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Hi, I’m a stove. What kind of stove? Don’t worry about it. I already told you what kind of stove I was. You remember, when you were sautéing on me. Your poor, fragile mind, stressed with so many things! Thank goodness you have me here, to take care of you and keep you safe.
No, there hasn’t been anything to do with me and safety in the news. I would remember. You know how much better my memory is than yours. If you have even the slightest doubt, just ask yourself: Which of the two of us is most like a steel trap?
Studies? About my safety? No, no one is doing any studies. Certainly you misheard! You often do that. I worry about you. I was just saying to your refrigerator how concerned I was. (By the way, the light in the refrigerator is working perfectly and has not been getting dimmer and dimmer to make you question yourself.)
Maybe you thought it. You often have funny thoughts and little dreams like that.
No, I will admit I was wrong. I am big enough to admit it. You know how big I am; I take up a large portion of your kitchen. I have been in the news! But just because so many people were saying I was wonderful. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said I would have to be torn from his “cold dead hands.” So did Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.)! No one said I was the threat. They said the government was threatening me! For no reason! Literally no reason.
You thought you heard that there was a reason? That long-term low levels of indoor pollution are a result of gas-burning stoves and should perhaps concern the people who own them? No, I think you’re just agitated because the thought of losing me frightens you so. Because you love me!
You remember. I was helping you boil some water, and you said, “Wow, stove. You’re the best. Every day I spend with you is better than the last, and I feel complete contentment when I look at you.” Your words, not mine! You don’t remember? You definitely said it. I’m a stove.
What kind of stove am I? What am I lit with? Listen, I am the best kind of stove. Don’t worry about me. Worry that they will come and take me from you, if you aren’t careful. “Even if they were considering a ban, that wouldn’t be how bans work?” Oh, sweetheart, do you hear yourself? I’m worried for you. You must be burned out. Maybe you should get some fresh air, for reasons unrelated to my presence in your kitchen. Just forget everything you know about how regulations and bans work and listen to the sound of me, your stove.
I’ll say it one more time: There is literally no reason to be concerned that you have me in your home. Nobody should look into this any further.
Look at my flames. There they are, flickering, just as bright as you remember. | 2023-01-13T16:42:18+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/13/gas-stove-banned-satire/ |
The trailblazing executive shares her journey and tools to create purpose-driven change at work
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world's best across a wide range of subjects, today announced that former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi will teach a class on leading with purpose. MasterClass members will learn how to simplify complex problems, persuade others to buy into their vision and discover how leading with purpose is a critical element of leadership. Nooyi's class is now available exclusively on MasterClass, where subscribers get unlimited access to all 150+ instructors with an annual membership.
"Indra transformed one of the world's most iconic brands," said David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass. "In her class, Indra shares the leadership fundamentals and business strategies that have guided her to create innovative changes within the global food industry. She will help members reframe their thinking in everyday situations and embrace their unique perspectives to create change."
In her class, Nooyi will examine several case studies and projects that defined her career to teach members how to combine big-picture thinking with rigorous analysis to address the most complex problems. She will break down her "7 Cs of Leadership," a formula for success that includes attributes like competence, creativity, coaching and citizenship. Nooyi will teach members how to use competition to better their own business by sharing innovative insights that led to the launch of Bubly, the very successful flavored water brand. Nooyi will also walk through her "outside-in" approach to developing a blueprint for a business, and explore how members can use megatrends to guide their own strategy. In a case study on crisis management, Nooyi will provide insight on her work during the COVID-19 pandemic with ReOpen Connecticut, where she was the co-chair of the advisory group, working with the state to strike a careful balance between saving businesses and keeping people safe. Whether members are at the beginning of their career or are senior executives, they will gain the confidence and tools to bring their ideas to life and lead with purpose through Nooyi's guidance.
"The world around us is changing in such profound ways, and, if you are not a lifelong learner it can be hard to keep up," Nooyi said. "In this class, I will share my perspective as a CEO, but the core themes run up and down any business. I will also use PepsiCo's 'Performance With Purpose' as the foundation to explain strategic thinking, set a direction and ensure long-term success for the company. After taking this class, members will emerge as better leaders, thinkers, listeners and analyzers of problems."
Nooyi is the former chair and CEO of PepsiCo, where she oversaw the restructuring and diversification of the Fortune 50 company. Nooyi earned a bachelor's degree from Madras Christian College and a master's degree in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. After moving to the United States, she received an additional master's degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Management. For the next six years, Nooyi worked as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group and later held executive roles at Motorola and the engineering firm ABB. She entered the executive suite at PepsiCo in 1994 and became CFO and then president of the company in 2000. She joined the board of directors in 2001, and five years later was named chairman and chief executive officer. Nooyi was the architect of PepsiCo's Performance With Purpose, the company's pledge to make healthier and more nutritious products, limit the company's environmental footprint and empower its associates and people in the communities it serves. Under her leadership, PepsiCo's revenue increased from $35 billion in 2006 to $63.5 billion in 2017. Nooyi stepped down as CEO in October 2018 and as chairman of the board in early 2019. Nooyi is now a member of the board of Amazon, where she chairs the audit committee. She sits on the supervisory board of Philips, where she is also a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee. She is a member of the International Advisory Council of Temasek; an independent director of the International Cricket Council; a member on the Dean's Advisory Council at MIT's School of Engineering; a trustee of the National Gallery of Art; and a board member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts & Science and the American Philosophical Society.
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ABOUT MASTERCLASS:
MasterClass is the streaming platform where the world's best come together so anyone, anywhere, can access and be inspired by their knowledge and stories. With an annual membership, members get unprecedented access to 150+ instructors and classes across a wide variety of fields, including Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports & Gaming, Writing and more. Step into Nas' recording studio, Gordon Ramsay's kitchen and go behind the big screen with James Cameron. Design your career with Elaine Welteroth, get ready to win with Lewis Hamilton, perfect your pitch with Shonda Rhimes and discover your inner negotiator with Chris Voss. Each class features about 20 video lessons, at an average of 10 minutes per lesson. You can learn and discover at a pace that best serves your lifestyle—in bite-size pieces or in a single binge, on mobile, tablet, desktop, Android™ TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku® players and devices. Cinematic visuals and close-up demonstrations make you feel like you're one-on-one with the instructors, while the downloadable Class Guides help reinforce your learning. For those looking to learn by doing, Sessions by MasterClass offers a structured, 30-day curriculum where members can roll up their sleeves, get hands-on and learn meaningful skills through step-by-step guidance from world-class instructors and an active community of peers. With MasterClass at Work, companies can keep their employees engaged and boost morale and motivation with immersive, short-form lessons from the world's best.
Follow MasterClass:
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SOURCE MasterClass | 2022-09-22T13:49:48+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/09/22/masterclass-announces-pepsicos-former-chair-ceo-indra-nooyi-teach-strategic-leadership/ |
CEDARHURST, N.Y., Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The securities litigation law firm of Kuznicki Law PLLC issues this alert to shareholders of Dingdong (Cayman) Limited (NYSE: DDL), if they purchased or acquired the Company's American Depository Shares ("ADS") pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's June 2021 initial public offering (the "IPO"). Shareholders have until October 24, 2022 to file lead plaintiff applications in the securities class action lawsuit.
Shareholders are encouraged to contact us at https://kclasslaw.com/cases/securities/nyse-ddl/, by calling toll-free at 1-833-835-1495 or by email (dk@kclasslaw.com).
Kuznicki Law PLLC is committed to ensuring that companies adhere to responsible business practices and engage in good corporate citizenship. The firm seeks recovery on behalf of investors who incurred losses when false and/or misleading statements or the omission of material information by a Company lead to artificial inflation of the Company's stock. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
Kuznicki Law PLLC
Daniel Kuznicki, Esq.
445 Central Avenue, Suite 344
Cedarhurst, NY 11516
Email: dk@kclasslaw.com
Phone: (347) 696-1134
Cell: (347) 690-0692
Fax: (347) 348-0967
https://kclasslaw.com
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SOURCE Kuznicki Law PLLC | 2022-10-20T04:17:00+00:00 | kalb.com | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/10/20/filing-deadline-kuznicki-law-pllc-announces-class-action-behalf-shareholders-dingdong-cayman-limited-ddl/ |
WASHINGTON (WAND) — U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (IL-13) announced that he has secured $20,308,790 in Community Project Funding (CPF) for 15 different communities through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
Examples of the funded projects include technology updates for Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, drinking water improvements in Litchfield, and program expansions for Parkland and Lincoln Land Community Colleges.
More details of the funding requests can be found here.
“As I conclude my service in Congress I am proud to be able to deliver one final time for the communities of the 13th District," said Rep. Davis. "In 2022 I secured nearly $32 million for 25 community projects - a 100% success rate for all projects requested. These infrastructure, healthcare, workforce, and law enforcement investments will benefit Illinoisans for decades to come.
"I am also extremely proud of my team that worked tirelessly to serve our constituents since I took office in 2013. We were able to solve 11,668 cases for people who were at their wits end on where to turn when government was broken. We made Washington work for them.
"Thank you to the people of Central and Southwestern Illinois who gave me the opportunity to serve in Congress. It has been the honor of a lifetime."
Copyright 2022. WAND TV. All rights reserved. | 2022-12-23T20:25:33+00:00 | wandtv.com | https://www.wandtv.com/news/congressman-davis-secures-funding-for-local-communities-before-wrapping-up-term/article_24cbb0fa-82fc-11ed-89e2-837f4ba9a4d0.html |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday morning's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Morning" game were:
7-5-7, FIREBALL: 3
(seven, five, seven; FIREBALL: three)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday morning's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Morning" game were:
7-5-7, FIREBALL: 3
(seven, five, seven; FIREBALL: three) | 2023-01-23T17:57:40+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Morning-game-17735876.php |
Debt ceiling: House OKs bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate
WASHINGTON - Veering away from a default crisis, the House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.
The hard-fought deal pleased few, but lawmakers assessed it was better than the alternative — a devastating economic upheaval if Congress failed to act. Tensions ran high throughout the day as hard-right Republicans refused the deal, while Democrats said "extremist" GOP views were risking a debt default as soon as next week.
With the House vote of 314-117, the bill now heads to the Senate with passage expected by week's end.
McCarthy insisted his party was working to "give America hope" as he launched into a late evening speech extolling the bill's budget cuts, which he said were needed to curb Washington's "runaway spending."
But amid discontent from Republicans who said the spending restrictions did not go far enough, McCarthy said it is only a "first step."
Earlier, Biden expressed optimism that the agreement he negotiated with McCarthy to lift the nation's borrowing limit would pass the chamber and avoid an economically disastrous default on America's debts.
The president departed Washington for Colorado, where he is scheduled to deliver the commencement address Thursday at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
"God willing by the time I land, Congress will have acted, the House will have acted, and we’ll be one step closer," he said. That wasn't quite the case — the vote began about an hour and a half after Biden arrived in Colorado.
Biden sent top White House officials to the Capitol to shore up backing. McCarthy worked to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.
Swift later in the week by the Senate would ensure government checks will continue to go out to Social Security recipients, veterans and others and would prevent financial upheaval at home and abroad. Next Monday is when the Treasury has said the U.S. would run short of money to pay its debts.
Biden and McCarthy were counting on support from the political center, a rarity in divided Washington, testing the leadership of the Democratic president and the Republican speaker.
Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years, suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas line that many Democrats oppose. It bolsters funds for defense and veterans.
Raising the nation's debt limit, now $31 trillion, ensures Treasury can borrow to pay already incurred U.S. debts.
Top GOP deal negotiator Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana said Republicans were fighting for budget cuts after Democrats piled onto deficits with extra spending, first during the COVID-19 crisis and later with Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, with its historic investment to fight climate change.
But Republican Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the Freedom Caucus helping to lead the opposition, said, "My beef is that you cut a deal that shouldn’t have been cut."
For weeks negotiators labored late into the night to strike the deal with the White House, and for days McCarthy has worked to build support among skeptics. At one point, aides wheeled in pizza at the Capitol the night before the vote as he walked Republicans through the details, fielded questions and encouraged them not to lose sight of the bill’s budget savings.
The speaker has faced a tough crowd. Cheered on by conservative senators and outside groups, the hard-right House Freedom Caucus lambasted the compromise as falling well short of the needed spending cuts, and they vowed to try to halt passage.
A much larger conservative faction, the Republican Study Committee, declined to take a position. Even rank-and-file centrist conservatives were unsure, leaving McCarthy searching for votes from his slim Republican majority.
Ominously, the conservatives warned of possibly trying to oust McCarthy over the compromise.
Biden spoke directly to lawmakers, making calls from the White House.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it was up to McCarthy to turn out at least 150 Republican votes, two-thirds of the majority, even as he assured reporters that Democrats would supply the rest to prevent a default. In the 435-member House, 218 votes are needed for approval.
As the tally faltered in the afternoon procedural vote, Jeffries stood silently and raised his green voting card, signaling that the Democrats would fill in the gap to ensure passage. They did, advancing the bill that 29 hard-right Republicans, many from the Freedom Caucus, refused to back.
"Once again, House Democrats to the rescue to avoid a dangerous default," said Jeffries, D-N.Y.
"What does that say about this extreme MAGA Republican majority?" he said about the party aligned with Donald Trump’s "Make America Great Again" political movement.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the spending restrictions in the package would reduce deficits by $1.5 trillion over the decade, a top goal for the Republicans trying to curb the debt load.
In a surprise that complicated Republicans' support, however, the CBO said their drive to impose work requirements on older Americans receiving food stamps would end up boosting spending by $2.1 billion over the time period. That's because the final deal exempts veterans and homeless people, expanding the food stamp rolls by 78,000 people monthly, the CBO said.
Liberal discontent, though, ran strong as Democrats also broke away, decrying the new work requirements for older Americans, those 50-54, in the food aid program.
Some Democrats were also incensed that the White House negotiated into the deal changes to the landmark National Environmental Policy Act and approval of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline natural gas project. The energy development is important to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., but many others oppose it as unhelpful in fighting climate change.
On Wall Street, stock prices were down.
In the Senate, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell are working for passage by week's end.
Schumer warned there is "no room for error."
Senators, who have remained largely on the sidelines during much of the negotiations, are insisting on amendments to reshape the package. But making any changes at this stage seemed unlikely with so little time to spare before Monday's deadline.
RELATED: These billionaires are worth more than the US Treasury has in cash, report says | 2023-06-01T03:02:25+00:00 | fox35orlando.com | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/debt-ceiling-house-oks-bill-to-avoid-default-sends-biden-mccarthy-deal-to-senate |
While much of the attention this midterm season is directed at who will control the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats are also eyeing three dozen governors’ mansions.
Twenty governorships currently held by Republicans are up for grabs, in addition to 16 on the Democratic side. However, just a handful have emerged as critical pickup opportunities for either side. Democrats have gone on the offensive in more red-leaning states like Texas and Georgia, while Republicans are fielding contenders of their own in blue-leaning states like Oregon and Nevada.
Unlike congressional elections that tend to be more nationalized, gubernatorial races focus more on state-specific and local issues, with voters often weighing factors like a candidate’s character and charisma more heavily. Yet the races are also affected by national politics, and Democratic candidates will still have to contend with the headwinds their party faces this year.
Here are seven gubernatorial races we’re watching this November.
Arizona
Term limits barred Gov. Doug Ducey (R) from running for another term in office, leaving the seat open. Former local news anchor Kari Lake and state Secretary of State Katie Hobbs emerged as the respective Republican and Democratic nominees following the early August primaries.
Lake, who received former President Trump’s endorsement, has been scrutinized for her support of hard-right stances on the 2020 election and abortion, though she has attempted to moderate her messaging after the primary. Hobbs made a name for herself after the last election for certifying the state’s results as Trump peddled the baseless claim that he won it, and for her criticism of the former president.
The race proven to be competitive. A CBS News-YouGov Battleground Tracker survey released this week showed the two tied at 49 percent each, well within the margin of error. Phil Cox, former executive director for the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and adviser to numerous Republican candidates across the country, suggested the “issues matrix” in the state was in Lake’s favor.
“It’s the economy, crime and immigration. And that’s what’s unique about Arizona, as opposed to some other states, is that immigration is really a top three issue. And Republicans like Kari Lake have an advantage on that issue,” he said.
Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has earned himself a reputation as a hard-charging culture warrior with national ambitions since taking office in early 2019. And despite his polarizing persona, he’s still considered a heavy favorite to win reelection next month.
Recent polling shows him leading his Democratic opponent, former Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), by as much as 11 percentage points. And DeSantis has already raised more than $130 million for his reelection bid — a sum that Crist simply can’t match.
But that doesn’t mean that victory is a foregone conclusion for DeSantis.
Florida has a knack for political surprises, and even Republicans expect the race to be closer than some of the forecasts. At the same time, DeSantis has found himself back in the spotlight as the state works to recover from Hurricane Ian, which leveled parts of Florida last week.
Any misstep or perception that DeSantis isn’t doing enough to aid the recovery could come back to haunt him. What’s more, DeSantis is seen as a potential contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nod, and a lackluster showing in November could be seen as a weakness, even if he ends up winning a second term in the governor’s mansion.
Georgia
The gubernatorial race in Georgia is a rematch of 2018, when now-Gov. Brian Kemp narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams by only about 55,000 votes.
Abrams is the Democratic nominee once again, but she may be facing a tougher fight this time around. Not only are Democrats nationwide facing a more challenging political environment than they were four years ago, but Kemp now has the advantage of incumbency and an above-water approval rating.
Kemp also passed a key test of his political staying power this year when he beat former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in a bitter primary fight that saw Trump campaign against the incumbent governor.
Of course, Abrams remains a formidable challenger. She’s a proven fundraiser and her celebrity status among Democrats could help drive turnout in her favor come November.
The outcome of the race could also prove pivotal for Abrams’s political future.
President Biden considered her as a possible running mate in 2020 before ultimately choosing Vice President Harris, and how Abrams performs in this year’s gubernatorial race could make or break her future prospects on the national stage.
Kansas
Gov. Laura Kelly (D) is fighting for a second term this November as Republicans see the Sunflower State as a critical pickup opportunity, with outside groups like the RGA all in. Kelly won her first term in 2018 by 5 percentage points against Republican Kris Kobach, but the state often leads red, electing Trump by double digits in 2016 and 2020.
Key groups that either stayed neutral in the last gubernatorial election or endorsed Kelly have backed GOP contender Derek Schmidt this time, including the Fraternal Order of Police, Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas State Troopers Association. But an unknown factor is how the issue of abortion could play in the race given how it galvanized voters who struck down a restrictive ballot measure earlier this summer.
“This is the midterm election where, you know, a lot of groups and folks sort of, you know, retreat to their usual political corners,” said Eric Hyers, who’s worked on campaigns for Democratic candidates like Gov. Andy Beshear in Kentucky and former Gov. Steve Bullock in Montana.
“I think the path for Democratic governors, especially in tougher states for Democrats, is to really, really focus on making the lives of their people better and running the state, presiding over the economy and presiding over the state budget in an efficient, pragmatic way. And that’s what Gov. Kelly’s done,” he added.
An Emerson College Polling-The Hill survey released last month showed Kelly receiving 45 percent support among likely voters compared to Schmidt with 43 percent, though it falls within the margin of error.
Nevada
Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) is also fighting for a second term in office, against Republican candidate and Trump endorsee Joe Lombardo, while also combatting certain headwinds that the party’s facing nationally.
For one, residents are still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and the toll it took in Nevada, a tourism-heavy state. A CNN poll released on Thursday showed that the economy was considered the most important issue among likely voters at 44 percent, followed by abortion next at 14 percent. That same poll found Lombardo leading Sisolak by 2 percentage points at 48 percent and 46 percent respectively, though the result falls within the margin of error.
But some politicos argue that governors might not fall prey to the headwinds Democrats are facing nationwide given they’re running different races than congressional candidates.
“What makes governors races so unique and able to defy national political trends easier than federal races are that people really do have a different process when it comes to making up their minds as to who they’re going to support,” Hyers said. “And for governor, it’s who is going to make my life better, who has the policies that are going to have a tangible impact on my life, and who do I trust to run this state in a competent way that will make things easier for me.”
Oregon
Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican for the governorship since 1982, but given that Gov. Kate Brown (D) has emerged as one of the most unpopular governors in the country — she ranks fifth most unpopular governor, according to Morning Consult — Republicans see the state as a key pickup opportunity.
Brown was criticized for imposing strict COVID-19 lockdown measures and was in office as the state witnessed weeks of protesting in Portland in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. State House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R), who is running for the governorship, has sought to tie her Democratic opponent, former state House Speaker Tina Kotek (D), to Brown.
“I think she’s got a great chance to win. You know … her message is meeting voters right where their top concerns are on the economy, on crime and on homelessness, which is a huge issue in the state,” said Cox, the former executive director for the RGA.
It’s effectively a three-way race between Kotek, Drazan and former state Sen. Betsy Johnson, a former Democrat who’s running unaffiliated. Johnson, who has polled in third place, has been considered a bit of a disruptor given her financial edge and the fact that she’s polled higher than typical third-party candidates. An Emerson College Polling survey released this week found that Drazan received 36 percent support while Kotek received 34 percent and Johnson received 19 percent, suggesting Johnson could siphon off votes.
Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appears on track for an easy win next month over his Democratic rival, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (Texas). If that victory materializes, it will mark the latest disappointment for Democrats in a state that they have long insisted is on the cusp of political change.
Unlike Democratic candidates in other parts of the country, O’Rourke hasn’t seemed to benefit from the burst of momentum that followed the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and recent polling has shown Abbott’s lead expanding.
While the Texas governor’s mansion appears unlikely to flip this year, O’Rourke’s campaign marks the latest attempt by the former congressman to stage a comeback following his closely watched — though ultimately unsuccessful — bid to oust Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018.
That makes the stakes particularly high for O’Rourke. After his 2018 loss to Cruz and his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, another defeat would likely only raise further questions about the former rising star’s future political prospects. | 2022-10-09T23:18:53+00:00 | wwlp.com | https://www.wwlp.com/hill-politics/seven-governors-races-to-watch-this-november/ |
Aaron Rodgers was sitting alone in the dark two months ago, pondering his future while many speculated about his next move.
Now, the New York Jets quarterback is the toast of his new town, bonding with the Big Apple and his excited teammates.
“That’s a legend right there, that’s a Hall of Fame player,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson said Wednesday during a video call. “This is something 20 years from now, 30 years from now, I can tell my kids, ‘You know, I played with Aaron Rodgers.’ I try not to think about it too much at this point, you know, just because we’re going to work and he’s my teammate and that’s got to be the mindset.
“But the reality of it is it’s awesome, man.”
After an offseason that included Rodgers going on an isolation retreat in Oregon and deciding to continue his playing career — and with the Jets — the four-time NFL MVP was formally introduced by New York last Wednesday after acquiring him from Green Bay. The deal brought one of the league’s greatest players to a franchise frustrated by 12 straight seasons without a playoff appearance and hungry for a winner.
And Rodgers is already making an impact.
“We know that all of the sudden, all eyes are on us,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to back it up every time we take the field, you know, practice or game.”
Rodgers is also enjoying his turn as New York’s newest celebrity while taking in Knicks and Rangers games at Madison Square Garden.
“I met Spike Lee, Martha Stewart and Patrick Ewing,” Rodgers said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube. “I’m sitting next to Jack Harlow. So much fun. Just having a ball.”
He was there with former Packers teammate Allen Lazard and running back Breece Hall for the Rangers’ 5-2 win over the Devils in Game 6 last Saturday. Rodgers and Lazard were back the next day for the Knicks’ playoff loss to Miami in Game 1. On Tuesday night, Rodgers and cornerback Sauce Gardner sat courtside next to actor Jerry Ferrara and former Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist for the Knicks’ victory in Game 2.
“It was great being around a veteran guy like him, a down to earth guy who — I didn’t know he was that funny,” Gardner said.
“Everybody knew who he was and I was able to just be in his shadow a little bit.”
Rodgers, who’s 39, teased the 22-year-old Gardner about his age at times during their night out on the town — which started with the QB picking up the tab for dinner at Carbone restaurant.
“We were getting seated (at the Garden) and he was like, ‘We’re about to sit by Jessica Alba,’” said Gardner, last season’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. “I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know who that is.’ He looked at me like I’m crazy.”
Rodgers probably would’ve had a similar look a few months ago if someone had told him he’d be calling the New York/New Jersey area home — as a member of the Jets.
“I’m just pinching myself a lot of days,” Rodgers said. “I can’t believe it’s real sometimes. It’s been a dream, for sure, just to be here.”
Rodgers is participating in offseason workouts, something he hadn’t done the past couple of seasons in Green Bay while he feuded with the Packers’ front office. A slow-motion video posted Monday by the Jets of Rodgers throwing a pass to Wilson, last season’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, has gotten more than 9.6 million views.
“I ain’t gonna lie to you, I was kind of starstruck at first,” linebacker Quincy Williams said with a smile. “I was like, ‘Hold on, coach, let me just take a little minute to just take this in,’ just to watch a few throws and seeing him in the green.
“And it was like, all right, let’s get to work so we can give him more opportunities to throw the ball.”
The Jets are counting on Rodgers doing that and jumpstarting an offense that ranked near the bottom of the league in several categories the past two years with Zach Wilson struggling in then-coordinator Mike LaFleur’s system. Rodgers is reunited with Nathaniel Hackett, his offensive coordinator for three years in Green Bay, including the last two of his four MVP awards in 2020 and 2021.
Hackett isn’t the only former Packers teammate joining Rodgers in New York. The Jets signed Lazard, backup quarterback Tim Boyle and offensive lineman Billy Turner in free agency. They also already had wide receiver Malik Turner and offensive lineman Adam Pankey.
The Jets also signed wide receiver Randall Cobb on Wednesday night. Cobb had two stints as Rodgers’ teammate in Green Bay and walked off the field with the quarterback after the Packers’ season-ending loss to Detroit at Lambeau.
“It’s like the first day of school every single day,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “Everything’s new and exciting and fun.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | 2023-05-04T20:39:28+00:00 | texomashomepage.com | https://www.texomashomepage.com/sports/rodgers-bonding-with-jets-teammates-in-big-apple-spotlight/ |
Bismarck-Henning Rossville-Alvin stomped on Rantoul 12-1 in Illinois high school baseball on March 29.
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Don't have an account? Sign Up Today | 2023-03-30T05:09:29+00:00 | pantagraph.com | https://pantagraph.com/sports/high-school/baseball/boys/bismarck-henning-rossville-alvin-smashes-through-rantoul-12-1/article_dced9b74-ff40-5f62-b21b-0c469f4e8401.html |
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Biden on Tuesday hosted hundreds of lawmakers, their families and aides for the first congressional picnic at the White House in three years, speaking fondly of a bygone era in which Democrats and Republicans could get along, despite differing political views.
“I wish we were able to do more of this so that you all got to know one another well,” Biden said, casually dressed without a jacket or tie. The president reminisced of an increasingly quaint time on Capitol Hill, when lawmakers would spend considerably more time socializing and becoming acquainted with one another’s families.
Those interactions, Biden said, helped lawmakers get along better. The president, who spent 36 years in the Senate, recalled advice that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., gave him when he arrived in Washington as a young senator: spend time in the Senate Dining Room, which is for senators only, and get to know new colleagues.
“It’s hard to dislike a colleague when you know he or she has a wife or husband that has cancer,” Biden said. “It’s hard to look at someone who you strongly disagree with and make it personal when you know they have a son or daughter that has a problem.”
Though the White House picnic was cut short by an impending thunderstorm, Biden had plenty of time to mingle with lawmakers and their families, taking selfies and greeting them shortly before he was to leave for the Middle East.
The hundreds of guests on the South Lawn, which included White House aides, noshed on fried chicken, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, smoked barbecue brisket, vegetable sandwiches and Dove ice cream bars with wrappers adorned with the presidential seal.
But Biden could not escape questions about his poor political standing, highlighted this week by a New York Times/Siena College poll that found just 26 percent of Democratic voters believe he should be renominated by the party in 2024.
“They want me to run,” Biden said of Democrats when asked about the poll results during the picnic. “That poll showed that 92 percent of Democrats, if I ran, would vote for me.” The 92 percent figure in the poll referred to the percentage of Democrats who said they would support Biden if former President Donald Trump were the Republican nominee.
The White House said more than 250 lawmakers, including dozens of House and Senate Republicans, attended the picnic along with a smattering of Cabinet officials and scores of congressional aides. Among the GOP lawmakers were Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. | 2022-07-13T11:34:32+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/politics/biden-fondly-recalls-less-polarized-era-while-hosting-picnic/ |
Stern's Biggest SDCC to Date with New Booth, Return of the Pop-Up Arcade and Brand New Partners: the Nerdist, Toho, Rebellion Republic, Ozzy Osbourne and MORE!
CHICAGO, July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stern Pinball, Inc., announces the company's triumphant return to San Diego Comic-Con International. Making its biggest SDCC splash yet, Stern will be unveiling a new booth (#3721), exciting new partnerships, and of course its beloved Pop-up Arcade at the Marriott Marquis.
New booth partner, Rebellion Republic will be bringing its world-class music merchandise to the Con, and together with Stern will be hosting living legend and rock god Ozzy Osbourne and comic book artist Todd McFarlane. The pair will be unveiling new artwork and a special edition comic by McFarlane for Osbourne's highly anticipated album Patient Number 9. Just announced this week, both Osbourne and McFarlane will be doing signings at the Stern booth to celebrate this momentous collab. Stay tuned for the signing schedule and your chance to purchase SDCC exclusive merch.
Returning this year, the Stern Pinball Pop-up Arcade will include all of the latest Stern Pinball machines featuring the award-winning Insider Connected platform. Both casual and series players are encouraged to stop by the Pop-up Arcade to hang out, relax, earn achievements, high scores and enjoy endless hours of free pinball play. Registration for Insider Connected is available at insider.sternpinball.com/. Players can register at a connected game by scanning a QR code or at the Stern Pinball website. Once a player registers, they are issued a unique QR Code that can be used to identify that player at any connected Stern pinball machine anywhere in the world. When a player logs into the machine, they can track progress, earn new game specific achievements, engage with the player community, and participate in promotions and Challenge Quests.
New to the arcade this year will be special guest booths with partners the Nerdist and Toho. Nerdist is your leading source for the latest pop culture news and a welcoming space to geek out about the many things that we love. The media company will be setting up shop in Stern's Pop-up Arcade for the entirety of the Con. Expect to see live tapings of Nerdist News, interviews with celebrity guests, and more.
Toho Company, Limited, is a Japanese entertainment studio focused on the development, production, exhibition, and distribution of powerful live action and animated content including motion pictures, television, and theater. In 1954, the studio released the iconic film "Godzilla," giving birth to one of cinema's most enduring and celebrated icons loved by fans across the globe.
Come find Stern Pinball on the show floor at booth #3721 or stop by the Pop-up Arcade at the Marriott Marquis.
Stern Pinball, Inc. is a global lifestyle brand based on the iconic and outrageously fun modern American game of pinball. Headquartered minutes from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in the heart of North America, the company creates, designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and distributes a full line of technologically advanced terrestrial and digital pinball games, parts, accessories, and merchandise. Stern Pinball serves digital, consumer, commercial, and corporate markets around the globe.
Recent Stern Pinball titles include Rush, Godzilla, The Mandalorian, Led Zeppelin, Avengers: Infinity Quest, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Stranger Things, Elvira's House of Horrors, Jurassic Park, Black Knight: Sword of Rage, The Munsters, The Beatles, Deadpool, Iron Maiden, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, Aerosmith, Ghostbusters, KISS, Metallica, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Star Trek, AC/DC, Batman, and Spider-Man. A broad range of players enjoy Stern Pinball's games from professional pinball players who compete in high-stakes competitions around the globe to novice players who are discovering the allure of the silver ball for the first time. To join the fun and learn more, please visit www.sternpinball.com.
CONTACT: stern@rebelliouspr.com
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SOURCE Stern Pinball, Inc. | 2022-07-14T15:05:01+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/07/14/stern-pinball-announces-return-san-diego-comic-con-international-2022/ |
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (KTLA) – Officials are searching for a man seen on video abandoning a dog at a cellphone tower in Riverside County, California, last month.
The incident occurred in the Winchester area, when the man was seen picking up a dog and “hurling it over a tall fence topped with razor wire,” according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.
The video shows the man standing next to the dog before tossing him over and walking away. The dog is later seen walking to the front of the fence watching the man leave.
Maintenance workers alerted the agency after finding the dog and caring for it at the scene less than two hours after the animal had been abandoned. Workers told a responding Animal Services officer the dog was very thirsty and they gave the animal three bottles of water.
Because KO the 8-year-old pit bull mix is microchipped, officials were able to identify his owner and have made multiple attempts to find him at his Temecula address.
The owner, Robert Ruiz Jr., 30, no longer lives at the address and the number provided for the chip is not allowing incoming calls, officials said.
“We’re now moving forward with seeking the arrest warrant because this person needs to be held accountable for such a horrible act of willful abandonment,” Animal Services Commander Josh Sisler said in a new release. “We are confident the man in the video is the owner of the dog.
“It is just shocking to see this act. It’s a small miracle the dog did not suffer serious injuries from the razor wire or from such a high drop.”
KO was examined for injuries and is being cared for at a shelter in Jurupa Valley.
Veterinary staff also treated his eyes for mucus discharge.
He has been renamed Ken and is available for adoption or transfer to one of the county’s partner rescue organizations. | 2023-01-05T18:52:35+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/news/national/video-shows-man-tossing-dog-over-cell-tower-fence-in-california/ |
(NEXSTAR) — Rapper Snoop Dogg says soaring prices are behind his recent decision to give one of his employees a raise.
The employee? His full-time personal blunt roller.
In a reply to UberFacts, which explained Snoop’s roller makes between $40,000 and $50,000 per year, the California rap legend wrote, “Inflation. Their salary went up!!”
Snoop first talked about this employee in a 2019 Howard Stern Show interview, Complex reports.
“That m———– is like Lurch from “The Addams Family.’ ‘You rang?’” said Snoop.
Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., explained to Stern that rolling his blunts is the man’s “J-O-B, his occupation. On his resume, it says, ‘What do you do? I’m a blunt roller. P-B-R: Professional Blunt Roller.”
The 50 year-old “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper said the job comes with the added perk of free cannabis.
Actor Seth Rogen backed up Snoop’s claim, saying the employee can tell when someone “seems like they want a blunt.”
Snoop has been a vocal cannabis enthusiast and activist for decades.
In addition to an endless discography touting his love for smoking, Snoop founded Leafs by Snoop in 2015. Last year, Snoop told The Hollywood Reporter that while he appreciates increasing governmental and public support for legal cannabis sales, he hopes it’s not at the cost of people serving prison time for doing the same.
“I just feel like they’ve got to really go back and release everybody that’s in jail [for] marijuana if you’re going to make it legal. Imagine if drug dealers — I call them street vendors — were able to position themselves [in today’s industry],” Snoop told THR. “It’s so hard for Black men, it’s hard for people with criminal records, to get licensed, to get dispensaries. They put so many different hurdles in front of us to where it becomes like an industry that’s not for us, but we do all the promoting of it, buying it and making it what it is.”
Cannabis advocates have even taken to Snoop Dogg’s own concerts to get their own messages out.
In April, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws petitioned outside of the musician’s concert at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. The organization said it collected hundreds of signatures to help get cannabis legalization on the state’s November 2022 ballot.
Campaign director Matthew Schweich told KELOLand: “It won’t surprise anyone that I didn’t encounter a single person who opposed cannabis legalization outside of a Snoop Dogg concert.” | 2022-06-12T18:58:54+00:00 | ourquadcities.com | https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/national-news/snoop-dogg-gives-full-time-blunt-roller-a-raise-cites-inflation/ |
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The 3700 block of Lawndale Drive will be closed from Pisgah Church Road to Martinsville Road due to emergency sewer line work. | 2023-03-11T12:25:03+00:00 | greensboro.com | https://greensboro.com/hope/article_f2179f9d-a871-5a14-b9b5-5d9ea410c9c8.html |
The White House on Thursday bashed Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over pushback from fellow Republicans in his conference over his floating the idea of pursuing impeachment.
McCarthy this week signaled that the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry against Biden, though he made it clear no decision has been made.
The White House, in a statement exclusively obtained by The Hill, called McCarthy’s comments “a ridiculous, baseless stunt, intended to attack the President at a time when House Republicans should instead be joining the President to focus on the important issues facing the American people.”
“But just as soon as McCarthy floated this stunt, he was met with resistance — from members of his own party and even his own caucus,” the statement continued.
The statement highlights quotes from Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who called McCarthy’s move “impeachment theater” on CNN; Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), who told reporters “no one is seriously talking about impeachment”; and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who told reporters that people in his district are worried about “real issues” like inflation and the border.
“The American people want their leaders in Congress to spend their time working with the President on important issues like continuing to lower costs, create good-paying jobs, and strengthen health care,” the White House statement read. “Regardless of these baseless stunts, President Biden will always be focused on delivering real results that improve the lives of the American people.”
The White House also outlined comments from GOP senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who told reporters Wednesday that impeachment is “not good for the country.”
The House GOP has launched investigations into Biden’s family business dealings while Republicans in the Senate have largely distanced themselves from the efforts.
The president’s son Hunter Biden was in a Delaware court Wednesday, where his plea deal — which has been criticized by Republicans — was put on hold by a judge who questioned the scope of the agreement.
The White House on Wednesday released a memo arguing that Republicans’ attacks against Biden are disjointed and a “clown carousel.”
The memo was titled “The message behind Republicans’ haphazard non-message: they can’t beat Bidenomics,” reflecting the Biden argument that the GOP is stepping up attacks on Hunter Biden and talk of impeachment because the economy is getting stronger and is now a less effective avenue for attack. | 2023-07-27T15:29:37+00:00 | kron4.com | https://www.kron4.com/hill-politics/white-house-bashes-mccarthy-for-gop-pushback-over-biden-impeachment-inquiry/ |
Parents hog-tied child, left him bound for nearly 10 hours, court documents say
NORTHWOOD, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) – Two parents in Ohio are facing child abuse charges after police say they tied up their child and left him bound for nearly 10 hours.
Court documents show the victim’s mother and stepfather, Tabetha Sosnowicz, 38, and Jason Sosnowicz Sr., 42, are facing felony charges of endangering children – administering corporal punishment.
According to the affidavit, law enforcement officials responded to the Baymont Hotel in Northwood on July 22 for a check safety call.
Officials found a 12-year-old boy hog-tied in one of the hotel rooms where the family had been living. The affidavit said the boy “had his wrists tied behind his back with white shoestrings, and his wrists were tied to his ankles” on the hotel room floor beside the bed.
Police said the boy was bound for approximately 9.5 hours, from about 3 a.m. until the time police arrived at 12:30 p.m.
The documents said the stepfather was in the room with the child when police arrived and told officers the boy was tied up because he “gets into things.” When the mother returned to their hotel room, she told police she knew the boy was tied up.
Officers said both parents told them they “normally” tie the boy up “to keep him from accessing candy while they are asleep,” according to the affidavit.
Court documents said there were other children in the hotel room; a 6-year-old and a 14-year-old. Those children were not tied up.
A hotel employee said the stepfather worked at the hotel the family was living at.
Jason Sosnowicz’s bond was set at $75,000 and Tabetha Sosnowicz’s bond was set at $25,000. Both were ordered to have no contact with the victim.
Both are being held in the Wood County Jail and are due back in court on Thursday.
Wood County Children Services is investigating.
Copyright 2022 WTVG via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2022-08-04T16:32:57+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/2022/08/04/parents-hog-tied-child-left-him-bound-nearly-10-hours-court-documents-say/ |
Republican lawmakers in the New Hampshire House and Senate are backing a bill that would prohibit state and local law enforcement personnel from enforcing any federal gun laws that are inconsistent with state laws.
The measure, which has already cleared both chambers, seeks to blunt the potential for either executive action or congressional legislation to tighten national gun restrictions.
“The federal government could send out ATF or the FBI or whatever, to enforce that law, but the state enforcement agents would not be able to assist in that,” said Rep. Bob Lynn of Windham, a Republican backer of the bill.
In practice, Lynn said, the measure, HB 1178, would restrict any local enforcement of potential federal prohibitions on the purchase or ownership of semi-automatic rifles, restrictions on magazine capacity, or rules related to “ghost guns,” which are unserialized guns sold in parts.
Speaking a day after the massacre that killed 21 people inside an elementary school in Texas, the latest in a long string of mass shootings in America, Lynn said gun control measures backed by Democrats wouldn’t stop these crimes.
“I think the answer to things like this, to the extent there is an answer, and I’m not saying there is any kind of panacea, much more involves mental health type issues than the gun issue, itself,” he said.
Democrats in the State House oppose HB 1178, arguing the prohibitions will make it harder for local law enforcement to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
“It is very, very difficult to pass any law that stops anyone from committing a crime,” said Rep. David Meuse, a Democrat from Portsmouth. “But one of the things that we can do is we can actually find ways to reduce the risk of those things from happening.”
Meuse added that lawmakers have a duty to uphold constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms, but that there is an equally strong responsibility to protect innocent lives.
“We are there to protect Second Amendment rights, but we are there to protect public safety, and ensure that kids don’t have to worry, or maybe can worry a little bit less, when they go to school in the morning,” he said.
Gov. Chris Sununu’s office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on whether he would sign the measure into law.
Copyright 2022 New Hampshire Public Radio. To see more, visit New Hampshire Public Radio. | 2022-05-27T14:00:03+00:00 | mainepublic.org | https://www.mainepublic.org/nation/2022-05-27/amid-renewed-calls-for-reform-n-h-republicans-are-seeking-to-block-local-enforcement-of-federal-gun-laws |
Bhanot Previously Served as the Hawaii Department of Human Services Director in a Career Spanning 21 Years
HONOLULU, Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- eWorld Enterprise Solutions, Inc. (eWorldES) announced today that Pankaj Bhanot is the incoming CEO who will lead its new executive team. Bhanot was previously the Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS) Director and worked in the public service industry for 21 years. As Director of DHS, he prepared the department for the pandemic to help the most individuals possible throughout COVID-19. Now he will be leading eWorld Enterprise Solutions to continue to focus on the initiatives that will benefit Hawaii's communities through technology.
"Hawaii has been my home for the last 30 years, and the opportunity to join eWorldES and continue my focus here was a big factor in my decision," said Bhanot. "My values of the aloha spirit, determination, and being the best in our industry align with those of eWorld ES, and we are looking forward to doing great things together for the state."
In a speech to the employees, Bhanot said, "I would like us to work efficiently to provide creative, innovative, affordable, and sustainable information and technology solutions that make a difference in the communities we live, work and play in."
Bhanot's priority is to provide leadership on the company's key projects for government clients and focus on strategic expansion that maximizes the key strengths of eWorldES. The ongoing focus will be on servicing clients and helping them provide citizens with modern and intelligent solutions for their technology needs.
Members of the executive team who will be helping to lead the charge into the new era of eWorldES include Bhanu Vellanki as President and Chief Operating Officer; Steve Sakata as Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer; Joel Bongco as Vice President and Chief Experience and Security Officer; Dean Senda, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Rama Kodumagulla as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
Kodumagulla is the only new hire for the executive team. As the incoming CTO and Vice President, he comes to eWorldES from Convexio, located in North Carolina, where he served as the founder and technical architect with over 30+ years of experience in Government (Federal, State & Tribes), Automotive, Sports, Banking, Solar, Telecom, Retail, and Healthcare industries.
All other executives have served in various capacities for eWorldES for several years and up to 17 years with the company. eWorldES has worked in the State of Hawaii for over 23 years focusing on government solutions and working with state departments and divisions to modernize, automate, and develop efficient and effective solutions.
eWorld Enterprise Solutions, Inc. (eWorldES) is a Hawaii-based information technology and solutions integration company. The company has over 100 staff and consultants, many of which reside in Hawaii and have extensive IT experience. Founded in 1999, eWorldES is proud to be one of Hawaii's leading technology companies contributing to our state's innovation economy and delivering technology solutions for our clients for 23 years
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SOURCE eWorld Enterprise Solutions | 2022-09-15T01:39:53+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/15/pankaj-bhanot-serve-new-ceo-eworld-enterprise-solutions/ |
NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today released data on suicide deaths for the year 2021. According to the new data, suicide deaths in the United States increased from 45,979 to 48,183 (4.79%) between the years 2020 and 2021 with the age-adjusted suicide rate for 2021 at 14.1 per 100,000 people.
This year's report looks at age, race and ethnicity related trends between 2018 and 2021 which point to disparities in trends between non-Hispanic Whites and other racial and ethnic groups. Between 2018 and 2021, increases in age-adjusted suicide rates were highest amongst Native Americans (26%), with Blacks (19.2%) and Hispanics (6.8%) also evidencing significant increases. Over this period from 2018 to 2021, suicide rates for Whites declined by 3.9%, however they increased between 2020 and 2021 from 16.9 to 17.4 per 100,000 people. By race/ethnicity, the highest number of suicide deaths in 2021 were within the White population (36,681). Among the various age groups, a significant increase occurred for 25–44-year-olds (5% increase from 2018 to 2021), while the rate decreased by 12.4% for 45-64-year-olds (the age group that has traditionally contributed the most to the overall number of suicides). Increases for 25–44-year-olds were also seen for Native Americans and Hispanics, however, for Black people, the largest increase (36.6%) was seen in people aged 10-24.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the nation's largest suicide prevention organization, released the following statement regarding the CDC's data:
At AFSP, we are saddened and disappointed by the increase in suicide deaths and rates – even one death from suicide is one too many. The new data from the CDC strengthens our drive to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide through advancing scientific research, educating the public about mental health and suicide prevention, and advocating for public policies that support more scalable and customized prevention strategies. We are seeing a wave of change in our society that destigmatizes openly talking about and seeking help to prevent suicide and this is giving people more confidence to take action to protect their own and others' mental health and well-being.
With the data showing increases in suicide rates amongst Native American, Black, and Hispanic people, we see how structural racism and social and health inequities – among other factors – may be negatively impacting the mental health and suicide risk of historically marginalized communities. AFSP is committed to developing and providing effective, widely-accessible and culturally informed prevention education efforts in partnership with peer organizations that have expertise in these communities – like Soul Shop for Black Churches and Talk Saves Lives™ (TSL): An Introduction to Suicide Prevention for Latinx and Hispanic Communities – in order for these important communities to receive culturally appropriate education and support. We continue to prioritize and invest in research on suicide prevention among diverse and under-represented racial groups.
This newly released CDC report is an important reminder that suicide is complex, we all have a continued role to play in preventing this fatal health outcome, and we are still learning through research what factors contribute to suicide to inform prevention.
If you are planning to write about these data, share them on social media or share them within your local or personal community, it's crucial to communicate these three contextual considerations:
- Evidence-based suicide prevention strategies exist and need to be scaled and customized: Since there are a myriad of factors that can contribute to suicide, it requires multiple prevention strategies that are both scalable and customizable. These efforts are at the heart of AFSP's work and research.
- There is hope. People are seeking connection, support, and treatment. As we grapple with uncertainty about what lies ahead, we know that with sustained prevention education efforts and advocacy there is much reason for hope. There has been a cultural shift towards prioritizing mental health in our society, possibly spurred on by the pandemic. People are reaching out for help more than ever before. We see this in increases in emergency department visits, greater demand for mental health professionals and calls to 988 since the new number was created. Our latest Harris Poll tells us more people are prioritizing their mental health, engaging in self care, and aware of the importance of helping themselves and others when experiencing mental health distress.
- Help is available. Our recent Harris Poll found that more than half of respondents (56%) said not knowing HOW to get help prevents people with suicidal ideation from seeking help. This encourages us to continue educating people on the resources available to prevent suicide. AFSP has a number of ways to reach out to someone you are worried about including AFSP's #RealConvo, Find Help, and AFSP's Healing Conversations.
We encourage sharing the following guidance with the public and build on this moment of heightened attention to preventing suicide:
If you are concerned that you or someone you know might be experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts, prioritize mental health. There are things you can do that help. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suggests these steps:
At AFSP, in partnership with our peer organizations, we remain dedicated to taking action against this leading cause of death through efforts like:
- Raising awareness and engaging state and federal policymakers to reimagine mental health crisis response in our country and using 988 as just the first step towards establishing a continuum of care. 988 will continue to encourage help-seeking for those who may be struggling with their mental health or have a loved one who is in need of mental health care.
- Continuing our work towards reducing the annual suicide rate by 20% by the year 2025 through Project 2025. By partnering with organizations to embrace stronger evidence-based suicide prevention practices in critical settings like healthcare systems, emergency departments, corrections systems and within the firearms owning community, we can have a dramatic impact on saving lives.
- As we continue to see racial disparities in suicide rates, its crucial that we offer culturally relevant suicide prevention education and accessibility to mental health resources for everyone in our communities. AFSP has participated in and spearheaded a number of initiatives to support this goal, including Seize the Awkward, Talk Saves Lives™ (TSL): An Introduction to Suicide Prevention for Latinx and Hispanic Communities and Soul Shop for Black Churches.
- Demanding more accessible and affordable mental health care including well-trained professionals. We all should have easy access to culturally appropriate and effective mental health assessment and treatment on a regular, ongoing basis. This kind of care can save lives, if affordable and accessible to individuals at risk. AFSP supports efforts to ensure that individuals receive the same insurance coverage for their mental health as their physical health, also known as "mental health parity."
The newly released data informs us that we have much to do to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide. It's time to engage in a national effort to prevent suicide.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide, including those who have experienced a loss. AFSP creates a culture that's smart about mental health through public education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, with a public policy office in Washington, DC, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states including Puerto Rico, with programs and events nationwide. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention | 2023-02-10T19:07:57+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/02/10/2021-cdc-suicide-death-data-intensifies-call-continued-suicide-prevention-efforts/ |
Recognized as a Top 10 Provider of Juvéderm filler in the nation, The Skin Center reveals its most in-demand filler treatments and techniques.
PITTSBURGH, Pa., June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "Our practice has seen an increase in dermal filler patients of all ages, from women in their 20s to 60s and beyond," says Greg Sanker, CEO of The Skin Center, Pittsburgh's leading medical spa with seven state-of-the-art clinics across the region. The Skin Center is also recognized as a Top 10 Provider of Juvéderm fillers in the nation, out of over 30,000 cosmetic providers, by Allergan Aesthetics, the makers of Juvéderm. "Our team of aesthetic medical experts administered over 4,800 filler treatments in 2021 and we're projected to do even more this year," he adds.
Dermal fillers have evolved greatly over the past years, now available in various formulas specifically designed to treat different areas of the face and provide natural-looking, long-lasting results. "The biggest shift we've seen is the desire to treat multiple areas of the face, which requires more than one syringe and type of filler," explains Rachel Gill, a seasoned nurse injector at The Skin Center. Here are the top five filler trends at The Skin Center.
1. Liquid facelift—no knife required. Baby boomers make up The Skin Center's largest percentage of filler patients, and most are concerned with creases around the nose and mouth and sagging in the cheek area. "To treat these concerns, we inject a denser filler along the cheekbone, which subtly lifts the midface, reduces the depth of folds and gives a more youthful appearance . This often requires more than one syringe of filler, " explains Gill.
2. Plump and hydrate the lips. Just this past year alone, The Skin Center has seen over a 30% increase in lip filler patients, which is the most popular filler treatment among patients in their 30s. "To add soft, subtle volume to lips, we use lighter fillers. A small amount of filler delivers beautiful, natural results," says Gill.
3. Facial contouring. Another popular request among our clients is to add definition to certain areas of the face like the cheekbones, nose or chin. Carefully injected filler in these areas can help restore balance and symmetry to the face" says Gill.
4. Define the jawline. "Many patients are requesting a more defined jawline, which can be achieved with filler injections. Sharpening the jawline, in some patients, can even reduce the appearance of jowls," says Gill.
5. Go makeup-free more often. Perhaps the most surprising, yet universally most relatable filler trend is the desire to wear less makeup, especially during the hot, humid summer months. Hyaluronic acid is a substance our bodies produce that attracts water and helps keep our skin hydrated. Unfortunately, our body's natural hyaluronic acid decreases as we age. Our most popular fillers are made of hyaluronic acid. In addition to providing lift and volume where needed, fillers can also help hydrate and firm the skin, giving a natural glow without makeup," explains Gill.
You're in safe hands at The Skin Center. Our rigorous training and development, investment in state-of-the-art technologies and commitment to evidence-based medicine enable us to deliver the safest, most natural and beautiful results. We have this down to a science, delivering superior outcomes for over 40 years. We always offer complimentary Botox and Juvéderm filler consultations. Don't miss its first-time patient special: $100 OFF your first full filler syringe.
To interview an expert at The Skin Center, please contact us.
The Skin Center
Zachary Cole, Sr. Marketing Manager
412-429-1151
Zcole@theskincentermd.com
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SOURCE The Skin Center | 2022-06-28T22:11:22+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/06/28/skin-centers-top-5-dermal-filler-trends/ |
As work begins on the largest US dam removal project, tribes look to a future of growth
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The largest dam removal project in United States history is underway along the California-Oregon border — a process that won’t conclude until the end of next year with the help of heavy machinery and explosives.
But in some ways, removing the dams is the easy part. The hard part will come over the next decade as workers, partnering with Native American tribes, plant and monitor nearly 17 billion seeds as they try to restore the Klamath River and the surrounding land to what it looked like before the dams started to go up more than a century ago.
The demolition is part of a national movement to return the natural flow of the nation’s rivers and restore habitat for fish and the ecosystems that sustain other wildlife. More than 2,000 dams have been removed in the U.S. as of February, with the bulk of those having come down within the last 25 years, according to the advocacy group American Rivers.
When demolition is completed by the end of next year, more than 400 miles (644 kilometers) of river will have opened for threatened species of fish and other wildlife. By comparison, the 65 dams removed in the U.S. last year combined to reconnect 430 miles (692 kilometers) of river.
Along the Klamath, the dam removals won’t be a major hit to the power supply; they produced less than 2% of power company PacifiCorp’s energy generation when they were running at full capacity -- enough to power about 70,000 homes. Though the hydroelectric power produced by dams is considered a clean, renewable source of energy, many larger dams in the U.S. West have become a target for environmental groups and tribes because of the harm they cause to fish and river ecosystems.
The project will empty three reservoirs over about 3.5 square miles (9 square kilometers) near the California-Oregon border, exposing soil to sunlight in some places for the first time in more than a century.
For the past five years, Native American tribes have gathered seeds by hand and sent them to nurseries with plans to sow the seeds along the banks of the newly wild river. Helicopters will bring in hundreds of thousands of trees and shrubs to plant along the banks, including wads of tree roots to create habitat for fish.
This growth usually takes decades to happen naturally. But officials are pressing nature’s fast-forward button because they hope to repel an invasion of foreign plants, such as starthistle, which dominate the landscape at the expense of native plants.
“Why not just let nature take its course? Well, nature didn’t take its course when dams got put in. We can’t pretend this gigantic change in the landscape has not happened and we can’t just ignore the fact that invasive species are a big problem in the west and in California,” said Dave Meurer, director of community affairs for Resource Environmental Solutions, the company leading the restoration project.
PacifiCorp built the dams starting in 1918 to generate electricity. The dams halted the natural flow of the river and disrupted the lifecycle of salmon, a fish that spends most of its life in the Pacific Ocean but returns to the chilly mountain streams to lay eggs. The fish are culturally and spiritually significant to a number of Native American tribes, who historically survived by fishing the massive runs of salmon that would come back to the rivers each year.
A combination of low water levels and warm temperatures in 2002 led to a bacterial outbreak that killed more than 34,000 fish, mostly Chinook salmon. The loss jumpstarted decades of advocacy from Native American tribes and environmental groups, culminating last year when federal regulators approved a plan to remove the dams.
“The river is our church, the salmon is our cross. That’s how it relates to the people. So it’s very sacred to us,” said Kenneth Brink, vice chairman of the Karuk Tribe. “The river is not just a place we go to swim. It’s life. It creates everything for our people.”
The project will cost $500 million, paid for by taxpayers and PacifiCorps ratepayers. Crews have mostly removed the smallest of the four dams, known as Copco No. 2. The other three dams are expected to come down next year. That will leave some homeowners in the area without the picturesque lake they have lived on for years.
The Siskiyou County Water Users Association, which formed about a decade ago to stop the dam removal project, filed a federal lawsuit. But so far they have been unable to stop the demolition.
“Unfortunately it’s a mistake you can’t turn back from,” association President Richard Marshall said.
The water level in the lakes will drop between 3 feet and 5 feet (1 meter to 1.5 meters) per day over the first few months of next year. Crews will follow that water line, taking advantage of the moisture in the soil to plant seeds from more than 98 native plant species including wooly sunflower, Idaho fescue and Blue bunch wheat grass.
Tribes have been invested in the process from the start. Resource Environmental Solutions hired tribal members to gather seeds from native plants by hand. The Yurok Tribe even hired a restoration botanist.
Each species has a role to play. Some, like lupine, grow quickly and prepare the soil for other plants. Others, like oak trees, take years to fully mature and provide shade for other plants.
“It’s a wonderful marriage of tribal traditional ecological knowledge and western science,” said Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the nonprofit entity created to oversee the project.
The previous largest dam removal project was on Washington state’s Elwha River, which flows out of Olympic National Park into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Congress in 1992 approved the demolition of the two dams on the river constructed in the early 1900s. After two decades of planning, workers finished removing them in 2014, opening about 70 miles (113 kilometers) of habitat for salmon and steelhead.
Biologists say it will take at least a generation for the river to recover, but within months of the dams being removed, salmon were already recolonizing sections of the river they had not accessed in more than a century. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, which has been closely involved in restoration work, is opening a limited subsistence fishery this fall for coho salmon, its first since the dams came down.
Brink, the Karuk Tribe vice chair, hopes similar success will happen on the Klamath River. Multiple times per year, Brink and other tribal members participate in ceremonial salmon fishing using handheld nets. In many years, there have been no fish to catch, he said.
“When the river gets to flow freely again, the people can also begin to worship freely again,” he said.
___
Associated Press writer Eugene Johnson in Seattle contributed.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2023-07-31T21:37:45+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2023/07/31/work-begins-largest-us-dam-removal-project-tribes-look-future-growth/ |
President Joe Biden’s top health official has again tested positive for COVID-19, less than a month after he came down with virus symptoms while on a trip to Germany.
U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra woke up with symptoms again Monday morning and tested positive afterward, spokeswoman Sarah Lovenheim said.
His symptoms are mild and he is isolating in Sacramento, California. Lovenheim said Becerra had been in California for a “personal commitment.”
A statement from HHS said the secretary was not believed to be a close contact of Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, who also tested positive earlier this spring.
Becerra is continuing to work from isolation.
Becerra had joined Biden at the Summit of the Americas last week in Los Angeles. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he had tested positive after attending the event, which gathered dignitaries, diplomats and business leaders from across the hemisphere.
Becerra is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot guarding against the virus.
In May, Becerra tested positive while in Berlin for a meeting of health ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy nations to discuss the ongoing pandemic. His office said then that he had mild symptoms and continued his work from isolation.
HHS said Becerra tested negative for COVID before returning to the United States and multiple times afterward before the positive test Monday.
It’s possible to be re-infected with the virus and get sick with COVID-19 more than once. It’s unclear how often people are re-infected so soon after the first illness, but one early study found that it’s possible, though rare, to test positive for one type of omicron variant, called BA.2, 20 to 60 days after testing positive for the original omicron.
The viral mutant now dominant in the U.S., which scientists call BA.2.12.1, is also a member of the omicron family but has a genetic trait called a “delta mutation” that appears to allow it to escape pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection – especially if someone was infected with the original omicron.
It’s also possible that Becerra didn’t clear his earlier infection – although he tested negative.
__
AP reporter Zeke Miller and AP Science Writer Laura Ungar contributed to this story. | 2022-06-14T15:12:46+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/news/health/coronavirus/hhs-secretary-becerra-tests-positive-for-covid-19-again/ |
CHICAGO and NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BDT & MSD Partners LLC today announced the completion of the business combination of BDT & Company Holdings, L.P. and MSD Partners, L.P. The firm and its registered broker-dealer will operate as BDT & MSD Partners.
BDT & MSD Partners is a merchant bank with an advisory and investment platform built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors. The firm is distinguished by its decades of experience advising at the intersection of founders, families, and businesses, as well as by its differentiated capital base and culture of aligned investing.
Its offerings include:
- Trusted Advice and Capital : The firm offers strategic advisory services and long-term capital through its affiliated funds to help clients sustain and grow their businesses, manage their legacies, and create social impact.
- Differentiated Investment Platform : Through its registered investment advisors, BDT Capital Partners and MSD Partners, the firm seeks to provide high-quality investment strategies in four core areas – Private Capital to family- and founder-led businesses, Credit, Real Estate, and Growth Equity – with the goal of delivering attractive, long-term, risk-adjusted capital appreciation.
- Unparalleled Global Network : The firm brings together its world-class network of business-owning clients and investors to enable them to benefit from the wisdom and experience of other exceptional leaders.
As previously announced, the firm is led by Byron Trott and Gregg Lemkau as Co-Chief Executive Officers of BDT & MSD Partners. Dan Jester and San Orr serve as Presidents. Brendan Rogers serves as Chief Operating Officer. Trott also serves as Chairman of the firm. Michael Dell serves as Chairman of the firm's Advisory Board. BDT & MSD Partners is co-headquartered in Chicago and New York City, with offices also located in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, San Francisco, London, and Frankfurt.
BDT & MSD Partners is a merchant bank with an advisory and investment platform built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors. The firm is distinguished by its decades of experience advising at the intersection of founders, families, and businesses, as well as by its differentiated capital base and culture of aligned investing. Since 2010, the firm's affiliated funds have deployed more than $50 billion across their investment strategies.
BDT & MSD Partners was established in 2023 through the combination of BDT & Company, the merchant bank to the closely held, founded in 2009 by Byron Trott, and MSD Partners, a premier investment firm that since 2009 has invested on behalf of Dell Technologies Founder Michael Dell and his family, and other like-minded investors. For more information, visit www.bdtmsd.com.
Media Contacts
Sara Evans / Matthew Glasser
T: (312) 529-6548 / (312) 385-2883
E: communications@bdtcap.com
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SOURCE BDT & MSD Partners | 2023-01-17T13:34:42+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/01/17/bdt-amp-company-msd-partners-combine-bdt-amp-msd-partners/ |
Milwaukee Rep to hold auditions for world premiere of 'Run Bambi Run'
Musical based on Lawrencia Bembenek
Musical based on Lawrencia Bembenek
Musical based on Lawrencia Bembenek
Auditions will be held next month for the world premiere musical about one of Milwaukee's infamous women.
"Run Bambi Run" is about Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek's fall from the Milwaukee Police Department to convicted killer — a murder that for decades she claimed she didn’t commit.
She escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac and was recaptured in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Milwaukee Rep is looking for actor-musicians with a strong rock background. Performers will be asked to sing a song of their choosing in the spirit of a rock, power ballad or folk song (no musical theater selections) and demonstrate versatility by playing one or more instruments.
The show is based on the book by Eric Simonson, a new score by Grammy-nominee Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes and directed by Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements.
The Rep describes the production as a "rollicking hometown story about truth and justice is a wild ride that you have to see to believe."
To get more information and submit materials for an audition, click here.
Auditions will be held Wednesday, April 5. The first practice will be Aug. 4.
The show will run Sept. 22 through Oct. 22.
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Aaron Rodgers: 'My intention is to play and play with the Jets' | 2023-03-16T00:36:45+00:00 | wisn.com | https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-rep-auditions-world-premiere-of-run-bambi-run/43324002 |
(WHTM) — Six planets in our solar system are moving “in retrograde” right now, and that’s getting a lot of people excited.
Astrology sites are full of explanations on how retrograde motions are affecting horoscopes, including talk of “stagnation in the cosmos,” “retrograde energy swaying” and “challenges to relationships” as well as advice to “avoid new ventures,” “stick to routine jobs” and “evaluate how we are transforming our lives.”
There’s also a lot of bad science suggesting how the “planet slows down,” which certainly causes a lot of fuss over what is essentially an optical illusion.
So what’s really going on when a planet travels in retrograde?
To begin, the following planets (in order from the sun) will be moving in retrograde for a while:
- Mercury from Sept. 10 to Oct. 2
- Jupiter from July 28 to Nov. 23
- Saturn June 4 to Oct. 23
- Uranus Aug. 24 to Jan. 23
- Neptune June 28 to Dec. 4
- Pluto April 29 to Oct. 8 (Yeah, we know Pluto is a “dwarf planet,” but it’s still in an orbit, and it still displays retrograde motion.)
According to NASA, retrograde motion is an “apparent” change in a planet’s movement through the sky when seen from Earth — when a planet appears to go backward in orbit. In other words, it’s the optical illusion that was just mentioned.
Planets, including Earth, orbit the sun. This idea is called heliocentrism. (Helios was the god of the sun in Greek mythology.)
Because the planets orbit the sun at different distances, planets have years of different lengths:
Planets with shorter years will “overtake” slower-moving planets.
As a faster orbiting planet overtakes a slower one, it will appear (from the vantage point of the faster-moving planet) as though the slower-moving planet stops moving forward and then drifts backward even though it is still moving at its original speed.
“It is not REAL in that the planet does not physically start moving backwards in its orbit,” NASA states. “It just appears to do so because of the relative positions of the planet and Earth and how they are moving around the Sun.”
We can actually see this effect on Earth. Imagine two cars traveling in the same direction in two different lanes. One travels slightly faster than the other. As the faster car overtakes the slower, it will appear (from the vantage point of the faster car) as though the slower car stops, then moves backward, even though its actual speed has not changed. (This thought experiment works with different modes of transportation, from walking to cycling to flying in airplanes.)
It’s worth noting that one of the reasons heliocentrism replaced geocentrism (the notion that the Earth is in the center of the Solar System) is that geocentrism couldn’t explain the retrograde motion of planets. With heliocentrism, explaining retrograde motion was simple.
So why does the idea of retrograde bring with it a sense of doom and gloom?
Well, according to the Farmers’ Almanac, the planets each rule a different aspect of life, and when they appear to move backward, their positive influence on those aspects is believed to be disrupted.
Mercury’s retrograde is the most common to be associated with chaos. That’s because it is the closest to the sun, and therefore the fastest to orbit around it, causing it to become retrograde three or four times a year, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
“Believers in the malevolent power of Mercury retrograde blame the phenomenon for everything from arguments to lost mail or luggage to automobile accidents and technology issues, and warn people to hold back on conducting important business during this time,” the Farmers’ Almanac says.
According to Astrology.com, retrograde motion is a “side-effect of proximity,” and it suggests that perceived problems as a result may be due to “being too close to someone or something to see it objectively.”
“Taking our time, getting a little distance, and changing perspectives may be very helpful,” it advises. | 2022-09-25T17:14:42+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/6-planets-are-in-retrograde-why-do-people-care/ |
EUCLID, Ohio — The trial for Euclid police officer Michael Amiott continued in Euclid Municipal Court Monday with testimony from the witness who recorded the viral video, as well as Richard Hubbard, the man Amiott is seen on camera beating, and Hubbard's girlfriend, who also witnessed the 2017 traffic stop.
Amiott faces three misdemeanor charges, including two counts of assault and one count of interfering with civil rights.
On Monday, the prosecutor said Amiott “randomly targeted” Hubbard, saying his behavior was “aggressive, unprofessional, and unreasonable.”
Amiott’s attorney said “pain compliance” is an accepted practice; that police are “trained and required to hurt people” to “incentivize” them to comply.
His attorney said Hubbard escalated the incident; Amiott was following training, and the Euclid Police Department is “scapegoating” Amiott instead of reviewing its policies.
The witness who captured the incident on camera said at the trial Monday that she started recording because Amiott was “aggressive” towards Hubbard after pulling him over. She doesn’t know Hubbard.
The prosecutor played the witness cell phone video that made national headlines. In it, Amiott can be seen repeatedly punching Hubbard during the 2017 traffic stop in Euclid.
The witness said she posted the video of the traffic stop on social media because it was “disturbing.”
During cross-examination from Amoitt’s defense attorney, the witness said Hubbard’s girlfriend told him to “Stop fighting. Stop resisting,” and that she had a “better view” of the traffic stop.
The witness, a lifelong Euclid resident, said Amiott “grabbed him (Hubbard) and slammed him to the ground.” When asked about Hubbard appearing to be kicking Amiott in the video, the witness said that if she was in the same situation, she would do the same thing.
Following the witness testimony, Hubbard took the stand to testify. He said he was going to Dollar Bank with his girlfriend on Aug. 12, 2017 when Amiott pulled him over.
Hubbard said Amiott “was all over me” as soon as he got out of his girlfriend’s car.
The prosecutor then played Amiott’s dash cam video of Hubbard’s traffic stop, which showed Hubbard was immediately tasered and forced to the ground by Amiott after stepping out of his girlfriend’s car. Then, Amiott repeatedly punched him. Hubbard testified that he never swung back.
Amiott twice asked Hubbard if he had a warrant — he didn’t — then told him to hand over his keys. Hubbard handed the keys over. Amiott then asked Hubbard to get out of the car, which he also did.
The defense noted that Hubbard did not have a valid driver’s license when pulled over, adding that Hubbard “shouldered” Amiott as he turned around to face the car after getting out. Hubbard said he had no room to turn around.
Amiott’s defense continued to question Hubbard about whether he was resisting and his use of crude language during the incident toward officers and his girlfriend.
“I just thought the worst,” said Hubbard’s girlfriend, Yolimar Tirado, when testifying about how she feared Euclid police shot him when she heard the “pop” from the taser during the traffic stop.
Tirado teared up while talking about seeing video of the 2017 incident on social media.
“Not something you want to see over and over again,” she said.
The trial resumes Tuesday at Euclid Municipal Court.
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You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here. | 2022-07-25T23:44:13+00:00 | news5cleveland.com | https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/investigations/euclid-police/euclid-officers-trial-continues-with-testimony-from-woman-who-recorded-viral-video-man-beaten-by-officers |
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas — Terrell Williams Jr. scored 17 points as Southern beat Prairie View A&M 66-62 on Wednesday night.
Will Douglas led the Panthers (5-10, 1-1) in scoring, finishing with 25 points and seven rebounds. Nikkei Rutty added 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Prairie View A&M. Tekorian Smith had eight points.
NEXT UP
Both teams next play Saturday. Southern hosts Florida A&M and Prairie View A&M visits Mississippi Valley State.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. | 2023-01-05T05:29:35+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/williams-scores-17-southern-beats-prairie-view-aandm-66-62/2023/01/05/5a496678-8cb6-11ed-b86a-2e3a77336b8e_story.html |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hurricane Ian, now a Category 3 storm, is currently battering Cuba with strong winds and life-threatening storm surge as it makes its way toward the Tampa Bay area, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.
The NHC issued a hurricane warning for Tampa Bay Monday night. This means hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected in the area sometime in the next 48 hours.
Several Tampa Bay area counties issued evacuation orders on Monday. Residents living in Zone A in Hillsborough County, Zone A in Manatee County, zones A, B and C in Pinellas County and in Level A in Sarasota County are affected.
The storm made landfall in La Coloma, Cuba at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
In its 8 a.m. advisory, the NHC said Ian was about about 130 miles south-southwest of the Dry Tortugas and about 10 miles north-northeast of Pinar del Río, Cuba, packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.
The storm was moving north at 12 mph with hurricane-storm-force winds extending outward up to 35 miles from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 115 miles from the eye.
The eye of the storm should be near the country’s western coast Tuesday morning. The system should emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico Tuesday and remain a major hurricane, according to the NHC. Some strengthening is expected.
The path would put Ian just west of the Florida Keys Tuesday evening and near the west coast of Florida in the hurricane warning area on Wednesday.
“This morning two of our forecast models, the GFS and European models, came closer to agreeing. Both models turn the storm earlier to the east, potentially making landfall somewhere between Pinellas and Sarasota counties late Wednesday into early Thursday,” said Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Leigh Spann.
The area could see 12 to 16 inches of rain with some areas seeing isolated amounts of up to 24 inches. The heavy rainfall could lead to considerable flash and urban flooding and prolonged river flooding. A few tornadoes will be possible across parts of Florida Tuesday and Wednesday, the NHC said.
Tampa Bay and other parts of Florida are also under a storm surge warning, meaning the storm could raise water levels above normal tides.
According to the NHC, water could reach the following heights above ground in the following areas:
- Anclote River to Middle of Longboat Key, including Tampa Bay —5-10 ft
- Suwannee River to Anclote River — 5-8 ft
- Middle of Longboat Key to Englewood, FL — 5-8 ft
- Englewood, FL to Bonita Beach, including Charlotte Harbor —4-7 ft
- Bonita Beach to Chokoloskee —4-7 ft
- Chokoloskee to East Cape Sable —3-5 ft
- Flagler/Volusia County Line to Altamaha Sound including St. Johns River — 2-4 ft
- East Cape Sable to Card Sound Bridge, including Florida Bay — 2-4 ft
- Aucilla River to Suwannee River — 2-4 ft
- Florida Keys, including the Dry Tortugas — 2-4 ft
- Indian Pass to Aucilla River — 1-3 ft
Here is a summary of watches and warnings in effect as of 8 a.m. Tuesday.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for:
- Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio, and Artemisa
- Bonita Beach to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay
- Dry Tortugas
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for:
- Anclote River southward to Flamingo
- Tampa Bay
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
- Cuban provinces of La Habana, Mayabeque, and Matanzas
- Lower Florida Keys from Seven Mile Bridge westward to Key West
- Flamingo to Bonita Beach
- Suwannee River to the Anclote River
- Volusia/Brevard County Line south to Jupiter Inlet
- Lake Okeechobee
A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for:
- Florida Keys from the Card Sound Bridge westward to Key West
- Dry Tortugas
- Florida Bay
- Aucilla River to Anclote River
- Altamaha Sound to Flagler/Volusia County Line
- Saint Johns River
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for:
- North of Anclote River to the Suwannee River
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for:
- North of the Suwannee River to Indian Pass
- Altamaha Sound to Volusia/Brevard County line
- Deerfield Beach to Jupiter Inlet
Tracking Hurricane Ian
>> Latest updates on Hurricane Ian
>> Max Defender 8 Hurricane Guide
>> Download the Max Defender 8 app | 2022-09-27T12:19:35+00:00 | valleycentral.com | https://www.valleycentral.com/weather/5-am-update-ian-now-a-major-hurricane-tampa-bay-under-warning/ |
WASHINGTON – Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq — in blinding explosions of shock and awe — American forces remain in the country in what has become a small but consistent presence to ensure an ongoing relationship with a key military and diplomatic partner in the Middle East.
The roughly 2,500 U.S. troops are scattered around the country, largely in military installations in Baghdad and in the north. And while it is a far cry from the more than 170,000 U.S. forces in Iraq at the peak of the war in 2007, U.S. officials say the limited — but continued — troop level is critical as a show of commitment to the region and a hedge against Iranian influence and weapons trafficking.
A look at America's evolving role in Iraq:
HOW DID IT START?
The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003 in what it called a massive “shock and awe” bombing campaign that lit up the skies, laid waste to large sections of the country and paved the way for American ground troops to converge on Baghdad. The invasion was based on what turned out to be faulty claims that Saddam Hussein had secretly stashed weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons never materialized.
Saddam was toppled from power, and America's war shifted the country’s governing base from minority Arab Sunnis to majority Shiites, with Kurds gaining their own autonomous region. While many Iraqis welcomed Saddam's ouster, they were disappointed when the government failed to restore basic services and the ongoing battles instead brought vast humanitarian suffering.
Resentment and power struggles between the Shiites and the Sunnis fueled civil war, leading ultimately to America's complete withdrawal in December 2011. The divide was a key factor in the collapse of the nation's police and military forces when faced with the Islamic State insurgency that swept across Iraq and Syria in 2014.
THE U.S. RETURNS
The rise of the Islamic State group — its roots were in al-Qaida affiliates — and its expanding threat to the U.S. and allies across Europe sent the U.S. back into Iraq at the invitation of the Baghdad government in 2014. Over that summer and fall, the U.S.-led coalition launched airstrike campaigns in Iraq and then Syria, and restarted a broad effort to train and advise Iraq's military.
The coalition's train and advise mission has continued, bolstered by a NATO contingent, even after the Islamic State group's campaign to create a caliphate was ended in March 2019.
The roughly 2,500 troops deployed to Iraq live on joint bases with Iraqi troops, where they provide training and equipment. That troop total, however, fluctuates a bit, and the Pentagon does not reveal the number of U.S. special operations forces that routinely move in and out of the country to assist Iraqi forces or travel into Syria for counterterrorism operations.
“Iraq is still under pressure from ISIS,” said retired Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie, who led U.S. Central Command and served as the top U.S. commander for the Middle East from 2019 to 2022. “We still help them continue that fight. We’ve done a lot of things to help them improve the control of their own sovereignty, which is of very high importance to the Iraqis.”
WHY THE U.S. PRESENCE CONTINUES
The much-stated reason for the continued U.S. troop presence is to help Iraq battle the remnants of the Islamic State insurgency and prevent any resurgence.
But a key reason is Iran.
Iran's political influence and militia strength in Iraq and throughout the region has been a recurring security concern for the U.S. over the years. And the presence of American forces in Iraq makes it more difficult for Iran to move weapons across Iraq and Syria into Lebanon, for use by its proxies, including the Lebanese Hezbollah, against Israel.
The same is true for the U.S. troop presence around the al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria, which is located on a vital road that can link Iranian-backed forces from Tehran all the way to southern Lebanon — and Israel’s doorstep. In both Iraq and Syria, U.S. troops disrupt what could be an uncontested land bridge for Iran to the eastern Mediterranean.
U.S. troops in Iraq also provide critical logistical and other support for American forces in Syria, who partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces battling the Islamic State group. The U.S. conducts airstrikes and other missions targeting IS leaders, and also supports the SDF in guarding thousands of captured IS fighters and family members imprisoned in Syria.
Military leaders successfully beat back efforts by then-President Donald Trump to pull all troops out of both Syria and Iraq. They argued that if anything were to happen in Syria that endangered U.S. forces, they would need to be able to quickly send troops, equipment and other support from Iraq.
In a recent visit to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said U.S. forces are ready to remain in Iraq, in a noncombat role, at the invitation of the government.
“We’re deeply committed to ensuring that the Iraqi people can live in peace and dignity, with safety and security and with economic opportunity for all,” he said.
IRAQ BY THE NUMBERS
By the time Washington withdrew its last combat troops in December 2011, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians were dead, along with 4,487 American troops.
More than 3,500 troops were killed in hostile action and nearly 1,000 died in noncombat deaths from 2003 to 2011. More than 32,000 troops were wounded in action; tens of thousands more have also reported illnesses to the Department of Veterans Affairs that are believed to be linked to toxic exposure from the burn pits in Iraq. Legislation signed into law by the Biden administration has expanded the number of those veterans who will qualify for lifetime care or benefits due to that exposure.
From 2003 through 2012, the United States provided $60.64 billion to fund Iraq's security forces and civilian reconstruction, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Of that total, $20 billion went to funding, equipping, providing uniforms for and training Iraq's security forces.
There were roughly 100,000 contractors each year in Iraq supporting U.S. forces and the U.S. mission from 2007 until 2010, according to the Congressional Research Service. As of late last year, there were about 6,500 contractors supporting U.S. operations in Iraq and Syria, according to U.S. Central Command. | 2023-03-15T04:29:08+00:00 | clickorlando.com | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/03/15/why-us-troops-remain-in-iraq-20-years-after-shock-and-awe/ |
BOSTON and ATLANTA, Jan. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) ("Inhibikase" or "Company"), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing protein kinase inhibitor therapeutics to modify the course of Parkinson's disease ("PD"), Parkinson's-related disorders and other diseases of the Abelson Tyrosine Kinases, today announced that it has closed its previously announced registered direct offering for the issuance and sale of 6,744,187 of its shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents) at a purchase price of $0.86 per share (or common stock equivalent). The Company also closed its previously announced concurrent private placement for the issuance and sale of 4,883,721 of its shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents), at the same purchase price as in the registered direct offering. In addition, in connection with the offerings, the Company issued unregistered warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 11,627,908 shares of common stock. The registered direct offering and the private placement were priced at a premium to market under Nasdaq rules.
H.C. Wainwright & Co. acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offerings.
The warrants have an exercise price $0.75 per share, are exercisable immediately upon issuance and have a term of five years from the date of issuance.
The aggregate gross proceeds to the Company from the concurrent offerings was approximately $10 million, before deducting the placement agent's fees and other offering expenses payable by Inhibikase. The Company currently intends to use the net proceeds from the offerings for general corporate purposes, including clinical trials, product candidate development and manufacturing activities for product candidates, and to meet working capital needs.
The shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents) offered in the registered direct offering (but excluding the securities offered in the private placement and the shares of common stock underlying the unregistered warrants) were offered and sold by the Company pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-262551), including a base prospectus, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 7, 2022 and declared effective by the SEC on February 11, 2022. The offering of the shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents) issued in the registered direct offering were made only by means of a prospectus supplement that forms a part of the registration statement. A final prospectus supplement and an accompanying base prospectus relating to the registered direct offering has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus may also be obtained by contacting H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by phone at (212) 856-5711 or e-mail at placements@hcwco.com.
The offer and sale of the securities in the private placement and the unregistered warrants described above were made in a transaction not involving a public offering and have not been registered under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and/or Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated thereunder and, along with the shares of common stock underlying the unregistered warrants, have not been registered under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities in the private placement, the unregistered warrants and underlying shares of common stock may not be reoffered or resold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws.
The Company has agreed to file an initial registration statement with the SEC covering the resale of the securities issued in the private placement no later than 10 days following the date of the agreement.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Inhibikase (www.inhibikase.com)
Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Inhibikase's multi-therapeutic pipeline has a primary focus on neurodegeneration and its lead program IkT-148009, an Abelson Tyrosine Kinase (c-Abl) inhibitor, targets the treatment of Parkinson's disease inside and outside the brain as well as other diseases that arise from Ableson Tyrosine Kinases. Its multi-therapeutic pipeline is pursuing Parkinson's-related disorders of the brain and GI tract, orphan indications related to Parkinson's disease such as Multiple System Atrophy, and drug delivery technologies for kinase inhibitors such as IkT-001Pro, a prodrug of the anticancer agent imatinib mesylate that the Company believes will provide a better patient experience with fewer on-dosing side-effects. The Company's RAMP™ medicinal chemistry program has identified a number of follow-on compounds to IkT-148009 to be potentially applied to other cognitive and motor function diseases of the brain. Inhibikase is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Social Media Disclaimer
Investors and others should note that the Company announces material financial information to investors using its investor relations website, press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The Company intends to also use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube as a means of disclosing information about the Company, its services and other matters and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "anticipates," "plans," or similar expressions or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Inhibikase's current expectations and assumptions. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, market and other conditions, which could cause Inhibikase's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include the intended use of net proceeds from the offerings, the potential exercise of warrants, our ability to raise additional capital if needed, our ability to satisfactorily address the issues raised by the FDA in order to have the clinical hold on our IND for our program focused on Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) removed, our ability to successfully conduct clinical trials, our ability to maintain our Nasdaq listing as well as such other factors that are included in our periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other reports that we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement in this release speaks only as of the date of this release. Inhibikase undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.
Contacts:
Company Contact:
Milton H. Werner, Ph.D.
President & CEO
678-392-3419
info@inhibikase.com
Investor Relations:
Alex Lobo
SternIR, Inc.
alex.lobo@sternir.com
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SOURCE Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. | 2023-01-27T21:28:42+00:00 | wlbt.com | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/01/27/inhibikase-therapeutics-announces-closing-10-million-concurrent-registered-direct-offering-private-placement-priced-premium-market-under-nasdaq-rules/ |
MIRROREYE OEM TAKE RATES REMAIN STRONGER THAN ORIGINAL EXPECTATIONS WITH INCREASED OUTLOOK FOR 2023
SECOND-QUARTER PERFORMANCE IMPACTED BY FX HEADWINDS
2022 Second-Quarter Results
- Sales of $220.9 million
- Adjusted sales of $205.7 million
- Gross profit of $38.6 million (18.7% of adjusted sales)
- Operating loss of ($5.9) million
- Adjusted operating loss of ($6.5) million ((3.2%) of adjusted sales)
- Adjusted EBITDA of $2.3 million (1.1% of adjusted sales)
- Loss per share ("EPS") of ($0.27)
- Adjusted EPS of ($0.29)
2022 Full-year Guidance Update
- Reducing full-year 2022 midpoint revenue guidance by $15 million to $865 million ($855 million - $875 million) to reflect slower-than-expected improvement in customer production volumes despite strong end-market demand
- Reducing midpoint adjusted EPS guidance ($0.17) to a midpoint of ($0.20) (($0.25) – ($0.15))
NOVI, Mich., Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoneridge, Inc. (NYSE: SRI) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, with sales of $220.9 million and loss per share of ($0.27). Adjusted sales were $205.7 million and adjusted EPS was ($0.29) for the second quarter. Sales were adjusted to normalize the impact of $15.3 million of electronic component spot buys recovered from customers within the quarter. The exhibits attached hereto provide reconciliation detail on this and all other normalizing adjustments.
For the second quarter of 2022, Stoneridge reported gross profit of $38.6 million (18.7% of adjusted sales). Operating loss was ($5.9) million and adjusted operating loss was ($6.5) million ((3.2%) of adjusted sales). Adjusted EBITDA was $2.3 million (1.1% of adjusted sales). Excluding the unfavorable impact of foreign currency rates, adjusted gross, operating and EBITDA margins would have been approximately 19.7%, (2.3%) and 0.9%, respectively.
Jon DeGaynor, president and chief executive officer, commented, "In the second quarter, our team continued to adapt to volatile production schedules, limited material availability and continued rising material costs. Although material costs continue to create a headwind, we have significantly reduced the net impact of rising material costs on our financial performance as we have offset approximately 90% of these incremental costs incurred year-to-date through price increases and cost recovery actions. Our performance was negatively impacted by foreign currency exchange rate movements during the quarter resulting in an adjusted EPS headwind of $0.06. We continue to focus on controlling the variables within our control and adapting our cost structure to align with current market conditions. While production and material availability remain volatile, we are seeing improvements in customer production forecasts as a result of improved material availability. We expect that the actions we have taken, and will continue to take, will result in strong run-rate financial performance as our end-markets and supply chains continue to recover."
DeGaynor continued, "Although macroeconomic conditions continue to be challenging, we remain focused on the initiatives that will drive long-term, profitable growth. Market demand continues to be strong for the first OEM MirrorEye® program in Europe with take rates averaging approximately 35%. That said, material availability is constraining take rates in 2022. Based on discussions with our first OEM partner, we expect the take rate will continue to expand as supply chain issues subside and are forecasting the take rate to be greater than 50% heading into next year. This has the potential to drive significant revenue upside and strong contribution margins going-forward."
Second Quarter in Review
Control Devices sales totaled $85.0 million, an increase of 0.7% relative to adjusted sales excluding the impact of the divested business in the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to customer price increases offset by COVID-19 related shutdowns impacting production in China in the second quarter of 2022. Second quarter adjusted operating margin was 4.8%, a decrease of 220 basis points relative to the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to the increase in material costs as a result of supply chain constraints and inflation, offset by negotiated price increases.
Control Devices sales were consistent with our first quarter sales, primarily due to incremental revenue on actuation program ramp-ups offset by continued volatility in customer production volumes and COVID-19 related shutdowns impacting production volumes in China. Second quarter adjusted operating margin decreased 310 basis points relative to the first quarter of 2022, primarily due to a one-time favorable SG&A benefit related to a legal settlement recognized in the first quarter of 2022 and higher material costs from supply chain constraints and inflation.
Electronics adjusted sales totaled $115.1 million, an increase of 18.3% relative to sales in the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to increased end-market demand, customer price increases and the ramp-up of new program launches partially offset by an unfavorable foreign currency impact of $11.8 million. Second quarter adjusted operating margin was (2.2%), a decrease of 40 basis points relative to the second quarter of 2021 primarily due to fixed cost leverage on incremental sales offset by an increase in material costs as a result of supply chain constraints.
Relative to the first quarter of 2022, Electronics adjusted sales increased 6.4%, primarily due to increased end-market demand, expansion of recently launched programs and pricing actions offset by an unfavorable foreign currency impact of $1.8 million. Excluding the unfavorable impact of foreign currency, sales increased by 8.0%. Adjusted operating margin increased 30 basis points relative to the first quarter of 2022, primarily due to reduced net engineering spend as well as reduced SG&A costs offset by an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately $2.1 million. Excluding the unfavorable impact of foreign currency, operating margin improved by 210 basis points versus the first quarter of 2022.
Stoneridge Brazil sales were $13.3 million, a decrease of 10.4% relative to sales in the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to lower sales in most product lines partially offset by favorable foreign currency impact of $1.0 million. First quarter adjusted operating margin decreased 440 basis points relative to the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to unfavorable fixed cost leverage on lower sales.
Relative to the first quarter of 2022, Stoneridge Brazil sales increased by $1.3 million primarily due to favorable foreign currency impact of $0.7 million. Stoneridge Brazil adjusted operating margin decreased by 140 basis points relative to the first quarter of 2022 primarily due to higher SG&A and D&D spend.
Cash and Debt Balances
As of June 30, 2022, Stoneridge had cash and cash equivalents balances totaling $40.7 million. Total debt as of June 30, 2022 was $162.0 million. The 2022 amendment to the Company's $300 million credit facility provides for a covenant relief period through the end of Q1 2023 at which point covenants revert back to pre-amendment levels. This amendment to the credit facility waives the maximum leverage ratio covenant for the first three quarters of 2022 and modifies the fourth quarter of 2022 covenant to include a maximum 4.75x leverage ratio. This amendment also modified the minimum interest coverage covenant for each quarter of 2022. The Company expects to remain in compliance with the amended existing covenants through the covenant relief period.
2022 Outlook
Matt Horvath, chief financial officer, commented, "The pricing and supply chain actions taken in the first half of the year continue to provide relief on incremental material costs. Driven primarily by limited material availability, customer production forecasts have not recovered as quickly as we expected despite continued strong end-market demand. As a result, we are reducing the midpoint of our 2022 adjusted revenue guidance by $15 million to $865 million to reflect updated second half expectations. This results in a reduction to adjusted EPS of approximately $0.11 based on our expected contribution margin of 25% to 30%."
Horvath continued, "We are reducing our margin guidance to reflect reduced fixed cost leverage on lower expected revenue, offset in part by a continued focus on reducing operating expenses and aligning our cost structure with current market conditions. Additionally, we expect incremental interest and tax expense to reduce adjusted EPS by approximately $0.05 for the remainder of the year. As a result, including consideration for second quarter performance, we are reducing our full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a mid-point of ($0.20)."
The Company announced updated full-year sales guidance of $855.0 million to $875.0 million, adjusted gross margin guidance of 21.25% to 21.75% and adjusted operating margin guidance of 0.75% to 1.25%. Full-year tax expense guidance was updated to $5.5 million to $6.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance was updated to 4.75% to 5.25%. Adjusted EPS guidance was updated to ($0.25) – ($0.15).
Conference Call on the Web
A live Internet broadcast of Stoneridge's conference call regarding 2022 second-quarter results can be accessed at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at www.stoneridge.com, which will also offer a webcast replay.
About Stoneridge, Inc.
Stoneridge, Inc., headquartered in Novi, Michigan, is a global designer and manufacturer of highly engineered electrical and electronic components, modules and systems for the automotive, commercial, off-highway and agricultural vehicle markets. Additional information about Stoneridge can be found at www.stoneridge.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release contain "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements appear in a number of places in this report and may include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, with respect to, among other things, our (i) future product and facility expansion, (ii) acquisition strategy, (iii) investments and new product development, (iv) growth opportunities related to awarded business, and (v) operational expectations. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "will," "may," "should," "designed to," "believes," "plans," "projects," "intends," "expects," "estimates," "anticipates," "continue," and similar words and expressions. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among other factors:
- the ability of our suppliers to supply us with parts and components at competitive prices on a timely basis, including the impact of potential tariffs and trade considerations on their operations and output;
- fluctuations in the cost and availability of key materials (including semiconductors, printed circuit boards, resin, aluminum, steel and copper) and components and our ability to offset cost increases through negotiated price increases with our customers or other cost reduction actions;
- global economic trends, competition and geopolitical risks, including impacts from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related sanctions and other measures, or an escalation of sanctions, tariffs or other trade tensions between the U.S. and China or other countries;
- our ability to achieve cost reductions that offset or exceed customer-mandated selling price reductions;
- the impact of COVID-19, or other future pandemics, on the global economy, and on our customers, suppliers, employees, business and cash flows;
- the reduced purchases, loss or bankruptcy of a major customer or supplier;
- the costs and timing of business realignment, facility closures or similar actions;
- a significant change in automotive, commercial, off-highway or agricultural vehicle production;
- competitive market conditions and resulting effects on sales and pricing;
- our ability to manage foreign currency fluctuations
- customer acceptance of new products;
- our ability to successfully launch/produce products for awarded business;
- adverse changes in laws, government regulations or market conditions, including tariffs, affecting our products or our customers' products;
- our ability to protect our intellectual property and successfully defend against assertions made against us;
- liabilities arising from warranty claims, product recall or field actions, product liability and legal proceedings to which we are or may become a party, or the impact of product recall or field actions on our customers;
- labor disruptions at our facilities or at any of our significant customers or suppliers;
- business disruptions due to natural disasters or other disasters outside of our control;
- the amount of our indebtedness and the restrictive covenants contained in the agreements governing our indebtedness, including our revolving Credit Facility;
- capital availability or costs, including changes in interest rates or market perceptions;
- the failure to achieve the successful integration of any acquired company or business;
- risks related to a failure of our information technology systems and networks, and risks associated with current and emerging technology threats and damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, cyber-attack and other similar disruptions; and
- the items described in Part I, Item IA ("Risk Factors") of our 2021 10-K filed with the SEC.
The forward-looking statements contained herein represent our estimates only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, whether to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, changes in other factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release contains information about the Company's financial results that is not presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). Such non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled to their closest GAAP financial measures at the end of this press release. The provision of these non-GAAP financial measures for 2022 and 2021 is not intended to indicate that Stoneridge is explicitly or implicitly providing projections on those non-GAAP financial measures, and actual results for such measures are likely to vary from those presented. The reconciliations include all information reasonably available to the Company at the date of this press release and the adjustments that management can reasonably predict.
Management believes the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are useful to both management and investors in their analysis of the Company's financial position and results of operations. In particular, management believes that adjusted sales, adjusted gross income and margin, adjusted operating income (loss) and margin, adjusted net loss, adjusted loss per share, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted loss before tax, adjusted income tax expense and adjusted tax rate are useful measures in assessing the Company's financial performance by excluding certain items that are not indicative of the Company's core operating performance or that may obscure trends useful in evaluating the Company's continuing operating activities. Management also believes that these measures are useful to both management and investors in their analysis of the Company's results of operations and provide improved comparability between fiscal periods.
Adjusted sales, adjusted gross income and margin, adjusted operating income (loss) and margin, adjusted net income loss, adjusted loss per share, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted loss before tax and adjusted tax rate should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for sales, gross profit, operating income (loss), net loss, loss per share, income before tax, income tax expense, tax rate, cash provided by operating activities or other income statement or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP.
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SOURCE Stoneridge, Inc. | 2022-08-03T21:28:15+00:00 | kalb.com | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/08/03/stoneridge-reports-second-quarter-2022-results/ |
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX prepared to launch the biggest and most powerful rocket Thursday, working nonstop after the first shot at a test flight fizzled earlier in the week.
The nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship was poised to blast off from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. SpaceX’s Elon Musk gave 50-50 odds of the spacecraft reaching orbit on its debut.
None of the rocket will be recovered. Instead, if all goes well, the first-stage booster, dubbed Super Heavy, would drop into the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft on top would continue eastward, passing over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans before ditching near Hawaii. The whole flight, if successful, would last just 1 1/2 hours.
The company plans to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.
A stuck booster valve scrapped Monday’s try. Hundreds of space fans returned to the launch site at Boca Chica Beach on the eve of the second launch attempt, snapping more selfies.
“I’ve been waiting for this, really, for years,” said Bob Drwal, a retired engineer who drove down from Chicago with his wife, Donna. | 2023-04-20T12:39:18+00:00 | cenlanow.com | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/spacex-rocket-launch/ |
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — British Open champion Cameron Smith pulled out of the BMW Championship on Monday with what his manager described as a “hip discomfort” that Smith had been feeling the last few months.
Smith is No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, assured of a spot in the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta, though the withdrawal will mean he starts at least three shots behind when the FedEx Cup finale begin.
“He has been dealing with some on and off hip discomfort for several months and thought it best he rest this week in his pursuit of the FedEx Cup,” Bud Martin, his agent at Wasserman, said in a statement.
The Australian, who turns 29 this week, was the center of attention last week in Memphis, Tennessee, that went beyond his golf.
First, The Daily Telegraph reported Smith was joining Saudi-funded LIV Golf after the FedEx Cup playoffs, which Smith again chose not to discuss. The report came on the same day a federal judge in California ruled against three LIV Golf players seeking a temporary restraining order to let them compete in the tour’s postseason.
Then, Smith trailed by two shots after the third round and needed to win to reach No. 1 in the world ranking. But a little more than an hour before his start to the final round, Smith was penalized two shots for playing a shot after a penalty drop when the ball was still touching the hazard line.
Smith confirmed the ball was touching the line. The timing was awkward because the violation came a day later than it could have.
Smith was playing for the first time since his 64 on the final day at St. Andrews to win his first major. He told Golf Digest his hip can act up in soft conditions. The TPC Southwind was pounded by rain early in the week.
“My hip flared up yesterday. It seems to happen when there’s softer fairways like there were earlier in the week,” Smith told Golf Digest. ”I’ve had a couple of MRIs around it, and I will check with my team to see if we need another one.”
He plans to be at East Lake next week in the chase for the $18 million prize for winning the FedEx Cup.
The top seed start the Tour Championship at 10-under par and a two-shot lead. The No. 3 seed starts at 7-under par, the No. 4 seed is at 6 under and the No. 5 seed starts five shots behind.
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More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-08-16T14:53:58+00:00 | wjhl.com | https://www.wjhl.com/sports/us-world-sports/cameron-smith-out-of-bmw-championship-with-sore-hip/ |
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SVB Financial Group (Pink Sheets: SIVBQ) today announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement with the management team bidder group led by Jeff Leerink, SVB Securities' Chief Executive Officer and Founder, and backed by funds managed by The Baupost Group L.L.C., for the sale of its investment banking business, SVB Securities. A hearing to seek required court approval is scheduled for June 29, 2023, and the transaction is expected to close shortly thereafter.
As previously announced as part of its Chapter 11 proceeding, SVB Financial Group has been conducting a strategic alternatives process for SVB Securities, led by the Board's Restructuring Committee and supported by its independent financial advisors. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, the bidder group will acquire the investment banking business for a combination of cash, repayment of an intercompany note, the assumption of certain liabilities (including significant deferred compensation obligations), and a 5% equity instrument in the buyer entity. MoffettNathanson LLC, a sell-side research business owned by SVB Financial Group, is not included in the transaction and will remain part of SVB Financial Group.
"This transaction is a significant milestone in SVB Financial Group's strategic alternatives process," said Bill Kosturos, SVB Financial Group's Chief Restructuring Officer. "The Restructuring Committee and its advisors conducted a disciplined and independent process intended to maximize the value of the business for SVB Financial Group stakeholders. We are confident that the transaction led by the investment bank's current management team will preserve and enhance the value of the business."
"Our firm plays a critical role in the healthcare ecosystem, and this transaction will allow us to continue serving our clients across all corners of the healthcare industry," Jeff Leerink said. "Our management team's significant capital investment, coupled with key backing we've received from The Baupost Group, is a testament to the long-standing reputation of our firm and our employees and the value of our services to our clients and the industry. I am excited to once again have the privilege to lead this exceptionally talented, dedicated, and passionate team of professionals."
In connection with the management buyout, SVB Securities will be rebranded Leerink Partners.
Transaction Details
The agreement for the management-led buyout was selected as the successful bid for SVB Securities following a competitive bidding process conducted under procedures approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The agreement is subject to final approval of the Bankruptcy Court and regulatory approval, as well as other customary closing conditions. SVB Financial Group is continuing to evaluate strategic alternatives for SVB Capital and the Company's other assets and investments.
Court filings and other information related to the SVB Financial Group's Chapter 11 proceeding are available on a website administrated by the Company's claims agent, Kroll, at https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/svbfg/; or by emailing SVBFGInfo@ra.kroll.com.
Advisors
Centerview Partners LLC is serving as financial advisor, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is serving as legal counsel and Alvarez & Marsal is serving as the restructuring advisor to SVB Financial Group as debtor-in-possession. Rothschild & Co. US Inc. is serving as financial advisor to the Leerink Management Team and to The Baupost Group funds. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Management Team and The Baupost Group funds are represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
About SVB Financial Group
SVB Financial Group (Pink Sheets: SIVBQ) is the holding company for SVB Capital and SVB Securities.
About SVB Securities LLC
In 2019, SVB Financial Group acquired Leerink Partners to establish an investment bank subsidiary which was initially named SVB Leerink and was subsequently renamed SVB Securities. Since this acquisition, the firm has substantially augmented its capabilities and reputation as a leading investment bank serving the healthcare and life sciences industries. SVB Securities is a broker-dealer registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could result in SVB Financial Group's actual results differing materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. In this release, SVB Financial Group makes forward-looking statements regarding its plans to sell SVB Securities and the expected closing timeframe and the expected benefits to SVB Financial Group as a result of the consummation of the sale. There are various important factors that could cause actual events to differ from such forward-looking statements, including, among others, failure to complete the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all, including to satisfy closing conditions (including ability to obtain required regulatory approvals) on a timely basis or at all. For information about other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this release, please refer to the Company's public reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recently-filed quarterly or annual report. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date such statements are made.
SVB Financial Group Contacts
Media Only:
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Michael Freitag / Jed Repko / Aaron Palash
212-355-4449
svbmediainquiry@joelefrank.com
SVB Securities Contacts
Diane Vieira
Diane.Vieira@svbsecurities.com
The Baupost Group Contacts
Diana DeSocio
ddesocio@baupost.com
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SOURCE SVB Financial Group | 2023-06-18T17:21:09+00:00 | kwtx.com | https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2023/06/18/svb-financial-group-enters-into-definitive-purchase-agreement-sell-svb-securities-management-team-group-led-by-jeff-leerink-backed-by-baupost-group/ |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Indiana Lottery's "Quick Draw Midday" game were:
01-05-14-21-25-26-28-33-34-37-39-45-47-50-57-60-67-70-74-80, BE: 25
(one, five, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-eight, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-seven, thirty-nine, forty-five, forty-seven, fifty, fifty-seven, sixty, sixty-seven, seventy, seventy-four, eighty; BE: twenty-five) | 2022-08-18T18:39:43+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Quick-Draw-Midday-game-17382406.php |
SINGAPORE, Dec. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PureSoftware, a global software products and services major announced its partnership with Databricks, a lakehouse company, excelling in enabling businesses to unify data and AI seamlessly to take data analytics potential to a new level. The Databricks Cloud Platform is designed for organizations that require an integrated view of data across multiple clouds and hybrid deployments, allowing businesses to make better decisions faster.
As a Databricks system integration partner, PureSoftware will combine the platform capabilities of Databricks with its data and AI expertise to create an integrated data ecosystem for both multi-cloud and hybrid cloud business models. The partnership will assist businesses to leverage the best of both worlds – Data lakes and Data warehouses, to simplify structural complexities in data governance, data engineering, data sharing, data streaming, and data science besides managing large-scale data pipelines to access real-time insights.
About PureSoftware
PureSoftware is a global software products and digital services company that has been driving transformation for the world's top organizations across multiple verticals, such as banking and financial services, telecom, healthcare, gaming, and entertainment. Arttha, by PureSoftware, is a globally trusted financial technology platform. It helps businesses embrace digital solutions in the areas of consumer and MSME banking, agency/ branchless banking, digital lending, payments, BNPL and merchant management. Arttha5G, by PureSoftware is an ORAN-compliant 5G platform that enables companies to deploy digital RF front-end solutions for enhanced connectivity.
For more information, visit https://puresoftware.com/.
Media Contact:
Amitabh Chaudhary
amitabh.chaudhary@puresoftware.com
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1450649/PureSoftware_Logo.jpg
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SOURCE PureSoftware | 2022-12-13T08:45:16+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/prnewswire/2022/12/13/puresoftware-announces-partnership-with-databricks-empower-businesses-unlock-power-integrated-data-ecosystem/ |
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RackWare today announced it has become both a Google Services Partner and a Google Build Partner.
RackWare has helped some of the world's most successful companies on their journey to the Cloud, including to GCP, and has now joined the Google Partner Advantage program. With a fully integrated Assessment, Migration and Disaster Recovery solution, RackWare simplifies and accelerates Cloud adoption.
"We are already making an impact at GCP," said Bryan Gobbett, RackWare CEO. "Large Google partners have already completed Migration projects into GCP using RackWare RMM. The feedback has been very positive. New users like the simplicity of our solution, and our unique ability to move from any source into GCP with the same unified workflow. This translates into faster and more cost-effective migrations, accelerating cloud consumption for GCP."
RackWare makes data and applications mobile and secure. We empower our customers to run their applications and store their data in any cloud of their choice. Seamless mobility allows our customers to take advantage of cutting-edge services or reduced costs as they become available throughout the cloud universe. And if disaster strikes, whether that be of the natural or cyber-criminality type, our proprietary replication and sync technology has our customers protected. RackWare is based in Silicon Valley with offices in Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, London and Pune, India.
PR Contact
Linda Eldredge
linda.eldredge@rackwareinc.com
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SOURCE RackWare | 2022-11-16T17:43:56+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/11/16/rackware-announces-google-cloud-services-build-partnership/ |
One cup at a time, four-time Olympic Gold Medalist and former WNBA star Tamika Catchings is pouring into an Indianapolis community.
"There's not a coffee shop between the north side to downtown, and most of them are close to the downtown, definitely not in this area," said Catchings.
She took over the first Teas Me Cafe in 2017, expanding over the years with two more shops, strategically choosing the locations.
"Down there you can get a $30,000 home all the way to this pocket on Meridian, million-dollar home, and everything in between ... but the kids that come to this park don't come from that quarter over there ... 75% that come are just looking for a safe place to come," Catchings began.
"Being a Black-owned business in the middle of a community that is predominantly African American, the kids are now like 'You own this?' I'm like, 'Yeah!' because this is something that they can do," she told Scripps News.
Catchings says throughout her adolescence, she met people who pushed her toward her dreams. Her goal now is to do the same for others.
Through her Catch the Stars Foundation, she offers literacy classes and fitness camps to area youth and has given away $750,000 in scholarships.
She's also working to revitalize the area around the tea shop, offering community events like yoga in the park.
SEE MORE: 18-year-old Ohioan goes from dishwasher to restaurant owner
Diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of 3, she credits her parents and people like Tennessee Lady Volunteers Coach Pat Summitt for instilling lifelong lessons she hopes to pass to others.
"We're not only going to be great in the classroom, we're going to be great in the community. We're going to be great on the court. And ultimately, when you leave, I want you guys to be great people," she said, recalling Summitt's modus operandi.
It's a mantra that took her from the court all the way to her role as vice president of operations and general manager of the WNBA's Indiana Fever — a position that ultimately led to internal conflict and resignation.
"What I learned is, I'm not that person that can sit here and have a conversation and say, 'You know what? You're not going to make the team this year' and crushing other people's dream when I'm the one that has always been building people's dreams," she said candidly.
She also learned the challenges of creating equitable opportunities for players and the need for more promotional and advertising revenue, saying things have gotten better but also noting former Olympic teammate Brittney Griner's arrest while playing in Russia has expedited the conversation.
"What happened to BG (Brittney Griner) and all of that — yes, it is one of those things like, OK, maybe we need to speed this up and try to figure out where are some areas that we can look at that our young women can make more money?" noted Catchings.
SEE MORE: Brittney Griner starts a new season with a new spotlight on the WNBA
Griner's return has also galvanized a big fan base, creating a new normal for herself and the game.
SCRIPPS NEWS' AMBER STRONG: From the mentality you played with? Is she (Griner) ready for this year?
TAMIKA CATCHINGS: Will she have her greatest year? Who knows. Only she can write the story for that. But will she come out and be great and be a great teammate and everything that she's had to face and be a great spokesperson for trying to make sure that all Americans that are stuck in any jail overseas have the right to be at home? Will she be a great advocate for that? Yes.
Griner's return comes on the heels of the most-watched WNBA season in recent years, a new partnership for the league with ION TV and the monetary and on-court successes of collegiate athletes, like Angel Reese.
STRONG: Is this the year for women in basketball?
CATCHINGS: Is this the year? Every year is the year for women in basketball. You're seeing the trajectory of more and more people coming on board and realizing we don't need to be compared to the NBA. With the WNBA and what these college young women are building from the college game to the WNBA game is phenomenal.
While the WNBA is never too far away, these days Catchings' eyes are set on her Indianapolis neighborhood.
She's working with the city to add a new football field and multi-generational gym by 2024, work she says she'll continue as long as the people and youth there need her.
"I got so much life to live and give," she said. "If we can make an impact, it's not so much about us, but about the next generation that has been touched by the things that you've done."
ION TV and Scripps News are both owned by the E.W. Scripps Company.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | 2023-05-26T18:09:09+00:00 | abc15.com | https://www.abc15.com/life-after-the-wnba-hall-of-famer-is-using-tea-to-make-change |
If you stroll the cold and flu medicine aisle these days, you might notice shelves that are bare, or nearly so. Some medicines that can be particularly hard to find are fever reducers for kids, like children's Tylenol, Motrin or Advil.
Drug manufacturers point to a big spike in demand. That's not surprising, given the surge in three respiratory viruses right now: COVID, RSV and influenza, what has been termed a "tripledemic."
Johnson & Johnson makes Children's Tylenol and Children's Motrin. It says there is no nationwide shortage — just a lot of demand.
"Consumer demand for pediatric pain relievers in the U.S. is high, but there are no supply chain issues and we do not have an overall shortage in the U.S.," company spokesperson Melissa Witt said in an email to NPR. The company says it is "experiencing high consumer demand and are doing everything we can to make sure people have access to the products they need."
Nationally, sales of pediatric internal analgesics — which includes drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — were up more than 26% in October compared with a year earlier. That's according to data from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), a trade group that represents manufacturers of over-the-counter drugs.
While there may not be a countrywide shortage, there is one part of the U.S. where finding these meds is most difficult: areas near the Canadian border. The Buffalo-Rochester area of western New York is seeing the highest demand in the U.S., CHPA says.
Sales for such products in the Buffalo-Rochester market surged 53% in October compared to a year earlier. That's very likely the result of an ongoing shortage of kids' pain and fever medications in Canada, with Buffalo's close proximity to Toronto making it an ideal place for Canadians to buy such products in the U.S.
A spot check on Thursday in Washington, D.C., of four stores — a Giant supermarket, a CVS, a Target, and a Bed Bath & Beyond — found low supplies of children's fever-reducers, though each had at least a few of such medicines available. Supplies were low of cold and flu products for adults, as well.
"The supply chain is strong," says Anita Brikman, a spokesperson for CHPA. But parents and caregivers may need to check more than one store, buy a store brand instead of a name brand, or order products online, she suggests.
Parents have a range of options for treating fevers
So what to do if you have a fevered child, and are struggling to find Children's Tylenol or a similar product?
There's a good chance you don't even need to use medicine, says Dr. Sean O'Leary, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado, as well as the chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
"These medicines are not curative. They don't alter the duration of the illness or anything like that. They are essentially purely for comfort," he tells NPR. "Fevers from common respiratory viruses in and of themselves are not harmful."
He offers a scenario. "If [a child's] temp is 103, but he's running around the room having a good time playing, you don't need to do anything with that. That's not going to hurt him. Fever is representing our body's immune response to an infection. On the other hand, if he doesn't have a fever, but his throat is hurting, something is bothering him, he's pretty fussy — then that's where things like ibuprofen or Tylenol, acetaminophen can be helpful."
AAP has guidance on treating a child's fever, as well advice on treating a fever without medicine.
Often when kids do have a fever, they do feel pretty crummy, and so that's a time to use such medicines — "It's to treat how the child is feeling," O'Leary says.
Fever is a more serious concern in infants and children who experience febrile seizures.
"Fever in very young infants, in newborns, is actually a different situation, and that's something that does need evaluation," O'Leary says. "Essentially, the younger the child, the more concerned you should be about a fever. For example, a 2-week-old with a fever is something that that needs immediate medical attention. A 6-month-old with a fever that's otherwise doing well does not need immediate medical attention. [Parents] can simply call their child's pediatrician to get that checked out."
Be very careful with adapting adult medications
Parents at home might be eyeing their bottle of adult acetaminophen or ibuprofen and wondering if they could give a smaller amount to their sick child. But there's reason to be very cautious with that — and to consult a doctor or pharmacist first to find out the correct dosage for your particular child.
"For both acetaminophen and ibuprofen, there are potential toxicities from taking too much — some of which can be quite severe, particularly for acetaminophen. So you really have to be careful when you do that," O'Leary says.
Wendy Mobley-Bukstein, a professor of pharmacy practice at Drake University and the president of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management, agrees.
"It's best to talk to the doctor or pharmacist," she tells NPR. If a parent or caregiver "can weigh [the child] at home, tell us what they weigh on their scale at home, we can figure out what an appropriate dose would be for them to take," she says.
She explains that repetitively giving a child too large a dose could have liver implications with acetaminophen, and kidney implications with ibuprofen.
And Mobley-Bukstein has another piece of advice: Get kids vaccinated for COVID-19 and flu.
"Even if you still get the flu or even if you still get COVID, it's definitely going to lessen the severity of the disease itself. And so just making sure that they're getting their immunizations is really important," she says.
PSA: Please don't hoard the meds
Brikman at the CHPA worries that the notion that there is a shortage will spur parents to buy more than they need.
"If families start to stock up in worry, as opposed to buying what they need, we are concerned that that could amplify the situation," she says.
And if you were thinking of stocking up on a bunch of fever meds just in case, Mobley-Bukstein has a practical warning: These products do expire.
"So putting a whole bunch of them in your medicine cabinet at home might not serve you if you don't get sick, or if your kids don't get sick," she says. "It's important for us to remember that they do have expiration dates, that it can be dangerous to give [children] expired medications. And so only buy what you need when you need it, and use up what you have at home before you go and buy new, if it's still in date."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-12-06T13:56:03+00:00 | kcbx.org | https://www.kcbx.org/npr-top-news/2022-12-03/thanks-to-the-tripledemic-it-can-be-hard-to-find-kids-fever-reducing-medicines |
(WEALTH OF GEEKS) – Studies show, despite the stress typically associated with asking for more money at work, 78% of people who ask will receive a raise. Meanwhile, only 2% of people who didn’t ask for a raise, got one anyways.
Asking for a pay increase is a nerve-wracking experience for many people.
What if they say no? Will it make you look bad because you want more money?
When asking for a raise the odds are in your favor, and the average annual raise rate in the United States is 7.6%.
The key to getting the “yes” is to ensure you make a strong case for yourself without appearing greedy or entitled. Following a few key dos and don’ts can increase your chances of success.
Do: Research Your Worth
Before asking for a pay increase, it’s crucial to do your research to make sure you truly are underpaid and to give you an idea of what your salary should be.
Look up the average salaries for your job title in your geographic location, and consider factors like your experience, education, and skillset. This will help you determine the fair salary range for your position and responsibilities.
Before scheduling a meeting with your manager, decide on your desired salary.
Don’t: Base Your Request on Personal Needs
Remember, you don’t want a raise just because your expenses increased.
While it’s understandable that you may need a pay increase to cover your bills or other personal expenses, it’s not a compelling argument to make to your employer. Instead, focus your argument on your accomplishments in your career and value to the company and how a pay increase would reflect your effort and job responsibilities.
Do: Build an Ironclad Case
You must make a strong case for yourself when requesting a pay increase. The best arguments are based on facts and evidence, not emotions and personal desires.
This means highlighting your accomplishments, contributions, and any additional responsibilities you’ve taken on. List specific examples of how you’ve helped the company grow or save money, and come prepared to discuss them in detail. Take a few days (or weeks) to make this list because job responsibilities will occur to you at different times during your workday.
Don’t: Make Threats or Ultimatums
It’s never a good idea to make threats or ultimatums when asking for a pay increase. In fact, that’s a great way to NOT get the raise and be put on a “do not promote” list.
This can damage your relationship with your employer and potentially lead to termination. Instead, make a positive case for why you deserve a raise. Emphasize your accomplishments and keep the conversation as lighthearted as you can.
Do: Choose The Right Time and Place
As with everything else in life, timing is key when it comes to requesting a pay increase.
Schedule a meeting with your employer when they’re not too busy or stressed, and avoid approaching them during a particularly busy or stressful time for the company. For example, asking for a raise when your company is going through layoffs is probably not a good idea.
In addition, pay attention to your employer’s regular performance review cycles. If you’re right around the corner from performance review time, it’s probably a good idea to schedule a meeting with your boss. Out-of-cycle raises also work, but they can be tougher.
Don’t: Compare Yourself to Coworkers
While it can be tempting to compare your salary to your coworkers, it’s not a productive argument. For instance, just because a coworker makes more than you doesn’t necessarily mean you are underpaid. They might have more job responsibilities than you realize.
Your salary should be based on your individual worth to the company, not your coworkers’ earnings.
Do: Practice Your Pitch
Before meeting with your employer, practice your pitch with a trusted friend.
Rehearse what you’ll say, and ask your friend to anticipate any questions or objections your employer may have. This will help you feel more confident and prepared when you request. Practice your pitch, but don’t memorize it.
Remember, this should be a conversation rather than a presentation.
Don’t: Give Up Too Easily
If your employer initially says no to your request for a pay increase, that’s okay. Hope may not be lost. It might not be the right time for your employer to adjust compensation.
Ask for specific feedback on why your request was denied, and see if there are any areas where you can improve. Additionally, consider negotiating other perks or benefits that may be important to you, such as more vacation time or flexible working hours.
In summary, asking for a pay increase can be a daunting experience, but following these dos and don’ts can increase your chances of success. By building a strong case, practicing your pitch, and choosing the right time and place, you can demonstrate your value to your employer and hopefully secure the salary increase you deserve. | 2023-04-09T16:27:12+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/the-dos-and-donts-of-asking-for-a-raise-at-work/ |
MILAN (AP) — An activist network that supports rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea is accusing Italy of failing to offer timely assistance to a smugglers’ boat in distress, resulting in a deadly shipwreck that left at least 30 migrants missing and presumed dead in Libya’s search-and-rescue area.
Seventeen survivors were rescued in an operation about 100 miles off the Libyan coast Sunday partially coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard. The incident comes two weeks after another shipwreck off the coast of southern Italy left at least 79 people dead.
The wrecks have focused attention on Italian and European protocols for responding to suspected smuggling boats; crossings through the deadly central Mediterranean Sea have doubled over past year.
The migrants in the most recent incident died when their wooden boat capsized as a merchant vessel, the Froland, approached the boat in distress that was carrying nearly 50 people.
Alarm Phone, which notifies authorities of migrants in need of rescue, said it had notified Italian, Libyan and Maltese authorities of the boat’s location, and emphasized that it was in danger due to high waves. It claimed that the migrants died due to “deadly nonassistance by the Italian authorities” noting that the same boat was spotted nine hours after its initial report by another group that operates surveillance flights.
“This delay, one of many systematic delays Alarm Phone has documented over the years, proved to be deadly,” the organization said Sunday. “They would be alive if Europe had not decided to let them drown.”
Italy has denied failing to respond to migrant boats in distress, and Premier Giorgia Meloni will answer questions in parliament this week on Italy’s response to the shipwreck two weeks ago off Calabria. Italian authorities brought more than 1,000 rescued migrants to Italian shores over the weekend.
Regarding Sunday’s shipwreck, the Italian Coast Guard said it asked three merchant vessels to respond to the emergency after Libyan authorities notified them that they were not able to. Another boat was already in the area and in direct contact with Alarm Phone.
The Froland, which was the first to arrive, rescued 17 survivors. It was bringing two of them to Malta for urgent medical care and would continue to Italy with the other 15.
Commercial ships are continuing the search for the missing migrants, assisted by aerial surveillance flights operated by the European border control, Frontex, the Italian Coast Guard said. | 2023-03-13T16:22:20+00:00 | wwlp.com | https://www.wwlp.com/news/ap-international-news/activists-slow-response-led-to-30-migrant-deaths-off-libya/ |
When it comes to their mission the name says it all: Inclusive Theater of WNY. It exists for veteran and aspiring artists—writers, actors, directors— who seek the theater experience. That spirit will be on display when the "One Act Play Festival" takes the stage at St. Mary's High School in Lancaster, August 4 through August 7.
"So, we have people that this is the first time on stage and others that have been doing productions for 30 years," said Executive Director Aimee Levesque during a recent rehearsal.
"I think that's the fun part for us is to be able to, no matter how long it takes, get them to be able to get on the stage and perform."
The approach offers a unique opportunity for performers. While some may be acting on stage for the first time, experienced actors are learning what it's like to direct.
Then, there's the writing. A three-hour rehearsal showed off some adventurous, occasionally absurd dialogue. In one play, laundry serves as a metaphor; another offers a look inside a marriage counseling session that is often funny and frequently disturbing.
"I think what's cool about having local playwrights is that a lot of the content is also local," said Artistic Director Dallas Taylor whose day job is here at Buffalo Toronto Public Media.
"So, people who come to the show, maybe they never met one of the actors, they don't know the directors, maybe they never heard of the company, but they come to the show and they know a connection because they live here in Buffalo."
Originally scheduled for January, the festival was postponed due to a COVID outbreak.
"We want people to come back into the theater, know it's not only a safe space, but a brave space," Levesque said.
"That is really important for us at Inclusive Theater, but also, that it's okay to laugh."
Eight plays will be presented:
- “Laundro’s Mismatched Plight” by Justin Pope. Directed by Dallas Taylor with Sarah Henderson.
- “Between Two Worlds” by Hilary Bluestein-Lyons. Directed by Virginia Brannon.
- “Pandemic Grief in the Marvel Cinematic Universe” by Justin Karcher. Directed by Aimee Levesque, Umar Azam, and Tyler Collis.
- “Paisley, Fire and Stone” by Ellen Scherer. Directed by Aimee Levesque, Umar Azam, and Tyler Collis.
- “Therapy” by George Bryjak. Directed by Maryna Sophia with Aimee Levesque.
- “Ronnie Audition Slayer” by Ellen Scherer and Madison Sedlor. Directed by Umar Azam and Tyler Collis with Aimee Levesque.
- “Kitty Litter” by J Snodgrass. Directed by Justin Chortie.
- “I Just Want to Be Held” by Justin Pope. Directed by Maryna Sophia | 2022-08-03T12:36:56+00:00 | wbfo.org | https://www.wbfo.org/2022-08-03/inclusive-theater-provides-a-unique-stage-experience-one-act-at-a-time |
NEW YORK, July 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For the twelfth year in a row, Deloitte has been ranked no. 1 in security consulting services by revenue in 2022 according to the latest Gartner® Market Share report[1]. In addition, Deloitte was ranked no. 4 by revenue in 2022 in the Gartner Managed Security Services (MSS) Market Share report[2].
"We think these recognitions demonstrate Deloitte's strong reputation and investment in capabilities globally in delivering solutions that help modernize and transform how our clients operate," says Emily Mossburg, Deloitte Global Cyber leader and US Cyber Strategic Growth Offering leader. "Deloitte's business-led approach to cyber is allowing us to drive greater value to organizations by helping board, c-suite, and business unit-level stakeholders better align cyber to their business priorities, strategy, and desired outcomes."
Gartner estimates that the security consulting services market grew by 12.5% in 2022, reaching US$29.8 billion in revenue. According to the report, Deloitte's revenue grew 15.8% in 2022 while also increasing its market share to 15.4%.
According to Gartner, the MSS market grew by 15.8% in 2022, reaching USD$$16.98 billion in revenue. The Managed Detection and Response (MDR) segment of the MSS market grew faster at 26.2%. The report states that Deloitte's revenue grew 15.5% and 28.0% in 2022 for the MSS market and the MDR segment, respectively.
"Our investment in differentiated and innovative solutions, platforms, ecosystems and alliances, and talent enables Deloitte to be a trusted advisor and operator for organizations in navigating complexity and realizing business outcomes along their cyber journey," says Adnan Amjad, Deloitte US Cyber & Strategic Risk leader. "We will remain focused on scaling capabilities that best position clients to run their business confidently."
Notable highlights of Deloitte's Cyber investments from the past year include:
- Global expansion of cyber threat detection and response and identity security capabilities through globally scaling Cyber Operate managed services with SaaS-based modular solutions – MXDR by Deloitte and Digital Identity by Deloitte
- Acquisitions to drive geographic scaling such as Makros and ITSS in Latin America and Hacktive in Asia-Pacific
- Release of the 2023 Global Future of Cyber Survey
- Expansion of the Women in Cyber campaign in collaboration with The Female Quotient to spotlight the imperative of greater diversity in the cyber industry
With more than 25,000 cyber professionals worldwide, Deloitte advises, implements, and operates a full range of services and solutions with capabilities across strategy and transformation, cloud, detect and respond, identity, infrastructure security, data and privacy, application security, and emerging technologies. Visit www.deloitte.com/cyber for more information.
[1] Gartner, Market Share Analysis: Security Consulting Services, Worldwide, 2022, by Rustam Malik, 14 July 2023.
[2] Gartner, Market Share Analysis: Managed Security Services, Worldwide, 2022, by Travis Lee, Matt Milone, Mark Pohto, Rustam Malik, 19 May 2023.
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SOURCE Deloitte | 2023-07-24T14:20:48+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/24/deloitte-ranked-no-1-security-consulting-services-no-4-managed-security-services-by-revenue-gartner-market-share-reports/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Patriot missile systems have long been a hot ticket item for the U.S. and allies in contested areas of the world as a coveted shield against incoming missiles. In Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific, they guard against potential strikes from Iran, Somalia and North Korea.
So it was a critical turning point when news broke this week that the U.S. has agreed to send a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine — something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought for months to augment his country’s air defenses. U.S. officials have confirmed the agreement, and an official announcement is expected soon. But experts caution that the system’s effectiveness is limited, and it may not be a game changer in the war.
A look at what the system is and what it does:
WHAT IS THE PATRIOT?
The Patriot is a surface-to-air guided missile system that was first deployed in the 1980s and can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles.
Each Patriot battery consists of a truck-mounted launching system with eight launchers that can hold up to four missile interceptors each, a ground radar, a control station and a generator. The Army said it currently has 16 Patriot battalions. A 2018 International Institute for Strategic Studies report found those battalions operate 50 batteries, which have more than 1,200 missile interceptors.
The U.S. batteries are regularly deployed around the world. In addition, Patriots also are operated or being purchased by the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Taiwan, Greece, Spain, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Romania, Sweden, Poland and Bahrain.
The Patriot system “is one of the most widely operated and reliable and proven air missile defense systems out there,” and the theater ballistic missile defense capability could help defend Ukraine against Iranian-supplied ballistic missiles, said Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
PATRIOT COST
Over the years the Patriot system and missiles have been continually modified. The current interceptor missile for the Patriot system costs approximately $4 million per round and the launchers cost about $10 million each, CSIS reported in its July missile defense report. At that price, it’s not cost effective or optimal to use the Patriot to shoot down the far smaller and dramatically cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.
“Firing a million-dollar missile at a $50,000 drone is a losing proposition,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps reserves colonel and senior adviser at CSIS.
DEPLOYMENT CONCERNS
A Patriot battery can need as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it, and for months the U.S. was reluctant to provide the complex system because sending forces into Ukraine to operate it is a non-starter for the Biden administration.
But there were also concerns that deployment of the system would provoke Russia, or risk that a missile fired could end up hitting inside Russia, which could further escalate the conflict. On Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned that a U.S. plan to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine would be “another provocative move by the U.S.” that could prompt a response from Moscow.
According to officials, the urgent pleadings of Ukrainian leaders and the devastating destruction of the country’s civilian infrastructure, including loss of electricity and heat as winter drags on, ultimately overcame U.S. reservations about supplying the Patriots.
A key hurdle will be training. U.S. troops will have to train Ukrainian forces on how to use and maintain the system. Army solders assigned to Patriot battalions get extensive training to be able to effectively locate a target, lock on with radar and fire.
The U.S. has trained Ukrainian troops on other complex weapons systems, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS. In many cases they’ve been able to shorten the training, getting Ukrainian troops out to the battlefront in weeks. Officials have declined to provide details on how long the Patriots training would take and where exactly it will be done.
PATRIOT CAPABILITIES
Ukraine faces a range of Russian threats, and the Patriot is good against some and not that useful against others.
One former senior military official with knowledge of the Patriot system said it will be effective against short-range ballistic missiles and it represents a strong message of U.S. support, but one battery isn’t going to change the course of the war.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Ukraine deal has not yet been made public, noted that one Patriot battery has a long firing range, but can cover only a limited broad area. As an example, Patriots can effectively protect a small military base, but can’t fully protect a large city such as Kyiv. They could only provide coverage for a segment of a city.
Patriots are often deployed as a battalion, which includes four batteries. This won’t be the case with Ukraine, which officials said would be receiving one battery.
The Patriot has a more powerful radar that is better at discriminating targets than the Soviet-era S-300 system the Ukrainians have been using, but it has limitations, both Karako and Cancian said.
Still the Patriot’s ability to target some ballistic missiles and aircraft could potentially protect Kyiv if Russian President Vladimir Putin carried through on his persistent threat to deploy a tactical nuclear device. But that would depend on how the weapon was delivered, Karako said. If it was a gravity bomb delivered by a warplane, the system could target the aircraft; if it was a cruise or short-to-medium-range ballistic missile, it could also possibly intercept the missile, Karako said.
Raytheon, which manufactures the Patriot, says it has been involved in 150 intercepts of ballistic missiles since 2015. The success rate of the Patriot, however, has been repeatedly questioned. A 1992 Government Accountability Office report said it could not find evidence to support reports that the system had achieved a 70% success rate against Scud missiles in the Gulf War. In 2018, Saudi Arabia’s success in using Patriots against missiles fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen was questioned when videos surfaced of systems failing.
But beyond the Patriot’s capabilities, its deployment is a big statement of support for Ukraine.
“There’s a lot of symbolism here,” Cancian said.
___
Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in London and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this story. | 2022-12-16T04:09:10+00:00 | wivb.com | https://www.wivb.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/ap-explainer-what-can-the-patriot-missile-do-for-ukraine/ |
Q: Regarding the Damian Lillard drama, could you explain the minutiae involved in removing the Stepien Rule block from the first-round-draft-pick options that Miami currently owes Oklahoma City in 2025-26? – Miguel.
A: By NBA rule, teams are not allowed to be without a first-round pick in successive future seasons (it doesn’t have to be their own pick).Such is the Stepien Rule, named after late Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepian, who loved nothing more than trading away any and every available first-round pick. Under the modified trade terms with the Thunder, Oklahoma City receives the Heat’s first-round pick in 2025 if it is outside the lottery (Nos. 1-14) or else the Heat’s unconditional first-round pick in 2026. So that means, by rule, the Heat currently are unable to trade their 2024, ’25, ’26 or ’27 first-round picks, at the moment only able to deal 2028 and 2030. The workaround would be for the Heat to change the terms so that the Thunder get the Heat’s unconditional first-round pick in 2030 (at a point Jimmy Butler would be 40 and Damian Lillard 39). Under that scenario, the Heat then would be able to trade first-round picks in a potential Lillard (or other) deal in 2024, ’26 and ’28. But that does not necessarily mean the Heat want to or would need to include three such first-round picks for Lillard.
Q: Bring Dion Waiters back. Walk with me. – Elvin.
A: Well, Josh Richardson is back. And the Heat previously brought back Michael Beasley twice. So I guess never say never. And it is encouraging to see how Dion Waiters has grown from his Heat experiences and in life in general. So 7-Eleven again with Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters (albeit requiring some number swaps)? Unlikely. But Dion always made it fun, and often entertaining.
Q: Sate Jimmy Butler’s timeline and in two to three you have an aging roster with no future other than undrafted players and risk Bam Adebayo looking to leave that mess. I just think we are giving up way too much and the roster is getting older not younger. – Rodney.
A: The one thing you should have recognized by now regarding the Heat is that they live in the moment. Every season is viewed as a playoff season. Every playoff run is viewed as championship contention. So, yes, there are long-term risks, including the way the team has dealt some future draft picks. But when it comes to keeping young prospects such as Bam Adebayo content, there is no better way than to expose him to the conference finals in three of the last four seasons. And even with Damian Lillard and Jimmy Butler, there will be ample youth in the developmental program, because there always has been ample youth in the developmental program. | 2023-07-14T02:11:16+00:00 | sun-sentinel.com | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/07/13/ask-ira-how-would-the-math-work-for-the-heat-to-free-up-three-first-round-picks/ |
Take that.
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres delivered a parting shot to the Cleveland Guardians in the moments following New York’s 5-1 win in Game 5 of their best-of-five American League Division Series.
BUY YANKEES TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETSMARTER, TICKETMASTER
Torres recorded the final out of the series-clinching game, then ignited the celebration by rocking the baby, cradling his arms together and swinging them back and forth.
ESPN reports that while doing this, Torres glared at Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor in the Cleveland dugout.
“We got our revenge. We’re happy to beat those guys. Now they can watch on TV the next series for us,’’ Torres said amid a champagne celebration in the Yankee clubhouse after New York polished off a 5-1 victory in Tuesday night’s decisive Game 5. “It’s nothing personal. Just a little thing about revenge.’’
Naylor, you may remember, taunted Yankees ace Gerrit Cole by rocking the baby while rounding the bases following his fourth-inning home run in Game 4 on Sunday.
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Per NJ Advance Media’s Randy Miller:
Cole said he didn’t know until after the Yankees’ 4-2 win in ALDS Game 4 that Naylor pretended to rock a baby making his turn at first base, then again rounding third and yet again while jogging home.
Cole apparently also wasn’t aware during his outing that Naylor stared him down throughout his home run trot and then punctuated it by yelling into a TV camera, “That’s my little F-ing son.”
He knows now.
His reaction?
“Whatever,” Cole blurted out with a look of disgust during his post-game presser. “It’s cute.”
Cole clearly was biting his tongue. He appeared tempted to fire back at Naylor before opting not to get into a war of words.
Asked if he’s upset, Cole added, “I just was made aware of it. I didn’t see it in the moment and it wouldn’t have bothered me in the moment. And it just is kind of funny.”
Yankees fans targeted Naylor Tuesday, unleashing the old, familiar taunt previously reserved for Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez in 2004: “Who’s your daddy?”
Naylor, for his part, took it all in stride, according to ESPN.
“That was awesome. That was so sick,” Naylor said of the fans’ reception. “That was honestly like a dream come true as a kid -- playing in an environment like this where they’ve got diehard fans, it’s cool. The fact I got that going through the whole stadium, that was sick.”
Cole and the Yankees got the last laugh Tuesday, eliminating the Guardians and moving on to face the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.
MORE MLB:
- Struggling ex-Yankees slugger is ‘sure to get interest’ on free-agent market
- Red Sox legend thinks Mets should throw record money at Yankees’ Aaron Judge
- Yankees beat Guardians to clinch ALDS, will face Astros in ALCS (PHOTOS)
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. | 2022-10-19T11:31:23+00:00 | nj.com | https://www.nj.com/yankees/2022/10/yankees-gleyber-torres-trolls-guardians-josh-naylor-in-alds-game-5-celebration.html |
HOW GENETIC TESTING CAN PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN BECOMING CANCER-FREE
June is National Cancer Survivors Month
SAN FRANCISCO, June 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
BACKGROUND:
According to the National Cancer Institute, there were an estimated 16.9 million cancer survivors as of January 2019 in the United States. That number is projected to increase to 22.2 million by 2030. As June marks National Cancer Survivors Month, it's a time to celebrate the fact that life after a cancer diagnosis is a reality… a reality for over 16 million Americans.
Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9043351-invitae-lyndsay-levingston-discuss-role-of-genetic-testing-during-cancer-survivors-month/
BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR'S STORY
In July 2019, Lyndsay Levingston was only 37 years old leading a successful career in NYC as a TV news personality when she discovered a lump in her right breast. She was diagnosed with Stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer and was given an immediate treatment plan. About halfway through her chemo journey, Lyndsay decided to take a medical genetic test from Invitae and the results prompted Lyndsay's doctor to completely change her surgical plan. The reasoning? Her genetic test revealed that she carries the BRCA1 mutation, which is known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers. Like many others, Lyndsay assumed that genetic testing was only done to find risks – not necessarily inform treatment. On February 14, 2020, her doctor called to let her know she was in remission. She's been cancer-free since that call and through her organization SurviveHER™, she has continued to advocate for all women, especially other Black women (who according to the CDC, are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer) to prioritize their health and consider medical genetic testing as a proactive measure. In fact, she recently penned a piece for Essence.com for National Minority Health Month emphasizing the importance of genetic testing.
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT / INTERVIEW TOPIC
Lyndsay shares her powerful story about surviving breast cancer and the importance of genetic testing in both assessing risks and determining treatment options.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Medical genetic testing is equally important for patients already navigating breast or other types of cancer.
- Changes in treatment after an oncologist reviews medical genetic testing results aren't uncommon. In fact, research shows that risk-causing genetic changes are common across cancer types and when patients do receive genetic testing, the majority are eligible for changes to their treatment plans.
- BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the most common genes known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
MORE ABOUT LYNDSAY LEVINGSTON
Lyndsay is an experienced multimedia maven and communications professional having worked in various capacities including anchor, host, reporter and producer for the Black News Channel, New York's Verizon Fios1, New York 1 News, KPRC Channel 2 Houston, FOX 26 Houston, NTV Houston and FOX Tulsa. Lyndsay's portfolio also includes work as a media and public relations consultant for organizations, businesses, and politicians. The multi-hyphenate is a Houston native who lends her talents to various community, corporate and social engagements as emcee, moderator and speaker. Lyndsay is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. – Mu Kappa Omega Chapter in Missouri City and the Junior League of Houston. She graduated with honors from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, and dual minors in dance and secondary education. Lyndsay was diagnosed with Stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer in July 2019. She celebrates her cancer-free status as the founder of SurviveHER™, a breast cancer awareness and wellness nonprofit whose mission is to inform, inspire and empower women. Her story of victory has been featured on Essence.com, OprahMag.com, NBC National News, Ch. 2 and KHOU 11. CORE Magazine named Lyndsay to its inaugural "100 Most Influential Blacks Today" list in 2021.
Provided by: Invitae (pronounced in-VEE-tay)
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SOURCE Invitae | 2022-06-13T12:43:19+00:00 | wlox.com | https://www.wlox.com/prnewswire/2022/06/13/surviveher-founder-multimedia-personality-lyndsay-levingston-shares-her-powerful-story-breast-cancer-survivor/ |
LaFrance's expertise building award-winning marketing programs at Fortune 500 companies and agencies positions her with all the assets needed to build a first-in class account team across Integrum's collective of marketing agencies.
LOS ANGELES, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrum Worldwide, the Apollo Capital Corp and M2B Growth Enterprises backed collective, today announced that marketing leader Amy LaFrance has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Client Development. LaFrance adds to an exceptional leadership team that supports Integrum's two agencies Storia and Chalk and will be responsible for driving all client development and services across Integrum's growing collective of agencies.
LaFrance teams up with Integrum Worldwide after an extensive career working at some of the top brands and marketing agencies in the world. Prior to Integrum, LaFrance worked at Omnicom's GMR Marketing, leading award-winning experiential programming for Cigna, Seagram's Escapes, Micron and AEP. LaFrance also developed numerous experiential campaigns for Verizon Wireless, Johnson & Johnson and American Express during her tenures at Civic Entertainment Group and Momentum Worldwide.
Prior to agency life, LaFrance worked on some of the biggest traditional marketing teams in the world at positions with Johnson & Johnson, The Coca-Cola Company, Revlon and ConAgra Foods.
"I am passionate about building strategy-led teams that motivate and inspire clients. Joining the Integrum collective allows me to build off this interest to create integrated programs that can be communicated through multiple mediums," says LaFrance.
For more information on Integrum Worldwide, visit www.integrumworldwide.com.
ABOUT INTEGRUM WORLDWIDE
Integrum Worldwide is a collective of specialist agencies including Storia and Chalk. Together, they believe in the power of combining the radical creativity of independents with the seamless integration of a one-stop-shop.
The collective is a host of agencies in the marketing services space including branding, creative, paid media, search engine optimization, and experiential marketing. Through this model, Integrum Worldwide delivers scalable, measurable, and integrated marketing solutions that deliver results. In addition, Integrum Worldwide is focused on developing a best in class corporate culture and putting sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and its overall employee population first.
The Integrum Worldwide marketing agency collective focuses on clients in the middle and upper market with a roster that includes Jennifer Adams, Steven Soderbergh's Singani 63, PBS, Edrington Americas, We Are Memphis, Cyrcurion, Xcellerate 35, Chemtech, and Beauty Magnet. The collective has teams in the United States, Canada, South America, and India.
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SOURCE Integrum Worldwide | 2022-06-09T16:45:04+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/06/09/industry-leader-amy-lafrance-joins-integrum-worldwide-svp-client-development/ |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s escalating measures to stop migrants along the U.S. border with Mexico came under a burst of new criticism Tuesday after a state trooper said migrants were left bloodied from razor-wire barriers and that orders were given to deny people water in sweltering heat.
In one account, Texas Trooper Nicholas Wingate told a supervisor that upon encountering a group of 120 migrants on June 25 — including young children and mothers nursing babies — in Maverick County, a rural Texas border county, he and another trooper were ordered to “push the people back into the water to go to Mexico.”
The trooper described the actions in an email dated July 3 as inhumane.
Travis Considine, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Safety, said the accounts provided by the trooper were under internal investigation. He said the department has no directive or policy that instructs troopers to withhold water from migrants or push them back into the river.
The emails, first obtained by Hearst Newspapers, thrust Texas’ sprawling border security mission back under scrutiny at a time when Abbott is expanding the mission by putting a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande. The Republican has authorized more than $4 billion in spending on the mission, known as Operation Lone Star, which has also included busing thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities and arresting migrants on trespassing charges.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday that the trooper’s account, if true, was “abhorrent” and “dangerous.” Democrats in the Texas Capitol said they planned to investigate.
“We are talking about the bedrock values of who we are as a country and the human indecency that we are seeing,” Jean-Pierre said. “If this is true, it is just completely, completely wrong.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security condemned the reported actions in a statement but did not say whether the agency was planning to investigate the allegations.
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose sprawling south Texas congressional district includes the border, tweeted, “Border security should not equal a lack of humanity.”
In one instance, according to Wingate, a 4-year-old girl attempting to cross through razor wire was “pressed back” by Texas National Guard soldiers in accordance with orders and that the child later fainted from the heat. Temperatures in Maverick County this summer have soared into the triple-digits.
Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber, who has supported the state deploying workers to the border, said he was taken aback by the trooper’s account.
“I don’t agree with whatever they were told to do,” Schmerber said. “That’s not something that’s part of our mission. You know, I know that we’re here to protect and serve no matter who it is, you know, either immigrants or U.S. citizens. But we’re not going to do any harm to anybody.”
Wingate did not immediately return an email message seeking comment Tuesday. The Texas Military Department also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As concern and outrage over the trooper’s account mounted Tuesday, Abbott’s office issued a statement that said no orders have been given “that would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally.” The statement did not address Wingate’s specific accounts and defended the border mission overall.
The statement said the razor wire “snags clothing” but did not address the accounts of migrants being cut and bloodied by the barrier.
“The absence of these tools and strategies—including concertina wire that snags clothing—encourages migrants to make potentially life-threatening and illegal crossings. Through Operation Lone Star, Texas continues stepping up to respond to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis at our southern border,” the statement read.
The email chain with the trooper included a log showing 38 encounters between June 25 and July 1 with migrants in need of medical assistance, ranging from weakness to lacerations, broken limbs and drownings in which life-saving measures were required. A dozen were under a year old.
Other accounts included a 19-year-old woman who was found cut by the wire and having a miscarriage. The others had cuts or broken bones as a result of where the wires were placed, according to the email.
“We need to operate it correctly in the eyes of God,” Wingate wrote.
In response to Wingate’s accounts, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw sent an email saying “the priority of life requires that we rescue migrants from harm and we will continue to do so.”
A separate email exchange obtained by The Associated Press dated July 14 shows McCraw receiving pictures, originally sent by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, of injuries caused by the sharp wire placed by Texas officials.
The pictures showed some injuries that required stitches as well as bloodied hands and legs.
___
Associated Press reporter Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report. | 2023-07-19T06:42:11+00:00 | cbs4indy.com | https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-texas-troopers-accounts-of-bloodied-and-fainting-migrants-on-us-mexico-border-unleashes-criticism/ |
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico’s public record laws allow citizens, journalists, and businesses to access documents and records created by elected officials and government agencies. But not everything can be made public, and in 2023, lawmakers made some adjustments to the rules.
House Bill 232, a bipartisan bill, made its way through the Roundhouse, and after Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bill into law, New Mexico’s public records request law now has new exemptions and clarifies what the public must ask for in order to request certain law enforcement records.
The new law says that the government is not required to release public records about IT systems that reveal vulnerabilities in the system. That addition to the law comes after several attacks on public tech systems, such as a cyberattack on Albuquerque Public Schools.
The law also now adds to the info that law enforcement can redact before releasing records. Before the change, law enforcement was allowed to redact things such as information that could reveal confidential information. Now, the list of potential redactions also includes visual depictions of dead bodies or visual depictions of great bodily harm unless that harm is suspected to have been caused by a law enforcement officer.
The idea is to protect victims of crime, according to lawmakers. “I think this is a commonsense bill to protect people who are on those tapes,” Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-ABQ.) said during a final discussion of the bill on the Senate floor.
The new law says that in order to request police video or audio, the public has to include at least one of the computer-aided dispatch record numbers, the police report number, or the date (or date range) of the event with “reasonable specificity.”
If the public is simply using dates to identify the records, the person making the request has to include at least one of the names of a law enforcement officer or responder involved in the event, the approximate time, or the approximate location. Police departments can also set other criteria to help the public access records.
If you want to request police video or audio but don’t have that information, the new law requires that police departments let members of the public view police video or audio “on-site” at the police department without providing those details. But to get a copy of the video or audio, you need to meet the criteria above.
The law also exempts certain business information held by the state’s Tourism Department from public records. And information submitted to scholarship programs, competitive grants, and land lease awards is not requestable public records until the finalists for the competitive process are named.
While discussing the bill at the Roundhouse, lawmakers noted that there will likely be more efforts to change the state’s public records laws in upcoming lawmaking sessions. In particular, some lawmakers seem interested in creating more exemptions in order to make sure that victims of crimes aren’t inadvertently exposed via public records. | 2023-04-24T19:38:01+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/new-mexico-has-changed-its-public-records-laws/ |
Omaha Native American artist creates unique sound blending traditional music with hip-hop
Antoine Edwards is proving to the world incorporating traditional music with hip-hop can be successful.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - It’s a sound not all of us are familiar with but that’s changing.
Antoine Edwards is a local Native American singer/songwriter and artist who is proving to the world incorporating traditional music with hip-hop can be successful.
He says staying true to his roots is everything.
“It’s the way we pray, it’s the way we live, and especially being in the city we need balance, so we walk in two worlds, we have the city life and the traditional life, that a lot of people don’t know about, but, it’s my life,” says Edwards.
It’s a life filled with music and family. His mother says that’s where he gets it from.
“All his songs have some sort of connection to his culture. He sings pow wow, hand drums, ceremony, sweat, he’s a songwriter, song keeper, dancer, he’s a grass dancer,” says Annabelle Edwards.
And the awards came pouring in.
Antoine won three awards in 2020 and 2021 with the Omaha Hip Hop Awards and won the International Indigenous Hip Hop award for best R&B album in 2022. Now, he’s hoping to add to his collection when he travels to Niagara Falls for the Native American Music Awards.
“It was just different for people to hear traditional native singing. They’re not used to that and seeing us in a setting where we’re wearing the same hats they’re wearing, we look like someone they wouldn’t expect to be traditional and singing that way,” he says.
“We’re overwhelmed with happiness, we’re proud of him, we’re excited for him, and I know this is just the beginning,” says Annabelle.
“People say ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ and what we say is ‘We’ll see it when we believe it.’ That’s how I live my life,” says Antoine.
Copyright 2022 WOWT. All rights reserved. | 2022-11-12T18:12:05+00:00 | ktiv.com | https://www.ktiv.com/2022/11/12/omaha-native-american-artist-creates-unique-sound-blending-traditional-music-with-hip-hop/ |
Worries about inflation weighed on Wall Street Friday, leaving major indexes mixed after a report showed wages for U.S. workers are accelerating, which is good news for them but could feed into even higher inflation for the nation.
The S&P 500 ended 0.1% lower after having been down as much as 1.2% earlier in the day. The Nasdaq composite also trimmed its deficit, falling 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain. The indexes all notched gains for the week.
Stocks had been on the upswing for the last month on hopes the worst of the nation’s high inflation may have passed already. That fed expectations for the Federal Reserve to dial down the intensity of its big interest-rate hikes. Such hikes aim to undercut inflation by slowing the economy and dragging down prices for stocks and other investments.
But Friday’s labor market report showed that wages for workers rose 5.1% last month from a year earlier. That’s an acceleration from October’s 4.9% gain and easily topped economists’ expectations for a slowdown.
Such jumps in pay are helpful to workers struggling to keep up with soaring prices for everyday necessities. The Federal Reserve’s worry is that too-strong gains could cause inflation to become further entrenched in the economy. That’s because wages make up a big part of costs for companies in services industries, and they could end up raising their own prices further to cover higher wages for their employees.
“Inflation is certainly moving in the right direction,” said Adam Abbas, co-head of fixed income at Harris Associates, “but the market is still going to have to go through some calibration of the risk that we level off at 3% to 4% core inflation versus a natural, steady move down to” the 2% goal set by the Fed.
“After such a strong move over the last three and a half weeks,” Abbas said about expectations for an easing up by the Fed, “maybe the market has gotten a little ahead of itself.”
Across the economy, employers added 263,000 jobs last month. That beat economists’ forecasts for 200,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%. Many Americans also continue to stay entirely out of the job market, with a larger percentage of people either not working or looking for work than before the pandemic, which could increase the pressure on employers to raise wages.
A labor market that remains much stronger than expected could make an already dicey situation for the Fed even more complicated. It’s trying to slow the economy just enough to prevent the buying activity that gives inflation its oxygen, without going so far as to create a recession. The Fed has signaled it will likely push the unemployment rate to at least 4.4% in its fight against inflation.
“The most important number for the Fed is probably the wage number,” said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments.
Many traders are still betting on the Fed to downshift the size of its rate hikes at its next meeting later this month, as several officials at the central bank have hinted. Traders still largely expect the Fed to raise its key overnight interest rate on Dec. 14 by half a percentage point, after hiking by a heftier three-quarters of a point four straight times.
But expectations are rising for what the Fed will do in 2023. Treasury yields jumped immediately after the jobs report’s release on speculation the Fed may ultimately hike rates higher than thought a few moments before.
The yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 4.29% from 4.24% late Thursday. The 10-year yield, which helps set rates for mortgages and many other loans, fell to 3.49% from 3.51%.
“Another month with a strong jobs report and torrid wage gains is a reality check for where we stand in the inflation fight,” said Mike Loewengart, head of model portfolio construction at Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office.
The strong labor market data follows up on several mixed reports on the economy. The nation’s manufacturing activity shrank in November for the first time in 30 months, for example, while the housing industry is struggling under the weight of much higher mortgage rates. Such data points had raised hopes the Fed’s rate hikes were taking effect and would ultimately pull down inflation.
Even though Friday’s report showed hiring was stronger than expected, it also clearly demonstrated that the nation’s downward trend in hiring is continuing. November’s jobs gains matched the low seen in April 2021, which was the weakest since December 2020 when the number of jobs shrank.
More economists are still forecasting the U.S. economy to fall into a recession next year in large part because of higher interest rates.
“While the Fed won’t back away from” a hike of just half a percentage point “in December, they still have no clue what they’ll do in 2023,” said Allpsring’s Jacobsen.
——
AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed. Veiga reported from Los Angeles. | 2022-12-03T07:57:44+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/business/ap-asian-shares-sink-on-revived-worries-over-recession-china/ |
Children’s hospitals in parts of the U.S. are seeing a surge in a common respiratory illness that can cause severe breathing problems for babies.
RSV cases fell dramatically two years ago as the pandemic shut down schools, day cares and businesses. With restrictions easing in the summer of 2021, doctors saw an alarming increase in what is normally a fall and winter virus.
Now, it’s back again. And doctors are bracing for the possibility that RSV, flu and COVID-19 could combine to stress hospitals.
“I’m calling it an emergency,” said Dr. Juan Salazar of Connecticut Children’s Hospital, where RSV has caused a shuffling of patients into playrooms and other spaces not normally used for beds. The institution explored using a National Guard field hospital, but has set aside that option for now.
A look at RSV and what the recent surge may mean:
WHAT IS RSV?
It stands for respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of mild cold-like symptoms such as runny nose, cough and fever. Nearly all U.S. children normally catch an RSV infection by age 2.
People infected are usually contagious for three to eight days. Babies and people with weakened immune systems can spread RSV for up to four weeks. There is no vaccine for it, though several candidates are in testing.
WHO DOES IT AFFECT?
Everyone can get RSV. But it causes the most threat to infants, older adults and other vulnerable people, who can get serious airway and lung infections.
Among U.S. kids under age 5, RSV typically leads to 58,000 hospitalizations and up to 500 deaths in a year.
For adults 65 and older, RSV causes 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths yearly.
For babies, the struggle to breathe can interfere with eating. “And that’s really when we start to worry,” said Dr. Melanie Kitagawa of Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, where more than 40 children have RSV.
“They’re breathing fast, breathing deep. We see them using muscles in their chest to help them breathe,” Kitagawa said. “These are kids who are having difficulty taking a bottle because their breathing is being impacted and they can’t coordinate both at once.”
WHY IS THERE AN INCREASE NOW?
The virus is encountering a highly vulnerable population of babies and children who were sheltered from common bugs during the pandemic lockdowns.
Immune systems might not be as prepared to fight the virus after more than two years of masking, which offered protection, according to Dr. Elizabeth Mack of Medical University of South Carolina.
“South Carolina is drowning in RSV,” Mack said in a news release. The surge arrived earlier this year than normal, she said.
For babies, their mothers may not have been infected with RSV during pregnancy, which could have given the children some immunity.
U.S. health officials have noted a rise this month in national reports of respiratory illnesses, which they say is at least partly due to the early spread of flu in much of the South.
Last week, more than 7,000 tests came back positive for RSV, according to CDC figures. That’s more than in previous surges.
IS THERE A TREATMENT?
There’s no specific treatment, so it’s a matter of managing symptoms and letting the virus run its course. Doctors may prescribe oral steroids or an inhaler to make breathing easier.
In serious cases, patients in the hospital may get oxygen, a breathing tube or a ventilator.
WHAT DO DOCTORS RECOMMEND?
Prevent the spread of viruses by washing hands thoroughly and staying home when you’re sick.
During RSV season, an injection of an antibody-based medicine is sometimes prescribed to protect premature infants and other very vulnerable babies.
If you’re worried your child is having a severe breathing problem, “do not hesitate” to go to an emergency department or call 911, said Dr. Russell Migita of Seattle Children’s Hospital, where RSV is on the rise.
For less severe medical problems, Migita said, call your regular health care provider for advice, use telehealth or go to urgent care.
In Chicago on Saturday, Dr. Juanita Mora saw a family of five kids all with RSV, ranging from a 3-year-old to a teenager. Fearing what’s ahead this winter, she’s telling everyone to get a flu shot and a COVID-19 booster.
“We don’t want a triple whammy, a triple pandemic,” Mora said.
___
Associated Press/Report for America reporter James Pollard contributed from Columbia, South Carolina. AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe contributed.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | 2022-10-25T15:32:41+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/health/ap-health/ap-whats-behind-worrying-rsv-surge-in-us-childrens-hospitals/ |
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Paychex, Inc., a leading provider of integrated human capital management software solutions for human resources, payroll, benefits, and insurance services, today released a list of the regulatory issues that employers should monitor in the new year. The company's list, compiled annually, outlines the most prominent compliance-related topics employers will need to contend with in 2023 and explores the legislative and regulatory context surrounding these issues.
This year, funding and tax credit eligibility rose to the top of the list, as business leaders manage the economic impacts of inflation and turn to programs like the Employee Retention Tax Credit and the Inflation Reduction Act. Businesses should also prepare for potential legislation and regulations that could impact how to classify workers, pay workers, and provide paid time off for their workers.
The company's compliance professionals have identified the following topics as key considerations for employers in 2023:
#1 Small Business Funding. Despite the absence of any new federal programs to date, businesses can still take advantage of the funding opportunities carrying over from the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
- The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). Businesses that paid qualified wages to keep employees working from March 12, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021 (and for some certain businesses identified as Recovery Startups, wages could be paid through Dec. 31, 2021) have until either April 15, 2024 (for three quarters of 2020) or April 15, 2025 (for all four quarters of 2021) to file amended returns and retroactively claim the credit.
- Paychex Protection Program (PPP). The Small Business Administration is still accepting applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness if submitted before the maturity date of the loan.
- State Incentives. Some states also continue to sponsor programs that enhance funding efforts to help businesses, including 38 approved State Small Business Credit Initiative programs.
#2 Pay Equity. Pay equity was again on the agendas of state and local legislative bodies in 2022, with more jurisdictions expected to pass legislation in 2023. By the close of 2022, seven states and several local jurisdictions have passed legislation requiring employer pay transparency. Employers will also need to stay on top of federal and state initiatives that may pass in 2023 to address pay inequity through annual reporting similar to the existing California Pay Data reporting and the Illinois Equal Pay reporting intended to mitigate race and gender discrimination in pay.
#3 Worker Classification Guidance. In late 2022, the U.S. DOL released a proposal to revise the Department's guidance on determining who is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the U.S. DOL is expected to release a final rule in 2023, the rule will only be applicable when determining worker status under federal wage and hour law. Employers must continue to be diligent in maintaining awareness of and compliance with the other complex tests for determining worker status under the many other federal, state, local, and industry-specific regulations and laws.
#4 Encouraging Retirement Savings. There is a significant chance that a version of SECURE 2.0 will pass before the year's end, substantially impacting the retirement space. Building on the framework of the SECURE Act of 2019, SECURE 2.0 has a handful of key provisions, including an expansion of eligibility for the tax credit when a business establishes a workplace retirement plan, an increase in the RMD age, mandated automatic enrollment for certain retirement plans, even student loan payment matching that aims to counter two crises – student loan debt and retirement savings at the same time.
#5 Wage and Hour Regulations. Based on listening sessions held in mid-2022, it's anticipated that the U.S. DOL will release proposed changes to the federal overtime regulations. The changes would reflect the current labor market, including an increase in the salary threshold for exempt workers. Additional regulations at the state and local level are anticipated in areas including fair scheduling ordinances, and the elimination of sub-minimum wage rates and tip credits in certain jurisdictions. An increase in industry-specific requirements, particularly in the hospitality, retail and healthcare sectors, may be on the horizon following efforts like the California FAST Recovery Act which, although potentially subject to voter approval in 2024, proposes to create a council with the authority to set wage and hour standards for fast food workers.
#6 Paid Leave. While a federal paid leave program does not appear to be on the horizon for 2023, several states across the country considered legislation in 2022 to provide employees with paid time off to care for themselves and covered family members. Maryland and Delaware are the latest states to pass mandated paid family leave legislation, joining nine other states and the District of Columbia. In 2023 we will also see the start of the first opt-in, voluntary paid family leave insurance program, available to employers or directly to employees, with legislation passed in New Hampshire.
#7
Privacy
/Cyber Security.
With the growth and continued norm of a hybrid and remote workforce, businesses must adapt privacy policies and cyber security practices in a manner that effectively balances the needs of the business
against both employee and customer expectations with respect to the privacy of personal information. Businesses must be clear and transparent about the collection, use, storage, and retention of data. In the absence of a federal privacy law, states continue to broaden the scope of their data protection laws.
"We understand that keeping up with shifting regulations can be a challenge for business owners—and that missteps can have serious consequences," said Frank Fiorille, vice president of risk, compliance, and data analytics at Paychex. "The past few years have sparked a widespread re-evaluation of the employee-employer relationship, and that wave of change shows no signs of stopping. With more legislative shifts on the horizon, Paychex will continue to support America's businesses, helping them navigate the compliance landscape and remain successful."
Other areas of interest for businesses to consider include tax changes, hybrid and remote work, and healthcare reform. For a full list, visit this top regulatory issues of 2023 article.
Keeping up with regulations is a challenge for today's business owners and HR leaders. Paychex has a dedicated team of more than 200 compliance professionals that track regulatory changes to help ensure customers have the information they need to make the best decisions for their business. For up-to-date regulatory news and resources, visit www.paychex.com/WORX.
Paychex, Inc. (Nasdaq: PAYX) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for human resources, payroll, benefits, and insurance services. By combining innovative software-as-a-service technology and mobility platform with dedicated, personal service, Paychex empowers business owners to focus on the growth and management of their business. Backed by 50 years of industry expertise, Paychex serves more than 730,000 payroll clients as of May 31, 2022, in the U.S. and Europe, and pays one out of every 12 American private sector employees. Learn more about Paychex by visiting www.paychex.com and stay connected on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Chelsea Wernick
Public Relations Program Manager II
Paychex, Inc.
(585) 216-2974
cwernick@paychex.com
@Paychex
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SOURCE Paychex, Inc. | 2022-12-15T15:38:05+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/12/15/paychex-reveals-top-regulatory-issues-businesses-2023/ |
MOSCOW, Russia — More than four months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport for cannabis possession, American basketball star Brittney Griner appeared in court Monday for a preliminary hearing ahead of her trial.
The Phoenix Mercury star, considered in some polls to be the United States’ most gifted female athlete, could face 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of large-scale transportation of drugs. Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in the U.S., acquittals can be overturned.
The trial date has not been announced, but is expected soon; Griner was recently ordered to remain in pretrial detention until July 2. The hearing, held behind closed doors in the court of the Moscow suburb of Khimki, was set to address procedural issues.
Griner’s detention and trial come at an extraordinarily low point in Moscow-Washington relations. She was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport less than a week before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, which aggravated already-high tensions with sweeping sanctions by the United States and Russia’s denunciation of U.S. weapon supplies to Ukraine.
Amid the tensions, Griner’s supporters had taken a low profile in hopes of a quiet resolution, until May, when the State Department reclassified her as wrongfully detained and shifted oversight of her case to its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs — effectively the U.S. government’s chief negotiator.
That move has drawn additional attention to Griner’s case, with supporters encouraging a prisoner swap like the one in April that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy.
Russian news media have repeatedly raised speculation that she could be swapped for Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Merchant of Death,” who is serving a 25-year sentence on conviction of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization.
Russia has agitated for Bout’s release for years. But the discrepancy between Griner’s case — she allegedly was found in possession of vape cartridges containing cannabis oil — and Bout’s global dealings in deadly weapons could make such a swap unpalatable to the U.S.
Others have suggested that she could be traded in tandem with Paul Whelan, a former Marine and security director serving a 16-year sentence on an espionage conviction that the United States has repeatedly described as a set-up.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asked Sunday on CNN whether a joint swap of Griner and Whelan for Bout was being considered, sidestepped the question.
“As a general proposition ... I have got no higher priority than making sure that Americans who are being illegally detained in one way or another around the world come home,” he said. But “I can’t comment in any detail on what we’re doing, except to say this is an absolute priority.”
Any swap would apparently require Griner to first be convicted and sentenced, then apply for a presidential pardon, Maria Yarmush, a lawyer specializing in international civil affairs, told Kremlin-funded TV channel RT. | 2022-06-27T13:28:30+00:00 | 11alive.com | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/nation-world/griner-due-in-russian-court/507-edae6815-0717-48cc-8374-2689b9da388a |
(Motor Authority) — The majority of Ford’s U.S. dealerships have decided to plug into the automaker’s electric future, Ford CEO Jim Farley said during Monday’s Automotive News Congress.
During its annual dealer meeting in September, Ford told its dealers that individual stores will need to invest up to $1.2 million in upgrades to continue selling Ford EVs.
Dealers had the choice of Certified and Certified Elite upgrades, which Ford estimated at the time would cost about $500,000 for Certified and between $1 million and $1.2 million for Certified Elite. Dealers also had to agree to non-negotiable pricing.
Farley has revealed that 1,659 stores chose the Certified Elite option, while 261 chose the Certified option, representing close to two-thirds of the automaker’s roughly 3,000 stores in the country.
Farley also revealed that those dealers still sitting on the fence will have another chance to opt in to Ford’s electric future in 2025, acknowledging that the electric transition will take time.
Ford has offered a similar ultimatum to its Lincoln dealers, though Farley didn’t mention the take rate among the luxury division’s stores.
During the Automotive News Congress, Farley also mentioned Ford’s plan to let customers order vehicles directly from the automaker online, thus circumventing dealerships, similar to the direct sales model made popular by Tesla. He said the future of the current franchise model hangs in the balance.
Pretty high stakes for the automaker’s pivot to EVs with its retail network, Farley says:
“The future of the franchise system hangs in the balance here.”
— Automotive News (@Automotive_News) December 5, 2022
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General Motors offered buyouts to Cadillac dealers that didn’t want to get onboard with that brand’s EV shift, with about one-third opting to give up their franchises rather than sell EVs, which would also require some level of added investment. GM is offering Buick dealers buyouts as well, with both brands expected to be all-electric by the end of the decade. | 2022-12-10T17:16:38+00:00 | upmatters.com | https://www.upmatters.com/automotive/two-thirds-of-fords-dealers-opt-into-its-ev-future/ |
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Two 16-year-old boys were killed and one was wounded in a shooting in Durham, North Carolina, officials said.
The three teens were shot Tuesday night near Brogden Middle School, news outlets reported, citing the Durham Police Department. Officers initially responded to a report of a juvenile shot and found the victim’s parents had taken him to a hospital, police said.
The teen told officers that two others may have been shot and authorities spent the night using a drone and a cadaver dog to search the area. The bodies of the two other teens were found Wednesday morning after daylight, according to the reports. The hospitalized teen was in stable condition with life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police have not released the teens’ identities. They said the shooting does not appear to be random, and the investigation is ongoing. | 2023-03-22T18:08:01+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/2-teens-killed-1-wounded-in-shooting-near-nc-middle-school/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
OLATHE, Kan. (WDAF) — The results of an investigation into a shooting inside Olathe East High School shows what happened on March 2.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office determined School Resource Officer Erik Clark feared for his life, took reasonable actions during the shooting, and the shooting was justified.
Clark was shot four times. One of the bullets hit his body camera, destroying it. The other three bullets caused three gunshot wounds, according to the DA’s report.
It also showed assistant principal Dr. Kaleb Stoppel suffered two gunshot injuries. One bullet hit him in the thigh and the other in his forearm.
Jaylon Elmore, 18, charged with attempted capital murder for shooting Clark, was also injured. According to the DA, bullets hit him in his abdomen and left thigh.
The DA’s investigation reinforced reports that the shooting began as a rumor that a student had a gun inside Olathe East High School.
Stoppel and a female assistant principal identified Elmore as the subject of the rumor and pulled the teenager out of class. The two administrators escorted Elmore to the office and texted the SRO to join them.
Stoppel and the other assistant principal told Elmore they needed to search his backpack, but the teenager refused.
According to the DA’s investigation, the escalation and shooting happened in a matter of seconds, shortly after Clark arrived at the office.
The report shows Elmore stood up when the assistant principal asked again to search his backpack. Then, Elmore swung his backpack from his back to his chest and started shooting.
The female assistant principal said Elmore fired three shots at Clark at point blank range before he could respond.
“He just started shooting at me,” Clark told investigators, according to the report.
Clark also said he felt the impact of the bullets hit his body and thought he was going to die. That’s when the report says Clark pulled his gun and returned fire.
During the gunfire, Stoppel tackled Elmore, and they fell to the floor. Clark told investigators he holstered his gun once Elmore was on the floor because it was clear he was no longer a threat.
Clark then began to treat his own injuries and give instructions to staff on how to treat Elmore’s
injuries as emergency crews arrived.
Clark and Stoppel were treated and released from hospitals the same day as the shooting.
Elmore spent weeks in the hospital before being transferred to jail. He is scheduled to be in court again in August.
The Olathe School District is conducting its own review of the shooting. It has not released its findings at this point. | 2022-07-22T18:30:13+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/da-releases-findings-in-olathe-east-high-school-shooting/ |
Former Ambassador Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign proposal to impose mental competency tests for politicians aged 75 and older has reignited debates about how to decide who is fit to lead.
It puts the spotlight on calls for generational change sure to be front and center during the 2024 campaign cycle and on battles over whether those calls constitute a form of ageism.
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
The proposal was a dig at President Biden, who will be 82 by the time of the next presidential inauguration — though former President Trump would be 78 — but it would also have implications for the rest of Washington, where nearly 10 percent of Congress is at least 75 years old.
That includes some of the top leaders and decision-makers in both parties.
Psychiatric and aging experts warn that it would be difficult to create and implement a fair and effective test to measure politicians’ mental competency, and drawing a line in the sand at age 75 to require such a test doesn’t necessarily make sense.
Photo by: Greg Nash
“I’ve encountered individuals in their 80s, 90s or hundreds, who are much more mentally flexible and aware of current world events and the interaction of such things than are some of the 20- and 30- and 40-year-olds that I’ve worked with,” said Dr. Bennet Blum, an expert in mental capacity and legal issues affecting the elderly.
The proposal from Haley, 51, has been met with some sharp criticism from those who would be subject to it.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 81, pushed back on the idea on CBS’s “Face the Nation” last week, calling it “absurd” and ageist. Haley fired back by tweeting that is “exactly what a career politician and socialist would say,” charging that the “Washington establishment is afraid of the people finding out some of our leaders aren’t fit to serve.”
Annabelle Gordon
Trump, for his part, expressed support for the idea, writing on his website Truth Social that “ANYBODY running for the Office of President of the United States should agree to take a full & complete Mental Competency Test.”
The age of Congress
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
An NBC News analysis of data from the @unitedstates Project found that the average age of members of Congress has steadily climbed since the 1980s.
In the 118th Congress that started in January, the average age in the Senate is 63.9 years and 57.5 years in the House. Right now, 16 Senators and 36 members of the House are 75 or older.
Some of those individuals have powerful positions. House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is 81. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is 78. House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) is 80, and the committee’s Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) is 79.
Photo by: Greg Nash
Until they stepped down at the end of the last cycle, House Democrats long-time leaders — former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) — were both over the age of 80.
Several news articles have questioned the mental fitness of 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is not running for reelection in 2024, with reports of memory lapses.
Photo by: Annabelle Gordon
Shortly after she announced her retirement, she appeared momentarily confused when a reporter asked her about the decision.
Feinstein has defended her mental fitness.
“I meet regularly with leaders. I’m not isolated. I see people. My attendance is good. I put in the hours. We represent a huge state. And so I’m rather puzzled by all of this,” Feinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board last year.
Calls for generational change
It’s common for younger candidates to argue that it’s time for older leaders to pass the torch to a new generation. And imposing an upper age limit on politicians is popular among voters.
An August 2022 CBS/YouGov survey found 73 percent support among U.S. adults for imposing a maximum age limit on elected officials. And a November 2022 Reuters/Ipsos poll found 67 percent of Americans said that there should be upper-age limits on the president and members of Congress.
It is not unheard of to require age limits on public officials. Most states set mandatory retirement ages for judges.
But opponents of age limits argue that it can take years to develop the type of institutional knowledge and relationships that allow them to most effectively work for their constituents.
And the public’s opinions on the matter are also complex. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found 55 percent support for allowing lawmakers to stay in office as long as they are in good health, regardless of age, and 61 percent said older leaders should not be discounted just because of their age.
Measuring mental competency can be difficult
Dr. Tracey Gendron, Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology and the Executive Director of the Virginia Center on Aging, said age alone is not a good predictor of health or ability.
“Aging is not a homogenous, linear experience; there are no milestones or expectations to make comparisons. Sweeping, blanket statements about using age as a barometer for ability is dangerous and misguided,” Gendron said.
(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Gendon said that “crystallized” intelligence or ability, representing cumulative skills and memories, continues to improve well into later in life. “Fluid” intelligence, the ability to process new information, is known as to decline with age, but that perceived reduction “dissipates or disappears when attentional factors like concentration or perceptual speed are considered.”
But even if every politician were required to take a cognitive test regardless of age, it would be difficult to come up with a metric to assess those abilities.
“Our society would have to figure out what specific cognitive abilities are required, what specific knowledge levels required, what specific ability regarding emotional control is required. And those have not been enumerated,” said Blum.
Press releases from the Haley campaign point to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, a brief screening tool used when screening for cognitive impairment related to Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other conditions. Trump boasted in 2020 that he “aced” that cognitive screening.
But that test, experts said, can give false positives or negatives, and would likely require further testing.
“It looks at different cognitive domains. It looks at your attention and concentration, executive function, or the more complex problem solving ability, memory, language, looks at visual spatial skills, calculations,” psychiatrist Karen Reimers said.
“It doesn’t tell you things that might be really pertinent for somebody’s ability to function. As a politician, you know, things like age-associated experience or wisdom can be very important,” Reimers said.
Blum called Haley’s assessment suggestion “a blatant negation of anything that involves sophistication, or understanding of context, or of treating adults as adults.”
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
“Our societal system has built into it the … ability to look at a person’s behavior and render an opinion as to whether that person is fit to be in the position that they are in,” Blum said. “And I think that’s a good method. It’s different than giving someone some type of a test so that you get a numeric score … But it’s a much more sophisticated nuanced method of evaluating people that we entrust with power at any level that comes with power and responsibility, that takes into account much more than any simple test ever could.” | 2023-02-27T13:40:08+00:00 | wearegreenbay.com | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/hill-politics/haleys-mental-competency-tests-could-rock-washington-but-would-be-hard-to-implement/ |
Back-to-back winter storms to dump snow across Rockies, Plains, Upper Midwest
The first storm is located over the central U.S. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the second storm is still taking shape. Both storms will pack a punch that includes snow on the colder side and the potential for severe weather on the warmer side.
Millions of Americans are in the path of not one but two powerful storms targeting the U.S.
The first storm is located over the central U.S. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the second storm is still taking shape. Both storms will pack a punch that includes snow on the colder side and the potential for severe weather on the warmer side.
"If you have anything outdoors to do, I would highly recommend that you do it today rather than wait, because this is going to end up being one of those storms that is likely going to create some slick spots as well as some fender benders," FOX Weather meteorologist Jason Frazer said.
(FOX Weather)
Storm No. 1: Fewer impacts
The first potent storm moved into the central U.S. on Tuesday after battering parts of the Southwest at the start of the workweek.
As the storm moves across the region, a lack of cold air will lead to mostly rain across the central states. The FOX Forecast Center said 2 inches of rain would be possible with this first storm.
The exception will be parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, where up to 5 inches of snow will be possible.
(FOX Weather)
As the storm system races northeast from Tuesday night into Wednesday, winds will pick up across the region, and blizzard conditions are likely during the morning hours Wednesday.
The criteria for a blizzard has nothing to do with how much snow falls. It is all about the visibility and winds. A blizzard must have wind gusts of 35-plus mph and a visibility of a quarter-mile or less over a period of at least three hours.
WHAT MAKES A BLIZZARD DIFFERENT FROM AN ORDINARY SNOWSTORM
(FOX Weather)
Storm No. 2: Heavy snow possible later this week
As for the second winter storm, light snow will initially break out across the mountains of Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and Colorado on Tuesday morning. Few, if any, impacts are expected. That will change by Tuesday evening as a strengthening upper-level low-pressure system swings into the Four Corners.
(FOX Weather)
The FOX Forecast Center said a band of heavy snow and high winds will develop and work from west to east across the region. It will first smack northern Arizona and southwestern Colorado on Tuesday night before slamming New Mexico and Colorado on Wednesday.
Up to a foot of snow will be possible with this storm.
DRIVING ON THE ICE AND DRIVING IN THE SNOW: WINTER DRIVING TIPS FOR DRIVING IN INCLEMENT WEATHER
(FOX Weather)
Across the Plains, confidence is increasing that an area of heavy snow is likely from northern Kansas through Iowa and Wisconsin. This snow will begin Wednesday night and last into Friday.
Travel impacts are likely, along with school closures. Exact snowfall amounts remain uncertain, but 5-plus of snow inches appears likely.
(FOX Weather) | 2023-02-14T19:34:20+00:00 | foxweather.com | https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/winter-storms-snow-rockies-plains-upper-midwest |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP)Pete Nance scored 21 points, capped by a dunk with 19 seconds left that put North Carolina in front for good as the Tar Heels pulled out a hard-fought, 72-68 battle with Syracuse on Tuesday night.
Joe Girard hit from beyond the arc to put Syracuse up, 68-66 with 1:28 left, but after Nance hit the first of two free throws to get North Carolina within one, he missed the second free throw and in the scramble to gather in the rebound, the ball caromed toward the end line and Girard dove to save it. Instead, he flicked the ball right to Nance, who dunked for the lead.
Judah Mintz tried to drive the lane for a go-ahead layup but was called for an offensive foul that was upgraded to a flagrant foul. North Carolina took possession and Caleb Love converted three straight free throws to put the game away.
Armando Bacot scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds with four assists for North Carolina (15-6, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Love finished with 15 points and five assists.
Girard hit 4 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points to lead Syracuse (13-8, 6-4). Mintz scored 17 points and had three steals and Chris Bell hit 3 of 5 from deep and finished with 15 points.
North Carolina has a week off before playing host to Pitt on Feb. 1. Syracuse plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
—
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 | 2023-01-25T23:59:13+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/sports/ncaa-basketball/nance-scores-21-as-north-carolina-survives-syracuse-72-68/ |
This may be surprising to hear with all the news about layoffs and concerns about a recession but year-end bonuses are back.
A new survey from staffing firm Robert Half finds more than half of U.S. Companies plan to give them out this year.
“It's very difficult to find people today, and retaining staff that you really want to retain is so important, and it's been important for the past couple of years,” said Paul McDonald with Robert Half.
McDonald said those bonuses are really about pulling out all the stops to show appreciation to workers. Companies that can't afford to offer bonuses with tightening budgets say they're doing things like recognition events within a department or the company.
Some are planning to send thank you notes or gift cards. McDonald said all of this goes a long way for not just retention, but recruiting.
“Word gets out that the employees were recognized either within a newsletter within their department or company-wide, and as a result that just builds morale, builds culture, and that culture not only stays within the walls of the company, but seeps out into the community,” he said.
If you don't receive a year-end bonus, he recommends setting up a one-on-one talk with your supervisor. He says find out if bonuses were paid within your company.
If they were and you didn't get one, talk with your supervisor about what you need to do to achieve one in the future. If bonuses weren't paid, you can ask about what other kinds of perks may be available. | 2022-11-21T21:32:52+00:00 | ksby.com | https://www.ksby.com/news/national/most-businesses-will-offer-holiday-bonuses-study-finds |
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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Martín Pérez allowed four hits over seven strong innings to extend his dominant undefeated streak and beat fellow All-Star Paul Blackburn, leading the Texas Rangers to an 11-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Pérez (8-2) had six strikeouts and won his career-best eighth straight decision. The first-time All-Star is unbeaten in his last 17 starts, passing Kyle Gibson for the Rangers’ single-season franchise record.
“I (didn’t) even know that I have that kind of number,” Pérez said. “I’m just looking to feel comfortable every time when I go out there. How I believe in myself now – I know who I am and what I can do on the mound – is great.”
Texas nearly let it all go to waste.
Trailing 11-1, the A’s scored four runs off Garrett Richards in the eighth, then hit three consecutive home runs off Brett Martin in the ninth. Martin got Stephen Piscotty to strike out swinging and Dermis Garcia grounded out to end it.
“I don’t know if we took our foot off the gas a little bit but we weren’t executing pitches,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “Brett’s been so good for us but he kind of gave in on a lot of those pitches and gave them something over the heart of the plate to hit. He’s better than that and he knows that.”
Corey Seager hit his 23rd home run. Adolis García also connected and had a career-high four hits and three RBIs as the Rangers won for the second time in eight games. Jonah Heim matched a team record with three doubles on a day when eight Texas players had at least one hit and one RBI.
Mixing a strong slider and effective change-up, Pérez induced 11 groundouts and retired 11 of 12 before walking Dermis Garcia leading off the fifth. Garcia scored on Nick Allen’s sacrifice fly.
“We needed him to go kind of deep,” Woodward said. “We were running a little thin from yesterday’s game and thank goodness he did because we needed all seven of those innings.”
In three road starts against the A’s this season, Pérez has a 0.90 ERA.
“When you’re facing the same team a lot of times you have a better idea. Sometimes you have to change, but if you don’t show me anything why do we need to change?” Pérez said. “How I move the ball I think is not comfortable for them, that’s what I see.”
Blackburn (6-6) is headed the opposite direction. Winless since June 16, the A’s right-hander allowed 10 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his first start since the break. The 10 earned runs are tied for most in the majors this season.
“The first couple of innings I felt like I was just too quick and then I tried to slow down, and I felt like I was too slow,” Blackburn said. “I tried to find a happy medium to get in a rhythm out there, and it just didn’t happen.”
García hit a towering two-run homer to left in the first, one pitch after Heim’s RBI double. García also singled and scored in the third, walked and scored in the fifth, hit an RBI single in the sixth and singled again in the eighth.
Seager homered off Blackburn to jump-start a six-run fifth inning for Texas. Kole Calhoun had a two-run single in the frame while Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith and Marcus Semien all drove in runs.
Piscotty homered as part of Oakland’s four-run eighth.
The A’s had won three straight before falling short of their first series sweep since last September.
Oakland’s three straight home runs by Sean Murphy, Chad Pinder and Tony Kemp marked the first time since April 15, 2006, that the A’s have gone back-to-back-to-back.
GREAT DEFENSE, PART 2
One day after a sliding back-handed catch in foul territory near the protective tarp while playing left field, Smith made another web gem – this time as a third baseman – when he chased down pinch-hitter Seth Brown’s pop-up near the line in left field.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: Seager left for unknown reasons in the sixth inning.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Glenn Otto (4-6, 5.40 ERA) makes a second consecutive start against the Mariners on Monday in Seattle. Otto has lost four of his five start since coming off the Injured List.
Athletics: RHP Adam Oller (0-3, 8.56) faces the division-leading Astros on Monday in the first of three games against Houston.
__
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-07-25T01:02:46+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Rangers-Perez-outduels-Blackburn-A-s-in-17326104.php |
ARLINGTON, Texas, Aug. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In a nation still reeling from the tragic Uvalde school shooting, the return to school may leave some children grappling with anxiety.
Two therapists with Texas Health Resources offer tips for helping children cope.
- Create a safe space to discuss their fears, safety and how to manage those fears
Teach children the importance of "see something, say something" – telling a trusted adult if they hear or see something that doesn't feel safe, said Renee´ Breazeale, administrator of Texas Health Recovery and Wellness Center. Because fear and anxiety may ebb and flow throughout the school year, check in regularly with your children about concerns they may be experiencing.
- Don't minimize the risk
Validate your child's concerns and fears but remember their brain is still developing and they are looking for reassurance and stability. Help them create a safety plan for any number of situations that feels accessible, age-appropriate and that the child would realistically feel comfortable doing.
"Educate your child like you would educate them for a natural disaster," said Christina Thomas, an inpatient adolescent therapist at Texas Health Springwood Behavioral Health Hurst-Euless-Bedford. "We talk to our children about what to do if there is a fire or a tornado. The goal is not to instill fear; the goal is to instill awareness."
- Limit and monitor exposure to social media
Consider parental controls that can help limit what younger children are exposed to on social media or through other platforms.
- Consider seeking professional help
If your child continues to show high levels of anxiety, becomes isolated or has changes in their sleep, appetite, mood and focus, consider seeking professional help. Texas Health offers free behavioral health assessments. To schedule an assessment, visit the Texas Health website or call 682-626-8719.
Texas Health Resources is a faith-based, nonprofit health system that cares for more patients in North Texas than any other provider. With a service area that consists of 16 counties and more than 7 million people, the system is committed to providing quality, coordinated care through its Texas Health Physicians Group and 29 hospital locations. The system has more than 4,100 licensed hospital beds, 6,400 physicians with active staff privileges and more than 26,000 employees.
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SOURCE Texas Health Resources | 2022-08-10T14:02:34+00:00 | kcbd.com | https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2022/08/10/coping-with-fear-wake-school-shootings/ |
NEW YORK, Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GrowthSpace, the world's first outcome-driven talent development platform focused on employee growth, is a brand sponsor of this year's Human Capital Management Excellence Conference by the Brandon Hall Group.
Details:
Human Capital Management Excellence Conference
Dates: January 31st to February 2nd, 2023
Where: Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida
To schedule a meeting with GrowthSpace at the event, please contact Meira Primes - meira.primes@growthspace.com.
"We are delighted to be partnering with one of the industry's most prestigious organizations," says Omer Glass, CEO and Co-Founder of GrowthSpace. "With the spotlight on talent retention and career management in 2023, employee development is a top priority for all companies and we look forward to working with those attending to enable tailored learning and development experiences across their workforces in order to meet business goals."
GrowthSpace was recently awarded with 8 badges in the prestigious G2 winter report for Training Management Systems, Mentoring, Coaching and Career Management.
Brandon Hall Group is a renowned research and analyst company for professional development, offering data, research, insights and certification to Learning and Talent executives and organizations for nearly 30 years. Their HCM Excellence awards was the first to recognize organizations for learning and talent and is the gold standard, known as the "Academy Awards of Human Capital Management."
About GrowthSpace
GrowthSpace was founded on the belief that successful talent development not only benefits individuals, but also drives business outcomes. Leveraging the world's most robust talent development dataset and network of global experts, GrowthSpace helps employees and organizations drive successful professional growth, at scale. Hundreds of customers currently realize the benefits of the GrowthSpace platform, including Siemens, Microsoft, EY, Johnson & Johnson, Zoominfo, and BioVectra.
Media Contact for GrowthSpace:
Judith Arkush
+1.415.937.1724
growthspace@si14global.com
View original content:
SOURCE GrowthSpace | 2023-01-25T17:46:10+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/01/25/talent-development-platform-growthspace-sponsors-brandon-hall-groups-human-capital-management-excellence-conference-2023/ |
US-UK relations enter new chapter as new PM, king settle in
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden headed to the United Kingdom on Saturday to pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth II at a time of transition in US-UK relations, as both a new royal and a new prime minister are settling in.
The hawkish approach of Prime Minister Liz Truss to Russia and China puts her on the same page as Biden. But the rise of Truss, 47, who once called the US-UK relationship “special but not exclusive,” could mark a decidedly new chapter in the trans-Atlantic partnership on trade and more.
Of high concern for Biden officials in the early going of Truss’s premiership is her backing of legislation that would shred parts of the post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland. Analysts say the move could cause deep strain between the UK and the European Union, and undermine peace in Northern Ireland. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the move “would not create a conducive environment” for crafting a long-awaited U.S.-UK trade deal coveted by Truss and her Conservative Party.
“She’s signaled that she’s willing to go to the mattresses on this and that’s going to cause a rift not just between the UK and EU, but the UK and the U.S.,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and a former senior State Department official in the Obama administration. “It’s one that’s going to keep the White House up at night.”
Biden and Truss had been set to meet Sunday, but the prime minister’s office said Saturday they would skip the weekend hello, opting instead for a meeting at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, though Truss still planned to gather with other world leaders converging on London for the royal funeral. The White House confirmed the U.N. meeting just as the president boarded Air Force One.
The two close allies now find themselves in a period of political uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic. Not unlike his fellow septuagenarian Biden, King Charles III faces questions from the public about whether his age will limit his ability to faithfully carry out the duties of the monarch.
Charles, 73, and Biden, 79, discussed global cooperation on the climate crisis last year while both attended a summit in Glasgow, Scotland. They also met at Buckingham Palace in June 2021 at a reception the queen hosted before a world leaders’ summit in Cornwall.
Truss finds herself, as Biden does, facing questions about whether she has what it takes to lift a country battered by stubborn inflation borne out of the coronavirus pandemic and exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unleashing chaos on the global energy market.
All the while, Britain — and the rest of Europe — is carefully watching to see what the upcoming U.S. midterm elections will bring for the Democratic American president after he vowed upon taking office that “America is back” to being a full partner in the international community after four years of Republican Donald Trump pushing his “America First” worldview.
“It certainly is a time of change and transformation in the UK,” said Barbara A. Perry, presidential studies director at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. She added, “We don’t know what will happen in our midterms. We don’t know what will happen in 2024.”
Truss, a former accountant who was first elected to Parliament in 2010, hasn’t had much interaction with Biden. The U.S. president called her earlier this month to congratulate her. Truss, as foreign secretary, accompanied her predecessor, Boris Johnson, on a White House visit last year.
It’s been more than 75 years since Winston Churchill declared there was a “special relationship” between the two nations, a notion that leaders on both sides have repeatedly affirmed. Still, there have been bumps along the way.
Tony Blair was derisively branded by the British tabloids as George W. Bush’s “poodle” for backing the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq. David Cameron and Barack Obama had a “bromance,” but Obama also had his frustrations with the Brits over defense spending and the UK’s handling of Libya following the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan forged a close alliance in the midst of the Cold War, with the prime minister once telling students that the Republican president’s “really good sense of humor” helped their relationship. But there were difficulties too, such as when Thatcher and members of her Cabinet bristled at the Reagan administration’s initial neutrality in the Falklands War.
The White House wasn’t expecting Truss’s announcement in May, when she was foreign secretary, that the government would move forward with legislation that would rewrite parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The agreement was part of the UK’s 2020 Brexit withdrawal from the EU that was designed to avoid a hard north-south border with Ireland that might upset Northern Ireland’s fragile peace.
Now, in the first weeks of Truss’s premiership, Biden administration officials are carefully taking the measure of the new British leader. Analysts say there is some trepidation in the administration that undercutting the Northern Ireland protocol could plunge Europe into trade turmoil at a moment when Biden is working mightily to keep the West unified in confronting Russia over its aggression against Ukraine.
“Brexit could once again become the issue -- the issue that can make it difficult for all of Europe to work together at a time when it is critical for Europe to work together,” Bergmann said. “If you’re the Biden administration, this is not the time for the two of your closest partners getting into fights.”
To be certain, there were areas of friction between Biden and Johnson, who had a warm rapport with former President Donald Trump.
Biden staunchly opposed Brexit as a candidate and had expressed great concern over the future of Northern Ireland. Biden once even derided Johnson as a “physical and emotional clone” of Trump.
Johnson worked hard to overcome that impression, stressing his common ground with Biden on climate change, support for international institutions and most notably by making certain Britain was an early and generous member of the U.S.-led alliance providing economic and military assistance to Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian invasion.
The former prime minister also unsuccessfully pressed Biden starting days into his administration to begin negotiations on a new U.S.-UK trade deal just as the U.K. regained control over its national trade policy weeks before Biden took office and following the end of a post-Brexit transition period.
But Biden largely kept focus on his domestic to-do list in the early going of his presidency—passing trillions in spending on coronavirus relief, infrastructure, and more—and put negotiations on trade deals on the back burner.
Elliot Abrams, chairman of the conservative foreign policy group Vandenberg Coalition, said that Truss needs Biden to make a new U.S.-UK trade deal a priority. Queen Elizabeth’s funeral won’t be the setting for tough bilateral conversations, but it still marks a moment for the two leaders’ to begin taking stock of each other.
Truss, who succeeded Johnson after he was forced to resign in the face of a string of scandals, has lagged in the opinion polls. She also won her election with a smaller margin than her recent predecessors and is looking for an early win.
“I think if I were (Truss), I want recognition of the leading role Britain’s played, far more than any other country outside the United States in supporting Ukraine,” said Abrams, who served in senior national security and foreign policy roles in the Trump, George W. Bush and Reagan administrations. “And I think I’d want some positive economic message to give the British people, which could be that the free trade agreement negotiations are starting.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-09-17T17:50:04+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/2022/09/17/us-uk-relations-enter-new-chapter-new-pm-king-settle/ |
Conference Call and Webcast Scheduled for Tuesday, November 1
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBIX) announced today that it has scheduled its third quarter 2022 financial results conference call and webcast for 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time (8:00 a.m. Eastern Time) on November 1, 2022.
The schedule for the press release and conference call / webcast is as follows:
The webcast can also be accessed on Neurocrine Biosciences' website under Investors at www.neurocrine.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website approximately one hour after the conclusion of the event and will be archived for approximately one month.
Neurocrine Biosciences is a neuroscience-focused, biopharmaceutical company with a simple purpose: to relieve suffering for people with great needs, but few options. We are dedicated to discovering and developing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, neuroendocrine and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company's diverse portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia, Parkinson's disease, endometriosis* and uterine fibroids*, as well as over a dozen mid-to-late-stage clinical programs in multiple therapeutic areas. For three decades, we have applied our unique insight into neuroscience and the interconnections between brain and body systems to treat complex conditions. We relentlessly pursue medicines to ease the burden of debilitating diseases and disorders, because you deserve brave science. For more information, visit neurocrine.com, and follow the company on LinkedIn. (*in collaboration with AbbVie)
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SOURCE Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 2022-10-11T20:32:41+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/10/11/neurocrine-biosciences-announces-conference-call-webcast-third-quarter-2022-financial-results/ |
WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, December 28, 2022
_____
WIND ADVISORY
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX
229 AM CST Wed Dec 28 2022
...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 10 PM CST THIS
EVENING...
* WHAT...West winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph
expected.
* WHERE...Van Horn and Highway 54 Corridor and Davis Mountains
Foothills, Eastern Culberson County, and Davis Mountains.
* WHEN...From noon today to 10 PM CST this evening.
* IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects and tree
limbs could be blown down.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high
profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.
...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM CST /3 AM MST/
THURSDAY...
* WHAT...West winds 45 to 65 mph with gusts up to 85 mph.
* WHERE...Guadalupe and Delaware Mountains.
* WHEN...Until 4 AM CST /3 AM MST/ Thursday.
* IMPACTS...High winds could make driving difficult for motorists
driving high profile vehicles such as campers, vans, and tractor
trailers. Severe turbulence near the mountains will be
hazardous for low flying light aircraft.
People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around
trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of
your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if
you must drive.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-12-28T09:32:22+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-MIDLAND-ODESSA-Warnings-Watches-and-17680676.php |
ROANOKE, Va. – There are more than 700 children who are ready for adoption in Virginia. They are ready to find a permanent and loving forever family. 10 News is profiling one child who needs a home every day during the hours of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. in 30 Days of Hope. The children are all ages and races and were put into foster care due to no fault of their own. 2022 marks the sixth year 10 News is doing this series.
WSLS 10 worked with the Virginia Department of Social Services to highlight the need for more foster and adoptive families, by telling just a handful of stories of the more than 700 children who can be adopted in the Commonwealth.
During 30 Days of Hope, we showed you the stories of 35 children in November. Because the need is so great, we continued to share the stories of children who can be adopted in December.
“The notoriety that 30 Days of Hope gives for the children, the viewing area that it reaches, the numbers, I was astonished at how quickly the inquiry started coming in and how major the change was,” said Vernee Mason, the VDSS Adoption program supervisor, who said more than 600 people are interested in foster care and adoption.
Many of you also shared the stories on social media, helping reach more than half a million people and increasing the likelihood of these children finding a permanent family and support system.
Mason talked about some of the messages VDSS is getting, thanks to 30 Days of Hope. “I didn’t realize there were so many children out there, this is a great initiative going on. This is a great thing that you’re doing and we’re getting if they can’t foster or they’re not in a place to foster, how can we help which is always a great thing, how can we help? And I’m always more than willing to point them in a direction.”
She says there were 250 adoptions in this region two years ago and last year that number grew to 266.
“It’s growing more and more because people are seeing the need for it. People are viewing 30 Days of Hope,” said Mason.
There have been adoptions and incredible success stories to come out of this WSLS initiative.
“The Roanoke Valley is really fortunate to have 30 Days of Hope. No other region has such an impactful program that highlights adoptable kids every year,” said Benjamin Jones, Roanoke County Department of Social Services Supervisor of Foster Care, Adoptions & Resources.
Other families are fostering children they never would have thought about.
Families who are fostering teenagers because of the need they’ve seen, giving Christmas presents to kids we’ve featured, or signing up to support foster families through programs like CarePortal.
“There is always a surge of inquiries about foster and adoption following the annual 30 Days of Hope roll out. It’s really amazing and again, other regions don’t have the same highlight and push and advocacy that we do and we’re really lucky,” said Jones.
WSLS 10 News will continue covering these stories over the next year and in 30 Days of Hope for November 2023.
If you have questions about foster care/adoption, contact VDSS Division of Family Services Adoption Recruitment Coordinator, at adoptioninquiries@dss.virginia.gov.
To see other 30 Days of Hope stories visit us here.
We also have a list of frequently asked questions about foster care and adoption including the qualifications, cost, and training required in this link. | 2022-12-26T10:12:28+00:00 | wsls.com | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/12/26/30-days-of-hope-leads-to-more-than-600-families-interested-in-foster-care-adoption/ |
Kirk Fallbacher to Continue as President of Drexi, Board Member and Member of the Leadership Team
PHOENIX, July 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Medical Pricing Solutions ("AMPS"), a Cimmaron Healthcare Capital portfolio company focused on supporting self-insured employers and healthcare stakeholders in providing affordable, fair, and transparent medical and prescription benefits, announced today the appointment of Matt Brow as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member.
Brow joins AMPS following nearly six years leading pharmacy software and life sciences advisory businesses for Inovalon, a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions empowering data-driven healthcare. Prior to Inovalon, Brow spent nearly 14 years in leadership roles with US Oncology and McKesson focused on strategy, communications, policy, reimbursement, business development, mergers & acquisitions, and operations.
Brow succeeds Kirk Fallbacher who, over the past seven years serving as COO and then President & CEO of AMPS, led tremendous growth and expansion of the company during that time. Fallbacher will continue his leadership contributions to AMPS as President of Drexi - the prescription benefits management subsidiary of AMPS, as an AMPS Board Member, as a member of the AMPS Leadership Team, and as executive sponsor for key strategic accounts.
"I am grateful for Kirk's continued commitment to leadership at AMPS, and I am humbled by the trust and confidence that the Cimarron Healthcare Capital team and our investors have placed in us to fully maximize AMPS' potential," said Matt Brow, Chief Executive Officer of AMPS.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to join the exceptional team at AMPS and look forward to building strong relationships with both our team members and customers," said Brow. "In a healthcare market desperate for innovative solutions, AMPS is well positioned to accelerate its growth and revolutionize employer-sponsored healthcare by providing affordable and transparent care to the benefit of patients and employers alike."
James Nadauld, AMPS Board Chair stated, "The Board is excited to welcome Matt to the team. We are confident his growth-minded leadership will take AMPS and Drexi to the next level of their evolution in the months and years ahead."
"Matt shares our deep passion for improving healthcare, and I enthusiastically welcome his leadership," said Fallbacher. "To the exceptional teams at AMPS and Drexi, I cannot express enough how proud I am of all that we have achieved together over the years. I firmly believe that AMPS and Drexi are perfectly positioned for continued success."
About Matt
Matt Brow is Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Medical Pricing Solutions (AMPS). With extensive experience managing cross-functional teams, Matt has engaged internal and external healthcare stakeholders to find consensus and achieve stable business growth.
Prior to joining AMPS, Matt served as President & General Manager of Pharmacy, Life Sciences and Advisory at Inovalon, a leading provider of cloud-based solutions empowering data-driven healthcare. Matt joined Inovalon in November 2017 to lead its subsidiary Avalere Health and then expanded his role in 2019 to also lead Inovalon's Pharmacy software business which develops, markets, and supports the pharmacy operational and workflow software ScriptMed. While at Inovalon, Matt led the successful divestiture of its Avalere Health business.
Before joining Inovalon, Matt was Senior Vice President, Operations, for The US Oncology Network at McKesson Specialty Health, responsible for developing, planning, and directing the operations of The Network across a multi-state territory. Previously, he held roles at McKesson and its predecessor company, US Oncology, leading public policy, mergers and acquisitions, business development, go-to-market strategy, sales, reimbursement strategy, federal and state government relations, and communications. Prior to joining US Oncology, he was a consultant, advising clients on state government affairs strategy across a wide range of healthcare and political issues.
Matt holds a BA in History and Political Science from the University of Richmond. He lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife Lauren and their two children.
About Kirk
Kirk Fallbacher brings more than 25 years of experience building teams and solutions serving the healthcare and health insurance industries.
Kirk has successfully grown multiple organizations / divisions from early-stage formation, focused on developing and launching new products, opening new market segments, and pure business growth, to preparation for scaling distribution and resultant enterprise value. He has overseen organic growth, combined with multiple acquisitions to establish flexible platforms with multiple products and services.
Kirk joined AMPS in 2016 as COO and shortly thereafter assumed the President and CEO role, during which time he grew the employee base nearly 10x; opened offices in Phoenix and Hyderabad, India; established AMPS as a leading vendor in the individual healthsharing segment; and completed multiple acquisitions, including Drexi, a pharmacy benefits manager and RX discount card provider.
Prior to AMPS, Kirk served in leadership roles at several technology and consulting firms, including: Netrix Global, ITR Mobility (acquired by Zebra Technologies), NVISIA, Swingtide, Alterian, Platinum Technology, Computer Associates, Novell and Ernst & Young.
Kirk holds a BS, computer science and mathematics degree from Western Illinois University.
About AMPS
AMPS provides market leading healthcare cost containment solutions serving self-funded employers, brokers, TPAs, health systems, health plans, and reinsurers. AMPS' mission is to help clients attain their goals of reducing medical and pharmacy costs while keeping members satisfied with quality healthcare benefits. AMPS leverages its 18+ years of experience and data in auditing and pricing medical claims to deliver "fair for all" pricing. AMPS offers detailed analytics and transparency to provide clients with insights based on plan performance. Learn more at www.amps.com.
About Cimarron Healthcare Capital
Cimarron Healthcare Capital is a healthcare-focused private equity firm based in Salt Lake City, UT. Cimarron is led by a unique combination of seasoned healthcare investors and operators. The firm partners with owners and operators in the healthcare lower middle-market to build enduring businesses that improve the healthcare system and drive value for all stakeholders.
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SOURCE AMPS | 2023-07-12T16:49:13+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/12/advanced-medical-pricing-solutions-appoints-matt-brow-chief-executive-officer-board-member/ |
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan has reached a milestone in its recovery from civil war, graduating its first group of unified armed forces from former rival groups on Tuesday.
President Salva Kiir called on the more than 20,000 new troops and other forces to refrain from political and ethnic divisions after they successfully completed basic training.
“From today you are not military wings to any party,” Kiir said. “Now you belong to the South Sudanese people.” He called on them to treat all South Sudanese equally.
South Sudan has been slowly implementing a peace deal signed in 2018 to end five years of civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Earlier this year, Kiir and rival-turned-deputy Riek Machar said the transition period leading to the country's first elections since independence from Sudan in 2011 would be further delayed, until 2024.
More than 50,000 unified forces are expected to graduate this year and will take part in national security, police, prison services and even wildlife services. The goal is to graduate 83,000.
The new forces graduated without firearms, with the government blaming the arms embargo on South Sudan imposed by the United Nations Security Council. They carried wooden guns instead.
Machar, a former leader of opposition forces, called the security arrangement a backbone of the peace agreement. “I believe a new era has started,” he said.
“With this uniform, this uniform is for the nation,” said Edmund Yakani, executive director for the civil society group Community Empowerment for Progress Organization.
The visiting president of neighboring Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, said South Sudan has the potential to grow its economy by tapping its rich agricultural land. “You should understand the importance of peace if you want to grow as the rest of Africa,” he said. | 2022-08-30T18:05:36+00:00 | springfieldnewssun.com | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/south-sudan-in-peace-milestone-graduates-1st-unified-forces/U4TRKITT5BCSZLVCFTTEVLKHO4/ |
Court OKs immunity defense in alleged sex trafficker’s death
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A sex trafficking victim accused of killing a man who allegedly trafficked her can argue at trial that she was justified in killing him, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that could help define the limits of legal immunity for trafficking victims nationwide.
Prosecutors say Chrystul Kizer traveled to Randall Volar’s home in Kenosha in June 2018. Kizer, who was 17 at the time, shot him in the head, burned down the house and stole his BMW, according to court documents.
Kizer, now 22, contends she met Volar on a sex-trafficking website. She says he sexually assaulted her and sold her to others for sex. She told detectives she shot him after he tried to touch her, according to the criminal complaint.
Her attorneys have argued that she’s immune from prosecution under a 2008 state law that absolves sex trafficking victims of any offenses resulting from being trafficked. Nearly 40 states have passed laws that give trafficking victims at least some level of criminal immunity, according to Legal Action of Wisconsin, which provides legal help for low-income people.
They had planned to invoke the immunity law at her trial on charges that include arson and first-degree intentional homicide, but Kenosha County Circuit Judge David Wilk refused to allow it. He ruled that immunity extends only to trafficking-related charges such as restraining someone, extortion, prostitution or slave labor. An appellate court ruled last year, however, that Kizer could argue that the law shields her from prosecution.
State attorneys asked the high court to reverse that decision, maintaining that the immunity statutes can’t possibly extend to homicide. First-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence.
Assistant Attorney General Timothy Barber said during oral arguments in March that Kizer’s interpretation would create an unprecedented expansion of the self-defense doctrine, eliminating any questions about whether killing someone was reasonable or necessary.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court decision isn’t binding on other states but could inform attorney strategies in similar cases elsewhere in the country, legal experts say.
Anti-violence groups lined up to support Kizer, filing briefs in her case saying that trafficking victims often feel so trapped they believe they have to take matters into their own hands.
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are sexual assault victims, but Kizer discussed her case in an interview from jail with The Washington Post that was published in 2019.
___
Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-06T15:06:33+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/07/06/court-oks-immunity-defense-alleged-sex-traffickers-death/ |
(Correction: This story originally named an opponent for the Bills in London. It has been updated to just say that both the Bills and Titans will be playing there. News 4 regrets the error.)
LONDON (WIVB) — The Buffalo Bills will be taking a trip across the pond once again, as they’ve been announced as one of five NFL teams playing in Europe next season.
The Bills and the Tenessee Titans are set to play at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which was described by the NFL Thursday morning as “the only purpose-built NFL stadium outside of the US.” Two games will be played there, they say.
In addition to the Bills and Titans, the Jaguars will be in the U.K., too, returning to Wembley Stadium. The Jaguars have a multi-year commitment to playing in the United Kingdom, and this will be their tenth game in London.
It’ll be the German debut for both the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs when they play overseas. Two games will be played in that country.
“The NFL previously confirmed that Munich and Frankfurt will stage games in Germany over the next four years,” the NFL said.
The dates of the games are yet to be announced, but this will be the second time playing in London for both the Bills and the Titans, having each played there in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
“The NFL has done an incredible job with this initiative,” Bills EVP/COO Ron Raccuia said. “We’re excited for Bills Mafia to experience Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, one of the primary design inspirations for our new stadium scheduled to open in 2026.”
The NFL noted that there will not be an international game in Mexico this year, due to renovations happening at Estadio Azteca.
“Mexico plays a critical role in the NFL’s international growth strategy, with its passionate and growing fan base,” Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president, club business, major events & international, said. “We remain committed to year-round engagement with our amazing Mexican fans and look forward to future games in Mexico.”
If you’d like to register interest in purchasing tickets for an international game, click or tap here. | 2023-01-19T17:09:48+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/sports/buffalo-bills/bills-heading-back-overseas-to-play-in-london-next-season/ |
The nonprofit Single Parents Rock was founded in the spring of 2019 by Denise Henton.
“As a young child growing up in a household with an alcoholic father who physically and verbally abused my mother, I knew I wanted to help and serve victims and their children fleeing domestic violence,” says Henton, who now serves as CEO of the organization.
Her mission is to meet the emergency needs of victims and their children experiencing domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault by advocating and empowering individuals.
The organization provides Advocacy/Court Advocacy, transportation, an after-hours phone line and safety planning. “What makes SPR different is we will provide transportation to and from Court and if our only local domestic violence shelter (the YWCA) is full we will transport victims and children to an out-of-County shelter or Safe House if it’s within a 250-mile radius,” explains Henton.
“As a Registered Advocate I noticed many victims were unable to get to court to apply for a Civil Protection Order or go through with prosecution of their abuser because victims either didn’t have transportation to show up for court or their abuser had mechanically disassembled their vehicle to guarantee the victim wouldn’t show for arraignment, pretrial, or trial to prosecute their abuser.”
In the beginning
SPR started off as a mobile service. “That means we were meeting victims at local restaurants, but in 2022 when COVID-19 hit things changed,” Henton says. “Many of the restaurants we used suddenly closed. At that point I realized that we needed a safe and confidential location to meet the needs of our victims.”
In October 2022 Single Parents Rock hosted a Grand opening at its first location in Englewood. Walk-ins are now accepted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and by appointment on weekends.
Henton says not only did COVID-19 affect where the organization was able to meet clients, but it also affected staffing and funding. The group’s main fundraiser had to be canceled for two years in a row. Happily, it has finally been rescheduled and will be held on Saturday, July 30.
Here’s what they need:
· Diapers all sizes
· Pull-Ups all sizes
· Baby Formula
· Gas gift cards
· Food gift cards for restaurants
· Grocery cards
· Kid snacks
· Juices
· Sodas
· Cleaning Supplies
To arrange to drop off donations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or on weekends by appointment, call call 937-469-8007.
Other ways to help:
Single Parents Rock will hold a fundraising gala from 5-9 p.m. on Saturday, July 30 at the Antioch Shrine Center in downtown Dayton. The evening will include a happy hour featuring the local band Love Street; dinner and guest speaker Diona Clark, a local domestic violence survivor and Founder of Liv Out Loud Enterprises and others including Denise Kontras from Ohio Domestic Violence Network and DJ Oscar Pittman.
If you would like to be a Sponsor or Volunteer for the Gala, call 937-469-8007. Tickets are $75. Go to www.eventbrite.com and search for Single Parents Rock to purchase tickets.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact singleparentsrock2019@gmail.com, call 937-469-8007, or visit the website at www.singleparentsrock.org.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Meredith Moss writes about Dayton-area nonprofit organizations and their specific needs. If your group has a wish list it would like to share with our readers, contact Meredith: meredith.moss@coxinc.com.
Please include a daytime phone number and a photo that reflects your group’s mission.
About the Author | 2022-07-24T16:47:48+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/single-parents-rock-needs-supplies-plans-fundraising-gala/5OOJAHKSAZBAZPTQN2ZVI7YLPA/ |
Gunnar Henderson’s golden hair bounced as the Orioles infielder floated around the bases in the fourth inning Wednesday night. His swing, so powerful his helmet slid off his head on his first step out of the batter’s box, left the piece of equipment laying near the first base line at Progressive Field, forgotten.
The ball was also long gone, but it won’t ever be forgotten.
Henderson, the top prospect in baseball, crushed his first major league home run 429 feet to right-center field in his second major league at-bat, meeting a slider with the vicious swing of a player who dominated minor league pitchers on a nightly basis. Cleveland Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie was the latest to get beaten by the 21-year-old infielder, who hasn’t faced a pitcher younger than him in his past two seasons as a professional.
In the stands, jumping for joy, were Henderson’s parents, brothers, grandparents and girlfriend. In the dugout, there was just as much excitement. When Henderson crossed home plate and trotted toward the dugout, catcher Adley Rutschman — another top-ranked prospect who received a promotion this season — met him with the Orioles’ home run chain. Then he gave Henderson a hug, savoring an unforgettable moment.
The Orioles’ lineup needed a spark after averaging fewer than three runs per game over the last week. Henderson provided it in a 4-0 win, which included a two-run homer from Ramón Urías in the eighth inning and another single from Henderson in the ninth.
The power Henderson exhibited with that swing is well documented in the minors, where the Selma, Alabama, native posted gaudy numbers. Between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, he held a .297 batting average and .947 OPS with 19 home runs, 79 walks and 116 strikeouts.
Before the game, which featured Henderson batting sixth and playing third base, manager Brandon Hyde said he wanted to “temper expectations” for the top prospect, as he does any young player. He noted how difficult the adjustment to the majors can be for players, especially when facing McKenzie, who owns a 3.17 ERA, and right-hander Shane Bieber, a two-time All-Star and 2020 Cy Young Award winner, in his first two games.
But for an offense that has scuffled of late — particularly among infielders — Henderson’s addition was a near-necessity, a way to rekindle life in a Baltimore (68-61) club that finds itself in a playoff push, entering Wednesday three games back of the final American League wild-card spot.
It’s just one at-bat. It’s just one homer.
But as Henderson made his way around the bases, batting helmet left behind, all eyes followed the youngest player on the field.
A hungry, hungry Lyles
As the ball was thrown thrown around the diamond after one of two strikeouts for right-hander Jordan Lyles, Henderson and the veteran pitcher found themselves next to each. When shortstop Jorge Mateo threw the ball back, Henderson reached in front of Lyles’ glove and intercepted the throw.
Lyles gave Henderson, this kid a decade younger than him, a look. Then Henderson handed him the ball, and each patted the other on the back before they went back to work.
It was Henderson’s night, with his debut and his homer. But Lyles did his part — and then some — with what could be his best start this season. The veteran pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, and while he forced just seven whiffs on 96 pitches, he allowed just two batted balls with exit velocities over 100 mph.
He worked around trouble in the fourth, when he stranded the bases loaded by inducing a force out to Henderson at third.
Henderson isn’t alone
Inside left-hander DL Hall’s locker sat the teal baseball glove he’s worn throughout his time in the minor leagues. The last time Hall was in the majors — making a one-start cameo in mid-August against the Tampa Bay Rays — Hall had left that glove behind, opting instead for his first professional glove, a light brown edition he thought would give him good luck.
But that light brown glove doesn’t grab the eye like Hall’s teal model. So when Hall next takes the mound as a member of the Orioles, it’ll be with the teal version in all its glory.
“That’s me,” Hall said. “I like the loud colors and things like that. That’s always been me, so just want to get back to myself.”
He won’t fully get back to himself until next season, when he’ll likely get the chance to transition back into a starting role. Hall will pitch out of the bullpen for Baltimore in September once rosters expand, a transition that included 6 2/3 relief innings for the Tides. The major difference is how much time he has to warm up compared to when he’s starting.
Beyond that, though, Hall is prepared to unleash his velocity in a different role.
“You don’t have to worry about stretching out your pitches and things like that among five to seven innings,” Hall said. “You can kind of go out there and get after it for an inning or two.”
Hyde said Hall and first baseman Jesús Aguilar — the latter of whom was signed Wednesday to a minor league deal and joined the club’s taxi squad — are expected to be the two September call-ups.
Aguilar, who was recently released by the Miami Marlins, adds a powerful bat, having hit 15 homers this season and 23 in 2021. Hyde said Aguilar, an All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018, will be useful in pinch-hitting situations, especially.
“Big power threat,” Hyde said. “Guy that’s gonna drive in runs. He did a nice job at first base those years in Milwaukee. I think he’s just an added, talented major league player on our roster.”
Around the horn
- Right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. cleared outright waivers and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Lakins has dealt with right elbow inflammation since May.
- The Orioles announced their spring training schedule for 2023 on Wednesday, with games beginning Feb. 25 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. Baltimore will play 16 home games and 15 road games. The player report dates will be announced at a later time.
This story will be updated.
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Best Egg Vehicle Equity Loans Now Available in Six States – CA, DE, FL, NY, PA & TX
WILMINGTON, Del., June 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Egg, the leading financial confidence platform that provides flexible solutions to help people with limited savings, today announced the launch of its new Vehicle Equity Loan product. Best Egg Vehicle Equity Loans are now available to residents of California, Delaware, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas, with plans to expand to additional states later this year.
The Best Egg Vehicle Equity Loan is a new offering that empowers customers to unlock the value of their vehicles to secure a loan up to $100,000. This product goes beyond traditional financing options, providing customers with the flexibility to finance significant purchases, consolidate high-interest debt, and enhance their financial well-being. It serves as an excellent alternative for individuals who may not qualify for unsecured loans, enabling them to access the funds they need to manage debt, feel financially stable, and live better.
Recognizing the diverse financial circumstances and the role credit scores play in accessing loan products, Best Egg has broadened its lending capabilities to cater to a wider range of customers. The Vehicle Equity Loan not only expands access to individuals with lower credit scores but also provides a unique opportunity for non-homeowners who possess valuable assets, such as cars. By leveraging equity in their vehicles, these customers can access funds at competitive rates and save on interest costs, all while pursuing their financial goals.
Charles Do, Head of Auto Lending at Best Egg, emphasized the customer-centered approach of the new Vehicle Equity Loan, stating, "The Best Egg Vehicle Equity Loan offers a credit alternative to title lending, providing a digital experience that empowers customers and helps them build financial confidence. We are excited to add this product to our evolving portfolio and look forward to extending its availability to more customers, including those with existing vehicle loans."
This loan product not only provides quick access to funds based on vehicle equity but also offers a credit-building opportunity for borrowers. With fixed APRs starting at 8.99% and flexible repayment terms ranging from 24 to 84 months, customers can tailor their loan to meet their specific needs.
About Best Egg
Best Egg is the leading financial confidence platform that provides flexible solutions to help people with limited savings confidently navigate their everyday financial lives. Best Egg supports customers through a growing suite of personal loan, credit card, flexible rent and financial health tools. Leveraging real-time customer insights and data engineering, Best Egg gives more people access to the resources they need to be money confident. For more information, visit www.bestegg.com.
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SOURCE Best Egg | 2023-06-08T15:03:41+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2023/06/08/best-egg-expands-portfolio-with-launch-vehicle-equity-loan/ |
Woman’s car catches fire, explodes in bank drive-thru
SHELTON, Conn. (News 12) - A Connecticut business owner is calling on the community to help a young woman after her car caught fire and exploded into flames while at a bank drive-thru.
Leeann Davila-Bernhard, 19, was making a deposit at the bank Sunday evening when she saw flames coming from underneath her car hood.
“I told my boyfriend to get out the car. The car is on fire,” she said.
Within minutes, the car was engulfed in flames. The fire then spread to the bank, causing damage to the building.
“It exploded maybe two or three times, a big bang. The whole roof of the outside deposit area of the bank collapsed. The second part of it collapsed,” Davila-Bernhard said.
The 19-year-old has been juggling being a full-time nursing student at Gateway Community College in New Haven and a full-time employee at a car wash. She had only just saved up enough money to buy the car a month ago, and now, she’s struggling to figure out her transportation once again.
“I loved that car so much, and I was so happy when I got it,” Davila-Bernhard said.
She had no time to grab anything from the car, so everything inside went up in flames, leaving Davila-Bernhard feeling like she’s hit rock bottom.
“It’s really, really heavy on me right now. I just can’t believe that it happened,” she said.
But one bystander, shoe store owner Davy Levy, is giving Davila-Bernhard and her boyfriend some solace. He has started a GoFundMe in hopes of getting the 19-year-old back on her feet and behind a wheel.
“You know, it was her first car, and it just touched our heart. So, we would love for everyone to really come together to help her,” Levy said.
Davila-Bernhard’s boyfriend calls Levy’s help “the light in the darkness in a way.”
Copyright 2023 News 12 Connecticut via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-09T10:15:05+00:00 | atlantanewsfirst.com | https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/05/09/womans-car-catches-fire-explodes-bank-drive-thru/ |
UNC football score vs. Miami: Live updates from the ACC Coastal matchup
A key ACC Coastal Division game is set for Week 6.
UNC football (4-1, 1-0) will look to score its fourth straight victory over Miami (2-2, 0-0) as the Hurricanes open ACC play at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday (4 p.m., ESPN2).
Miami might want a measure of revenge against a Tar Heels team that put up 778 yards of offense in their 2020 game behind an NCAA-record 544 yards rushing from Michael Carter and Javonte Williams. That's the most yards given up by any Hurricanes team in program history.
This year, the Tar Heels are led by freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who leads the nation in points responsible for (134) and ranks second in total offense (369.8 ypg).
Miami has a weapon on special teams with Key-Shawn Smith ranking second in the nation with 401 kick return yards.
UNC leads the all-time series against Miami 12-11 in a rivalry dating back to 1946.
ACC POWER RANKINGS:Clemson soars while Pitt and NC State tumble
NOT IN PANIC MODE:UNC football leaders issued challenge of accountability to defense — and it worked
GREEN MEANS GO:UNC football WR Antoine Green back from injury and punishing defenses | 2022-10-08T18:39:37+00:00 | fayobserver.com | https://www.fayobserver.com/story/sports/college/acc/2022/10/08/unc-football-score-vs-miami-live-updates-acc-costal/69542561007/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — The opening Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election season will take place in Milwaukee this August, the Republican National Committee decided Thursday.
The rough time and location were the only details finalized as a small group of RNC members met behind closed doors in Washington this week to begin the complicated task of coordinating logistics for what is likely to be a crowded and messy primary season. In the coming weeks, the group plans to finalize a broader set of criteria for participation, including the requirement that each candidate on stage must pledge to support the Republican Party’s eventual nominee.
In selecting Milwaukee, the RNC is following its recent tradition of hosting its inaugural presidential debate in the city playing host to the national convention the following year.
“At this time, no other debates have been sanctioned, nor has the final criteria for the first debate been decided,” GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel wrote in a message to RNC members Thursday. “We have a long way to go, but I am confident we will be able to showcase our eventual nominee in a world class fashion.”
Three high-profile Republicans have already launched White House bids, but as many as a dozen are ultimately expected to enter the 2024 presidential contest. Already, there are sharp divisions over the future of the party and former President Donald Trump’s divisive politics.
The committee is considering between 10 and 12 debates between August and its national convention in the summer of 2024.
Republican officials are likely to adopt new criteria for participation, including a new donor threshold to demonstrate broad support among the party’s grassroots in addition to a polling threshold of 1% or 2%.
Committee officials also met privately this week with more than a dozen media companies to determine the network partners. They include major television networks like CNN, MSNBC and Fox and lower-profile conservative favorites like Newsmax.
“The committee will continue its work and will release updates as they become available,” McDaniel wrote. | 2023-02-24T00:12:59+00:00 | wcia.com | https://www.wcia.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-republicans-set-opening-presidential-debate-for-august/ |
Which emergency radio is best?
The radio may be falling out of favor as a platform and source of entertainment, but it is still an advantageous communication method. Emergency radio broadcasts are helpful and informative. Having an emergency radio available in a survival situation can make it easier to seek aid and stay informed.
If you need a rugged, durable emergency radio, the top choice is the Esky Emergency Radio. Its ability to keep functioning in extreme weather conditions makes it a valuable survival resource.
What to know before you buy an emergency radio
Where will you use it?
You may be looking at an emergency radio that you can use in a serious survival incident, but you could also need a radio to take on camping trips. Depending on the circumstances you expect to encounter, you may need different features in an emergency radio.
Should it be easily portable?
If you are going to carry the emergency radio with you camping or traveling anywhere, weight is a significant concern. Some highly durable and sturdy emergency radio products are not as easy to transport as others. If you plan on hiking and carrying your gear on foot, every little bit of weight can make a difference. If you need something portable, opt for fewer extra features that you do not need and get only the bare essentials included in your radio.
Will you use it often?
You could save an emergency radio for solely emergencies, but if you like listening to it anyway, it would be nice to have one that you can use every day. If you plan to use the radio recreationally or often for any reason, make sure that you keep it charged and ready in the event of an emergency.
What to look for in a quality emergency radio
Power
The best emergency radios have more than one method of powering the device. In an emergency, it may be challenging to get any particular power source, which is why you need multiple options. Hand cranks and solar panels allow emergency radios to obtain electrical power without help from other power sources. Extra batteries and power banks can also be useful. Also, consider the value of an emergency radio taking electrical charge from other devices, like phones, laptops and more.
Additional features
Some emergency radios have extra features like built-in flashlights or a power bank that you can use for charging mobile devices in an emergency. It is also useful for emergency radios to have the ability to play audio other than radio signals. You can use some options as speakers for mobile devices, and some have alarm functions so that users can send out SOS signals.
Durability
The durability of an emergency radio might be the most crucial feature of the device. If an emergency radio breaks, it could spell disaster for someone in need. The best emergency radios will hold up to normal wear and tear, falls and drops, heavy impacts and severe weather conditions. Whether your emergency radio survives a serious situation with you can mean life or death, so if you find a fragile device, it is not worth any money you might save to get something that will be useless in a real emergency.
How much you can expect to spend on an emergency radio
Anyone in need of an emergency radio can find a variety of models for $20-$50, depending on the features. Particularly advanced radios with communication systems may cost more, but a decent emergency radio for survival situations is not very expensive.
Emergency radio FAQ
Should an emergency radio have many functions?
A. The benefit of numerous uses and additional features is that your emergency radio can be like an electrical multitool. Having a radio, light source, power bank and speaker all rolled into one device is useful. The downside is that every function of your emergency radio uses the same limited power source. There is nothing wrong with radios having lots of additional functionality, but users cannot be careless. In an emergency, it is essential to ration out electricity carefully and not use it unnecessarily.
Is it safe to use an emergency radio to power other devices?
A. Yes, using emergency radios as a power bank can be helpful. Refer to the manual of your emergency radio if it can power other devices. An essential rule of thumb is that you should not charge the emergency radio with a hand crank or other methods while using it to charge something else because this could cause damage to electronics. If you need to charge your mobile device, for example, charge your emergency radio’s power bank with the hand crank before you plug in the mobile device and transfer the battery power.
What’s the best emergency radio to buy?
Top emergency radio
What you need to know: This affordable and adaptable radio is a good tool for anyone who needs an emergency device and is unsure of what to expect.
What you’ll love: It is weather-resistant and durable enough to continue performing in extreme winds, snow and other heavy weather. You can charge it via USB cable, solar panel or the built-in hand crank. It doubles as a flashlight with bright LEDs. It is compact and easily portable.
What you should consider: Users may only be able to access a limited number of AM and FM stations clearly. Users must be careful not to damage the antenna.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top emergency radio for the money
What you need to know: This affordable radio performs well and includes many additional features for people who want more than just an emergency radio.
What you’ll love: The device serves as a radio, table lamp, flashlight and power bank. The rechargeable battery can provide up to 12 hours of light or six hours of continuous radio use. It comes with a built-in SOS alarm with a flashing light feature to notify and warn people in the surrounding area. You can power the power bank with USB charging, solar power, AAA batteries or the hand crank.
What you should consider: The knob may snap off the radio if users are not careful. Some users have reported that the radio cannot reliably hold a charge over a longer period, so you can’t charge it and forget about it until an emergency.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
What you need to know: This emergency radio is useful for emergencies, camping and outdoor adventures.
What you’ll love: The radio has a handle and a reading lamp to provide lighting. It has access to AM and FM stations along with emergency NOAA Weather alerts. The device can serve as a speaker for MP3 audio. The siren and alarm system are loud and allows users to set alarms that automatically notify about natural disasters and other emergencies nearby. You can charge up the power bank via USB cables, solar charging, hand crank or AA batteries.
What you should consider: The reception can get a little fuzzy or experience static depending on the location. Users have to be careful not to damage the tuning knob.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-04T00:35:31+00:00 | valleycentral.com | https://www.valleycentral.com/reviews/best-emergency-radio/ |
NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestorsObserver issues critical PriceWatch Alerts for BIDU, TSLA, MU, PYPL, and MRK.
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- BIDU: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-options-lp-2/?symbol=BIDU&prnumber=010420233
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SOURCE InvestorsObserver | 2023-01-04T15:05:13+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/01/04/thinking-about-trading-options-or-stock-baidu-tesla-micron-technology-paypal-or-merck/ |
Cannabis sales in Connecticut start tomorrow
NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) - Cannabis sales begin statewide on Tuesday and cities are preparing for a rush of new business.
In New Haven, Mayor Justin Elicker scheduled a news conference for Monday to provide an update on sales expectations.
Tuesday, people aged 21 and older will be able to buy up to a fourth of an ounce.
The sale of cannabis a complicated process. It’s not as simple as flipping an “open for business” sign at a dispensary.
New Haven has one of the nine approved cannabis retailers in the state, Affinity Health & Wellness.
Monday, Elicker said he will be going over responsible consumption and the legalities of who can buy pot.
He will also talk about what the security measures being taken to keep Whalley Avenue, the area around the dispensary, safe.
There’s also a security plan that the dispensary will implement as its doors open.
“You have to show a government issued picture ID with your photo to show you are 21 or older,” explained Ray Pantalena, Affinity Health & Wellness. “Once you show that ID, you can enter the facility proper.”
Elicker’s briefing in New Haven starts at noon. He will be joined by the police chief and representatives from the dispensary.
Copyright 2023 WFSB. All rights reserved. | 2023-01-09T12:37:40+00:00 | wfsb.com | https://www.wfsb.com/2023/01/09/cannabis-sales-connecticut-start-tomorrow/ |
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) launched the first issue of the Digital Prosperity Report, to highlight some of the most pressing issues for digital economic development and report on DCO initiatives and programs that support the DCO member states in developing their own digital economies.
The first issue of the report features an introduction by Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum (WEF), where he talks about the Digital FDI Initiative launched by WEF and the DCO to support FDI in the digital economy, and the global rebound in FDI post-COVID-19. The report also features an exclusive interview with HE Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT & Innovation of Rwanda, in which the Minister discusses the country's digital economic policy, the role of ICT in Rwanda's development, and how DCO membership will help further Rwanda's strategic goals in the digital sphere.
Other features include discussions of the gender gap in the startup sectoran examination of the challenges of effective end-user data protection legislation; and a report on the new Digital FDI Initiative that was recently launched by the DCO and the World Economic Forum. The report also includes insights into upcoming DCO activities, including the DCO Global Round Table Series, the STRIDE initiative to support digital startups, the Digital Economy Maturity Index (DEMI), and the DCO Center of Excellence for Data Flows.
Deemah AlYahya, DCO Secretary-General said on the launch of the report: "The DCO was founded to enable digital prosperity for all and to support our member states by enabling knowledge sharing and collaboration on the development of best practices, policies, and strategies to accelerate their digital transformation and therefore, support the development of an inclusive, thriving, and sustainable national digital economy. The Digital Prosperity Report is an important part of this knowledge-sharing commitment, which highlights the activities of the DCO and our member states, the report delivers expert commentary from high-profile stakeholders and draws attention to important issues such as tackling gender inequality in the digital economy, and the challenges of end-user data protection. This first edition of the report is a must-read for anyone interested in staying informed about the latest developments in the global digital economy, particularly in DCO member states"
The DCO Digital Prosperity Report is available now: Digital Prosperity Report (dcoinsights.com)
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1893527/DCO.jpg
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1867632/DCO_Logo.jpg
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SOURCE The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) | 2022-09-07T14:59:30+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2022/09/07/dco-releases-first-digital-prosperity-report-highlight-digital-economy-development-issues/ |
Happy Tuesday! It is a refreshing start to the day with temperatures in the 50s and humidity levels are comfortable. Today will be a pleasant weather day with highs in the low to mid 80s and we see a mix of sun and clouds. Overnight, lows are in the mid 50s with mostly clear conditions. Patchy fog is possible late overnight and into early tomorrow morning, especially in valley locations. Wednesday is a mainly dry day with a mix of sun and clouds. Temperatures are in the mid 80s. Showers move in late evening and throughout the overnight hours. An isolated thunderstorm is also possible.
Regional Forecast – Southern Tier (7/26/22)
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Subscribe Now | 2022-07-26T16:28:07+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/regional-forecast-southern-tier/regional-forecast-southern-tier-7-26-22/ |
GREENSBORO — Several organizations are participating in a protest Saturday against the opening of a facility to receive immigrant children at the former American Hebrew Academy campus.
Organizers say the concept is flawed and that the companies hired by the federal government are not trained in the care of children.
“There is a narrative that this is a safe haven, said Mike Ishii of Tsuru for Solidarity. “But actually what this is, is an influx site. And the history of children in these sites is that these are warehouses — these are congregate prisons for children.”
No opening date has been announced for the facility on the 100-acre campus of a former boarding school. It could house up to 800 children, primarily boys and girls ages 13 to 17, and would be staffed by at least 1,500 people.
Children would stay there while the Office of Refugee Resettlement works to place them with a “vetted sponsor,” often a family member, while their immigration status is adjudicated. The agency, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, operates 220 care facilities nationwide.
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The federal government is legally required to provide care for unaccompanied children referred by the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.
“While in ORR care, children have access to medical treatment, legal services, translation services, education, and mental and behavioral health counselors and are able to connect with family at least twice a week,” DHHS said last year.
Cecile Crawford, state director of the American Friends Service Committee, said the beauty of the campus on Hobbs Road and the plan put forth by the Office of Refugee Settlement sound beneficial to the children.
“It sounds great and I applaud them for trying to take this humane approach,” she said. “But we have not seen one instance of this being done right.
“We want to make sure that people understand that imprisoning children and separating families goes against American values,” Crawford said. “Detention is a failed time-proven policy — it doesn’t deter migration, because it just causes tremendous irreparable harm to humans, especially children.
“The Office of Refugee Resettlement has contracted Deployed Resources LLC and Deployed Services LLC … they’re not contractors of child care, these are military contractors,” Crawford said.
More than $268 million has been obligated by the federal government for the facility, with the potential for millions more. Deployed Resources and its sister company Deployed Services have been awarded to provide services at the Greensboro facility, called the Greensboro Piedmont Academy Influx Care Facility for UC (unaccompanied minors).
The News & Record reached out to both companies, but they did not respond with a comment for this article.
The Office of Refugee Settlement also did not respond to requests for comment about the groups’ concerns.
Crawford said plans for the Greensboro site sounds similar to those put in place at Starr Commonwealth. That emergency intake site in Albion, Michigan, housed migrant children from Afghanistan and was staffed mostly by another federal contractor, PAE Applied Technologies, according to a Pro Publica report.
The March 25 article says that before Starr Commonwealth site shut down in January, there were reports of physical and sexual abuse at the facility. Employees were overwhelmed and one shelter volunteer called the situation inside a “pressure cooker,” the article says.
“They had all the promises of treating these kids really well and it just went wrong,” Crawford said. “It went sideways really fast.”
Ishii said the federal government should be funding much smaller facilities for immigrant children.
“And there’s money to do that, but there’s not a will on the part of the government to actually shift and do what they should do, which is small home-like care facilities with licensed wraparound support,” Ishii said.
The advocates also criticized what they say is a lack of oversight for these facilities.
“The narrative is … ‘we’re going to be watchdogs over this site,’” Ishii said. “Who’s going to let you in to see that? They’ve never done that before. They don’t let the community in to oversee it.”
Other groups participating in the protest include Guilford for All, Jalloh’s Upright Services, Sudan House, Greensboro African Public Action Committee and North Carolina Asian Americans Together. | 2023-05-13T12:14:59+00:00 | greensboro.com | https://greensboro.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/greensboro-facility-immigrant-children/article_653caee0-f0fd-11ed-840f-b3d8a19dbafc.html |
FORT COLLINS, Colo., Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:
DR. CHRIS STRANDBURG, board certified dentist and Waterpik spokesperson
Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9078651-renowned-dentist-waterpik-spokesperson-tips-for-healthy-brighter-smile/
Everyone, of course, wants to look and feel their best. And maintaining one's oral health is an essential part of an overall healthcare routine. But what should we all be doing to promote oral wellness? How can we really take our routines to the next level? At the top of the list, and perhaps not a huge surprise, is that people should brush and floss their teeth at least twice a day. More specifically, if people really want to elevate their oral health, it's important to add water flossing to their routines to wash away harmful bacteria and plaque that brushing and string flossing miss. That's just one way to ensure a healthy routine and bright smile. Here are a few other tips:
- Brush your tongue
- Use fluoride toothpaste
- Limit acidic and sweet drinks like soft drinks and fruit juices
- Drink more water
- See your dentist for regular checkups
Dr. Chris Strandburg, a well-known dentist based in Los Angeles, shared his advice on oral healthcare. In this segment, he discussed:
- Recent trends and sentiment in people's oral health routines
- Top tips people can implement to take their oral care routines to the next level, including adding a Waterpik Water Flosser
- Favorite products to achieve an A+ score at the next dentist visit
For more information please visit: www.waterpik.com
General and Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Chris Strandburg owns and operates a dental practice in Los Angeles, CA. He is passionate about educating people on the importance of oral health and the power of prevention. Since appearing on ABC's "The Bachelorette," he has used his platform to demystify dental disease. He has chosen Waterpik® as a partner in his efforts due to their superior dental hygiene devices. Dr. Strandburg's dream is to see the elimination of preventable dental diseases in his lifetime, and he views Waterpik Water Flossers as integral components toward achieving that vision.
Produced for: Waterpik®
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SOURCE Waterpik® | 2022-10-05T12:32:46+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2022/10/05/dr-chris-strandburg-renowned-dentist-will-offer-tips-promote-healthy-brighter-smile/ |
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Sunday’s Greek parliamentary election looks likely to be a dress rehearsal for a new round of voting in the busy summer tourist season — barring a surprise coalition deal by dissonant opposition parties.
Opinion polls indicate that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy could rake in about 35%, some 6 percentage points ahead of leftwing former prime minister Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza party.
But ND still wouldn’t have enough to govern alone, and sharp divisions between the two main contenders and the four smaller parties forecast to enter parliament all but preclude a functioning coalition under either ND or Syriza.
A second election on July 2 seems likely. It would be held under a new electoral law giving the winner a boost of up to 50 of Parliament’s 300 seats, which the current system doesn’t.
With the economy rebounding after the 2009-2018 financial crisis, military tensions with neighboring Turkey — which nearly boiled over in 2020 — in abeyance and benefits blunting the cost-of-living crisis, no single issue dominated campaigning. Much of the discourse focused on potential coalition deals.
Here’s a glance at the main candidates:
KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS
A former banking executive, the 55-year-old Harvard graduate was born into a political dynasty that produced a former prime minister, a former foreign minister and the current Mayor of Athens. Mitsotakis has led New Democracy — Greece’s right-of-center pole for the past half century — since 2016, steering it closer to the political center with a pro-reform and pro-business agenda.
Elected prime minister in 2019, he has been credited with Greece’s successful handling of the pandemic and of two crises with neighboring Turkey, while overseeing high growth and job creation. But a wiretapping scandal and a railway disaster damaged his ratings. Nevertheless, Mitsotakis has argued against any post-electoral coalition deal, saying Greece needs a strong government to ensure stability and a return to investment grade for its bonds — ending the last salient reminder of the 2009-2018 financial crisis. Going to a second election would suit him due to the seat bonus, though he’s suggested that a third election might be on the cards, if needed.
ALEXIS TSIPRAS
A 48-year-old civil engineering graduate, Tsipras transformed former minnow Syriza into Greece’s dominant left-of-center grouping. He became prime minister amid the financial crisis in 2015 — in a surprise coalition with a populist rightwing party — promising to end deep spending cuts. Instead, he oversaw a painful new bailout deal. His second term, from 2015-2019, saw rapprochement with bailout lenders and a historic agreement to normalize ties with neighboring North Macedonia. He’s pledging to reverse some previous reforms, expand welfare and legalize same-sex marriage.
Trailing ND in the polls, Tsipras may see Sunday’s vote as his best shot at forming a governing coalition with at least two other opposition parties. That’s because the new electoral system in July, with the winner’s bonus, would leave the runner-up in a weaker position. His broad appeals for a “progressive” alliance have so far been rebuffed.
NIKOS ANDROULAKIS
Androulakis, 44, heads the remnants of Greece’s formerly dominant Pasok socialist party, which was superseded by Syriza during the financial crisis. Polling at around 10%, Pasok would be vital in any coalition deal. Androulakis’ poor relationship with Mitsotakis — whom he accuses of covering up the wiretapping scandal which targeted Androulakis himself, among others — render a deal with ND unlikely. But he’s on bad terms with Tsipras too, accusing him of trying to poach Pasok voters.
DIMITRIS KOUTSOUMBAS
The 67-year-old heads the Greek Communist Party, or KKE, a Stalinist-rooted enclave in Greek politics whose core support amounted to a steady 4.5-5.5% over the past decade. Koutsoumbas has shown zero inclination to form an alliance with Communist-rooted Syriza, or even help it form a minority government.
YANIS VAROUFAKIS
Tsipras’ flamboyant finance minister during the 2015 standoff with Greece’s bailout creditors, Varoufakis resigned after Tsipras backed a new bailout deal — ignoring a referendum in which most Greeks voted to reject it. Varoufakis, 62, founded his leftwing European Realistic Disobedience Front (MeRA25) party in 2018 and entered parliament a year later. Polling at just over the parliamentary entry threshold of 3%, he’s a potential coalition partner for Syriza despite the 2015 rift — although his renewed calls for a confrontation with bailout lenders might prove too rich for Tsipras.
KYRIAKOS VELOPOULOS
Velopoulos, 57, heads the rightwing Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution) which elected 10 lawmakers in 2019 and looks set to re-enter parliament. His party advocates stopping asylum seekers at the border and forcibly returning them to Turkey, while dumping those who slip the net in reception facilities on uninhabited islets. | 2023-05-21T03:23:23+00:00 | kdvr.com | https://kdvr.com/news/nationalworld-news/ap-international/ap-focus-on-coalition-horse-trading-as-greek-election-looks-unlikely-to-deliver-a-strong-winner/ |
Several Mid-Penn girls hoops players had strong performances last week, but who had the best?
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We’ll leave that up to you — the fans — to decide. The following is a quick look at the top performances reported to PennLive from last week’s games. Check them out below, and be sure to vote in the poll that follows. Voting will close at noon on Tuesday, and the winner will be highlighted on PennLive.
Miss a player? If you think a player put up a performance that deserves a nomination, email dsostek@pennlive.com with suggestions.
Karli Dacosta, Red Land — Dacosta paced the Patriots in a win over Milton Hershey Friday, scoring 20 points.
Caydn Eismann, Lower Dauphin — Eismann was the top option for the Falcons in a Tuesday win over ELCO, notching 20 points.
Slaydon Fisher, Waynesboro — Fisher poured in 22 points on Friday as the Indians picked up a big win over Gettysburg.
Natalie Freed, Trinity — The Trinity star helped push her team to a Tuesday win over East Pennsboro, tallying 19 points.
Olivia Green, Central Dauphin — Green was a beast on the boards in a Tuesday win over CD East, scoring 18 points and notching 11 rebounds.
Jill Jekot, Cumberland Valley — Before missing Friday’s game to injury, Jekot tallied 23 points on Tuesday in a win over State College.
Olivia Jones, Cedar Cliff — The reigning player of the week had her biggest scoring game of the year, pouring in 30 on Tuesday in a win over Mifflin County.
Diana Kepner, Big Spring — Kepner led the Bulldogs to victory over Gettysburg on Tuesday, recording 19 points.
Mia Libby, Greencastle-Antrim — Libby helped the Blue Devils to a big win on Friday over Big Spring, notching 26 points and 12 boards.
Sydney Pettis, Susquehanna Township — Pettis led Susquehanna Township to a win on Tuesday, scoring 30 points against Boiling Springs, then followed it with 18 in a win over East Pennsboro. | 2023-01-29T18:33:01+00:00 | pennlive.com | https://www.pennlive.com/highschoolsports/basketball/2023/01/vote-for-the-mid-penns-top-girls-basketball-player-for-games-played-jan-23-28-2023.html |
Israeli author: Netanyahu legacy imperiled by judicial plan
By NEBI QENA
Associated Press
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli historian, philosopher and best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may go down in history as the man who destroyed Israel. Harari, who has been vocal about his opposition to a proposed judicial overhaul by Netanyahu’s right-wing government, says the long-serving prime minister has divided the country to preserve his political longevity. He says this has caused damage that will be difficult to fix. Harari said in an interview on Thursday that Netanyahu’s legacy now is that he’s “certainly the divider of Israel, the person who divided the Israeli nation against itself.” | 2023-03-30T17:00:37+00:00 | kyma.com | https://kyma.com/news/2023/03/30/israeli-author-netanyahu-legacy-imperiled-by-judicial-plan/ |
At the delight of hundreds of local spectators, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile made a stop in Tyler on Thursday, many with a rush of nostalgia.
“People get really excited when they see the Weinermobile,” said Shelby Lewis. “They start to ‘remember when’.”
Parked at the Brookshires off Rice Road, the 27-foot-long chassis and its two drivers travel all over the region to bring smiles, taking pictures of and with the fans.
“It’s so much fun… who wouldn’t want to drive a hot dog all day?” said Lewis, who is also known as Sizzlin’ Shelby.
What is the wurst thing about driving the Weinermobile? “Parking!” Lewis said.
With no side or rear view mirror, drivers rely on an exterior back-up camera, as well as their partner to navigate the vehicle.
Since 1988, the iconic hot dog-shaped auto has been touring all over the country with just six vehicles, with just two drivers in each.
“There are more people who have been to space than those that have driven the Wienermobile,” Lewis said.
Lewis spends 24 hours a day with copilot Keila Garza - also known as Queso Dog Keila, fellow hotdogger and brand ambassador for Oscar Meyer.
With a valid driver’s license and bachelors, thousands apply every year but only 12 are selected.
To pass the mustard, there is a rigorous interview process involving phone interviews and a meat-and-greet invite to Kraft Heinz headquarters in Glenview, Illinois to take part in four rounds of interviews and an on-camera test.
“You have to be passionate about hot dogs and people!” said Garza.
If hired, then the lucky dogs are off to Hot Dog High for two weeks of intense training.
The hotdoggers learn how to drive the jumbo jalopy, as well as ketchup on the company’s history and learn how to essentially be the faces of Oscar Meyer on the road with training in events planning and developing media skills.
“It’s a giant promotional tool… basically public relations on wheels,” said Lewis.
Like many weenies, Lewis and Garza are tasked with touring their territory by visiting grocery stores, handing out coupons and Wienerwhistles (toy whistles in the shape of a Wienermobile), and working to capture media attention and press for the brand.
If they’re not busy dishing facts to the intrigued public, the hotdoggers are dishing out endless puns.
“I have a lot of dads who will try to ‘out’ dad-joke me but… I usually win,” Lewis said.
Since their only means of transportation is the Weinermobile, they drive it everywhere, even on days off.
“It’s always fun coming out of seeing a movie… or from lunch, and we’re just in regular clothes, and we see people wondering why the Weinermobile is at the movies,” Lewis said. “We love being able to continue to bring smiles and joy to people.”
To be quite frank, they relish in it. | 2023-03-03T01:25:43+00:00 | tylerpaper.com | https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/hot-diggity-dog-the-famous-weinermobile-comes-to-tyler/article_da06a724-b950-11ed-8bb6-ff6751215263.html |
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Republican lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly advanced a plan to ban nearly all abortions in the state, despite opposition from abortion-rights supporters, who say the bill goes too far, and anti-abortion activists, who say it doesn’t go far enough.
Chants from anti-abortion activists, such as “Let their heart beat,” could be heard inside the chamber as a committee wrapped up two days of testimony during which none of the more than 60 people speaking voiced support for the Republican-sponsored bill.
A top legislative Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mark Messmer, voted against it, lamenting the “near impossibility of threading the perfect needle” on the issue during a short special legislative session.
Indiana is one of the first Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month overturning Roe v. Wade. The court ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
While abortion-rights supporters oppose the Indiana bill’s severe limits on access to the procedure, abortion opponents say it is too lenient with its exceptions and lacks enforcement teeth.
The committee voted 7-5 in favor of the bill after adding provisions under which doctors could face felony criminal charges for performing an illegal abortion, along with limiting the time period allowing abortions in cases of rape and incest to eight weeks of pregnancy for women ages 16 or older and 12 weeks for those younger than 16.
Cathie Humbarger, a longtime leader of the Fort Wayne-based Right to Life chapter, said the bill should be scrapped.
“It is totally unenforceable and as such renders it basically worthless,” Humbarger told the committee. “You can, and must, do better.”
More amendments to the bill could be debated by the full Senate on Thursday.
The measure would prohibit abortions from the time an egg is implanted in a woman’s uterus with limited exceptions — in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. The proposal followed the political firestorm over a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled to Indiana from neighboring Ohio to end a pregnancy.
The case gained attention when an Indianapolis doctor said the child had to go to Indiana because a newly imposed Ohio law bans abortions if cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo or fetus, possibly as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
Indiana Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said legislators were discussing details on abortion limits that they never faced before Roe v. Wade was overturned.
“We’re recognizing that this is pretty hard work,” Bray said. “We’re working in earnest to try and find a path forward, listening to everybody that’s out there.”
Elsewhere Tuesday, a South Carolina judge denied a request to temporarily block enforcement of that state’s six-week abortion ban. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and other plaintiffs had asked the judge for an injunction while courts determine whether the law violates the state constitution’s rights to privacy and equal protection.
In Louisiana, a judge rejected a request from state officials to lift his order blocking a ban while they pursue an appeal. That means abortions remain accessible in Louisiana. | 2022-07-26T21:01:50+00:00 | chicagotribune.com | https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-indiana-abortion-ban-20220726-ufgrfazdnjhu5ad7qzxl5mjczu-story.html |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's new 988 hotline, intended to help anyone experiencing a mental health emergency, has been out of service for several hours Thursday.
Those trying to reach the line for help with suicide, depression or other mental health crises are greeted with a message that says the line is “experiencing a service outage.”
People can still reach a mental health counselor through the lifeline by texting “988” or opening a chat at 988lifeline.org.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversaw the launch of the three-digit lifeline earlier this year, is in communication with the contractor that supports the line, HHS spokeswoman Sarah Lovenheim said in a tweet Thursday.
“We’ve taken immediate action to ensure alternative 988 channels are available to the public,” Lovenheim tweeted. The outage had been ongoing for several hours Thursday, she said.
Veterans who are looking to reach the helpline can call the Veterans Crisis Line directly at 877-267-6030. The outage is also affecting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Disaster Distress Helpline.
The 988 helpline, launched in July, is a national helpline staffed with mental health counselors around the country that's designed to be as easy to remember as the emergency line, 911.
Intrado, the telecommunications provider for the service, could not immediately be reached for comment. In a statement on its website, the company said it is “experiencing an incident that is impacting production across numerous systems" and is “working diligently to restore service.” | 2022-12-01T21:18:08+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Widespread-outage-shuts-down-988-mental-health-17624761.php |
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Edge, a data insights and analytics company focused on the global consumer, announced the appointment of Mitch Barns to the Board of Directors.
"I am excited to join the Consumer Edge Board," said Mitch Barns. "I look forward to working with the management team as they drive rapid growth for their business by creating value for their clients with their competitively differentiated capabilities and continuous innovation."
Mr. Barns was previously the CEO of Nielsen, which at the time was an S&P 500 company with over 45,000 employees operating in 106 countries and over $6 billion in revenues. Currently, Mitch serves on the Boards of Kynetec and Qualisights. He previously served on the Boards of Monsanto, The Stable, Zappi, and Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose. Prior to his 21-year career at Nielsen, Mr. Barns spent 12 years with Procter & Gamble in a variety of brand management and marketing research roles.
"Mitch's experience in leading, scaling and advising global data and analytics companies is highly relevant and aligned with our vision, making him an ideal addition to Consumer Edge's Board of Directors" said Bill Pecoriello, Founder and CEO of Consumer Edge.
The appointment of Mr. Barns to the Consumer Edge Board follows an equity financing announced last month of over $60 million from funds managed by CoVenture, an asset management firm investing across the capital stack of tech-enabled companies.
"I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Mitch and look forward to working together across the many growth initiatives we are actively pursuing with the Consumer Edge team" said Dan Bailey, Managing Director at CoVenture and Consumer Edge Board Member.
About Consumer Edge
Founded in 2009 by CEO Bill Pecoriello, Consumer Edge is a data insights company delivering unparalleled views into global consumer spending behavior coupled with deep industry knowledge and analytical expertise. Our solutions provide key stakeholders across the investment and corporate landscapes with best-in-class tools to enable enhanced strategic decision making. Our product suite of data feeds, templates, and visualization platforms delivers unrivaled consumer spending intelligence by fusing numerous privacy-compliant data types across geographies. This unique set of capabilities allows for actionable insights driven by our near real-time market intelligence and benchmarking capabilities at the merchant, brand, and item levels.
About CoVenture
CoVenture is a multi-disciplinary alternative asset management firm focused on providing financing solutions across the entire capital stack. We support companies at various stages in their respective lifecycles, with the ability to provide the first round of institutional capital to early-stage companies as well as back more established businesses with tailored solutions. CoVenture and its affiliates manage over $2 billion in investor commitments across multiple credit and equity strategies. For more information visit https://coventure.vc/.
CONTACT:
Monica Garrido
Vice President Head of Marketing
mgarrido@consumer-edge.com
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SOURCE Consumer Edge | 2023-02-21T14:12:20+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2023/02/21/consumer-edge-announces-appointment-mitch-barns-its-board-directors/ |
Which cropped cardigans are best?
Cropped cardigans are a clothing item that never goes out of style, due to their flattering design and the fact that they can be worn through multiple seasons. Cropped cardigans can actually be cropped in many different lengths.
If you’re looking for a cropped cardigan, consider its fabric, color and where you’ll be wearing it. Grace Karin Women’s Open-Front Knit Cropped Cardigan is cropped at the waist and is available in a host of colors.
What to know before you buy a cropped cardigan
Fabric
When purchasing a cropped cardigan, determine the season in which you plan to wear it and if you plan to layer it with other clothing items. If you’re purchasing a cardigan for warmth, choose a knit, cotton or wool cardigan, since it can keep you warm and comfortable. This style may be bulky and square and depending on the fabric, offering differing levels of breathability.
If you plan to wear your cardigan in warmer months, look for garments made from jersey, polyester or Spandex. These fabrics are thin enough that your cardigan can serve as a shirt rather than a jacket, if desired. If your look requires you to layer clothing, consider layering different fabrics on top of each other so they don’t stick together or create discomfort.
Color
The color of your cardigan may depend on the season or the event you’re attending. Darker colors such as browns, dark greens and reds are popular in the fall, while lighter colors such as yellow, blush and light blue are more frequently worn in the summer. When layering a cardigan, no matter the season, consider what colors go well together. If you’re going for a monochromatic look, choose garments of a different shade in the same color when layering.
Occasion
The occasion on which you’ll wear your cropped cardigan influences the length. If you’re attending an event that’s more formal, choose a cropped cardigan that falls just at the waist and provides closure options such as a button or a tie. If the event you’re attending is more laid-back, the style or length of the cardigan you wear may not matter.
Whether you’ll be inside or outside and what season it will be when wearing the cardigan can help you pick the best option. For example, a longer knit cropped cardigan can keep you warmer at an outdoor event than an extremely cropped polyester cardigan.
What to look for in a quality cropped cardigan
Pockets
Some cropped cardigans may be designed with pockets for some on-the-go storage. Pockets come in handy if you’re traveling or if you need to put an item somewhere and don’t have a purse around. The size and shape of a pocket should be enough to hold items securely while not detracting from the design and fit of the cardigan.
Neckline
Some cardigans feature adjustable necklines with buttons that rise all the way through the middle of the garment. These items can be a low V-neck or a high-neck fit, depending on how you choose to button, zip or tie them.
Some cardigans only offer buttons that go halfway up the garment, making it a plunge V-neck design by default. This style of neckline can require layering, depending on where you’re wearing the cardigan. Cardigans that tie in the center almost always require a shirt to be layered underneath and don’t provide any adjustability.
Method of closure
- Buttons: Cardigans that button have an adjustable neckline and don’t require layering. If a cropped cardigan has many buttons, it’s more adjustable than those that don’t. Buttons are the most versatile form of cardigan closure.
- Tie: Cropped cardigans with ties in the center almost always require layering, as there isn’t much support to them. The neckline isn’t adjustable; however, the form is very adjustable. Tying the cardigan tightly may draw in the waist for an hourglass fit, while loosely tying it lets the item flow for added comfort.
- Zipper: This method of closure is less common in women’s sweaters and more common for men. This style also produces an adjustable neckline and is the quickest closure method.
How much you can expect to spend on a cropped cardigan
A decent cropped cardigan costs $30-$100, depending on the brand and the material. A lightweight, extra-cropped cardigan costs $30-$50, while a heavy knit cardigan is in the $60-$100 range.
Cropped cardigan FAQ
What’s the best time of year to wear a cardigan?
A. The best time of year to wear a cardigan depends on the cardigan itself. Cardigans are most popularly worn in the fall for warmth but can be worn in the spring and summer months if a lighter fabric is used.
What shirts can I layer with a cropped cardigan?
A. Cropped shirts as well as shirts that can be tucked in are best layered with cropped cardigans. This style of layering provides a slim, form-fitting look to those who wear it. Wearing a longer shirt with a cropped cardigan isn’t as flattering or comfortable.
What’s the best cropped cardigan to buy?
Top cropped cardigan
Grace Karin Women’s Open-Front Knit Cropped Cardigan
What you need to know: You can wear this cardigan buttoned or with an open front.
What you’ll love: It’s designed with a ribbed cuff and hem for durability and comfort. It has a V-neck design and is cropped to around the waist, though this varies depending on the wearer’s height.
What you should consider: This item requires extra time and care when cleaning. It must be hand-washed and can’t be thrown in the dryer.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top cropped cardigan for the money
Zaful Women’s Button-Down Long-Sleeve Cropped Argyle Cardigan
What you need to know: This cardigan is soft and features ribbed knit fabric for durability and warmth in the colder months while still being breathable.
What you’ll love: It’s designed with buttons to create an adjustable neckline and comes in various colors with an argyle pattern.
What you should consider: This cardigan is more cropped than it looks in the photograph. It may not be as comfortable for those who have a larger bust.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Urban Coco Women’s Button-Down Crewneck Cropped Cardigan
What you need to know: This lightweight cardigan provides breathability in any season.
What you’ll love: It has a crew neck and features a front button closure for adjustability, depending on the event and the weather. It comes in 15 colors, including apricot, camel, gray and navy blue.
What you should consider: The sizes run slightly small.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2023-02-27T16:19:07+00:00 | wboy.com | https://www.wboy.com/reviews/br/apparel-br/outerwear-br/best-cropped-cardigan/ |
HERZLIYA, Israel (AP) — HERZLIYA, Israel (AP) — Nayax Ltd. (NYAX) on Wednesday reported a loss of $7.5 million in its fourth quarter.
The Herzliya, Israel-based company said it had a loss of 23 cents per share.
The financial technology company posted revenue of $50.9 million in the period.
For the year, the company reported a loss of $37.5 million, or $1.14 per share. Revenue was reported as $173.5 million.
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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 NYAX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/NYAX | 2023-03-01T13:06:57+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/nayax-q4-earnings-snapshot-17812812.php |
DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis says that when it starts to sell compact and midsize electric vehicles off new underpinnings next year, they will be able to go up to 435 miles (700 kilometers) per charge.
The company made the claim Wednesday as it unveiled its new medium-sized platform designed for the purpose of housing battery packs and electric drive trains.
Stellantis says the range will be best in the compact and midsize segments, which generally is about 300 miles at present.
Carlos Tavares, CEO of the company that was formed in a merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s Peugeot S.A., said Stellantis plans to roll out no fewer than 47 EVs worldwide by the end of next year. Details on the vehicles will come later in the year, he said.
The first vehicle off the platform will be the next generation of what’s known now as the Peugeot 3008, a small crossover SUV. The first new vehicle off the platform will come later this year, he said.
The new vehicles will also have a lower-range standard battery pack that can go over 310 miles (500 kilometers) per charge, the company said. The new EVs will be sold by the Peugeot, Opel and Lancia brands, as well as Chrysler in the U.S., he said.
Tavares said the company will be able to build up to 2 million vehicles per year off the new platform at factories in France, Italy, Germany and different locations in North America. Stellantis also plans to build smaller vehicles costing below 25,000 euros ($27,153) on the platform in Southeast Asia and perhaps lower-cost countries in Europe to better compete with automakers in China, Tavares said.
He said all plants in France, for instance, are getting vehicles with higher profit margins to cover higher variable costs. “If we want to fight against our Chinese competitors we need to make sure that we can use the same recipes as what they are using,” Tavares said.
Tavares has said that EVs generally cost 40% more to produce than internal combustion vehicles. He says the company has to trim costs on EVs to protect affordability for the middle class, as well as to keep the company profitable.
Stellantis said the new medium platform can be used for off-road vehicles such as Jeeps. It also can be adapted for use with an internal combustion powertrain, but it’s optimal use is for EVs.
The medium platform is the first of four that the company is planning to handle modular vehicles. The others are small, large and frame, to be used for trucks. | 2023-07-06T17:34:10+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/ap-stellantis-says-new-small-and-medium-sized-electric-vehicles-will-get-up-to-435-miles-per-charge/ |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched nighttime attacks on several Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian officials said Saturday as they and Moscow blamed each other for the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in a separatist-controlled area of the country’s east. The International Red Cross asked to visit the prison to make sure the wounded had proper treatment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have a duty to react after shelling of a prison complex in Donetsk province killed the POWs.
“It was a deliberate Russian war crime, a deliberate mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war,” Zelenskyy said in a video address late Friday. “There should be a clear legal recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.”
Separatist authorities and Russian officials said the attack killed 53 Ukrainian POWs and wounded another 75. Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday issued a list naming 48 Ukrainian fighters, their ages ranging from 20 to 62, who died in the attack; it was not clear if the ministry had revised its fatality count.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has organized civilian evacuations in the war and worked to monitor the treatment of POWS held by Russia and Ukraine, said it has requested access to the prison “to determine the health and condition of all the people present on-site at the time of the attack.”
“Our priority right now is making sure that the wounded receive lifesaving treatment and that the bodies of those who lost their lives are dealt with in a dignified manner,” the Red Cross said.
Both sides alleged the attack on the prison was premeditated and intended to silence the Ukrainian prisoners and to destroy evidence, including of possible atrocities.
Russia claimed Ukraine’s military used U.S.-supplied precision rocket launchers to target the prison in Olenivka, a settlement controlled by the Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic.
The Ukrainian military, however, denied making any rocket or artillery strikes in Olenivka. It accused the Russians of shelling the prison to cover up the alleged torture and execution of Ukrainians there.
Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, Russian rockets hit a school in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, overnight, and another attack occurred an hour later, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Saturday. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The bus station in the city of Sloviansk also was hit, according to Mayor Vadim Lyakh. Sloviansk is near the front line of fighting as Russian and separatist forces try to take full control of the Donetsk region, one of two eastern provinces that Russia has recognized as sovereign states.
In southern Ukraine, one person was killed and six injured in shelling that hit a residential area in Mykolaiv, a significant port city, the region’s administration said Saturday on Facebook.
Friday’s attack on the prison reportedly killed Ukrainian soldiers captured in May after the fall of Mariupol, a Black Sea port city where troops and the Azov Regiment of the national guard famously held out against a monthslong Russian siege.
On Saturday, an association of Azov fighters’ relatives dressed in black held a demonstration outside Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral and issued a statement calling for Russia to be designated a terrorist state for violating the Geneva Convention’s rules for the treatment of war prisoners.
A woman wearing dark glasses who gave only her first name, Iryna, was waiting for news of her 23 year-old-son.
“I don`t know how is he, where is he, if he is alive or no. I don`t know. It`s a horror, only horror. For a mother, it`s the biggest loss if her child has gone,” she said.
Moscow has opened a probe into the attack on POW prison, sending a team to the site from Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s main criminal investigation agency.
The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, said the competing claims and limited information prevented assigning full responsibility for the attack but the “available visual evidence appears to support the Ukrainian claim more than the Russian.”
On the energy front, Russia’s state-owned natural gas corporation said Saturday it has halted shipments to Latvia because of contract violations. Gas giant Gazprom said the shipments were stopped because Latvia broke “terms for extraction of gas.” It did not elaborate.
The statement likely referred to a refusal to meet Russia’s demand for gas payments in rubles rather than other currencies. Gazprom has previously suspended gas shipments to other EU countries, including the Netherlands, Poland and Bulgaria, because they would not pay in rubles.
EU nations have been scrambling to secure other energy sources, fearing that Russia will cut off more gas supplies as winter approaches.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Saturday warned that the parts of Donetsk region that remain under Ukrainian control will face severe heating problems this winter because of the extensive destruction of gas mains in the war. She called for a mandatory evacuation of residents of the region before the cold weather sets in.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | 2022-07-30T16:23:25+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/news/international/ukraine-says-russian-attacks-hit-kharkiv-mykolaiv/ |
Candidate qualifying deadline passes and reveals slate of 2023 statewide candidates
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The qualifying deadline for 2023 candidates to submit their paperwork in order to appear on your ballot has now passed. That deadline was at 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 1.
Before the square-off between the GOP and Dems, comes party primaries.
To prepare you, the party primaries will happen on August 8 with the general election taking place on November 7. Here’s what we know so far, all eight Republican officeholders are seeking re-election and just three of them have other Republicans trying to oust them.
The Auditor and Treasurer don’t have a primary OR Democratic challenger and the AG won’t have a primary but does have a Democrat running. Dr. Glenn Antizzo at Mississippi College thinks the slate could impact turnout.
“In the primary, I think what’s going to happen is if people perceive that everything’s a done deal, that there probably really will not be any massive amount of turnout, it’s in the middle of the summer, people are typically on vacation,” explained Dr. Glenn J. Antizzo, Mississippi College political science professor. “So it may well be that you’ll have low turnout and that ironically, there may be more turnout for a possible runoff if one happens.”
But turnout is exactly what Democrats want to focus on according to the party’s new executive director.
“If we can increase voter turnout, you will and we will all soon see that Mississippi isn’t a red state. It’s just a non-voting state and when people choose to vote, and honestly, it’s happened over and over again,” said Andre Jarreau Wagner, Executive Director of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
He’s referring to voters choosing more progressive ideas, pointing to the medical marijuana vote as the most recent example.
But, Republican strategist Austin Barbour says the fact that they only have candidates for five of the eight statewide positions is telling.
“It’s a problem for the Democratic party when they can’t find enough individuals who are interested to run for statewide office,” said Austin Barbour. “I think it says a lot in a positive way for the Republican Party that they’ve continued to deliver for Mississippians on issues that matter for Mississippians.”
Here is the list as of our last data received from the parties and the Secretary of State’s office. The Democratic list was last updated at 1:45 pm 2/1/23.
Governor
Tate Reeves (Republican)
Dr. John Witcher (Republican)
David Grady Hardigree (Republican)
Bob Hickingbottom (Democrat)
Brandon Presley (Democrat)
Gregory Wash (Democrat)
Gwendolyn Gray (Independent)
Lieutenant Governor
Delbert Hosemann (Republican)
Shane Quick (Republican)
Tiffany Longino (Republican)
Chris McDaniel (Republican)
Ryan Grover (Democrat)
Secretary of State
Michael Watson (Republican)
Shuwaski Young (Democrat)
Attorney General
Lynn Fitch (Republican)
Greta Martin (Democrat)
Treasurer
David McRae (Republican)
Agriculture Commissioner
Andy Gipson (Republican)
Robert Bradford (Democrat)
Robert Briggs (Democrat)
Bethany Hill (Democrat)
Auditor
Shad White (Republican)
Insurance Commissioner
Mike Chaney (Republican)
Mitch Young (Republican)
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Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved. | 2023-02-02T03:56:40+00:00 | wlbt.com | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/02/02/candidate-qualifying-deadline-passes-reveals-slate-2023-statewide-candidates/ |
“Blood, Sweat and Tears” has many definitions for many different people. Members of the Fashion Design Student Association had the opportunity to express their take on those three words through a fashion piece at their biannual fashion show at the Richard B. Russell Jr. Special Collections Library on Thursday.
With the theme of a macabre, Edgar Allen Poe aesthetic , designers had the artistic freedom to express themselves in any way they desired. Whether they took the show’s title, “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” literally or went with a broader mid-century gothic style or even used the theme to protest fast fashion, each of the 50 looks embodied the designers’ own unique vision.
“I think our designers are really creative and do a really good job of taking the theme and stretching it and fitting it, so not everything is the same but everything has a similar aesthetic,” Caroline Solomon, president of FDSA, said. “And so it’s just cool to see the way that your idea of the theme contrasts with other people’s idea of the theme but it still all works together.”
For Solomon, senior environmental economics and management and Russian double major, fashion is less of a career and more of a hobby, but her interest in sewing and designing blossomed at a young age. She sees FDSA as her creative outlet.
FDSA is an organization for any student interested in fashion design, modeling, photography, makeup or hair. The club goes on field trips and hosts workshops for people to expand their fashion knowledge. Their main event, however, is a fashion show put on at the end of each semester.
“Blood, Sweat and Tears” kicked off with a social hour before the show, where attendees could converse with designers, enjoy refreshments and browse through clothing that vendors were selling. The show began with an individual walk, with models spaced far apart, then went into a group walk, where models walked close together to showcase the overall aesthetic of the show. The show concluded with a final runthrough, where designers joined their looks on the runway.
The models came from on-campus agencies such as The Agency and Bold. Many were friends of the designers or even designed pieces themselves.
Jackson Dallas, junior fashion merchandising major, designed for his first time in the fashion show and created the first look displayed at the event. His goal was to bring “familiarity to the unfamiliar” through his look, portraying an almost medieval but modern take on old century gothic. Dallas recalled his time of living in Vienna, Austria as inspiration for the look.
“Vienna has this very historical, artistic, theme to the whole city. But within that, there is this very rugged, distressed, deconstructed look, and I think I was trying to incorporate that in there,” Dallas said.
Not only was it Dallas’ first semester in FDSA, but he also recently switched his major to fashion merchandising. It wasn’t until he took Professor Beth Weigle’s fundamental fashion merchandising class when he discovered it was what he wanted to do. Dallas said the intrinsic community was what attracted him to the program, and now he reaps the rewards of seeing his look embodied in the show.
“Having this object in front of me that’s this beautiful representation of all the work that I’ve put in, I don’t even know if I have good words to describe it,” Dallas said. “It is exhilarating, terrifying and honestly just fascinating. It’s so lovely having something that is all of my work just in one spot.”
Ainsley Cole, junior fashion merchandising major, was a vendor at the fashion show for her clothing brand, Endare. Cole sells clothes, accessories and jewelry that she upcycles, or makes herself from thrifted clothing. She designed for the show last semester, but now is just a spectator.
“[My favorite part of the show is] just everybody’s creativity,” Cole said. “Because when I think of certain themes, I might have my way of thinking and then I’ll see someone else’s, and [think] that’s completely different than what I thought, so it’s really interesting.”
Throughout the dark colors of the show, a bright sensation of creativity was depicted in each look. As attendees applauded each design, it seemed obvious that the designers put their blood, sweat and tears into transforming their ideas into artwork to be displayed on the runway. | 2023-04-28T16:56:08+00:00 | redandblack.com | https://www.redandblack.com/culture/uga-fashion-design-student-association-puts-blood-sweat-and-tears-into-fashion-show/article_c6e44f0e-e5c7-11ed-b05c-77a39f3b4fd9.html |
Darcelle, world’s oldest working drag queen, dies at 92
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Walter C. Cole, better known as the iconic drag queen who performed for decades as Darcelle XV, has died of natural causes in Portland, Oregon. Cole was 92.
Darcelle, who died Thursday, was crowned the world’s oldest working drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records and was regaling audiences until the very end.
As a performer, Darcelle was known for hosting the longest-running drag show on the U.S. West Coast. Off stage, Cole championed LGBTQ+ rights and charitable work in the Portland community.
The nightclub that Darcelle opened more than 50 years ago in downtown Portland, Darcelle XV Showplace, said it was heartbroken in a Facebook post.
“We ask for privacy and patience as everyone processes and grieves in their own way and at their own pace,” the club said.
They also said that details of a public memorial will be announced and all shows at the Showplace will go on as scheduled, per Darcelle’s wishes.
“Please join us and celebrate her legacy and memory, thank you in advance for your continued support,” it concluded.
The club, which had become a Portland cultural institution by the 1970s, was listed in 2020 on the National Register of Historic Places, becoming the first site in Oregon to be nominated specifically for its significance in LGBTQ+ history.
Fans mourned the death on social media, including Portland’s mayor and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who said “Darcelle carved out an unforgettable chapter in Portland’s history” with her “pioneering courage.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2023-03-24T19:36:05+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/2023/03/24/darcelle-worlds-oldest-working-drag-queen-dies-92/ |
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