
It’s important to note that most lenders will not provide a loan on a vehicle that’s more than five years old, so if you are relying on the financing you should consider a later model used vehicle.
6. Shop Around for the Best Loan Rates
You should always visit a bank or credit union to get pre-approved for a loan before you go to the dealership. Even if you plan on securing an auto loan through the dealership, having a pre-approval option from a financial institution can help you negotiate against the dealer’s rate. It will also show them that you are a serious buyer, which will give you more bargaining power. Because dealers make more money on vehicles they finance, they will likely try to beat the rates you’ve already secured.
7. New Car or Used Car?
When purchasing a vehicle, you have the choice of buying a new or used car. Although they are more expensive, there are perks to buying a new vehicle, including peace of mind, the reduced likelihood of unexpected repair bills, and warranty coverage. New cars also typically come with lower interest rates and financial incentives.
According to an iSeeCars study on off-lease car deals, the average used car loses 39 percent of its value after three years. When you buy a used car, the largest percentage of depreciation has already been absorbed by the original owner, and you get the car at a much lower price. You can even buy a car that is just one year old, which will typically cost 17 percent less than its new version. However, in today’s market, some lightly used cars cost more than their new versions, so be sure to compare the cost of new and lightly used vehicles. You may find that buying a new car is a better financial decision than purchasing a lightly-used one.
If you’re purchasing your used car through a franchise dealer, you will have the option to purchase a certified pre-owned (CPO) car. (Check out our handy guide to learn what does certified pre-owned mean? to better understand the CPO car buying process.) CPO cars are typically used cars that are less than five-years-old and have fewer than 75,000 miles on the odometer. CPO cars typically cost slightly more than non-certified used cars, but they are backed by manufacturer warranties and may also carry special financing. CPO cars combine the best of both the new and used car worlds, by offering added warranty protection on a late-model used car.
8. Buying or Leasing?
Another factor to consider is whether you want to buy or lease your vehicle. If you choose to lease, you don’t need to finance because you’re not buying the car. You just need to be able to afford the down payment and the monthly payments. If you don’t want to borrow from a bank and take out a loan, leasing could be your best option. Your lease payments typically cost less money than what you would pay for a monthly car payment if you were buying the vehicle. You can also get a much nicer car for your money and get to drive a new car every few years. Another benefit of leasing is that you don’t have to pay for repairs, as issues with your car that occur during your lease term are usually covered by the car’s factory warranty.
The downside to leasing is that you never own the vehicle. As soon as your leasing term ends, you will begin the cycle again. If you purchase a vehicle, you will likely be able to enjoy several years without a car payment, provided that you don’t take out too long of a loan term. Another drawback is that car leases come with mileage limits, which commonly range from 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year. If you exceed those mileage limits, you will have to pay excessive mileage fees, which can get expensive. Lastly, the upfront cost to lease is usually more than if you were purchasing. You might need to put down a larger down payment due to your credit score, and it’s likely that the dealership will often want the first month’s payment as well.
For more information on leasing vs. buying a car, refer to our guide.
9. Be Sure to Factor In Extra Costs
It’s important to make sure you budget for more than the advertised price of the car. While each state has different taxes and associated fees, you can expect to pay an extra 10% on top of the purchase price to cover the total cost of the vehicle. This includes sales tax, which is typically 5 percent to 10 percent depending on your state. There’s also documentation and registration fees, which also vary by state and the amount can be found on your state’s department of motor vehicles website. If you’re financing the vehicle, it’s important to understand you’ll also be paying interest on the financed portion of the vehicle. You should also research the car’s ownership costs to get a better understanding of what you’ll be paying per month. Car insurance is a major added expense, and it will cost more on later-model used vehicles. Be sure to check with your insurance agent before you purchase the vehicle to get an idea of what your new monthly rate will be. Be aware that used car insurance rates are also higher on sports cars and performance vehicles. You can also take the opportunity to shop around with other auto insurance companies to compare insurance quotes to ensure you’re getting the best rate. If you’re purchasing an SUV or a less fuel-efficient vehicle, you should also factor in additional fuel costs to make sure there is room in your budget. (You can refer to our list of Best Gas Mileage Cars to help reduce your fuel costs.)
10. Find the Right Car
Once you’ve determined your budget, you can now search for cars within your budget. Helpful car websites and search engines have made it easier and more convenient than ever to find the right car to meet your needs. Car search engines like iSeeCars.com equip buyers with all the information they need to find the right vehicle.
11. Beware of Depreciation
The depreciation on a new car means there’s a much greater loss in its value in the first few years after purchase compared to a used car. After all, The average new car loses nearly half its value after five years. If you’re going to keep your new car for the life of your loan, which will likely be between 5 and 7 years, that’s not a concern. But if you decide to switch cars earlier, the vehicle’s depreciation represents a significant ownership cost. If you plan to switch cars every few years you’ll save a lot of money buying cars that are at least 3 years old. Keep in mind that cars depreciate at different rates, so buying a car that best holds its value is a smart purchase decision.
12. Find the Best Price
Now that you’ve selected which models you’re interested in, you can do your research to find the best deal. While this mainly applies to used cars, which vary greatly in pricing, you can also do research to see which dealerships and manufacturers are offering the best new car incentives and finance rates. You may find that you can afford a more expensive vehicle than you anticipated if you spot a good deal.
Used car search engine iSeeCars.com uses data to objectively rank millions of cars and thousands of dealers, providing helpful insights and guidance to car buyers to find a good car at a good price from a trustworthy seller. Used car search engines and research sites allow you to easily compare prices and features like warranties, vehicle histories, and condition. Tools like the iSeeCars free VIN check will provide you with a pre-purchase analysis to ensure you are making the smartest purchase decision possible. It will also alert you to any red flags that could end up costing you money down the road. This includes:
- Pricing Analysis – Calculates the car’s fair value based on the local market and maps similar cars for sale locally.
- Condition – Analysis of mileage on the odometer, positives and negatives about the vehicle’s features and condition, and other resources like theft record, recalls.
- Depreciation – Estimates how much the car will depreciate over 1, 3, and 5 years
- Supply Analysis –Identifies similar vehicles for sale within the local area.
- Best Time to Buy – Analyzes when or what months may get you a better price.
- Vehicle History – Free CARFAX or Autocheck reports when provided by the seller.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re buying or leasing a car, it’s important to understand that you’ll likely keep your vehicle for several years. When taking out an auto loan or signing a lease contract, do your best to anticipate your future financial situation and make sure you’ll be able to make payments for the duration of the payment term. Also, when you determine how much you can afford to pay for a vehicle, you can still shop for cars that cost less than that amount. Just like it’s important to do your research and shop around for a vehicle, the same rule extends to auto loans. Follow our steps and you will find the best car at the best price within your budget.
More from iSeeCars:
Ready to begin your used car search? The iSeeCars.com used car search engine is the perfect place to start. With millions of listings that rank the best deals first and 59 user-friendly search filters, it can help you find the best car at the best price. And be sure to check out the comprehensive iSeeCars VIN check report to further help guide you through the car buying process and securethe best deal possible.
This article, How Much Car Can I Afford?, originally appeared on iSeeCars.com. | 2022-10-15T22:43:14+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/automotive/how-much-car-can-i-afford-2/ |
EVERY SO OFTEN, North Dakota State offensive tackle Cody Mauch will hear from Kendrick Lenzen, his childhood friend and former grade school teammate, via FaceTime.
"He'll be like, 'Hey, give me a smile,'" Mauch said. "It's like he's admiring his work."
Lenzen is responsible for what might become the most recognizable gap-tooth grin in the NFL since Michael Strahan. Mauch hasn't had his two front teeth since colliding with Lenzen while chasing a loose ball in a middle school basketball game. After several dental stopgaps, Mauch decided that he wouldn't repair his teeth until he finished playing football.
He could be waiting a while to fix that smile.
Mauch (pronounced "Mouck") enters the NFL draft later this month as one of the top offensive tackles on the board and Todd McShay's No. 52 overall prospect. ESPN's Matt Miller lists Mauch as his No. 5 tackle and there's a chance the North Dakota State standout hears his name called on the draft's first night in Kansas City, Missouri.
"I can say I knocked out an NFL player's teeth," Lenzen said.
Mauch's path to the doorstep of the NFL stands out, given where his journey began and what he looked like when he left home. He grew up in Hankinson, North Dakota, a town of 922 in the southeast corner of the state, where he played nine-man football and graduated in a class of 18. Mauch arrived at North Dakota State as a 220-pound walk-on tight end and left 82 pounds heavier as an All-America tackle.
The physical transformation makes the 6-foot-5, 302-pound Mauch hard to miss, especially with his long red hair and missing teeth. His personality matches the look. At NDSU, he became known for creative first-down celebrations, having in-game conversations with opposing linemen and playing the air fiddle (and even a real one) after FCS semifinal victories.
"His nickname is 'Tud,'" said North Dakota State defensive lineman Jake Kava, Mauch's friend and housemate. "When you think of a guy with the nickname Tud, that's Cody. No front teeth, big smile, long, flowing red hair."
Beneath the friendly exterior is a talent who can play all five offensive line spots and has an intriguing combination of skills and power. He just approaches football with a smile.
MAUCH WALKED ON at North Dakota State after receiving mostly Division II offers out of Hankinson High School, where he played tight end, quarterback and defensive end in the nine-man game. When Bison offensive lineman Nash Jensen first saw Mauch, he thought: "Who's this scrawny little redhead?"
During a practice in the spring of 2018, North Dakota State coach Chris Klieman called over Jim Kramer, the team's longtime strength coach. Klieman gestured toward Mauch, who had redshirted the previous season and was working with the tight ends.
"That kid's going to be a big kid," Klieman told Kramer.
But Klieman, who is now the head coach at defending Big 12 champion Kansas State, saw Mauch at a new position, where he could ultimately reach a much higher level.
"He was the first person who ever told me I might have a shot at the NFL," Mauch recalled. "That was before I really even started playing offensive line. I'm like, 'Man, this guy's crazy. How's he know?'"
North Dakota State doesn't treat its players as finished products. Kramer works with a nutritionist to take measurements and predicts the mass that players can add without compromising their effectiveness. Linebackers become defensive ends, tight ends become tackles and so on. The approach has helped NDSU become the nation's premier FCS program, winning nine national titles since 2011 and playing for another in January. Since 2014, North Dakota State has had 10 players drafted, including two first-round quarterbacks (Trey Lance and Carson Wentz) and four offensive linemen.
At first, Kramer didn't fully buy Klieman's vision for Mauch.
"I don't know if I saw that he was going to be a 300-pounder," Kramer said. "But Coach Klieman saw it. Then Cody started working."
Mauch spent the next months in the weight room and dining halls or other eateries in and around campus. NDSU has an all-you-can-eat program for freshmen and "Cody took full advantage," said Matt Entz, who replaced Klieman as coach in December 2018.
Kramer outlined a more aggressive in-season training plan for Mauch, since he wasn't on the depth chart. Mauch also spent much of his free offseason time eating and lifting.
"It made such a difference," said Joe Mauch, Cody's father. "Small-town kid, we don't really have too much of a weight program. At school, the weight room is in a corner on the stage. Not a lot, aside from a squat rack and a bench press."
When the 2018 season kicked off, NDSU listed Cody at 269 pounds, a 35-pound increase from his 2017 weight. By the fall of 2019, he was up to 290 pounds. Mauch also didn't stop growing vertically, measuring 6-foot-5 at the combine, an inch taller than when he arrived in Fargo.
"He's a kid with big hips, big hands, big features," Entz said. "We knew that at some point, he was going to gain some weight. I don't know if anyone really knew what he was going to be, or that he was going to turn out to be potentially a Day 1, Day 2 type of draft pick."
Mauch began playing the ogre position, an extra offensive lineman who occasionally wears a tight end's number. In 2019, he suited up as both No. 70 (offensive line) and No. 88 (tight end), catching a 2-point conversion in an FCS playoff semifinal win.
By the COVID-delayed spring season of 2021, his positional path became clear. North Dakota State initially moved all-conference tackle Cordell Volson from right tackle to left, while placing Mauch on the right side. After two games, the two switched. Volson earned first-team All-America honors that season and in the fall, before becoming a fourth-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals. Mauch remained the team's starter at left tackle.
"He's such a hardworking kid," said Jensen, who started multiple seasons next to Mauch at left guard. "Just to see his progression from being a tight end/defensive end to an All-American, top NFL prospect [for] offensive line, is absolutely crazy.
"I couldn't be more proud."
Mauch occasionally gets Facebook or Snapchat memories that show what he looked like when he arrived at North Dakota State. The before-and-after graphic of his measurables appeared on TV during the 2023 FCS playoffs and at pre-draft events like the Senior Bowl.
"It's like, 'Wow, I can't believe that's the way I looked,'" Mauch said. "It makes you happy for the way things have gone and how different life is now."
WHEN STACEY MAUCH saw her son walk in the door, she started to cry.
Cody was back home from Fargo, where he had visited the E.R. and a dentist, following the collision with Lenzen in the basketball game. His front teeth couldn't be salvaged, and his lips and face had swelled like a balloon.
Stacey didn't want to see Cody in pain. As a schoolteacher in Hankinson, she also worried about the impact of such a noticeable facial injury for a seventh-grader.
"You just want your kids to grow up confident and happy," Stacey Mauch said. "'Get your teeth fixed, you'll be confident and be ready to smile and take on the world.' But this guy doesn't need teeth to do that. He's shown that over and over, the way he flashes the smile and the confidence he has."
Since Cody's mouth was still growing, the plan called for him to wait for implants. He went through several sets of braces to widen his mouth and used a retainer and a "flipper" with false teeth. But the retainers kept breaking. After several years, Mauch stopped wearing anything.
"I'm sure my mom and dad were probably a little upset, just because of how much money they paid in braces and all the different dentist appointments, all the broken retainers," he said. "But everyone who knows me knows that no teeth kind of fits my personality. I'm an easygoing, goofy guy. I don't really care how I look."
Cody is the second of eight children, spanning ages 25 to 7, and comes from a large family that goes back generations around Hankinson.
As a boy, he spent summer days at the family crops farm alongside Joe. Tasks ranged from maintenance on tractors and other equipment to clearing fields. When Cody got his driver's license, he began driving a truck.
"You learn the way to work," Joe said. "Our kids have been working on a farm since they were 8 years old."
Hankinson's school had about 300 students in one building, kindergarten through 12th grade, and only offered a handful of sports. Mauch competed in everything: football, basketball, baseball and track, earning all-region honors in both basketball and track, while setting school records for touchdown receptions and sacks.
His older brother, Carter, was a multisport standout, and his younger siblings also competed.
"Whatever was going on for sports in the world, that's what was going on in our front yard, too," Stacey Mauch said. "If it was football season, they would mow a football field out there. If it was baseball season, they would mow a baseball field."
Cody knew everyone around town, and he and his friends found ways to entertain themselves. Once they began driving, they started to do "Main-ers."
"Just rip it up and down Main Street," said Cody, who started with a 2000 Grand Am before buying one of his dad's F-150 trucks. "There's no stop lights or anything, so it takes you probably 45 seconds to get from one side of town to the other."
Cody recently looked at a picture of his kindergarten class and realized almost everyone had graduated high school together. In November, Hankinson honored Cody with a celebration at the school.
His NFL draft plans aren't firmly set, but Joe expects a party at the VFW or the American Legion in Hankinson, where family and friends will gather.
"I'm definitely going to pay a lot more attention to the draft this year," Lenzen said. "I'm excited, kind of in disbelief. Cody's put a lot of work in, but it's a dream that a lot of people don't get to have."
DURING MAUCH'S FRESHMAN year at North Dakota State, Hank Jacobs, the team's director of football operations, looked at the clean-cut walk-on and made a suggestion: Grow out the red hair.
Mauch wasn't convinced, but he stopped going to the barber.
"I'm like, 'Eh, I'll just do it, why not?'" Mauch said. "I've been growing it out for probably four years now. Saved a lot of money on haircuts."
The long red hair, a trait Mauch shares with two of his sisters, is part of his signature look. He added a red beard while at NDSU. There's only one drawback.
"There was hair everywhere," said Kava, who shared a house with Mauch. "I was the vacuum guy, so I had to clean it out and I was like, 'Cody, could you please cut your hair, for my sake?' It's annoying to clean up, but it's here to stay. It's definitely part of the thing he has going."
Mauch incorporated his locks into a first-down signal: the hair point. Other celebrations after NDSU moved the chains included a slide, a somersault and several that were rehearsed but too difficult to perform in games, like the Maucharena (his spin on the '90s dance) and the conga line.
Naturally, Mauch named one celebration "A-gap power," where he smiles after first downs. His missing teeth actually became a conversation topic during games with opposing players.
"The D-ends and D-tackles, they're asking him, 'Why don't you have two front teeth?'" Jensen said. "As each play went along, the story got longer and longer. He probably changed it from time to time, just to mess with them."
Mauch didn't make the conversations all about himself. By his third year as a starter, he had built relationships with opposing linemen, and tried to get to know new ones.
"You're kicking these guys' butts and then talking to them about their uncle and farming," Kava said. "I think we were playing [Northern Iowa] and he's talking about egg science with their D-tackle. We'd get home and he would tell me, 'We were talking about the new combine from John Deere.'
"I'm like, 'Cody, you're something else.'"
Not surprisingly, Mauch was in the middle of North Dakota State's fiddle-playing tradition after FCS semifinal wins. Since the national title game is held annually in Frisco, Texas, North Dakota State plays the country song "If you're gonna play in Texas [You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band]" in the Fargodome when it advances. Bison players will play air fiddle, but after a win over Incarnate Word in December, someone handed Mauch a real one.
Middle schoolers in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota, noticed Mauch's fiddle form on TV and invited him to learn how to play correctly.
"Just a classroom of sixth- and seventh-graders making fun of me for not knowing how to hold it, not playing it right," Mauch said. "That was cool to get humbled by those guys."
For Mauch, the in-game displays made football fun, especially while playing on the line. He clicked instantly with the offensive linemen after switching over. Mauch loved that the group's success hinged on being unified, but individual personalities could still stand out.
During pregame meals, the linemen would compile their Mount Rushmores -- top fours -- for a variety of topics: snacks, favorite foods, least favorite foods, favorite places in Fargo, and more. "The stupid stuff that was right in my wheelhouse," Mauch said. Then, the Bison would usually proceed to mash their opponents. They ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing throughout Mauch's career.
Mauch's philosophy impacted everyone around him, even his coaches.
"I didn't think the football field was the place to have fun," NDSU offensive line coach Dan Larson said. "But he has fun with it and it makes football enjoyable to him. We stopped worrying about whether he was doing first-down signals, or if a guy runs by and he gives a high-five, but [the opposing player] won't do it, he gives himself a high-five.
"When I stopped worrying about those parts of it and just the snap and the finish, his level of football even went up. Because it's who he is."
ON NFL SUNDAYS in recent years, Mauch and his housemates would gather in their living room and watch games on four mounted TVs. Sometimes they'd even bring in a fifth screen.
Mauch used the time to unwind, but as he got older, his attention shifted.
"I'm sitting there, watching the left tackle, watching the center," he said. "I was just putting myself in their shoes."
Mauch's appearance and personality project fun, but he takes football seriously. Entz never questioned Mauch's commitment, noting that he approaches the grind of the game with some balance. Larson learned that as long as he smiled once in a while, he could challenge Mauch just like any other player.
Since Mauch is relatively new to playing offensive line, he had to build up his strength and technique. Kava remembered being able to bull-rush Mauch early in their careers before Mauch added "that tackle weight." Larson worked on hand placement with Mauch but saw him thrive at playing with his hips low to keep defenders from getting past him in pass protection.
Mauch's footwork and ability to move are his greatest assets. Larson thinks the right blocking scheme will make Mauch a "vertical monster," where he can pull and run downfield. Mauch doesn't have the longest arms, which measured 32 and three-eighths inches at the NFL combine, and might not project as a tackle for every team, but he can play all over the line, as he displayed during Senior Bowl week.
"He's the only guy in this draft class who has proven he can play all five spots," Senior Bowl executive director and former ESPN draft analyst Jim Nagy said. "Those guys are really hard to find. In the [Senior Bowl] game, he played left guard, center and right tackle, so he's proven he can play on both sides, which is big, too."
While scouting Mauch's film, Nagy never flagged arm length as a potential drawback. Mauch held up well against better competition during Senior Bowl week, and players on the National team voted him as their top offensive lineman.
Check out the best highlights that contributed to a stellar college career for North Dakota State's Cody Mauch.
Nagy said most teams he talked to before the event pegged Mauch as a second-round pick, but Mauch's performance gave him "a legit chance" to go at the end of the first round.
"I would start him at left tackle, because that's the premium position and prove to me that he can't play there," Nagy said. "If he can't play there, then we'll slide him into guard or center and there'll be a Pro Bowl-level player inside."
An AFC scout said Mauch likely projects as a Day 2 pick but added that all teams are starving for tackles.
"His passion and the emphasis he puts on playing the game jumped out," the scout said of Mauch. "I wanted to keep watching this guy."
Everyone will soon be watching Mauch in the NFL. Mauch appreciates his unlikely path to pro ball: small town, nine-man ball, three years as a walk-on at NDSU. He considers receiving a scholarship to be among the best moments of his life.
Another moment will come soon when his name is called in Kansas City at the draft. Mauch looks forward to entering a pro facility with his signature smile and becoming "a locker-room guy," just like he was at NDSU. | 2023-04-10T10:46:29+00:00 | espn.com | https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2023/story/_/id/35993456/cody-mauch-north-dakota-state-taking-smile-2023-nfl-draft |
With COVID, RSV, the flu and other bugs circulating, the last few months have been an endless cycle of illness for many families with young kids. While miserable, it's also normal in the grand scheme.
Copyright 2023 NPR
With COVID, RSV, the flu and other bugs circulating, the last few months have been an endless cycle of illness for many families with young kids. While miserable, it's also normal in the grand scheme.
Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-01-26T00:19:19+00:00 | klcc.org | https://www.klcc.org/npr-health-fitness/npr-health-fitness/2023-01-25/if-it-feels-like-your-kid-has-been-sick-for-months-heres-some-scientific-comfort |
A Facebook search for the words “election fraud” first delivers an article claiming that workers at a Pennsylvania children’s museum are brainwashing children so they’ll accept stolen elections.
Facebook’s second suggestion? A link to an article from a site called MAGA Underground that says Democrats are plotting to rig next month’s midterms. “You should still be mad as hell about the fraud that happened in 2020,” the article insists.
With less than three weeks before the polls close, misinformation about voting and elections abounds on social media despite promises by tech companies to address a problem blamed for increasing polarization and distrust.
While platforms like Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube say they’ve expanded their work to detect and stop harmful claims that could suppress the vote or even lead to violent confrontations, a review of some of the sites shows they’re still playing catch-up with 2020, when then-President Donald Trump’s lies about the election he lost to Joe Biden helped fuel an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“You would think that they would have learned by now,” said Heidi Beirich, founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism and a member of a group called the Real Facebook Oversight Board that has criticized the platform’s efforts. “This isn’t their first election. This should have been addressed before Trump lost in 2020. The damage is pretty deep at this point.”
If these U.S.-based tech giants can’t properly prepare for a U.S. election, how can anyone expect them to handle overseas elections, Beirich said.
Mentions of a “ stolen election ” and “voter fraud” have soared in recent months and are now two of the three most popular terms included in discussions of this year’s election, according to an analysis of social media, online and broadcast content conducted by media intelligence firm Zignal Labs on behalf of The Associated Press.
On Twitter, Zignal’s analysis found that tweets amplifying conspiracy theories about the upcoming election have been reposted many thousands of times, alongside posts restating debunked claims about the 2020 election.
Most major platforms have announced steps intended to curb misinformation about voting and elections, including labels, warnings and changes to systems that automatically recommend certain content. Users who consistently violate the rules can be suspended. Platforms have also created partnerships with fact-checking organizations and news outlets like the AP, which is part of Meta’s fact-checking program.
“Our teams continue to monitor the midterms closely, working to quickly remove content that violates our policies,” YouTube said in a statement. “We’ll stay vigilant ahead of, during, and after Election Day.”
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, announced this week that it had reopened its election command center, which oversees real-time efforts to combat misinformation about elections. The company dismissed criticism that it’s not doing enough and denied reports that it has cut the number of staffers focused on elections.
“We are investing a significant amount of resources, with work spanning more than 40 teams and hundreds of people,” Meta said in a statement emailed to the AP.
The platform also said that starting this week, anyone who searches on Facebook using keywords related to the election, including “election fraud,” will automatically see a pop-up window with links to trustworthy voting resources.
TikTok created an election center earlier this year to help voters in the U.S. learn how to register to vote and who’s on their ballot. The information is offered in English, Spanish and more than 45 other languages. The platform, now a leading source of information for young voters, also adds labels to misleading content.
“Providing access to authoritative information is an important part of our overall strategy to counter election misinformation,” the company said of its efforts to prepare for the midterms.
But policies intended to stop harmful misinformation about elections aren’t always enforced consistently. False claims can often be buried deep in the comments section, for instance, where they nonetheless can leave an impression on other users.
A report released last month from New York University faulted Meta, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for amplifying Trump’s false statements about the 2020 election. The study cited inconsistent rules regarding misinformation as well as poor enforcement.
Concerned about the amount of misinformation about voting and elections, a number of groups have urged tech companies to do more.
“Americans deserve more than lip service and half-measures from the platforms,” said Yosef Getachew, director of Common Cause’s media and democracy program. “These platforms have been weaponized by enemies of democracy, both foreign and domestic.”
Election misinformation is even more prevalent on smaller platforms popular with some conservatives and far-right groups like Gab, Gettr and TruthSocial, Trump’s own platform. But those sites have tiny audiences compared with Facebook, YouTube or TikTok.
Beirich’s group, the Real Facebook Oversight Board, crafted a list of seven recommendations for Meta intended to reduce the spread of misinformation ahead of the elections. They included changes to the platform that would promote content from legitimate news outlets over partisan sites that often spread misinformation, as well as greater attention on misinformation targeting voters in Spanish and other languages.
Meta told the AP it has expanded its fact-checking network since 2020 and now has twice as many Spanish-language fact checkers. The company also launched a Spanish-language fact-checking tip line on WhatsApp, another platform it owns.
Much of the misinformation aimed at non-English speakers seems aimed at suppressing their vote, said Brenda Victoria Castillo, CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, who said that the efforts by Facebook and other platforms aren’t equal to the scale of the problem posed by misinformation.
“We are being lied to and discouraged from exercising our right to vote,” Castillo said. “And people in power, people like (Meta CEO) Mark Zuckerberg are doing very little while they profit from the disinformation.”
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections. And check out https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections to learn more about the issues and factors at play in the midterms. | 2022-10-21T20:43:33+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-social-media-platforms-brace-for-midterm-elections-mayhem/ |
First Alert Forecast:
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Considering some downpours could be slow-movers and soils are very saturated, localized flash flooding is possible overnight and on Friday. Other impacts will include heavy downpours, lightning, and gusty winds at times. Coverage will begin to taper off overnight as low temperatures bottom out in the lower 70s. Scattered showers will also likely develop across parts of the area on Friday as our stalled boundary begins to wash out overhead. Make sure you keep an umbrella nearby. Temperatures during the afternoon hours will remain below normal in the middle 80s. While rain is possible over the weekend, the chances will be a bit lower than in recent days. Any showers or storms will be more scattered about rather than widespread and continuous. Temperatures will trend upwards to the upper 80s during this time. By next week, Gulf moisture will begin to flow back in resulting in daily chances for rain and storms. A tropical system may also enter the western Gulf of Mexico by Labor Day weekend.
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Copyright 2022 WLBT. All rights reserved. | 2022-08-26T00:20:33+00:00 | wlbt.com | https://www.wlbt.com/2022/08/25/first-alert-forecast-2/ |
LONDON, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to the number of resident millionaires, cities in the USA and China dominate the World's Top 10 Wealthiest Cities, while only one European city, namely London, makes it onto the 2023 list published today by international investment migration firm Henley & Partners in partnership with global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth.
New York City wears the crown as the wealthiest in the world with 340,000 millionaires, while two other American wealth hubs — the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles — come in 3rd and 6th places, with 285,000 and 205,400 resident high-net-worth individuals, respectively (note: HNWIs are defined those with investable wealth of over USD 1 million and all figures are rounded off to the nearest 100).
Tokyo, which led the pack ten years ago, falls to 2nd place with 290,300 millionaires, and London, the wealthiest city in the world for many years, drops down to 4th place with 258,000 resident HNWIs. City-state Singapore, widely regarded as the most business-friendly city in the world and one of the top destinations for migrating millionaires, sits in 5th place with 240,100 resident millionaires, while Sydney comes in 10th place with 126,900 millionaires. Home to some of the world's most exclusive residential suburbs, Sydney has experienced especially strong wealth growth over the past 20 years and is projected to break into the global Top 5 wealthiest cities by 2040.
China has three cities in the Top 10, with Hong Kong (129,500 millionaires), Beijing (128,200), and Shanghai (127,200) taking 7th, 8th, and 9th places, respectively. Beijing and Shanghai have both climbed the rankings over the past decade, but Hong Kong has taken a tumble, dropping from 4th place in 2012 down to 7th place currently.
Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, says "7 of the Top 10 wealthiest cities in the world are in countries that host formal investment migration programs and actively encourage foreign direct investment in return for residence or citizenship rights."
The US and China also dominate the Top 10 list of fastest growing cities when it comes to resident millionaires over the past decade. One of China's most enduringly popular holiday spots, Hangzhou, tops the charts with millionaire growth of 105% between 2012 and 2022, while Shenzhen and the port city of Guangzhou also enjoyed significant HNWI expansion, at 98% and 86%, respectively. The three fastest growing millionaire hotspots in the US are Austin (102% growth in resident HNWIs), West Palm Beach (90%), and Scottsdale (88%). India has two cities in the Top 10 — Bengaluru (88%) and Hyderabad (78%) — and the final two places go to the UAE's cultural hub Sharjah (84%) and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam (82%) which is fast emerging as Asia's next big wealth hub.
Head of Research at New World Wealth, Andrew Amoils, says traditional wealth magnets have also experienced especially strong growth over the last decade. "Arguably the world's top safe haven for the super-rich, the average wealth of a person living in Monaco exceeds USD 10 million, making it the top-ranked city on a wealth per capita basis. It is also the world's most expensive, with apartment prices exceeding USD 35,000 per square meter. Dubai is another leading international wealth centre, with its low tax rates making it a magnet for migrating millionaires from all over the world. Approximately 3,500 high-net-worth individuals moved to the city in 2022 alone."
Read the Full Press Release and World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2023
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SOURCE Henley & Partners | 2023-04-18T08:43:53+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/04/18/wealthiest-cities-world-2023/ |
Authorities: Pahrump landlord arrested in death of a tenant
PAHRUMP, Nev. (AP) — A Pahrump landlord accused of running over a tenant with a vehicle and dragging the victim on a road has been arrested, authorities said.
Nye County Sheriff’s officials said 70-year-old William Stanley remains jailed without bail on suspicion of an open count of murder.
It was unclear Thursday if Stanley has an attorney yet who can speak on his behalf.
According to authorities, Stanley and 66-year-old Frank Brink, also of Pahrump, got into an argument Tuesday.
Sheriff’s officials said Stanley allegedly ran over Brink with a vehicle and then tied the man to the bumper and dragged him at least a half mile.
Authorities said Brink’s body was found on the side of the road and they were able to follow a trail of blood back to Stanley’s property.
They served a search warrant to obtain evidence before arresting Stanley.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-09-09T20:21:59+00:00 | fox5vegas.com | https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/09/09/authorities-pahrump-landlord-arrested-death-tenant/ |
Delores Lowery remembers vividly the day in 2016 when she was working in a weaving plant near her home in Bennettsville, S.C., and the world around her seemed to go dim.
She turned to her co-workers. "And I asked, I said, 'Why y'all got it so dark in here? They said, 'Delores, it's not dark in here.' I said, 'Yes it is. It's so dark in here.'"
She landed in the hospital. Her A1C level, which shows the average percentage of sugar in someone's blood over the past few months, was 14.
A reading of 6.5% or higher indicates diabetes.
Lowery's home in Marlboro County is at the heart of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the "Diabetes Belt" — 644 mostly Southern counties where rates of the disease are high.
And of those counties, NPR found that more than half have high levels of medical debt. That means at least 1 in 5 people have medical debt in collections.
That's much higher than the national rate, which is 13%, according to the Urban Institute, a social-policy nonprofit. In Marlboro County, 37% of people have medical debt in collections.
NPR measured the overlap of Diabetes Belt counties and high medical debt counties by merging the institute's medical debt database with the CDC's list of Diabetes Belt counties.
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Institute economist Breno Braga says medical debt, like diabetes, is concentrated in the South.
"The single most important predictor of a county's medical debt is the prevalence of chronic conditions. So it's basically the share of the population that has disease, such as diabetes, hypertension and other types," he says.
Lowery has been dealing with both the medical and financial challenges of Type 2 diabetes, and much more. The years since her diagnosis have been extremely difficult, with one life-changing event having overwhelming health and financial consequences.
In 2017, she came home one day to find her daughter, Ella Shantrica, on the floor, stabbed to death. The body of her granddaughter, 8-year-old Iyana, was found 12 days later in a nearby creek. In February, a man was found guilty in the killings and sentenced to life in prison.
In an interview in the front room of that tidy single-family home in Bennettsville, Lowery says it took some time before she could bring herself to return to the house.
"Every day, 24 hours a day, that incident is in my head," she says. "It will never, ever go away."
She credits her church's pastor with helping her go back to the home, which she shares with her grandson Tyreon, a teenager on the autism spectrum. With her daughter gone, Lowery says she is Tyreon's sole caregiver.
Paying for diabetes care along with bills for food and housing has been a constant financial strain that eventually put her in debt.
"The cost of living was so extremely high in trying to raise my grandson that I just got behind," she says.
She's not alone. In addition to NPR's findings, research from the American Diabetes Association says people with the disease have more than twice the medical expenses annually as those without the disease.
"Because diabetes is a chronic illness, there are always six-month appointments," says Donna Dees, who lives in Georgia and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2008. "Every six months, go to the doctor, you've got lab work. So that's how the costs keep building up and building up."
Dees built up thousands of dollars in medical debt and got help from RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit group that says it has wiped out more than $8 billion in medical debt.
Lowery will tell you that she gets high-quality and compassionate health care from a local provider. But the financial challenge of living with diabetes has put her health into decline.
A drug that once helped her, Ozempic, is now too costly for her.
She says the medicine had been helping bring her diabetes under control. She was getting it delivered to her home, but she didn't meet her copays and the bills piled up as unpaid debt.
Soon, the deliveries stopped and Lowery tried to renew the prescription at the local pharmacy.
"I went to get it and the woman told me, 'I don't think you're going to be able to afford this.' I said, 'Why not?' She said, 'Because it's seven hundred and some dollars.'"
Worse, as the drug's profile skyrocketed in recent months as a "Hollywood" treatment for weight loss, demand increased and a shortage developed.
Lowery said earlier this year that she hadn't been able to get Ozempic for several months and that her diabetes was getting worse. Her insurance company has been no help.
"Nobody is willing to work with me with Ozempic. I don't know what to do," Lowery says. "They won't send me the medicine."
She and her provider even talked about getting physician samples, but given Ozempic's growing popularity, that didn't work.
A changing economy
In Lowery's hometown, others are struggling too.
More than 1 in 3 residents of the surrounding county have medical debt in collections, and 1 in 3 live in poverty.
It wasn't always this way, locals tell NPR. The area once hummed with manufacturing companies, restaurants and other amenities. There were plenty of good jobs to go around.
But one by one, employers moved out. Today, downtown Bennettsville is pretty quiet. South Carolina as a whole has nearly 100,000 fewer manufacturing jobs than it did in 2000.
"Bennettsville used to be a more thriving community years ago," says Lowery's health care provider, nurse practitioner Pat Weaver. "With a lot of our plants leaving for, you know, overseas in the last 15-20 years really made a devastating impact. We used to have a hospital here and now we no longer have that. It is very poor."
Weaver works for CareSouth, a nonprofit health center that has a federal government designation as a safety net provider.
As she walks the halls of the clinic, checking on colleagues and patients, she says that of the 3,300 appointments she takes every year, more than 90% of them have Type 2 diabetes.
She and others point to Bennettsville's changing economic fortune as a source of health problems in the community. Half the households in the city have an income less than $32,000.
She says lower-income residents often can't or don't choose the kinds of healthy meals that would help them control their diabetes.
"The fast foods don't help at all, and a lot of people just eat it every day, and that's a problem. It truly is," Weaver says. "But we have programs to help them. We even have a program where we take patients to the grocery store and we teach them what to buy."
CareSouth takes other steps, too, to fight the effects of poverty and disease in Bennettsville. The center has a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay and an in-house pharmacy that uses a federal program to keep drug prices down.
For Lowery, having a medical provider like Weaver has been a lifeline. "She's seen me through so much," Lowery says. "She tried different medicines to get my diabetes intact."
Finding Weaver came at a time when her family's murders threw her into depression, her finances spiraled out of control, and her diabetes worsened. Weaver, she says, helped get her into counseling.
"When she found out what had happened, I honestly believe in my heart that she cried just like I cried," Lowery says. "She did so much for me."
South Carolina's choice on Medicaid
While there is no easy solution for Lowery, who is over 65 and on Medicare, the Urban Institute and others say a simple policy change could prevent others from getting to such a difficult stage in their disease and finances: Expand Medicaid.
"Seventy-nine out of the 100 counties with the highest levels of medical debt are in states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA," the Urban Institute's Braga says.
The ACA is the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which offered states the option to expand their health insurance programs for the poor.
South Carolina is one of 10 states that have declined, and where NPR identified more than two dozen counties that fall within the Diabetes Belt and have high rates of medical debt. There's evidence from other states that people became healthier and owed less money to medical providers after Medicaid expansion.
A Boston University researcher looked at health centers just like CareSouth — more than 900 of them serving nearly 20 million patients.
The centers in states that did expand Medicaid reported better diabetes control than those in states that didn't expand the program, and the effect was quick — within three years of the expansion.
Those improvements happened consistently among Black and Hispanic patients, who have higher rates of diabetes.
A study in Louisiana found that people who gained Medicaid coverage after an expansion there had reduced medical debt.
An eye on the future
Lowery says going forward she will continue to rely on her faith and her church community to help her through the tough times.
Still, she worries about the possible worsening of her diabetes and the financial stress of daily life.
"I wish things would get better," she says. "I think I would sleep a little better, because sometimes it's kind of hard for me to try to keep some food on the table."
This story was edited by Robert Little and Kamala Kelkar. It was produced by Meg Anderson. Photo editing by Virginia Lozano.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-05-09T10:39:16+00:00 | nprillinois.org | https://www.nprillinois.org/2023-05-09/many-people-living-in-the-diabetes-belt-are-plagued-with-medical-debt |
BOULDER — Oncology pharmaceuticals producer OnKure Inc. has hired Roberta (Robbie) Alton as its new vice president of clinical development.
Alton was most recently the head of clinical operations at Denovo Biopharma LLC.
“I am honored to join OnKure and its team of esteemed industry veterans who have a strong history of successful drug discovery and development,” she said in a prepared statement. “OnKure’s proven structure-based drug design approach has great promise, and I look forward to utilizing my clinical operations background to support the clinical advancement of its pipeline of oncology precision medicines.”
OnKure CEO Tony Piscopio said, “Robbie is joining at a critical time in our clinical journey, and we look forward to her immediate contributions as we prepare to initiate the Phase 2 portion” of the company’s skin cancer drug candidate trial.
This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2022 BizWest Media LLC. You can view the original here: OnKure Therapeutics hires clinical development leader
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Genesis is on a roll with design, and all signs point to the South Korean luxury automaker speeding up rather than slowing down. On Tuesday in Malibu, California, the walls fell away from a box housing the Genesis X Convertible concept that could preview an electric convertible.
Light on details and long on looks, the 2+2 electric hardtop convertible makes a design statement that might as well be an exclamation point.
Stopping short of confirming the stunning convertible for production, Luc Donckerwolke, head of design for Genesis, told Motor Authority, “I don’t like show business.”
Genesis said the X Convertible is based on the same electric platform as the Genesis X Concept revealed in 2021 and the Genesis X Speedium concept revealed last April. Donckerwolke said the three concepts have been built to refine the design formula and see if a business case can be made for a limited run of series production cars.
Inside, the X Convertible’s driver-centric cockpit is a tweaked version of the X Speedium Coupe concept’s interior, which looked production ready when it was revealed in August and does here as well. Like in the coupe, the center console is turned toward the driver and walls off the passenger from the controls.
The folding hardtop, which wasn’t shown or put up during the reveal, is said to utilize transparent moonroofs to provide occupants an open feeling even while closed.
Low and sleek, the concept has a long dash-to-axle ratio, an extended hood, short front and rear overhangs, wrap-around LED lights at all four corners, and a ducktail spoiler. It all punctuates simple, attractive lines. Genesis noted the aero-dish wheels feature a functional design with a specifically spaced concave area that extracts heat from the brakes.
Donckerwolke said the design shared by the X Convertible and the Speedium coupe concepts seems to have found the sweet spot for a grand tourer that resonates with customers.
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- 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster EV spy shots | 2022-11-16T18:40:26+00:00 | wearegreenbay.com | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/automotive/internet-brands/genesis-x-convertible-concept-makes-the-case-for-a-sexy-electric-grand-tourer/ |
PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic’s power company on Wednesday signed a deal with U.S. energy giant Westinghouse Electric Co. to supply nuclear fuel for the Dukovany nuclear plant, eliminating the country’s dependence on Russia for such fuel.
State-controlled power company CEZ said that Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse will start fuel deliveries to Dukovany next year.
Russia’s TVEL, which is part of Russian energy giant Rosatom, was previously the sole supplier of fuel for the Soviet-era plant.
CEZ said Westinghouse expedited fuel development for Dokovany at the behest of the Czech government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago.
CEZ chief executive Daniel Benes called the deal a significant boost for energy security. The power company said it currently has enough fuel for next three years.
”We are proud to be the first Western alternative with a proven fuel design for this type of units,” Tarik Choho, president of Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel, said.
CEZ last year selected Westinghouse and France’s Framatome to supply fuel for the Czech Republic’s other, Temelin nuclear plant. The country’s six nuclear reactors generate more than a third of its total electricity needs.
CEZ operates four 510-megawatt units at the Dukovany power plant and another two 1,000-megawatt reactors at the Temelin plant.
Unlike its western neighbors Austria and Germany, the Czech Republic is doubling down on nuclear power in conjunction with renewable energy sources after deciding to phase out coal as a fuel for energy generation by 2033.
CEZ launched a tender last year for a new reactor at the Dukovany nuclear plant as the country aims to increase nuclear power generation.
Russia’s Rosatom and China’s CNG were excluded from the tender on security grounds. | 2023-03-29T19:36:56+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/business/us-westinghouse-to-supply-fuel-to-both-czech-nuclear-plants/ |
Senate bargainers say they have an agreement at hand on a bipartisan gun violence bill.
That would potentially tee up votes this week on an incremental but notable package that would stand as Congress's response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters Tuesday that a final agreement on the package was at hand. And Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas says negotiators have reached an agreement.
The measure would make background checks tougher for the youngest gun buyers and bolster spending for school safety and mental health programs.
This is a developing story and could continue to be updated. | 2022-06-22T01:18:53+00:00 | wsfltv.com | https://www.wsfltv.com/news/national/senators-say-agreement-on-gun-violence-compromise-is-at-hand |
MUSKEGON, Mi. — Beat boredom this summer and be inspired with books and activities. The Hackley Public Library's reading program is open to everyone from babies to adults. Participants win prizes for every 2 hours of reading logged, and then again at 8 hours.
Readers will also be entered to win prizes at the end of the program, the more hours logged, the more entries you receive. Activities range from attending museum events, to going on a walk outside.
It's simple to participate, you can either download the Beanstack app, or log the hours online here.
For more information on the Hackley Library and its programs, head to hackleylibrary.org. | 2023-06-06T15:15:54+00:00 | fox17online.com | https://www.fox17online.com/morning-mix/summer-reading-program-provides-inspiration-connection-prizes |
Arizona's premier line of THC gelcaps adds specialized cannabinoids to its new product lineup
PHOENIX, Jan. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Desert Medical Campus in Payson, Arizona, announced that it redesigned the packaging and developed exciting new formulas for its Chill Pill brand of cannabis soft gels.
The Chill Pill Collection is the first and finest artisan-crafted cannabis-blend soft gel cap in Arizona. Formulated with the highest quality ingredients, the easy-to-swallow Chill Pill comes in five distinct blends:
- Day Caps – a sativa dominant formula that is a great way to start your day and keep you motivated, energized, and focused. Now featuring CBG – called "the mother of all cannabinoids" as it helps keeps the body in an equalized state of homeostasis.
- Anytime Caps – contains a mixture of cannabinoids and terpenes from both sativa and indica plants to create the perfect balance, day or night.
- Night Caps – helps you unwind and relax with an indica dominant formula that is rich with terpenes and active co-factors. Now featuring CBN – a complex cannabinoid which helps promote sleep and provides numerous healthful benefits.
- Anytime Caps + CBD – features the perfect 1:1 blend of THC and CBD to create a feeling of harmony that feels both relaxing and rejuvenating.
- THC-A – a unique cannabinoid that is non-intoxicating and less likely to cause drowsiness. Ideal for those who need symptom relief without the high.
Chill Pills are available in four strengths: 5mg, 10mg, and 25mg, plus 100mg "Chill Pill Extreme" – which offers a higher dose for experienced users. These are also convenient 10, 20 and 30 unit bottles.
Chill Pills unique full spectrum softgels preserve the naturally occurring oils in the plant, allowing each cannabinoid to fully activate and deliver a desired "entourage" effect. Additionally, Chill Pills are calorie-free, with no added sugar.
"Our Chill Pill Collection offers Arizonans a way to get natural cannabinoids, specially formulated for a variety of needs," explained Pam Donner, COO of Desert Medical Campus. "Our exclusive blends utilize the highest quality ingredients, and provide convenience, consistency, and predictability for both medical and adult-use."
Chill Pills are unique in Arizona and use pure full spectrum oil, with no additives and nothing artificial.
Available at finer dispensaries statewide.
For more information on Chill Pills, visit: https://azmarijuana.com/products/chill-pill
For wholesale inquiries, contact Eric Brown: ebrown@azchillbrands.com
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SOURCE Desert Medical Campus | 2023-01-17T19:43:57+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2023/01/17/chill-pill-announces-new-formulas-new-look/ |
Thousands rally in Bratislava to honor 2 gay men shot dead
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s president has joined a rally of thousands to honor two gay men who were shot dead in the capital earlier this week and demonstrate support for the LGBTQ community. Police say they are investigating the killings as a hate crime. People lit candles at the site of the shooting Friday before marching to a central Bratislava square. In her address to the crowd, President Zuzana Caputova asked LGBTQ people for forgiveness “for not being able to feel safe in Slovakia.” | 2022-10-14T23:05:02+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national/2022/10/14/thousands-rally-in-bratislava-to-honor-2-gay-men-shot-dead/ |
NUVISAN's integrated drug discovery expertise leveraged in a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
BERLIN, Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NUVISAN ICB GmbH, a fully integrated contract research service provider for drug discovery and development ("NUVISAN ICB"), announced today that the company has received a grant with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, WA, USA, "the foundation") for an integrated program on discovery and early development of novel non-hormonal contraceptive medicines.
NUVISAN has been awarded a three-year grant of US$ 9.6 million from the foundation to develop a portfolio of programs based on several promising human protein targets, establish tools and assays, perform high-throughput screening (HTS) of a library of up to 2.46 million compounds to identify chemical hits that are suitable for pharmacological intervention, and further optimize these hits to in vivo lead compounds during the hit-to-lead process.
"Addressing the unmet family planning and birth control needs of women and their families worldwide is a global challenge and an exciting motivation for us at NUVISAN", according to Arnoud Huisman, Managing Director of NUVISAN ICB and Chief Strategy Officer of the NUVISAN group, "We appreciate the foundation's trust and are delighted to contribute our scientists' long-standing pharma expertise and our integrated drug discovery and development capabilities to this program, to eventually bring new non-hormonal contraceptive medicines to the clinic."
About NUVISAN
The NUVISAN group is a Contract Research and Development & Manufacturing Organization (CRO/CDMO) with six sites in Germany and France. NUVISAN offers unique, high-quality, and tailored integrated solutions along the drug discovery and development value chain - from target to patient. Thanks to more than 40 years of experience and over 1,000 employees, NUVISAN supports its biotech startup, pharma, and venture capital partners to discover, develop, and bring the next generation medicines to market.
NUVISAN ICB GmbH (Innovation Campus Berlin) was acquired by NUVISAN as a fully functional pharma R&D unit in 2020. NUVISAN ICB brings decades of successful drug discovery and development expertise in a broad indication spectrum including women's and men's health, oncology, and cardiovascular diseases. With all capabilities located under one roof in Berlin, NUVISAN ICB provides end-to-end solutions from target identification to pre-clinical candidates and IND, covering protein technologies, structural biology, high-throughput screening, computational and medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, translational research, drug metabolism & pharmacokinetics as well as toxicology.
With a recent strategic investment from ALS Limited (ASX: ALQ), the NUVISAN group is today one of the fastest growing companies in the industry for the benefit of its partners and the patients they cure. For more information, please visit www.nuvisan.com
Nuvisan media contact
Uyen.Nguyen ; Uyen.nguyen@nuvisan.com, +49 172 4166247
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SOURCE Nuvisan Gmbh | 2022-09-20T07:46:09+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/09/20/nuvisan-receives-us96m-grant-multi-target-drug-discovery-program-novel-non-hormonal-contraceptive-medicines/ |
Uninhabited Black Hawk® helicopter lifts external cargo and
completes casualty evacuation and medical resupply missions
YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz., Nov. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have successfully demonstrated to the U.S. Army for the first time how an uninhabited Black Hawk helicopter flying autonomously can safely and reliably perform internal and external cargo resupply missions, and a rescue operation.
Performed Oct. 12, 14 and 18 as part of the U.S. Army's Project Convergence 2022 (PC22) experiment, the flights show how existing and future piloted utility helicopters could one day fly complex missions in reduced crew or autonomous mode. This would give Army commanders and aviators greater flexibility in how and when aircraft and pilots are used, especially in limited visibility or contested environments.
See demonstration photos and video.
Why It Matters
Sikorsky is partnered with DARPA to develop autonomy technology that will exponentially improve the flight safety and efficiency of rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. Sikorsky's autonomy system, known as MATRIX™ technology, forms the core of DARPA's ALIAS (Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System) project.
"We believe MATRIX technology is ready now for transition to the Army as they look to modernize the enduring helicopter fleet, and acquire Future Vertical Lift aircraft," said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations. "In addition to increasing flight safety and reliability, MATRIX technology enables survivability in high tempo, high threat 21st Century Security environments where Black Hawk helicopters operate today, and DEFIANT X® and RAIDER X® helicopters could operate in the future. Uncrewed or reduced crewed helicopters could safely perform critical and lifesaving missions day or night in complex terrain and in contested battlespace."
The Yuma Details
During PC22 Technology Gateway, the Sikorsky and DARPA team showed how the optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter with no humans on board can deliver a large quantity of blood product unharmed by flying low and fast above ground level using the terrain to mask its signature; resupply troops with an external load; and re-route mid-flight to evacuate a casualty.
To begin the flight demonstrations, pilots flew and landed the Black Hawk aircraft, then activated the MATRIX system to give full control to the flight computer. When the pilots exited, the helicopter autonomously completed the following mission demonstrations:
- Long-endurance Medical Resupply: The Black Hawk aircraft flew 83 miles while loaded with 400 units of real and simulated blood – totaling 500 pounds. On reaching 40 miles from its initial take-off point, the helicopter descended into a valley as low as 200 feet above ground level at 100 knots.
- Cargo Delivery and Casualty Evacuation (combined mission): The helicopter lifted off with a 2,600-pound external load attached to a 40-foot sling, and flew at 100 knots for 30 minutes toward a designated landing zone. While in flight, the helicopter was redirected, simulating a scenario in which a threat needed to be neutralized near the primary landing site. Sikorsky demonstrated how a ground operator with a secure radio and tablet can take control of the uncrewed helicopter, command it to release its sling load, and then land to evacuate a casualty from a nearby location. Once the manikin on a litter was secured inside the cabin, the ground operator launched the aircraft. During the return flight, a BATDOK health monitoring device integrated with the helicopter's communications system relayed the patient's vitals in real-time to a ground-based medical team.
What's Next
The PC22 demonstrations were the second set of uninhabited Black Hawk flights this year. Sikorsky and DARPA will continue to work toward the transition of this technology for military operations, such as aircrew support and operations, logistics and medical resupply, casualty evacuation, and commercial applications such as firefighting, cargo and urban air mobility.
For more information visit, www.lockheedmartin.com/matrix.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 114,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
Please follow @LMNews on Twitter for the latest announcements and news across the corporation.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin | 2022-11-02T20:17:23+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/11/02/sikorsky-darpas-autonomous-black-hawk-flies-logistics-rescue-missions-without-pilots-board/ |
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KTLA) – Just three weeks after a cougar attacked and killed a Chihuahua that was leashed and going for a walk in the Hollywood Hills, another Chihuahua was injured in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The attack occurred around 11:55 p.m. Friday.
Ring video provided by Jeff Kelly shows the cougar, which had a tracking collar, walking in front of his home just as his neighbor was leaving to walk his dog.
Moments later, the Chihuahua named “Taz” can be heard yelping. The owner picks up his dog and runs back into his home.
Shortly afterward, the owner went outside to scare the big cat away. The video shows Kelly stepping outside to talk with his neighbor.
“It bit up Taz,” the dog’s owner tells Kelly. “We’re going to take him to the vet right now.”
The video shows the mountain lion continued to roam the neighborhood even after the attack.
A GoFundMe started by a friend indicates Taz “received some pretty deep bite marks and scratches that required stitches and medical attention.”
Authorities believe the mountain lion in the previous dog attack in November was P-22, the famous tracked and collared cougar which was first identified in 2012.
The attacks on dogs in Los Angeles come as another mountain lion attacked a border collie inside its home in Santa Rosa, California, last week, according to KRON.
Video from that attack shows the mountain lion after it had dragged the 12-year-old dog outside through an open sliding door. A neighbor was able to scare it away from the dog by firing a shot into the air, but the big cat remained outside the house and continued staring through the glass door for several hours. It later killed two goats before it was euthanized by state wildlife biologists over the weekend.
Mountain lions’ primary source of food in California is deer.
“The deer are dwindling, and these kinds of things are going to happen more often. I’m 49, and when I was in high school, there were no sightings. The (cougar) population was not as big as it is now,” neighbor Ron Crane said.
California is not the only state to see mountain lions in urban areas. One seen wandering around a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood was euthanized after being “safely captured” early Wednesday morning, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Wildlife officials advise people not to run if they see a mountain lion because it can trigger an instinct in the animal to chase. Instead, it’s advised you raise your hands over your head, act big, and back away slowly. | 2022-12-08T19:55:03+00:00 | ktalnews.com | https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/mountain-lion-attacks-another-leashed-chihuahua-in-los-angeles/ |
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SkyWest will be in Mason City for a bit longer.
It took until game No. 28 for Newman Catholic's baseball team to have its full lineup together.
Less than 24 hours ago, Forest City's baseball team was walking off the field in disbelief.
Tami Dillavou won't remember the highs and lows. She won't think about the trickle of all-conference and all-state mentions. Even the big mile…
District Judge Zachary Hindman ruled that Jay Lee Neubaum is guilty of three counts of third-degree sexual abuse for raping and assaulting one of the girls and raping the other.
Sometimes it takes a community to race a soapbox car and win awards.
It was a dying wish of Beryl Buffington to know that his handcrafted hobby train set and other miniatures have a new home to be preserved and …
After 29 years, longtime owner Julie Bergo has said goodbye to Lorados.
DES MOINES (AP) — The family of an 11-year old boy who died on a water ride at an Iowa amusement park a year ago filed a wrongful death lawsui…
Mike Schutt has a pretty tight schedule.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. | 2022-07-01T12:22:03+00:00 | globegazette.com | https://globegazette.com/adana/article_88767e98-bc5c-5248-9b12-a378afbef3a9.html |
WFO SPOKANE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, August 31, 2022
_____
HEAT ADVISORY
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Spokane WA
432 AM PDT Tue Aug 30 2022
...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 8 PM PDT
WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...High temperatures in the upper 90s to low 100s expected.
This will pose a moderate risk for heat-related illness.
* WHERE...Portions of North and North Central Idaho. Portions of
Central, East Central, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast
Washington.
* WHEN...From 11 AM to 8 PM PDT Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures will increase the risk for heat related
illnesses, especially for those without efficient cooling or
adequate hydration.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-08-30T12:46:43+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/weather/article/WA-WFO-SPOKANE-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17406900.php |
ATHENS, Ga. — A wide receiver who recently transferred to Georgia from Mississippi State was jailed in Athens on Monday on felony and misdemeanor charges.
Jail records showed Thomas was arrested by University of Georgia police. Other details were not immediately available, and it was not immediately known if Thomas had an attorney who could speak for him.
Thomas, who is from Eufaula, Alabama, was Mississippi State’s leading receiver last season, with 626 receiving yards on 44 catches and seven touchdowns. In December he announced his transfer to Georgia, which won its second straight national championship on Jan. 9.
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25 | 2023-01-23T18:50:37+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/georgia-football-transfer-thomas-jailed-on-felony-charge/2023/01/23/b36c8348-9b43-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The chairman of Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday offered words of reconciliation over World War II-era mass murders that have strained relations with its neighbor and strategic ally Poland for 80 years.
“Human life has equal value, regardless of nationality, race, sex or religion,” Ruslan Stefanchuk told Polish lawmakers. “With this awareness we will cooperate with you, dear Polish friends, and we will accept the truth regardless of how uncompromising it may be.”
Stefanchuk’s words sounded a new tone and were in contrast to the recent angry reaction of Ukraine’s ambassador to Polish expectations of an apology.
Poland this year is marking the 80th anniversary of the 1943-44 massacre of some 100,000 Poles by Ukrainian nationalists and others in Volhynia and other regions that were then in eastern Poland, under Nazi German occupation, and which are now part of Ukraine.
Entire villages were burned down and all their inhabitants killed by the nationalists and their helpers seeking to establish an independent Ukraine state. Poland calls the events a genocide.
An estimated 15,000 Ukrainians died in retaliation.
Stefanchuk was speaking in Poland’s parliament during a visit to Warsaw. Poland has been offering military and humanitarian support to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Stefanchuk thanked Poland for the current support, and then offered sympathy to the families of the Poles slain in what is known as the Volhynia massacre. He also offered a joint effort to identify and honor all the victims buried in Ukraine.
Poland has long been seeking Kyiv’s permission for exhumations, identification and commemoration of the Polish victims. However, some of the Ukrainian nationalist leaders of the time are regarded as key figures for Ukraine’s statehood, lending a different perspective there to the events.
Stefanchuk thanked the families of the victims for cultivating a memory which “does not call for revenge or hatred, but which serves as a warning that nothing like that can ever happen between our nations again.”
He said that identification and honoring of the victims “without bans or barriers” is “our joint moral and Christian obligation.”
He said that an open, joint approach to the painful history would be an “exceptionally necessary test” that could pave the way for the words “we forgive and ask for forgiveness.” Those words, offered by Poland’s Catholic bishops to Germany’s bishops in the 1960s, laid the foundations for Poland’s reconciliation with its World War II aggressor, Germany.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau described Stefanchuk’s speech as “very good,” saying that “we have heard what we wanted to hear.”
“We are on the right path and this speech shows that our positions are getting closer again. We have something to build on,” Rau said.
Poland’s leaders have insisted that bringing the full truth into the open will strengthen bilateral relations with Ukraine and neutralize vulnerabilities that could be exploited by third countries seeking to undermine these ties. | 2023-05-26T04:28:36+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/news/international/ap-ukraine-offers-reconciliation-to-ally-poland-over-world-war-ii-era-massacre/ |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) —
Shane McClanahan struck out 10 over seven innings, Tampa Bay had a three-run seventh keyed by an overturend call and the Rays completed a three-game sweep by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Sunday.
McClanahan (8-3) allowed one run and four hits, and had 10 strikoeouts, lowering his major league-leading ERA to 1.77 ERA and grabbing the big league lead in strikeouts with 123.
The Rays took a 4-1 lead in the seventh on Ji-Man Choi’s run-scoring double and RBI singles by Josh Lowe and Isaac Paredes off Anthony Banda, who replaced Tyler Beede (0-1) with one on and two outs.
It appeared the inning was over with the score still 1-1 when Randy Arozarena was called out attempting to steal second. The call by second base umpire Dan Merzel was overtuned when a video review shortstop Diego Castillo missed the tag.
Paredes went 3 for 3 with a walk and is 10 for 15 over his last four games.
Brooks Raley worked the ninth for his fourth save as the Rays won their team-record 12th straight game decided by two runs or fewer.
Daniel Vogelbach hit a pinch-hit solo homer in the eighth for the Pirates, who dropped to 8-16 in June.
Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco was reinstated from the 10-day injured list after missing 23 games with a right quadriceps strain and had an infield hit in five at-bats.
Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes went 1 for 4 after missing two games due to shoulder soreness. He was hurt on a collision at the plate while scoring the winning run in the 10th inning Thursday night against the Chicago Cubs.
Vidal Bruján put the Rays up 1-0 in the second when he drew the fourth walk of the inning off Roansy Contreras.
Contreras gave up one run, four hits and five walks along with four strikeouts in five innings.
Bryan Reynolds tied it at 1 with a third-inning RBI single.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: Second baseman Tucupita Marcano (Covid-19 ) started a rehab assignment Sunday with Class A Bradenton. … RHP Duane Underwood (Covid-19) is expected to start a rehab assignment soon … INFs Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain), Kevin Newman (left groin strain) and Josh VanMeter (fractured left ring finger), and OF Ben Gamel (strained left hamstring) all continued their rehab assignments with Triple-A Indianapolis.
UP NEXT
Pirates: Have not announced their starting pitcher for Monday night’s game at Washington. The Nationals will start RHP Erick Fedde (5-5).
Rays: RHP Shane Baz (0-1) and Milwaukee RHP Brandon Woodruff (5-3) are Tuesday night’s starters.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-06-26T21:17:08+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mcclanahan-strikes-out-10-rays-beat-pirates-4-2-for-sweep/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) — BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Agree Realty Corp. (ADC) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its fourth quarter. The results matched Wall Street expectations.
The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $84.4 million, or 95 cents per share, in the period.
The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 95 cents per share.
Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.
The company said it had net income of $39.1 million, or 44 cents per share.
The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $116.5 million in the period, surpassing Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $115.9 million.
For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $304.9 million, or $3.83 per share. Revenue was reported as $429.8 million.
The company's shares have risen 1% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $71.78, a rise of 14% in the last 12 months.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ADC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ADC | 2023-02-14T22:22:13+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/agree-realty-q4-earnings-snapshot-17784477.php |
In honor of Veterans Day, Chapel Hill High School students recognized local veterans through various forms of appreciation during a special assembly on Friday.
The annual event was held in the campus auditorium with performances by the Chapel High honors band, spoken tributes, and a speech by local veteran Larry Blair who shared his experience in the Army National Guard.
Veterans were also recognized by their branches with a flag presentation that allowed each veteran to represent their military branch as each flag was presented by students, and a "Taps" performance which brought tears to veterans.
After the presentation, veterans were invited to a reception with the CHHS Student Senate Pride Committee who put together the assembly and wanted to continue to show their appreciation.
Steve Conger, who served for six years in the U.S Army during the Vietnam War, attended the event for the first time and said it was one of the best programs he has ever been to.
Conger said he left feeling honored, especially seeing the younger generation paying tribute and recognizing the true meaning of the day's observance.
“It’s nice now because the generation is starting to honor the veterans and it's taken many years, it really has, but here again the important thing is to train and educate the youth. We totally have lost the sense of patriotism and I’ve worked all over the U.S., and it's nice in the South, especially Texas, that the veterans feel special,” he said.
Conger recalls experiencing a lot of verbal abuse when coming back from serving during the Vietnam era, and emphasized that as another reason why it's beautiful to be honored for his service.
“I feel honored, it was my duty to serve and I’m very happy to be able to feel that,” he said.
Katelyn Chavez, sophomore and pride committee member, paid tribute with a speech during the assembly.
“I feel like it's always important to thank our veterans because they do so much for us already. I feel like the least we can do is celebrate Veterans Day just so we could show them how much we appreciate them, and how much we love them. I feel like everyone here, especially our community, we all greatly appreciate our veterans for all that they do,” she said. “Putting this program on really just helps the community be together and helps us just think about today and all the past events that have happened, and show our gratitude toward our veterans. I feel like it's a really important thing to do, considering they've spent countless hours and days helping us and our country.”
Chavez said she looks forward to the assembly every year, especially the reception that follows because she gets to speak to the veterans who attended and personally thank them for their service.
Along with the assembly and reception, students also honored veterans with a fallen soldier table outside the auditorium. | 2022-11-12T00:51:30+00:00 | tylerpaper.com | https://tylerpaper.com/news/chapel-hill-high-school-honors-local-veterans-with-special-assembly/article_0f092e96-6213-11ed-947b-cb70c5cc11e1.html |
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Grammy-nominated musician, cultural influencer, entrepreneur, and activist Fat Joe is lending his voice to the Power to the Patients movement in a new public service announcement (PSA) focused on combating injustices and fighting for a more affordable and equitable healthcare system in America.
The new PSA from Power to the Patients, a national non-profit organization working to combat hidden prices in healthcare, and the rap mogul is a direct response to a lack of hospital compliance and enforcement of a federally mandated rule that took effect in January 2021 requiring all U.S. hospitals to provide clear, upfront pricing information for all their services, so consumers can see, compare, and save.
"We have to change the healthcare system and hold hospitals and insurers accountable to provide more transparency on the price of care. They are charging way too much money and the bills are not even consistent," said Fat Joe. "Somebody could get an MRI for $300 and someone right behind them could be paying thousands for the same MRI. Right now, millions across the country are being dragged into debt because they're blindsided by the cost of these medical bills. Families are falling apart. People are losing their homes. People are getting bankrupted because of hospital bills and healthcare."
Although the price transparency rule took effect more than two years ago, a new report from PatientRightsAdvocate.org shows that less than 25% of hospitals are complying with the rule.
"Knowing prices is the only way we will be able to lower our costs in healthcare. So, we have to fight for the people," said Joe. "We all have to talk to our politicians and talk to everybody. It's in the law that hospitals and insurers need to post prices and we all need to know this. I teamed up with Power to the Patients to educate our communities on their rights and help put an end to this injustice."
The PSA will air on television and digital platforms across the nation with the intent of educating Americans on the federal hospital rule that, if enforced, would allow patients and their families to understand the real financial obligations of their healthcare decisions upfront, lower their costs of care and coverage, and hold hospitals accountable for price gouging and surprise bills. The movement's artwork was created by renowned street artist Shepard Fairey.
***You can view the PSA here and download assets at the link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/lutqzmeth35t0wfcwm8gy/h?dl=0&rlkey=m68ajxq7haz9iwh0lmi15qnwp
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Power to the Patients | 2023-02-16T19:45:33+00:00 | waff.com | https://www.waff.com/prnewswire/2023/02/16/rapper-fat-joe-calls-president-biden-congress-fix-healthcare-system-america/ |
New Zealand is welcoming back tourists as the country drops most of its remaining COVID-19 rules.
On Monday, the country announced the removal of its vaccine requirements and mask mandates as the country dropped its COVID traffic light framework just after midnight.
According to the country's ministry of health's website, masks are no longer required to be worn anywhere. Also, travelers coming into the country will no longer need to be vaccinated.
Vaccine mandates for health and disability workers also ended.
However, the country will keep two rules in place: masks must be worn in certain healthcare facilities like hospitals, and those who test positive for the virus must isolate for seven days, the website said.
The website added that places of worship and some workplaces might ask people to wear masks.
News of the country removing most of its COVID rules comes a few months after New Zealand began welcoming back tourists.
In May, the country announced it was reopening its borders to travelers from the U.S. and other countries after they imposed strict COVID borders restrictions in early 2020 to combat the spread of the virus, the Associated Press reported.
According to the news outlet, before the pandemic halted international tourism, more than 3 million tourists a year visited New Zealand. | 2022-09-12T19:07:09+00:00 | kgun9.com | https://www.kgun9.com/news/world/new-zealand-drops-mask-vaccine-requirements-as-it-removes-most-of-its-covid-19-rules |
Boulder County is seeking feedback from those with an interest in “enhancing trail and trail safety and emergency services in Boulder County,” according to a Facebook post. Officials are looking to get perspectives from trail and trail safety organizations for Boulder 1B (Emergency Services) spending.
The meeting will be virtual from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, “for a one-hour brainstorming exercise to aid Boulder County’s leadership in determining the highest priority needs and collaborative opportunities for outdoors groups, emergency responders, and search and rescue organizations,” according to the post.
Boulder ballot issue 1B, regarding the 0.1% emergency services sales tax, passed in November with 69% of the votes in favor. In its first year after being implemented, it is expected to raise $11 million. This would support emergency services in rural and unincorporated mountain areas that don’t have access to ambulance services along with funding buildings for the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group.
According to the post, officials are looking to get perspectives of parks, mountain and open space partners, trail users, emergency communication partners, responders and recreational groups.
“Information gained during this session will inform short-term 1B funding distribution models as well as any proposed grants criteria and review process to be used over the next several years,” the post read.
More information on registering for the virtual meeting can be found online at bit.ly/41nRhuA. | 2023-04-13T20:04:23+00:00 | dailycamera.com | https://www.dailycamera.com/2023/04/13/boulder-county-seeking-feedback-on-ballot-issue-1b/ |
It’s wine time!
From cheerful bargains to worthy splurges, this book will be your wine bible this summer, White Wine: The Comprehensive Guide to the 50 Essential Varieties and Styles.
The World Wine Guys, Jeff Jenssen and Mike DeSimone, are the men behind the new book.
They joined Marysol and Alex on the show to share their picks for the best summer whites! | 2023-06-29T17:27:28+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/new-york-living/top-picks-for-summer-white-wines/ |
For many American Jews, seeing a female rabbi is a pretty regular part of life. But it's a fairly recent development. Sally Priesand – the first American female rabbi – was ordained just 50 years ago, on June 3, 1972.
This groundbreaking ordination changed women's roles, and the course of Judaism itself.
Although Priesand had strong support from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where she was enrolled in seminary, a lot of people still didn't want to see her in the role.
"There would always come a time where some person would come up to me and tell me why women shouldn't be rabbis," says Priesand. "And I would say, 'Thank you for sharing your opinion.' And I would walk away."
Priesand even reports a faculty member asking her boyfriend at the time when he would marry her, and "get rid of her."
Priesand sees herself as a relatively private person, but she became hugely public when she was ordained in 1972. She traveled around the country on speaking engagements to prepare the American Jewish community for the event.
"I became a rabbi because I wanted to be a rabbi," Priesand says. "And I discovered that when you're the first of something, there are extra responsibilities that come along with that."
While Priesand was the first American woman to become a rabbi, she was not the first to try. Pamela Nadell directs the Jewish studies program at American University, and wrote Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Women's Ordination 1889-1985.
Nadell says that the early campaigners for ordination made two main arguments. First, they looked to the holy texts.
"There is nothing in Jewish law that prohibits women from becoming a rabbi. So their argument is it's only custom," says Nadell.
Secondly, she says, women would point to strong female figures as well, prophets like Deborah and leaders like Miriam. And they'd also point out the fact that Judaism, like all traditions, has adapted over time.
"They're saying Judaism has made other accommodations to the modern world, why not make this accommodation as well."
Nadell says campaigns for female clergy have gone hand in hand with political and social changes.
"When women get the right to vote in the 1920s, this is a transitional moment for women's rights in American Judaism." she said. "We have the first bat mitzvah in the United States coming on the heels of that decision. And as a result of that, it's not surprising that there's an argument at the reform seminary and Cincinnati Hebrew Union College, there's a discussion — can women be ordained?"
Nadell points to another transitional moment in 1930s Germany – in the lead-up to World War II – when Regina Jonas was ordained as a rabbi in a private ceremony. She died in the Holocaust, and her story was not widely known for many years.
But the biggest sea change, leading up to and continuing with Priesand, came in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the rise of second-wave feminism.
"It was impossible in a sense to be questioning everything about women's roles in society and not also be looking at one's religious tradition," explains Judith Plaskow, a Jewish feminist theologian and professor emerita of religious studies at Manhattan College.
Plaskin says this was the time of consciousness-raising groups, of national marches, of women demanding entry to all parts of life. This examination of the ways in which women's lives had been restricted did not ignore religion. The National Organization for Women formed a task force on religious life, issuing a statement opposing discrimination based on sex and the religious teachings and laws that cause or reinforce it. Women crashed rabbinic assemblies demanding equality, met in large conferences, prayed together.
"It was totally amazing. I mean, it felt like everything was breaking open," says Plaskow.
In the space of just a few years, centuries of tradition transformed across religions. And those that didn't, started to seem out of step. Historian Pamela Nadell says these women changed Jewish life.
"They invented a host of ceremonies and rituals to mark the events of women's lives that the male rabbis had never considered essential," Nadell said. " The first baby girl naming ceremonies, ceremonies to mark events like miscarriage."
In 1972, Sally Priesand was not looking to transform Jewish life. She had a hard enough time just getting hired to do the job she loved — she was the last in her graduating class to be hired. And while her first job was at New York City's prestigious Stephen Wise Free Synagogue as assistant and then associate rabbi, she was not given the opportunity to become the main rabbi.
She eventually found a home as rabbi at New Jersey's Monmouth Reform Temple, after some temporary assignments. While Priesand served happily the rest of her career, she was always aware of the weight and constraints of being the first, and worked her job in awareness of those who would come after her.
"I did open doors," Priesand acknowledges Priesand, who is now 75. "But I also held the doors open for those who came after me."
When you open a door, you never quite know who'll walk through, and what new worlds they'll bring. People are still walking through. Some, like Priesand, are pushing the fight for equal pay and opportunities. Others are grappling with the sexism of the sacred texts. Others are working on how to expand the role of rabbi further, and what comes beyond access — and how to set the path for generations to come.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-06-03T11:25:57+00:00 | klcc.org | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-06-03/it-was-only-50-years-ago-this-month-that-the-first-female-rabbi-was-ordained |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Wes Moore could soon make history if elected Maryland’s first Black governor, and he’s not alone: Rep. Anthony Brown would be the state’s first Black attorney general. Aruna Miller, Moore’s running mate who immigrated from India, would be the first Asian-American elected statewide in Maryland.
If these Democrats win — Moore has led by more than 30 percentage points in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 — Black politicians will hold many of the top state offices in Maryland, which is now a majority-minority state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
With a victory, Moore would reclaim the governor’s office for Democrats, after eight years of term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
“I think it will be interesting to see what Maryland looks like when it’s a unified Democratic government that looks like the promise of diverse representation in that big-tent sort of politics that the Democratic Party has really been trying to have nationally,” said Mileah Kromer, who teaches political science at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland.
Moore, a 43-year-old combat veteran, Rhodes scholar, author and former CEO of an anti-poverty nonprofit, has run with a “leave no one behind” slogan. He’s promised to maintain funding for the K-12 education plan with sweeping equity goals known as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, and build on other initiatives to create equal opportunity for Maryland residents.
“This can be Maryland’s moment,” Moore said in his only televised debate against the GOP nominee, Del. Dan Cox. “We have amazing people and incredible potential, but not everybody’s in a position to succeed.”
Only two Black politicians have ever been elected governor in the United States — Virginia’s Douglas Wilder in 1989, and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts in 2006. Democrat Stacey Abrams would become the nation’s first Black female governor if she wins her Georgia rematch against GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.
Maryland’s legislature has long been controlled by Democrats, who chose Del. Adrienne Jones to be the state’s first Black and first female House speaker in 2019. With Senate President Bill Ferguson, who is white, they have been driving policies in the General Assembly with a greater focus on equity concerns.
While headlines about political divides dominate the news, Holli Holliday feels the nation is shifting to embrace diversity, not just across racial lines but also in backgrounds and perspectives in addressing challenges.
“Certainly I can see that Maryland is a precursor to what I think we will see in states that, like Maryland, have a large minority population and particularly a large African-American population,” said Holliday, who is president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, a 501(c) 4 organization founded by Black women and who lives in majority-Black Prince George’s County.
Some symbolic changes also have been evident in Maryland: Statues of famed abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass — both born enslaved on Maryland’s Eastern Shore — have been added to the historic Old House Chamber, where slavery was abolished in the state in 1864.
And in 2017, in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Va., state leaders removed from the Capitol grounds a statue of Roger B. Taney, the U.S. Supreme Court chief justice from Maryland who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery and denied citizenship to African Americans.
Moore has former President Barack Obama’s endorsement, while Cox, a first-term state legislator, is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who received 32% of the vote in Maryland in the 2020 presidential election. Cox has said President Joe Biden’s victory shouldn’t have been certified and tweeted that former Vice President Mike Pence was a “traitor.”
Not even Hogan is supporting Cox, describing him as a “QAnon whack job.” Cox defeated Kelly Schulz, the moderate Republican Hogan endorsed, in the primary after the Democratic Governors Association bought TV ads to help him, wagering he’d be easier to defeat in the general election.
The Democrats’ advantage was apparent in a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll. Conducted by telephone Sept. 22-27, it found 60% said they would vote for Moore, 28% percent for Cox and 9% percent were undecided. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Brown led by 22 points last month in a Goucher College poll against Republican Michael Peroutka. That telephone survey was conducted among likely voters Sept. 8-12, and had a 3.6% error margin.
Peroutka left the League of the South, classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, when a video surfaced during a previous campaign showing him singing “Dixie” — what he called “the national anthem” — at a league conference.
The Maryland governorship has eluded Black candidates in the last two elections. Brown, who was lieutenant governor for eight years during former Gov. Martin O’Malley’s tenure, lost in 2014 to Hogan, who won handily in an upset. Hogan proved to be popular and beat former NAACP President Ben Jealous in 2018, becoming only the second Republican governor in the history of Maryland to win re-election.
Quentin James, founder and president of The Collective PAC — a political action committee that focuses on electing Black candidates around the country — said Moore’s strong credentials and his victory in a crowded primary against nationally known rivals should dispel lingering doubts among some Democrats that Black candidates can win top offices.
Moore overcame some internal opposition expressed by a former Maryland Democratic Party official, who resigned as deputy treasurer after questioning the electability of Black candidates for governor in an email to other party members. The state’s party chair — a Black woman — responded swiftly, saying “we do not condone or support the comments in her email.”
“I think it’s a testament of where Maryland and our country is headed in terms of Black leadership ascending to these offices that haven’t had enough representation,” James said of Moore’s and Brown’s candidacies.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the elections at: https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections
Check out https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections to learn more about the issues and factors at play in the 2022 midterm elections. | 2022-10-29T14:44:10+00:00 | qcnews.com | https://www.qcnews.com/news/politics/election/ap-wes-moore-black-democrats-aiming-to-make-maryland-history/ |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Authorities are investigating after a person was struck and killed on I-65 Sunday night.
According to Sgt. Rodarius Mauldin with the Birmingham Police Department, the incident occurred around 8:50 p.m. on I-65 South near the Green Springs exit.
No other information is available at this time.
Stay with CBS 42 as this is a developing story. | 2022-05-23T04:24:13+00:00 | cbs42.com | https://www.cbs42.com/news/traffic-news/pedestrian-struck-killed-on-i-65/ |
MONTICELLO — A Piatt County man who allegedly pointed a gun at a sheriff’s deputy and refused orders to put it down, prompting the deputy to fire his weapon, appeared in court Monday.
Marc Thompson, 39, was arraigned on charges of possessing a gun without a firearm owner’s identification card, aggravated assault, aggravated unlawful restraint and domestic battery stemming from a Sept. 17 incident at his home in Atwood.
Piatt County State’s Attorney Sarah Perry said sheriff’s deputies were sent to the house just before 2 a.m. after Thompson’s wife reported that she and four children were locked in a bedroom because Thompson had a gun.
The call followed Thompson allegedly grabbing his wife by the wrist, twisting her arm and shoving her to the floor, and repeatedly striking her head on the floor.
His wife reported that he had been drinking and that she saw him get a gun, prompting her to lock herself and the children in a bedroom and call 911.
Perry said a deputy arrived about 2:15 a.m., identified himself as an officer and told Thompson to come out of the house.
Thompson allegedly yelled threats at the deputy, told him to leave and paced around the house.
Perry said when Thompson came out of the house onto the porch, he ignored repeated orders to show the deputy his hands. He allegedly raised a gun in the direction of the deputy and the deputy fired at Thompson but missed him.
Thompson went back in the house and continued to yell threats at the deputy.
Meanwhile, other deputies had gotten the children out the bedroom window. Perry said Thompson continued to go back and forth in the house as officers tried to get him to come out peacefully.
Perry said he eventually told officers he was putting the gun down and coming out. However, when he came onto the porch with items in his hands and again refused to show deputies his hands, he was shot with a Taser and taken into custody.
Perry said Thompson’s wife said she could hear the exchange between her husband and deputies. At one point, he told her to come out of the bedroom because it was all over, and when she cracked the door, she saw him aiming the gun at the door and retreated back into the bedroom.
Sheriff Mark Vogelzang said the deputy who fired the shots that missed Thompson was given a few days off, then returned to light duty before resuming patrol about a week later.
Illinois State Police are looking into whether he was justified in using his weapon, but Vogelzang said he had no real concerns about the deputy, who’s been on the force for four years.
“Any time anyone goes through a traumatic event, you want to make sure they are good to go back to work ... that they are healthy both mentally and physically,” Vogelzang said.
Thompson appeared Monday before Judge Dana Rhoades and was read the charges and the possible penalties. He asked for time to be able to hire an attorney and was told to return to court Nov. 21.
The most serious of the offenses is the possession of a gun without the FOID card, Perry said, carrying penalties ranging from two to five years in prison upon conviction.
Perry said Thompson had no known previous convictions. | 2022-10-18T00:51:53+00:00 | news-gazette.com | https://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/courts-police-fire/atwood-man-charged-in-incident-where-deputy-fired-at-him/article_fe2a3088-9b0b-5099-8ae2-5ef4fc5d9ff8.html |
- Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most complex, deadly and treatment-resistant cancer with a 5-year survival rate of 6.8% and an average length of survival of only 8 months [1]
- FDA ODD designation bolsters NeoImmuneTech's determination to accelerate the clinical development of NT-I7 as a potential new therapy for this difficult-to-treat cancer
ROCKVILLE, Md, July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NeoImmuneTech, Inc. (NIT), a T cell-focused therapeutics company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) (rhIL-7-hyFc) Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme.
Despite decades of research, GBM remains one of the deadliest and hardest-to-treat cancers. More than 13,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with GBM in 2022.1 Standard treatments using surgery, radiation, TMZ and TTFs have failed to date to greatly improve survival, and there is no standard treatment for recurrence, which is inevitable. Also, among the multiple factors impacting the survival of GBM patients, the current treatment options expose patients to a severe and prolonged systemic lymphopenic state known as "treatment-related lymphopenia" (TRL). TRL is associated with shorter survival both in GBM and other solid tumors. With its potential to restore lymphocyte levels and subsequently reverse systemic lymphopenia, NT-I7 may offer promising ways to effectively treat GBM, if confirmed by its development program.
Dr Se Hwan Yang, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of NeoImmuneTech, Inc. said: "We are excited that the FDA granted NT–I7 an ODD in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. This decision adds further credibility to our existing clinical evidence that NT-I7 has the potential to bring a new essential therapy option to people with advanced/metastatic GBM who have undergone prior chemo-radiation therapy. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with FDA, as we explore the benefits of NT-I7 in treating people with GBM in combination with other anti-cancer treatments, including immunotherapies".
NT-I7 has been studied in several robust phase I and II clinical trials and has demonstrated the potential to amplify T cells across the subsets, boost the immune system, and prolong the anti-tumor response in people with GBM and other solid tumors.[2] Current studies in GBM include study NIT-107 in newly diagnosed GBM patients and study NIT-120 in recurrent GBM patients. Preliminary data from study NIT-107 presented at Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting (SITC), in November 2021, showed favorable trends of progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in NT-I7 treated high-grade gliomas (HGG) patients after chemoradiotherapy.[3]
The FDA grants ODD status to medicines intended for the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases or disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the US. Receiving ODD may help to expedite and reduce the cost of development, approval, and commercialization of a therapeutic agent (FDA filing fee waive, guaranteed sales period after approval, etc).
About Glioblastoma Multiforme
Glioblastoma multiforme, also referred to as a grade IV astrocytoma, is a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor, which accounts for 49.1% of all primary malignant brain tumors.
Each year, an estimate of more than 10,000 individuals in the United States succumb to GBM. Due to its characteristics of being difficult to treat and treatment-resistant cancer, the survival rates and mortality statistics or GBM have been virtually unchanged for decades. In addition to being life-threatening, the treatment is known to be harsh, inflicting devastating results to the brain, which controls cognition, mood, behavior and every function of every organ and body parts. It leaves many patients with inability to work, drive and host of other functions that contribute to one's sense of self and independence.1
About NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) (rhIL-7-hyFc)
NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) is the only clinical-stage long-acting human IL-7, and is being developed in oncologic and immunologic indications, where T cell amplification and increased functionality may provide clinical benefit. IL-7 is a fundamental cytokine for naïve and memory T cell development and for sustaining immune response to chronic antigens (as in cancer) or foreign antigens (as in infectious diseases). NT-I7 exhibits favorable PK/PD and safety profiles, making it an ideal combination partner. NT-I7 is being studied in multiple clinical trials in solid tumors and as vaccine adjuvant. Studies are being planned for testing in hematologic malignancies, additional solid tumors and other immunology-focused indications.
About NeoImmuneTech, Inc.
NeoImmuneTech, Inc. (NIT) is a clinical-stage T cell-focused biopharmaceutical company, dedicated to expanding the horizon of immuno-oncology and enhancing immunity to infectious diseases. NIT is led by the scientific founder and inventor of NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) and has a strong executive team with rich industry experience. NIT is expanding rapidly in personnel and operations, as well as partnering with industry and academic leaders to investigate NT-I7 as monotherapy and in combination with various immunotherapeutics. For more information, please visit www.neoimmunetech.com.
Forward-looking Statements
The statements contained herein may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to NeoImmuneTech, Inc. (the "Company") that are based on its beliefs and expectations about the future. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions about the future, some of which are beyond the Company's control and are not a guarantee of future performance or developments. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise after the date of these documents. Accordingly, you should not place reliance on any forward-looking information or statements contained herein.
Some of the data contained in these documents were obtained from various external sources, and the Company has not independently verified such data. Accordingly, the Company makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the data, and such data involves risks and uncertainties, and is subject to change based on various factors.
[1] National Brain Tumor Society 'Glioblastoma Facts and Figures' About GBM - GBM Awareness Day | National Brain Tumor Society Last accessed: June 2022
[2] Naing A, Kim R, Barve M, et all. Preliminary biomarker and clinical data of a phase 2a study of NT-I7, a long-acting interleukin-7, plus pembrolizumab: cohort of subjects with checkpoint inhibitor-naïve advanced pancreatic cancer Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2021;9:
[3] Zhou, Alice, et al. NT-I7, a long-acting interleukin-7, promotes expansion of CD8 T cells and NK cells and immune activation in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas after chemoradiation. J Immunother Cancer 2021;9(Suppl 2):A428
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SOURCE The NeoImmuneTech, Inc | 2022-07-13T09:18:14+00:00 | kwch.com | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/07/13/fda-grants-orphan-drug-designation-odd-status-neoimmunetechs-nt-i7-treatment-glioblastoma-multiforme/ |
Associated Press
Wall Street had its eyes Friday on big tech after some of the biggest companies in the world posted lackluster quarterly financial performances.
That included Apple Inc. The company posted its first quarterly revenue drop in nearly four years after pandemic-driven restrictions on its China factories curtailed sales of the latest iPhone during the holiday season.
Amazon reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, but its revenue beat expectations boosted by sales in its cloud-computing unit AWS, which is also seeing a slow-down in growth.
Google’s parent company Alphabet posted a lower profit and a small revenue increase for last year’s fourth quarter, as a decline in online ad spending and competition from rivals weigh on the search giant. While overall revenue grew, advertising revenue fell by nearly 4% and revenue at YouTube declined 8% year-over-year.
Amazon ended Friday down 8.4% and Alphabet lost 2.8%. Apple bounced back, finishing the day up 2.4%.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-02-04T01:13:30+00:00 | wtmj.com | https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2023/02/03/google-apple-amazon-give-investors-reason-to-fret-3/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed out its best week since March with a quiet finish on Friday, and stocks drifted to modest losses.
The S&P 500 fell 16.25 points, or 0.4%, to 4,409.59 after wobbling through the day. It still closed out a fifth straight winning week for its longest such streak since November 2021, and it remains close to its highest level since April 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 108.94, or 0.3%, to 34,299.12, and the Nasdaq composite fell 93.25, or 0.7%, to 13,689.57.
Humana dropped 3.9% for one of the S&P 500’s sharpest losses after becoming the latest health insurer to warn about rising costs because of pent-up demand for medical services. Health insurance giant UnitedHealth issued a similar warning earlier in the week.
Treasury yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.76% from 3.72% late Thursday.
The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more on expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose to 4.72% from 4.65%.
The Fed held its benchmark interest rate steady at its meeting this week, but warned that it could raise rates twice more this year. The central bank’s next meeting will run from July 25-26, and Wall Street is betting that it will raise rates. Traders are also mostly convinced that will be the last increase of the year, according to data from CME Group.
Before taking its pause this week, the Fed had raised interest rates at 10 straight meetings since March 2022. Its goal has been to slow the economy to cool inflation but not so much that it causes a recession.
“The idea that the Fed is pausing and taking time to see what the cumulative effect is on the economy from a policy standpoint, is the right move for them,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management.
The S&P 500 has ripped nearly 15% higher this year because of rising hopes that the Federal Reserve will end its hikes to interest rates soon as inflation cools and that the economy will avoid a severe recession. Most of Wall Street’s gains have come from big tech stocks, the ones that would benefit most from easier rates.
The Fed’s latest meeting was preceded on Tuesday by a report showing that inflation continued cooling in May.
A closely watched survey on Friday suggested U.S. consumers are also paring back their expectations for upcoming inflation. That’s key for the Federal Reserve, which doesn’t want high expectations for inflation to kick off a vicious cycle that worsens it. The preliminary reading from the University of Michigan’s survey also suggested consumer sentiment is strengthening more than expected.
Overall, investors contended with a mixed batch of economic updates this week. Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly strengthened in May. The resilient employment market showed some signs of weakening as slightly more workers applied for unemployment last week than expected. The manufacturing industry, meanwhile, continued contracting under the impact of higher interest rates.
Wall Street has also been closely monitoring the latest statements from companies to get a better sense of where the economy is headed. Analysts have been warning of a potential recession this year, but the economy has so far been strong enough to resist. Several industries, though, have been warning about waning demand that could linger through the year.
Chemical company Cabot slumped 8.1% after it said soft demand worldwide, and especially in China, will hurt profits this year.
Software maker Adobe rose 0.9% after reporting solid financial results and raising its profit forecast.
Markets in Europe and Asia gained ground.
Investors have a considerably quieter week ahead, with just a few economic updates on the housing market. U.S. financial markets will be closed Monday in observance of Juneteenth. | 2023-06-16T22:24:16+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/stock-market-today-asian-shares-track-wall-street-rally-tokyos-benchmark-at-33-year-high/ |
(The Hill) — Justin Bieber is relaunching his “Justice” tour, more than a month after saying he had been sidelined by a Ramsay Hunt syndrome diagnosis.
A representative for the “Ghost” singer confirmed that Bieber’s international tour would resume on July 31 in Italy, Variety reported Tuesday.
Bieber is poised to perform at stops in Europe, South America, South Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
The 28-year-old performer revealed last month in an Instagram post that he had partial facial paralysis as a result of the syndrome, a disorder that affects the facial nerves near one ear.
“This is pretty serious, as you can see,” Bieber told fans.
“I wish this wasn’t the case, but obviously my body is telling me I’ve got to slow down,” he said at the time, announcing that several North American tour dates — including stops in Washington, New York, Philadelphia and Boston, among others — would be postponed. | 2022-07-19T19:19:26+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/national-news/justin-bieber-to-relaunch-world-tour-after-ramsay-hunt-diagnosis/ |
- Operating the 'Seoul: City of Green Technology and Smart Transportation' Vision Themed Seoul Pavilion at 'CES', next year from January 5thto 8th.
- Biggest scale yet with Seoul Tech Pavilion, KOSTARTUP Joint Pavilion joined by over 60 major Korean companies and startups
- First technology exhibition in the main exhibition hall operated by a country (city) and not an enterprise … Raising the stature of Seoul as a tech hub
- KOSTARTUP Joint Pavilion composed of 3 partnered institutions and 4 universities… 50 startups selected and given general support
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government will operate a 'Seoul Tech Pavilion' at 'CES (Consumer Electronic Show) 2023', the world's biggest IT expo which will be held for four days next year from January 5th (Thurs) to 8th(Sun).
They will also operate the 'KOSTARTUP Joint Pavilion', which will feature over 50 startups, simultaneously for the first time.
CES is the world's biggest tech expo held every January at Las Vegas, US. It is a cutting-edge technology show where major global companies, like Samsung and Google, announce their visions for the company's future and startups from various countries showcase the innovative technology they developed to the global market.
Seoul is a city that was ranked 10th in global startup ecosystems by the Global Ecosystem Report 2022 published by Startup Genome, a global startup ecosystem evaluation institution. It is evaluated as a city possessing outstanding startup infrastructure.
In this upcoming CES, the 'Seoul Tech Pavilion' will be implementing innovative technology related to 'mobility' and 'ESG' at the main exhibition hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).
This is the first time a pavilion operated by a country (city) will be displayed at the main exhibition hall, which is usually an exhibition space for companies leading the global tech industry, such as Samsung or Microsoft.
As such, the number of attending companies and the space for the exhibition will be expanded. The 'Seoul Tech Pavilion' in the main exhibition hall (LVCC) is 165㎡and will be attended by 12 open innovation startups and major Korean companies. The 'KOSTARTUP Joint Pavilion' will be composed of 50 outstanding Korean startups over 473㎡at Eureka Park, the exhibition hall for countries and startups.
As the Seoul Tech Pavilion is a platform to introduce the cutting-edge technology of innovative major companies and startups of Seoul to the global market and propose a vision of Seoul evolving with technology, it will be operated with a Theme Zone "which implements a vision towards the future and experiential elements, and a Tech Zone, which displays the innovative technologies of major companies and startups partnered with.
In particular, a massive 3D screen (7M * 3M) will be installed in the Theme Zone, which will display immersive4D and 3D videos that show the vision for the future of Seoul. UAM, drones, self-driving cars, and eco-friendly technology are proposed using anamorphic technology, along with the future industries of Seoul evolving with technology will be showcased with impact. In addition, through a partnership with Caliverse, an immersive metaverse-based K-Content experience booth will be operated to provide visitors with various sights.
Through CES 2023, the city of Seoul aims to propose the future image of Seoul as a tech hub under the vision of 'Seoul: City of Green Technology and Smart Transportation' and simultaneously support the global expansion of outstanding startups.
The main themes of the Seoul Pavilion in CES 2023, which are 'Mobility' and 'ESG', are key fields for achieving Seoul's policy vision and have been proposed for 'Seoul Vision 2030' as the strategic goals of 'Seoul: City of Green Technology and Smart Transportation'. The city of Seoul is taking active measures, such as establishing a new urban air mobility (UAM) system and preparing measures to implement carbon neutrality (Net Zero).
Accordingly, Seoul Business Agency(SBA), the government-contributed institution of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, SBA plans to showcase the Seoul Tech Pavilion's innovative technology in the fields of 'Mobility and ESG' through open innovation in connection with major companies. An open innovation program (the 6th Seoul Innovation Challenge) will be held with four major Korean companies to jointly discover six startups possessing innovative technology in related fields and support expansion into the global market through technical collaboration, commercialization support, as well as joint CES exhibitions.
The 'Seoul Innovation Challenge' is a project to support the research and development (R&D) of technology in startups possessing innovative technology in new industries. SBA entered partnerships with Lotte Chemical and S-Oil, which are focusing on the eco-friendly energy business, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and HANCOM InSPACE, which are leaders in the urban air mobility (UAM) business and selected 6 outstanding startups that fit the technical tasks presented by each company.
Earlier, SBA established a system of cooperation with the Seoul Digital Foundation and the Korea Institute of Startup &Entrepreneurship Development under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, for the composition and operation of the KOSTARTUP Joint Pavilion. Through the Seoul City-Ministry of SMEs and Startups Joint Pavilion, which was formed for the first time at CES through the conclusion of a trilateral agreement, the selection of outstanding startups will be expanded to 50 companies, and systematically integrated services will be provided.
The exhibition areas for the outstanding startups selected by the KOSTARTUP Joint Pavilion are mobility, bio/healthcare, ESG, manufacturing and data. The Joint Pavilion is expected to draw more attention in Eureka Park with the scale of integration and expansion compared to the previous year.
The selected companies will receive one-stop integrated services, from pre-consulting for CES, on-site exhibition and interpretation, IR presentations, and follow-up management. In particular, consulting training was conducted in order to receive the Innovation Award given to companies possessing innovative technology and aesthetic design at the CES. With this, 17 companies succeeded in winning the CES 2023 Innovation Award.
In addition, SBA signed separate partnerships with the business groups of 4 universities (Kyunghee, Kookmin, Sogang, Chung-ang) and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development to give effective support for the exhibition. 50 university student supporters were also selected for close local support for the 50 exhibiting companies in the KOSTARTUP Joint Pavilion.
The selected university students are set to be matched 1:1 with startups in their desired fields and taught about their corresponding companies in advance to improve their understanding of these companies. In addition to preparation for the exhibition and on-site interpretation, these measures are also expected to support the companies' business communication.
Hyunwoo Kim, the CEO of the Seoul Business Agency (SBA), said that "While we plan to propose a future vision of Seoul evolving with technology with the world's biggest IT expo, CES, as the stage, we also plan to actively support the expansion of innovative startups, which lead Seoul's startup ecosystem, into global markets."
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SOURCE Seoul Business Agency | 2022-12-27T19:03:04+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2022/12/27/seoul-operating-seoul-tech-pavilion-1st-time-main-exhibition-hall-ces-2023in-us/ |
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